The Dreamer

Maddie spent the whole night tossing and turning on her bed. All she saw was the scene between her and Kyle. Even though Kyle had acted really cool and collected from the event but she couldn’t push it away. She was just too bothered by it. They had the dinner as he said and it was pleasant. They joked and talked and laughed like before. But Maddie couldn’t help but felt a part of Kyle was somewhat hesitant to talk like he used to. Right after the dinner, he had sent her home and she had thanked him politely for showing her around and paying for dinner. As awkwardly as possible, she smiled and got out of the passenger seat of the car and made her way back into the house without turning back even once.

First she was relieved the day had finally ended but as she lied on her bed underneath the comforts of her blanket, she then realized how the night’s event would haunt her until… she wasn’t even certain what it would take to forget what happened. She tried to analyze whether she had any other feelings towards Kyle or whether she had been sending off the wrong signal to him. The more she thought the more confused she was.

It was till she had a disc of FRIENDS, season 5 inserted into her laptop and played it did she finally get the matter off her mind and fell asleep eventually.

The next morning, she woke up to Joanne standing beside her bed, a concern look plastered on her face. Maddie squinted her tired eyes at her friend for an answer as she sat up from her bed, stretching her stiff muscles.

“Yes?”

“My parents are here and we are going out for lunch. Do you want to come?” Joanne asked, combing Maddie’s messy hair away from her forehead. Maddie stifled a yawn and rubbed her eyes. She glanced towards the clock beside her bed – twelve-twenty-four. She returned her gaze to Joanne who was already dressed.

Maddie shook her head. “Nah. I’ll take a rain check. I’m going to stay at home today and maybe write,” she replied. Joanne eyed her friend suspiciously but didn’t push her to change her mind. “Do you want me to get you something from outside?” Joanne asked. “Pizza?” she asked suggestively.

Joanne knew her all too well, pizza was an absolute favorite and she knew Maddie could never resist the temptation. Maddie contemplated for a second. “It’s alright. I’ll just order delivery,” she said. “You go and have fun with your parents.”

Joanne smiled. “Okay. Just call or text me if you need anything, alright?”

Maddie nodded and watched Joanne left her room with a soft thud from the shut door. Maddie fell backwards onto her pillow again and wrapped her arms around it, hugging it tightly. The comfort of her fluffy pillow and warm comforter kept her in bed for another hour before she sprang up from a nightmare.

She felt the fear pounding in her heart. Apprehensive, she got out of bed, tidied it and stumbled into the bathroom. She took a long hot shower and when it was over, the unknown fear from the forgotten nightmare had already faded into thin air. Her stomach growled and she recalled the conversation she had with Joanne earlier on and decided to act accordingly. She called for a delivery for pizza and while waiting, she stuck the memory card of her camera into her laptop, transferring the files into her computer.

She browsed through the collection and deleted the unwanted ones and just as she was about to select a few to be put onto the Interweb, her lunch had arrived. Excited, she ran down the stairs with her purse and paid the delivery boy, nearly snatched the box from his grasp and ran back up the flight of stairs with a can of Coca-Cola.

The smell of the hot pepperoni pizza wafted in her room as she opened the box to unveil a medium sized pizza. She tore a slice from the portion, blowing it a few times before she took a bite from it. She was halfway through the pizza when the satisfaction kicked in. But as happy as she could be, the photographs of the Hollywood Sign came into view and memories from last night came rushing back to her mind.

She let out a sigh of defeat and gulped down the can of soda. She picked up her mobile phone and browsed through her list of contacts. She wanted to call Kyle and apologize again but another part of her stopped her from doing so. She knew it would only make matters worse if she brought up the moment again to Kyle. It was embarrassing enough to be rejected; if she brought it up to him… it would only remind him of it.

Defeated, Maddie took out her collection of movies and decided to watch Love Actually. She needed to laugh and she needed to cry. Hours later, after recuperating from the film, she turned her glance to the time and realized it was about four o’clock. Bored out of her mind, she got dressed, with her camera packed in her bag and slung it over her shoulder; she made her way out of the house.

