The Boy and the Bookstore

An alarm went off from a cell phone sitting on top of a college issued dresser. Charlie threw back the covers from his sheets and put his hands through his hair. Then he turned off his alarm. He got out of bed only wearing a pair of boxers and walked into his personal bathroom. The shower was already running but Charlie ignored it and starts to brush his teeth. A girl pulls back a part of the shower curtain revealing her face.

“Did you need to get in here?” A pretty Caucasian blonde asked.

“Yes, but with you in there no. That would make me late.”

“You’re going to smell like sex then.”

“I don’t have a problem with that. It’ll only attract more females my way. It’s a biological reaction.”

“You jerk.” The girl said with a playful attitude. “I’ll be done in five minutes. Do you think I can borrow a pair of clothes?”

“I just moved in a week ago. I don’t have anything really unpacked.”

“You liar. You have your clothes put away. You just don’t want me taking your clothes.” Charlie stopped to think of an excuse but realized she was right and didn’t feel like sugar coating it.

“Actually yeah. I don’t want you taking my clothes. I don’t know if I’ll get them back. I’m just looking to have fun this semester and if that continues with you that’s great. But if it doesn’t I won’t be broken up about it.” The girl laughed.

“Well at least you’re honest. I’m not really trying to get into a relationship either. I had one during high school and I just want to have fun and party for a while.” Charlie made an imaginary check mark in the air.

“Well looks like we have an understanding.” Charlie spit out his toothpaste and went back into his room and picked up the girls clothes off the floor. He went over to his bed and picked up her underwear. The girl had turned off the shower and was drying off as Charlie walked back in and handed her her clothes. At that moment Charlie’s dorm room door opened and Charlie walked out of the bathroom and shut the door.

“I just thought I’d stop by to make sure you were awake. We have a lot of freshman orientation stuff today and I can’t handle it without you.” A pale man with dark hair said wearing a red polo shirt and beige cargo shorts. Charlie smiled.

“Of course you can’t. Just give me a half hour and I’ll meet you at your room for some breakfast.”

“You have a girl in there don’t you?”

“I’m not going to lie I do.” Charlie said with a smile.

“One of the freshmen girls?”

“Are you going to rat me out if I say yes?” Charlie questioned. The guy laughed.

“Of course not. The only reason I signed up for this was to get a sneak peak of the incoming
freshman girls. Just make sure nobody finds out.”

“Please. Find out? This is the third girl this week.” Charlie said whispering. The two of them laughed.
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It was around nine in the morning and Sam was sprawled out on the back porch of a house sleeping in a lawn chair with his sun glasses on. A bottle of spiced rum was empty and laying sideways next to where he was sleeping. Sam had on a pair of orange sports shorts and no shirt on. He had a very dark tan. There was another man in the house he was staying at. It was a high class house with mirrors for walls leading to the porch where Sam was sleeping. He was squeezing oranges for fresh orange juice. The guy’s name was Pete Hershing. He had wavy brown hair, brown eyes, and stood around six feet tall. He was dressed in a white polo shirt and navy blue khaki shorts. Pete was Sam’s private investigator and was very effective behind a computer. They had met a few years back and soon became very good friends. Pete was a very secretive person and Sam always wanting to know every little detail led the two of them to a very cat and mouse relationship that somehow worked for the two of them. Each learned from the other. Pete walked outside hearing the waves from the ocean and sat down in the chair next to Sam still asleep. He noticed the empty liquor bottle next to his feet.

“Sam” Pete said loud enough to wake him up. Sam woke up and readjusted himself in the chair.

“Don’t yell. What do you want?”

“I’m going golfing to spy on this guy today. You want to go? I can find some clothes for you to wear. Pay you a little bit for coming along.”

“No thanks.” Sam muttered.

“Here drink this.” Pete said handing Sam the cup of orange juice. Sam didn’t reach for it and Pete put it down next to Sam’s chair. “If I come back here later and you’re still sitting out here smelling disgusting and drinking another bottle of rum I’m going to…”

“You’re going to what? Huh? I really don’t think you’re going to do shit.” Sam said interrupting Pete and getting angry.

“At least eat something or take a shower. We only have this timeshare for another few weeks.” Pete said getting up and going inside. Sam reached for the empty bottle of rum and grabbed it. He looked at the bottle seeing there was nothing left inside it and stood up and threw it towards the ocean. There was a collection of other bottles that were in the same area as well.
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Charlie was wearing a red polo and beige shorts, the same as all the other welcoming committee members, and was standing with the other dozen members while the school’s president gave a speech to the incoming freshman. Charlie wasn’t really paying attention to what the president was actually saying and instead was gazing the crowd for attractive females and trying to memorize the names he could see on their nametags. Charlie had grown up a lot over the summer and was continuing to gain even more confidence as the days went on. He had two summer flings and went and lived with one of his college friends at his beach house for a few weeks. He got a part time job parking cars downtown that his dad helped him get. It didn’t pay great but it allowed Charlie enough free spending money. It was just the kind of summer Charlie was expecting to have but now with one year of college under his belt he knew exactly what he had to do to maintain his grades while also having fun. He signed up as part of the welcoming committee for two reasons. The first was to put something on a resume that looked like he gave a crap and the second was to help move in attractive females and hope to find a couple he could go on a date with.

“Dibs.” Charlie whispered to his friend Jake who had the same reasoning as Charlie for being there. He was standing next to him.

“What’s her name?” He whispered back.

“It looks like ‘Lyndsey H’ on her name tag.”

“I have dibs on this brunette, ‘Katherine S’ on hers.”

