Survivin' - [B.C.]

Chapter 41: Multiverse of Madness

They did not look mangled, nor damaged, nor disfigured.

They were beautiful.

========= SURVIVIN' =========

Vigorous shaking and urgent mutters from beyond my closed eyelids was what woke me up. With a bothersome groan, I promptly turned over, burying myself deeper beneath blankets and pillows. Those were pulled off of me, though, and I let out a loud and prolonged growl in response. That was only met with surprised giggles.

"Cal, you must wake up, love." The sound was distorted and far-away and I couldn't really make out who was speaking to me.

"Give me one good reason..." I muttered into the mattress.

"The premiere is today!"

It took a short moment of processing before I suddenly shot upright in the bed, scrambling around the messy sheets for my phone. The fuzzy people at the end of the mattress slowly came into view as I put on my glasses. It was Ben and Sophie.

Well duh.

I grabbed my phone and checked the date.

Oh. Yeah. May 2nd.

OH. MAY 2ND.

I jumped out of bed and began rummaging through my suitcase for all of my jewelry and clothes. Sophie had to quite literally pick me up off of it. It was like I was a wolf gouging out my prey.

"Cal, slow down!" Sophie exclaimed, sitting me on the floor a few feet away from my luggage.

"You've got two hours," Ben added. "Just take a second to wake up before you go all crazy."

I sat there in almost ashamed silence. Ben remarked with a 'good' before he and Sophie went about making their afternoon plans. Then, they turned to me.

"Okay, game plan: we're gonna get to the theatre at least two-and-a-half hours before the premiere starts, because we've gotta do the walkthrough and stuff. Cal, I need you to pay very close attention to what I'm about to tell you, because this is gonna be your first time getting swamped by press and media. Are you listening?"

I nodded.

"Okay, good. Well, as we're doing the walkthrough, there are going to be a lot of people who want to take your pictures and ask you questions. I'll do my best to answer for you, if you'd like, but you're quite popular now and that might be a little bit hard. But when they are interviewing, there will be name tags on the little fences they're standing behind. Just answer to the best of your ability, and I trust that you have the common sense to know what and what not to say. There will also be fans who will want pictures and autographs — and yes, that does include you, given the headlines we've been making lately. Have you got all this so far?"

I nodded again.

"Lovely. After we walk the carpet — I trust you have a good outfit — me, you, Sophie, and other cast members, crew, staff, press, producers, other celebrities, and even some fans will go into the theatre to watch the movie. There will be complimentary refreshments, so go crazy. Before the movie starts, a few people might say a few words about the recording process and how much of a journey it was, and then the screening starts. Oh, yeah; there's assigned seating, but you don't have to worry about that part because we're usually grouped together. Anyway, after the movie and all of the praise and whatnot, we go to a catered reception at a local venue. I forget the name, now, but it doesn't matter. There will be lots of questions and pictures, photo ops, merchandise being sold, and just a bunch of other activities. But usually to avoid being swamped by the press, VIPs and big players with hands in the movies have their own area with slightly less attention. Listen to me clearly when I say this; wear comfortable shoes. There is going to be a lot of walking and a lot of standing still. Also — no phones during the screening for, I dunno, piracy reasons, so either don't bring your phone at all, or you'll have to lock it away when we get to that point. Now, are you ready?"