She took the bus and rode until it stopped in front of an area she had never been to or seen. The scenery was painted with only green and blue. There was no sight of any skyscrapers or signs of a bustling city. Contented she had found such a beautiful place in LA, she got out of the bus and watched it sped off the road. She shifted the bag on her shoulder and with the sudden surge of inspiration; she grabbed her camera and began snapping pictures of the park.

Hills surrounded her as she made her way down the paved road which was built around a reservoir or lake of some sort. Trees and shrubs decorated the sides. There were families and couples and even bikers. Some were having picnics while others were only there to enjoy the environment. Glad to be away from the city, Maddie found herself lost in the exploration. It was only until she noticed the yellowish tinge in the sky did she realized it was almost sunset.

Five-fifty. She kept her camera back inside her bag and sat on an empty bench which was facing the view of the vast blue lake. It was paradise. It reminded her of the time when Simba first saw the place where Timon and Pumba lived in Lion King. A smile crept to her face as she watched the view before her, enjoying the silence and the smell of fresh grass.

Living in a hectic world had robbed her of the simple appreciation of drawing in a deep breath, holding it in and exhaling it and felt all the weight on her shoulders disappeared. It had been a long time since she felt at ease with the environment she was in. Hollywood was what some had speculated it to be. It was all about facial value. The way you presented yourself was the way people would perceive you. Hence, for the first time in Maddie’s life she was forced to be someone she was not for almost 24 hours each day, seven days a week. Her ambition… her career had robbed her of the simplicity she had before.

No matter how many times she had to remind herself, no matter how many times she had read the Tao of Pooh, nothing seem to be as easy or simple as it used to be. Maddie let out the breath she had been holding and closed her eyes as she leaned back on the wooden bench. She listened to the sound of the light summer breeze that made the leaves and grass rustled softly, the sound of the birds chirping, the sound of the water gently moving and ignored those which involved human civilization.

She cleared her mind and waited for her thoughts to quiet down and listened to the stillness of her mind. She had forgotten how quiet it could be inside. It wasn’t necessary to make it as crazy as the city but that was always the way she had remembered her mind to be.

“Madison?”

Maddie’s eyes flickered opened as the somewhat familiar male voice rung in her ears and mind. A face came into view as she adjusted to the brightness of her surroundings. A stubble, a Kawasaki baseball cap, the thick eyebrows, an indescribable grin and the smell of cigarettes wafted in the air around her.

“Shia?!”

The actor chuckled and sat on the empty space beside her. He was wearing a black t-shirt today with a pair of washed-out jeans and Nike sneakers. His right hand was holding onto a rolled what-seemed-to-be script. A bicycle was leaning against the side of the bench they were sitting on. Maddie straightened her yellow t-shirt and turned to face the person beside her.

“Hello!” he chimed, this time flashing his pearly whites.

“Er…” Maddie ran her hand through her shoulder-length hair. “Hi?”

“How are you?” Shia asked. “First time seeing you outside the bookstore,” he commented. Maddie chuckled and nodded. “Had the weekend off and I’m fine. You?”

“I’m feeling great. Don’t you just love this place?” he asked, gesturing to the view before them. “It’s one of the only place in LA I could still keep my privacy and don’t have to be worried about having photographs taken of me picking my nose or something.”

Maddie laughed and rolled her eyes. “Is it really that bad?” she asked.

Shia shrugged and crossed his leg. “It depends on my mood I guess you can say. Sometimes it feels pretty insane to be living a life like this. Being followed everywhere you go. Being monitored all the time. But sometimes it feels kind of great to know people know who you are and that they care enough to want to know what you’re up to,” he said, drawing in a deep breath and exhaling it loudly. “But that's life. What’re you going to do?”

Maddie smiled and felt a sudden wave of pity over the actor. She shook her head. “So… you’re here to escape the crazy city life?”

