The Strong Silent Type (Kevin Costner fanfiction)

Cecilia Freel

Cecilia Freel squealed with inanimate joy as she held the payphone to her ear.

The excitement is warranted: She just scored her first role as an unnamed and uncredited extra in a major studio film. She didn't really know which one, but she knew it was a real movie. Not those low budget self-referential experimental college shorts her friends at USC were always pushing her to get into.

Her roommate, Jennifer, stood eagerly nearby with a smile in her eyes.

"It's not much but it's a start." Cecilia said as she hung up the phone. "They're shooting the scene Monday."

"Girl, I'm so proud of you. Maybe this is a way for you to get your foot in the door, you know?" Jennifer replied as they began walking.

"I'm hopeful," Cecilia nodded, "I really am, okay? But I really hate how you gotta subject yourself to the fantasies of some lowlife sleazy fat hairy slimeball executive to get ahead in this nothing town."

"You slept with someone for the part?" Jennifer gasped. "You told me you were a virgin!"

"No! But I'm starting to consider it." Cecilia admitted.

Though she was happy, she wasn't entirely sure what this news meant for her future career. She felt the unease of that daunting uncertainty, and it sunk into her state of mind at an exponential rate with each passing minute after the phone call.

She had been waiting for this moment for months, but now that it was here, she felt somehow burdened by the initial elation, that it may fade with time and wisdom. She understood, as all precious things are once attained, the inheritance of future loss.

"You're way too good to fuck your way up to the top, Ceel."

An overwhelming feeling washed over Cecilia's mind like a spilling tide for a quick lapse of a moment.

"But maybe I'm not, though! Maybe that's exactly what I need to do, Jen. Maybe true genius is getting what you want and having fun doing it, and the whores and sluts and nepotists of the world are right." Cecilia exclaimed.

"Oh calm down, you're only 20 for god's sakes!" Jennifer scoffed.

"I'm just saying, I think I might sell my virginity to a lonely foreign business man for 2.5 million and call it a fuckin' day. LA is killing me."

"Damn, if I was you I would," Jennifer laughed. "but I got my cherry popped at 15 by some crater faced loser who was really into Sublime."

Cecilia chuckled at that while she looked down at her Birkenstocks. A moment of silence passed.

"Hey, you wanna check out that new cafe on Hyperion?" Jennifer asked, giving Cecilia a friendly hip bump.

"Alright."