The Sackler Brain

Dirk Waters was picking on a guest again. Rey snatched her headphones off and signaled Freddie Washington in the booth. Freddie shook his head.

It wasn't just the interview itself. Dirk often made fun of guests—most guests were good sports and handled it fine. Sometimes Dirk asked pointed questions, sometimes he made jokes at a guest's expense, laughing about something they did not want to discuss on the air. It wasn't nice but it kept listeners interested.

This time, with this particular guest, Dirk probed a very sore spot. It was the one thing that was strictly off limits. And Dirk was going to do it.

Rey walked out. She couldn't watch. Shit, she might lose her internship on the show, but she didn't care. It was awful.

Adam Sackler was a rising star in Hollywood. He'd starred in the biggest franchise movies that Disney offered, the saga. He had been chosen to play Kylo Ren, the brooding supreme leader of Skykiller, without so much as an audition. Adam also starred in two other films that just debuted in the last two months. He was in the middle of intense press tours for all three movies.

Adam looked tired when he came into the little podcast studio. He was very tall and intimidating—he was scowling and stressed. He exuded an incredible amount of nervous energy. He walked in quickly by himself, his assistant struggling to keep up. She talked to him for a moment and then left.

"Would you like some coffee?" Rey asked. He turned around so quickly at the sound of her voice, she thought he might spin.

"Yeeeessss, yes," he said, staring around the room and then letting his eyes settle on her. "What? Oh, coffee. Yes. I would. You know, like some. Thanks, doll."

Rey brought him some coffee, though she thought maybe he had drunk too much already. He was making a fist at his side, over and over, banging it against his leg. Then he twisted his fingers together. He took the Styrofoam cup from Rey's small hands in his huge ones. They made the cup look tiny. He pursed his full lips to take a small sip.

"Is it okay?" Rey asked.

"It's good," Adam said. "Or, well, it's okay, thanks, thanks." He took another sip. He had finally taken a seat in a chair that was too small for him. He crossed one foot over the other, then back. He shifted uncomfortably in the chair.

Rey watched Adam closely to see if he wanted anything else. He seemed to settle in with his phone, so she left him in the green room.

He would go on the air for the podcast interview soon.

The Dirk Waters show was very popular with a young crowd. A lot of dudebros who were into the StarGalatic saga listened and laughed at Dirk's antics. Adam's interview would draw a huge, nationwide crowd of listeners.

Rey overheard Dirk talking about the interview questions after she got Adam settled.

"So, we can't ask him to listen to the song he sang in Weddings?" Dirk's voice rose. "Why not? We're going to play a snip. What's he going to do?"

"He can turn off his headphones," Freddie said.

"God save me from divas," Dirk said. "What's the problem?"

Rey spoke up. "Adam Sackler doesn't watch himself in his own films. It messes up his process." She'd read that about him in preparation for the podcast.

"This isn't a movie." Dirk slapped the interview questions down on the desk. "This is just him singing. We can't show a clip of the movie on this podcast. All we have are sounds. Jesus, what is wrong with this guy?"