Shia nodded. “It’s a great place to read and analyze stuff.” Maddie pointed towards the script. “You mean that?” Shia nodded again.

“Do you mind me asking what movie is it?” she asked as curiosity rang its bell. Shia shifted his eyes and looked around the empty pathway. All there was were the flora and fauna around them. He leaned closer to Maddie. “You promise you’re not going to tell anyone about it?” Shia whispered. Maddie felt a chill ran down her spine at the sudden husky tone of voice but she managed to nod.

Shia unrolled the script in his grasp and showed her the first page. Wall Street 2. Maddie knew the film. Oliver Stone was set to direct the sequel. She heard that Michael Douglas was to reprise his role. Unable to hide her excitement she let out a gasp. “Oh my God,” she was about to take the script from Shia’s grip when he snatched it away.

“Nuh-uh,” he shook his head. “I took an oath to keep this script away from the public. No leaks,” he insisted even after Maddie frowned. “It’s Oliver Stone and I’m not taking the risk of screwing anything up.”

Maddie watched him rolled the script and pocketed it. Her eyes lingered on the white pages and wondered what was printed on those pages. But she knew Shia was right. It was the responsibility of the actors involved in the production to keep any news about the film away from the public and especially the press.

“You’re a photographer?” Shia asked suddenly, diverting her attention from the script as he pointed at her bag. Maddie snapped out of her thoughts. She hugged the bag closer. “Sort of.”

Shia raised an eyebrow. “Sort of?”

“Well… if you’re asking whether I’m a professional… I wouldn’t say I am. But whether I know how to work this thing?” she patted the bag. “Yes.”

“Then, you’re a photographer,” Shia answered simply, intrigued. “I can’t seem to pinpoint my finger on you, Madison Lim.” Maddie was shocked at the fact that not only Shia could remember her name but her full name but she tried her best to conceal the fact from him.

“You work in a small book store in Hollywood. You seem to be the philosophical type. You’re a photographer. You’re probably interested in films. But you don’t seem to be the type who wants to be an actress or model. And you don’t sound like you’re from around here,” Shia concluded.

Maddie sensed her self-preservation wall went up as she got up from the bench immediately. She glanced around quickly. “Erm… I… I…”

Shia got up immediately. “Hey, hey, hey! There’s no need to runaway now. You seem like an interesting person and I just want to be your friend,” he said. “That is if you don’t mind.”

Maddie studied him, she wondered why. Why did Shia, an A-list Hollywood actor wanted to be her friend? So, without any hesitating, she asked, “Why?”

“Why… I want to be your friend?” Shia asked. Maddie nodded, her grip still tightened around the straps of the bag. Shia scratched his left eyebrow with the back of his hand. “You need a reason to be someone’s friend?”

Maddie shook her head defensively. “No! That’s not what I meant! It’s just… I…” she sighed at what she was about to say. She knew Shia was going to think she was naïve. “You’re an actor. A pretty darn famous one too. We’ve only met twice and that’s only because I work in a book store you coincidentally walked in and bought a book. I’m a total stranger and you aren’t afraid that I might turn into a stalker or some spy for the paparazzi?”

A silent pause hung in the air between them for a few seconds before Shia started laughing. Maddie felt it was like déjà vu as she watched the scene unfolded. “Uh-huh…” she rolled her eyes and began walking back on the path where she came from.

“No, no, no! Come on, Madison,” Shia called out after her, breathless. He caught her arm and spun her around. “I didn’t mean to laugh at you. It’s just hearing what you said back there… I… I don’t even know what to think about this industry anymore. Is it so hard to accept the fact that I’m just an ordinary 23 year old guy? So, maybe my profession is slightly different from that of a waiter or an engineer but I’m just a person in this world with a job. And I met this interesting girl whom I want to be friends with, is that so hard to understand?”

Maddie listened to what he said and knew he was right. She tugged at her arm and Shia let her go. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “It’s just… hard to believe.”

Shia chuckled and heaved a sigh. “So… can we sit down and continue our conversation then?” he asked, flashing a lopsided grin.