BAD ACTING

DEVIL

        Matt needed help with one of his photography class assignments.

        "The Devil is behind the wheel, while I sit the passenger seat," Matt said, describing his vision.

        Tyler, Leah's next door neighbor agreed to be the Devil.

        The evening started at Andrews's efficiency studio in Brentwood where Matt planned to paint Tyler's body and face bright red and attach horns on his head. Over fifteen people showed up at Andrews because we had plans after. Crammed in Andrews apartment we waited. Everybody drinking, smoking and fooling around. Three hours passed. Matt was still not finished body painting Tyler.

        We all became annoyed and confused as to how this could be taking so long. Matt finally finished Tyler's makeup and he told us the plan.

        "We're going to drive two cars to the freeway and then pull over on the side to get the photo."

        Everybody started arguing.

        Chaos.

        An hour later we all squeezed into two cars and pulled over to the side of the freeway. I sat in the second car waiting for them to get the shot. Nobody wanted to be there and the energy buzzed electric. They got some shots, but Matt needed more....so the shoot continued. We waited on the side of the freeway wanting to be anywhere but there.

        An hour later Andrew, the most pissed about the whole thing, got out of his car and started arguing with Matt. They yelled back and forth as cars whizzed by us. After twenty minutes of yelling, Andrew jumped back in his Range Rover, and we drove away.

*

        A week later I stopped by the offices at DIZ to read for Travis. I read the first scene and it felt solid.

        "Great! Really good." Travis asked to move on to the second scene.

        In the middle of the second scene, I watched Travis unzip his pants and drop them around his ankles. His dick hard in his hand. Travis smiled at me like a child with candy. Surprised, I laughed awkwardly and left. On my drive back home my hands started shaking. I laughed. Then I felt tears but they never came. I felt so many contradicting emotions. My whole face started to ache like being squeezed in a vice. My heart numb in my chest.

        At home, I smoked weed until everything melted away.

        The next day I told Leah.

        "Is that the first time someone showed you their cock at an audition?" she asked, surprised. "Get used to it."