Summer to Winter

Chapter Two

Syden was now 32. Eric's show had been cancelled and a new kid's show about a talking dog had taken over the stage. Adam's show had taken him to NYC and Sy was back full circle to same spot her strange career path had taken her. She looked back at all the strange things and wonderful moments she had experienced and wondered what new adventures were ahead of her.

She hadn't been on that lot in years but walked the familiar paths like she never left. It was massive like a college campus but felt like home to her. Her journey continued from the parking structure to the production offices, pausing at the Berlin Wall art piece. Walking past the commissary where she spent many lunch hours and chuckled as she passed the line of tourists waiting to take a photo on the "Friends" couch. Making her way through a jungle to a row of buildings in a neighborhood that looked like she stepped into Pleasantville; heading straight to a white colonial style house with a red door. She wasn't given any details about her new assignment, only that she would have to take care of the four main actors for six months in LA and possibly travel to London for the remaining four months of production. She had only ever taken care of Adam, who wasn't always the easiest person to deal with, but at least it was only one person. The thought of assisting multiple needy people hurt her brain a little.

"Hi, I'm Syden. Here to meet Brian." She smiled to the office production assistant who was stuck at the front desk. He gruffly replied without looking up from his laptop, "Down the hall. Look for the sign on the door." Following his directions, she made a mental note not to ask that kid for anything or it would for sure be forgotten out of spite. She heard a voice from the office and knocked softly on the wall before turning the corner through the door. Brian was on the phone but waved her inside as she heard him say "Your girl is here! You should have bet me on how early she would be... you would've won! Yeah, of course. I'll let her know. Thanks again, man. Appreciate it!"

Brian was a large jovial man in his late 50's with an easy smile and loved dad jokes. It was a stark contrast to the grumpy, scrunched up faces that she was used to seeing on producers. She hoped that didn't change for the duration of the shoot, especially if she ended up travelling to London. "Adam says hi and to call him after I've abused you today!" he bellowed. His voice reminded her of what she thought Santa would sound like if he was real. He continued "Knowing how much crap he put you through in five years, this gig will be a piece of cake."

She giggled, "He's just a big teddy bear, sir. Wasn't a pain at all."

Realistically, Adam put her through a lot of seemingly unattainable requests and weird demands at the beginning of their work relationship. Over time he took over the Dad role in her life that she appreciated more than he would ever know. Her real father was nonexistent, and her stepfather was around, but horrible. This meant she spent most of her free time at Eric's and when graduation day came, she moved out of her Mom's house and into Eric's basement until it was time to move into the dorms for the fall semester of college.

Adam was only ten years older than Sy but was almost immediately protective of her. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Eric was her best friend, or maybe it was because compared to his 6'4" 200lb frame, her barely 5' 135lb squatty body was diminutive. Sy used to joke that the height difference made it looked like he was kidnapping her whenever they walked to set. She was very grateful for his protective nature over her, especially because it shielded her from a lot of the #MeToo scenarios that plagued many other young women in the industry.

Brian continued to talk about what his expectations were and how important it was that she keep all four actors happy. "I know that you are used to being attached at the hip with your boss, but since you will technically have four of them, we all understand that you won't be with them at all times. Besides, they are grown adults!" He chuckled. "You will only be responsible for their needs during the shooting day, but if they have any extra needs that require you to work for them outside of those parameters, you are more than welcome to decline or accept on you own and they'll be responsible for paying you out of pocket. Does that sound good to you? Obviously, if all goes well and everyone including yourself agree to it, you'll have the option to travel to London."

Four neurotic and needy actors may be overwhelming, but at least she was only required to deal with them five days a week. She smiled "No problem. Tell me more about each actor."

"Number 1 is Henry, he already has his own personal assistant, so you probably won't have to do much for that guy. There could be the occasional ask, but it will only be when his assistant is busy. The most annoying thing might be to take his dog out every now and then if he's stuck on set. You like dogs, right?"

She LOVED dogs... usually more than people. Smiling softly, "Mine passed away last November. I'm still a little heartbroken, so it would be nice to get some puppy kisses again."

Brian laughed, "Perfect!! You'll love him, he's a giant bear of a dog!" He took a gulp of his coffee and continued, "Number 2 is Amy, she also has her own assistant and will be just as easy as Henry. Out of the four of them, she will probably be the easiest and most self-sufficient. She will have her daughter on occasion, but you won't have to baby-sit. She has a nanny for that too.

Number 3 is Laurence. He doesn't have an assistant, so you may have to do the most for him. He's pretty low maintenance though, the most that you may have to do with him is run lines... you're comfortable running lines, right? If not, you're going to learn!"

Running lines was a regular occurrence with Adam, since his role is dialogue heavy. It made her wonder just how much one person could retain in one sitting. "I'm totally comfortable, just don't expect me to do any accents." She laughed.

Brian leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath, "Number 4 is a new actress named Sarah somethingorother. I'll remember it eventually... she's never had an assistant before, and brand new to the business. I haven't had that many interactions with her yet, but she already rubs me the wrong way. Makes me wonder how she landed this gig. Let me know if she has any weird requests or if any of them treat you badly. That isn't why I hired you and I will take you away from them the moment any or all of them act up. You hear me?" Adam must have given him a lecture too. It was a nice to have someone else looking out for her. Brian stood up and said "Well. That's about all I got about the talent. Wanna take a look at the stages and trailers before doing all of your paperwork crap?"

She smirked and followed him out of his office, passing the grumpy kid at the front desk. "Bye! See you soon!" His frowny face made her decide to kill him with kindness. If she got the kid to smile once in six months, she would consider it a win.

Brian muttered "Don't even bother with that kid. His mom is making him work over the summer to pay for a car accident he had a few months ago." Well that explained it. She felt a little bad for him and was more determined to get him to crack a smile at least once before he left.