Let the Credits Start to Roll

“Look, Ms. Porter, I wish there was something I could do to help, but there just isn’t,” the man said, shuffling his papers on the desk between them. Right now, that desk was the only thing that was stopping me from jumping across the table and attacking him.

I hated bullshitters. It was one of my pet peeves. And I could smell the bullshit coming out of this guy’s mouth. If he really wanted to help me, he would. But no, now I was royally screwed. “Mr. Finnway, please. I work 18 hour shifts. It’s taken me this long to find time to come down here. Please don’t let it be in vain. I really need this extension. I’m so close to finishing my dream of being a doctor. If I don’t get this, they’ll kick me out of my elite program and I’ll never be a doctor.”

“Ms. Porter, can I call you Shay?” I nodded. “Shay, you’ve failed to pay your monthly quota for six months now. The bank has already given you three extensions. That’s the limit, I’m sorry.”

I sighed and crossed my hands on the desk, looking at him desperately. As much of a liar and a snake he was, the truth was I needed his help, badly. I had worked too hard to have it all taken away from me. Most of my life had been devoted to reaching this very goal. I couldn’t just let it be taken because of money. I had to do something. “Please Mr. Finnway, please can you do anything for me? Anything at all.”

He shook his head, a faint smile on his face. It was like he got pleasure out of this. It made me sick. “I’m sorry. As I’ve said, there’s nothing I can do at this point.”

I thanked him and left his office quickly, falling against the wall. I took deep breaths and counted backward from 10, trying to calm myself. It was a trick my dad had taught me when I was little. Counting back slowly took my worries away. By the time I got to 1, whatever it was that bothered me, whatever that caused me anxiety or worry, it was gone. It was put off to the back of my mind. It always worked, always. And once again, by the time I got to 1, I was calm.

I ran a hand through my hair and stood straight. I had to get to the hospital. Until they kicked me out, I had to get as much training as I could. And I had an 18 hour shift starting in half an hour. I was exhausted, but I knew, this was what I was meant to do. And I was going to figure out a way to keep it like that.

---

“Don’t they ever get tired of writing this bullshit?” I demanded, throwing the tabloid on Miley’s bed when I stormed into her room.

“Hi to you too, Nick,” she rolled her eyes at me. “How did you even get in?”

“Liam let me in on his way out,” I shrugged and sat down on her bed. “Seriously, Miles, you dealt with all this already. Please help me!” Sure Miley and I had had our differences in the past what with all the going out and breaking up and going out again and writing songs about each other and breaking up again thing, but ever since she started dating Liam, we had really connected again, strictly as friends of course. And thank God too. I could not handle any more drama in my life.

She sighed and shook her head at me. “Look, I’m not going to pretend that I haven’t made my mistakes where the media is concerned, but Nick, you’re going too far.”

“I didn’t do anything!” I insisted.

“Demi was with your brother one day and then a week later you’re out with her? Then a week later you’re with Selena, and then your costar from JONAS, Nicole? Then Selena and Demi aren’t friends anymore? You’ve become the bad boy of the press. They’re not going to stop till you change completely, and even then, they’ll always pick at every small thing you do.”

I hadn’t meant to be such a man whore. It was just – I hadn’t found the right girl yet. Sure, Demi, Selena, and Nicole were all nice, but in the end, they weren’t right for me. I couldn’t help that! “Okay so what should I do now?”

“Hope for someone else to have an even bigger scandal than you?” she suggested, smiling sweetly.

“Think you could have some more crude pictures leaked to the press?” I smirked.

She rolled her eyes and tossed her pillow at me.

“You know I’m kidding, Miles. Look, I can’t wait that long, okay? I need to do something now.”

She thought about it for a second. “Well you have to show them you’ve changed.”

“How?”

She groaned. “God, Nicholas, I don’t know, think maybe? Look here’s what you do. You stay out of the public eye. Don’t give them any reason to say anything about you but to speculate where you have gone to. Then you need something big. Something that really shows them you’ve changed. A charity date auction or something. Do something to remind them of the sweet guy you are.”

I nodded and thought about what she said as I checked my phone for the time and stood. “I’ve got an appointment at the hospital so I’m going to get going. But thanks, Cyrus.”

“Any time, Jonas,” she smirked.

I left her house, still thinking about what she said. I needed something big to make them see the real me, but what? Damn, this was going to take a lot of thinking.