Just a Minute Too Late

The cool, California breeze rustled pages of my textbook, causing me to remove my hand from my face and move it to hold the pages down. I scribbled down the things I needed to remember in my tearing spiral, swapping my pen color every time a subject change occurred. I had just placed my purple pen down, when someone bumped into my table, sending half of my books to the ground and nearly spilling my coffee.

“Watch it,” I snapped, barely saving my notes and phone from my coffee.

“I’m sorry, I was in a hurry,” I heard a voice say from next to me, “Ah, and you’re an acting student.”

“Yeah, and if you want to tell me it’s a waste of time, save your breath,” I said looking up into his brown eyes.

“I was just going to say that I had the same books in my senior year for the same purpose,” he said leaning down and grabbing them.

I let my mouth fall into an ‘o’ shape, and felt a small blush creeping up my neck. I cast my eyes away from his, noticing my books were nicely stacked where they had been originally, and his hand rest on top of them.

“Sorry, I just got used to people bagging me about it,” I said looking up at him.

“No worries, I got the same. Although I imagine it comes a lot more in LA than it does in Ann Arbor,” he said with a crooked smile, “I’m Joey, by the way.”

“Caroline,” I said with a smile, “And did the bright lights and hopes of Hollywood pull you in as well?”

“That and my best friend from college moved out here for a role and needed a roommate,” he said shrugging nonchalantly.

Our conversation continued on, mainly talking about college, and I forgot about the notes that I needed to take. He was in the middle of telling me about his favorite role, when my phone started blaring the obnoxious ringtone I had set specifically for my boss. My eyes widened, noticing I was supposed to be at work almost ten minutes ago, and I started shoving my books into my bag, ignoring the look I was getting from Joey.

“Ryan, I’m sorry, I’ll be there in five minutes, I promise,” I said cutting off his yelling and hanging up, “Joey, it was really nice meeting you, good luck on auditions and everything.”

I shot him a wave over my shoulder, and practically sprinted down the street so I could get to the location of the shoot as quick as possible. I showed security my ID, letting them know I wasn’t another fan trying to sneak onto the set, threw my bag down by one of the other assistants, and dashed towards Ryan who was already glaring at me from a distance.

“You’re lucky you’re such a good assistant or I would fire your ass,” he said shoving over my clipboard and pen.

I stood back and watched Ryan direct, throwing down notes on the script as he ordered, and making notes of things he wanted changed. I watched the cast with envy, wishing I would have been lucky enough to land one of the roles. I shook the thoughts from mind, and got back to being at Ryan’s beckoned call. The phone he made me keep on my hip started ringing, and he called a ten minute break so he could take care of it.

I walked back to my bag, checking my own phone, and replied quickly to my roommate letting her know I would be home for dinner. I stood up, just as Lea walked over, and we began shooting the breeze. I had easily became friends with most of the cast, seeing as we were all around the same age and shared a lot of interests. Darren soon joined us, and before I knew it Ryan was calling us back to set so we could finish shooting.

After what felt like hours, which in reality had only been two and a half, Ryan called a wrap on the scenes, meaning my day was nearly over. He called the cast over for a brief meeting, and I handed over the clipboard of notes I had taken during the shoot. He told us we would have the day off tomorrow, something that made me almost jump in excitement and that we’d return to shooting on Thursday. When he was done, everyone flitted off to do their own thing, and I was told to stay back so he could give me a ‘talk’ on why it’s important not to be late. I listened, nodding and responding when it was needed, and skipped over to my bag so I could walk the short distance to my apartment.

“I made you a plate and put it in the microwave,” my roommate, Trista said as I opened the door, “I was going to wait, but I got really hungry.”

“Thanks love,” I said with a laugh, “Oh, and also, the girls invited me out for drinks on Friday after shooting if you want to tag along. They said to bring a friend.”

“I have nothing else planned, so I’ll go,” she said lazily flipping through the channels, “What time do you shoot tomorrow?”

“Day off,” I said grabbing the plate of macaroni and cheese from the microwave, “I plan on doing nothing except reading tomorrow.”

“I hate you,” she said with a fake glare, “I have two tests, and then have the late shift at the diner. You’ll be alone all day.”

I just gave her my sympathy, and ate quickly before trotting to my bedroom to get ready for bed and do some studying. I changed out of my jeans and button up, replacing them with leggings and an oversized CHEERS shirt, before grabbing my bag and dumping its contents onto my bed. I grabbed the book I had been taking notes from before Joey had interrupted me, and opened it to the right chapter so I could continue. I was about halfway down the page, and reaching for my orange pen, when I noticed it wasn’t in its correct spot. I sifted through my bag, coming up empty, and groaned, knowing I couldn’t keep going without it.

“Looks like I’m making a stop at Wal-Greens tomorrow,” I said under my breath in a huff as I put stuff back into my bag before deciding to head to sleep.