Powering Through: A Sequel to Learning To Swim For Real

Chapter 7: Not Called "Show Art"

"What?"

Kelsey didn't remember having risen to her feet, but she must have, because now everyone was looking up at her, startled at how loud her voice was.

Robin King, the director, Al Cohn, the assistant director, and their assistants were staring at her, looking uncomfortable, but not too surprised, Kelsey noticed.

They were in Robin's office at the studio, where she'd been called for a "little meeting" before shooting that day. Kelsey had no idea what it was about, but assumed it was something to do with the pool scenes, which were coming up the following week. Obviously they couldn't use the actual Olympic venue in Rio, especially given its current conditions. There had been no maintenance since the summer games, and it was a rust and algae filled mess. The nearest covered pool that could substitute was in Pasadena, which was where they'd be filming.

Robin and Al exchanged glances before the director looked back at Kelsey. Her look wasn't without sympathy.

"I'm sorry, Kels, but this was a business decision, pure and simple." She shrugged. "It came from upstairs." She gestured to the chair. "Come on, kid, sit down."

"You don't want me to swim?"Kelsey kept her voice down with difficulty, and took her seat. "But it's a movie about fucking swimming! I mean, how's that going to work?"

Al took over the talking. "They got permission from the IOC to use some stock footage from the games," he said. Robin and Al's assistants, Cami and Travis, looked nervous and embarrassed, like they wished they were anywhere but here.

"Right, I get that, but what about for the close ups, for the starts and finishes and things?" Kelsey stared back and forth between Al and Robin, who looked back at her impassively. "I spent the entire fucking summer preparing for this! I hired a coach and spent six hours a day in a pool learning to swim, you guys know that, right?"

"Yes, and you look phenomenal as a result," Robin said. "You look like a legit swimmer, so that was money well spent, no matter what, don't you think?" She nodded encouragingly at Kelsey. "It's like having a college education or whatever, it's knowledge, a skill you have, a benefit to your body, and no one can ever take it away from you--"

"Oh, spare me the condescending platitudes, please!" Kelsey retorted. "I worked my ass off for months--" she broke off as a new thought occurred to her. "How long have you known?"

Again, Robin and Al exchanged glances.

"No," Kelsey said. "Are you fucking kidding me? Have you known since the beginning? And you let me spend my entire summer exhausted and smelling like chlorine? Why?"

"We didn't think you'd take the part," Al admitted. "Ray said you were looking for something really serious, a challenge, so people would stop looking at you as a sex kitten or whatever. But the producers really wanted you, and they said to do whatever we had to do to make it happen."

"It's happened to the best actors," Robin was saying. "I mean, it happened to Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, for Christ's sake! She worked on her singing so hard, then found out that she was dubbed over by Marni Nixon! And I don't think Audrey even found out until it was over."

"She knew," Kelsey said, her voice soft.

"What?" Robin leaned forward.

"Audrey Hepburn. She found out on set. She walked out, but came back the next day and apologized to everyone. She was a class act," Kelsey clarified.

"So, there you go," Al said. He took a sip of his latte.

"And Jennifer Bealls with her dancing in Flashdance," Robin added.