Familiar Faces [a donnie darko fanfic]

Chapter Six

(i love you guys and i don't want to offend anyone in anyway or trigger them, so i'm just putting a trigger warning out there now)

The following day, I began asking around school if anyone would be willing to help with my semester film. Lacey and Bayley agreed of course. So did Donnie, if he was needed; he had added.
Hopefully, I would get done with the rough draft of the script by the upcoming weekend and then make any necessary changes. Thank god I had the whole lunch table to help with that.
Neither I nor Donnie said what we had done the previous evening besides eat dinner together. I didn't feel like it would be right for me to blab about his personal life.
"Ditchin' me, huh?" Bayley joked as we walked to our 6th period. I shook my head and laughed.
"I was invited over to hang out and eat dinner, that's all. I won't be there too often," I assured her. "I'd never ditch my best friend."
"Good, because I'd have to kill you." I didn't take it as a threat because she always joked around that way and she said with a smile and a nudge.
That day after school, a lot of people joined on our endeavor. Lacey, Lacey's older brother Darryl, Bayley, Dylan and his friend Brendan, Mark; who sometimes hung out at lunch with us, Celia from my History class, Donnie, and his two friends; Ronald and Sean who had finally warmed up to me.
"Who's not fond of acting?" I asked as we all were gathered around the dining room table. Mark raised his hand and so did Bayley. "I'll operate camera one but one of you will need to operate camera two. Two cameras, that's what we'll work with. Mark, would you be in charge of the boom mic?" He nodded.
"Bayley, I'll need you to work my second camera since you know the vision that needs to happen here. The rough draft of the script is almost done, does anyone want to do a quick read through?" There were some nods and shrugs.
"I'll read for young Greg," Dylan chimed. Parts were then assigned, not as a permanent solution quite yet.
Donnie offered to read for the older Greg and Lacey's brother for nearly middle-aged Greg. I thanked him in a whisper.
We all took a break after the second scene. Everyone grabbed a water bottle and an apple, moving to the patio. It felt cooler outside than in my house so we all decided to stay out there. All the scenes written from there weren't as long as the first one, but still took us a while. After all, it was actual movie length.
"Is everyone alright with these being their permanent parts? We still need people to fill in for the other adults, but besides that, I believe we have our crew," I concluded as they finished reading.
"It depends when you need to film," Celia answered. "I'll give you my number so just call me when you need me. If you could let me know at least a day before you'd need me, then I might be able to come."
"Yea, me too," Ronald agreed. "My parents will make me mow the lawn or something and won't let me go anywhere until I do."
Upon that, I decided to get numbers from the others. We brought out a calendar to see what weekends would be available.
"We'll need to film at different times in the day, so sometimes I might need you guys after school or even into the night. My teacher said that we can get our equipment as soon as we're ready."
The hands of the clock said 5 and the group walked home. I thanked them and tucked the papers that contained their numbers into the safety of my pocket. Donnie left with Ronald and Sean. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and went on his way.
Bayley stayed for dinner and helped me finish the script. "I feel like it should end on a bittersweet note. You get me?"
I nodded slowly but stopped myself and shrugged. "Sort of, but not entirely."
"When he dies, I don't think it should be with the town. He should get really old and ill when 3 people die in a fire."
"Hmm, so that way there's people to remember him still?" I asked. She nodded.
I sat and thought for a moment exactly how to end it. I wondered who should I put in the last scene and how I should put the words together precisely so it ended on the perfect note.
"What if," I burst excitedly. "It shows his mom, younger looking, but perhaps in her late 60's. She could be looking out the window as she finds out her son dies. She gets the call because he's like... in intensive care at a hospital or something. She breaks down crying. The sound from the video fades out and maybe some light piano trails in. She says to whoever had handed her the phone that her son was special. 'I only wish I could've been like him. Dying with a cause, I mean. He helped everyone in this town. He didn't have a long life like he should've... but he made a difference, you know? He lived 17 years and now he's gone. I outlived him, but what have I ever done for this town? I wish he could've lived on. He always put a smile on people's faces. I think that's the greatest gift anyone could've ever given.'"
I took a breath and thought for another second. "Then the camera could pan a little past her face and out the window. It'll zoom in on the road and show a young Greg walking in the shadows like a memory, then it'll fade to black."
"Wow. I'm so glad you're letting me be the other camera person. Let's find some old people!" She laughed.
"Alright!" I declared. Until dinner was ready, we made a list of some older neighbors that might lend us some help. "We could ask around after dinner or maybe tomorrow."