“Can’t wait to get started” Charlie whispered back.
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Sam wandered into the house after he knew that Pete had left. He opened the fridge and smelled some leftovers. None of the food looked appetizing so he threw it all in the garbage. Sam was still wearing his sun glasses and his hair was sticking up all over the place. He scratched the beard he hadn’t shaved for several weeks. He finally just grabbed the carton of milk and started drinking it from the carton. He put it back in the fridge and then walked over to cabinet where the two of them were keeping all the liquor and wine bottles. He opened it and found there was nothing left. Sam continued to open every single cabinet in the house to see if Pete had moved the bottles just to tick him off but all the cabinets were empty other than the usual pots, pans, and silverware you would find in a typical house. Sam walked over to the home phone and was about to call Pete when he heard the front door open. He waited until he saw Pete in the hallway before he said anything.

“Where’s all the booze at? You hide it?”

“No you’ve drank it all. Look at your pile out on the beach.” Pete said a little angry.

“Why didn’t you buy more?” Sam asked confused.

“Because it’s usually gone by the time I want to drink it.”

“Well that’s a bit selfish now isn’t it?” Pete gave Sam a disgusted look. Sam took off his sun glasses and placed them on top of his head.

“We have bigger problems. I think I was made at the golf course.”

“Is he a government official or something?”

“No he’s just a banker. His wife thinks he’s having an affair.”

“Well of course he is.” Sam said without blinking.

“How do you figure that?”

“He’s a banker. He probably makes a good amount of money but that’s a boring job. He’s looking for excitement. If the wife is suspicious about it enough to pay you she’s obviously not putting out enough. You said he golfs so he’s obviously looking for ways to keep himself entertained. Unless maybe he’s gay and part of the affair is golfing with his gay lover.” Sam said scratching his groin region. Pete had a puzzled look in his face.

“I have seen this guy with him a lot lately. I didn’t even think to go the gay route.” Pete said to no one in particular. Sam picked up an apple and started to walk towards the TV. He took a bite of the apple and was obviously disinterested in what Pete was doing. Pete stood there for a moment analyzing the reactions of Sam. When Sam walked into the other room he followed him. Sam was watching the news.

“I need you to watch this guy.”

“No.”

“I didn’t even say where or when.”

“I’m not interested.”

“Look. We really need this paycheck. I know you have cash stored away somewhere when you need
it but you’ve been free loading off me for a while now.”

“What’s your point?” Sam said still disinterested.

“My point is I’m only in the Oceanside area for this job and if you want to get that apartment together we need this paycheck, or at least I need this paycheck to put a down payment on the place. Otherwise after this job I’m moving back in to my old place and renewing my lease.”

“So do your job. You don’t need me. You have way more disguises than I do. Just change up your looks a little.”

“It’s not that easy. I need you to interact with him.” Sam looked back at Pete to see if he was serious and he was. “You’re way better at acting and pretending to be someone you’re not.”

“Why are you this worried about this gig? Just tell the wife he’s not cheating and get paid. Who cares if he is or isn’t. If he’s careful don’t ruin his game.

“Kind of like you?”

“Hey I sleep with married women who come on to me. I stay out of their personal business and I don’t get caught.”

“See you guys will bond. You have things in common.”

“Allegedly. You have no proof on either of us.”

“I’ll pay you five hundred dollars if you do exactly what I need you to do. It’ll last one day. If you can complete it and get information out of this guy I won’t ask you to help out again.”

“I’m not interested.”

“I think you’re scared. You think you’ve lost your touch.” Sam again looked at Pete to read his body language. He was being serious. “You slipped up and got caught. You know they’re onto you and you’re afraid of going out in public. That’s why you spend all night drinking on the porch and only ever leave the house to go check out run down bars for girls. You’re miserable here and worst of all you’re stuck here. You think if you go out in public and make one false move they’re going to find you.”

“Oh yeah and what? You think they’re just going to give me a pass? That detective is pissed I pulled one on him and he’s not going to stop until he either finds some evidence on me to put me in jail or until he catches me and forces me to work for him for the rest of my life. The best course of action is to lay low until it turns into a cold case.”

“And what are you going to do in the meantime to survive? I can’t let you mooch off me forever. If you want to continue this you need to do this job for me. If you can help me with my work we can make this whole thing work.” Sam stood up and threw the remote into the couch.

“Fine! Fine! What do you need me to do?” Sam said angrily. Pete signed.

“You’re not going to like it. He’s not a banker. He’s a talent recruiter for movies.”

“And what’s your plan?”

“He’s inside this studio place most of the day and I can’t just get inside there. I need you to get in there and do a reading.”

“How are we supposed to get a reading? It’s not like either of us are actors and have some form of profile or connection to get in.”

“I’ve already taken care of getting a spot. Wait here.” Pete walked away and down the hall towards his bedroom. He came back with a black folder. “Meet your new identity.” Pete said handing the folder over to Sam. Sam opened the folder up. It had a social security card, a birth certificate, a driver’s license number, a bank account, and other small documents. He also found the movie script he needed to look at.

“How did you get this?” Sam asked shocked. “And why?”

“Because you need this. I can’t just let you rot away in here. I don’t care if you go out and start stealing cars but you need to do something with your life instead of just wasting away.” Sam looked at Pete in silence. “I highlighted the part of the script that you’re supposed to perform. In summary they’re looking for a brooding James Dean type of guy. It couldn’t be a better fit for you in your current state of mind.”

“Pete please tell me you didn’t go to ‘The Minister’ for these. I heard he was close to getting busted and cops were watching him now.”

“Yeah I had to go to him. I was careful and it’s legit. I owe him a favor and I’ll take care of it when he needs me to.” Pete walked away and grabbed a Pepsi from the fridge. “You’ll like the scene you get to perform. You get to act with a chick. Better perfect your character because this happens tomorrow” Pete yelled from the other room. Sam sat back on the couch and looked through the script.
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The next morning Sam woke up early and shaved the beard he had grown down to stubble. He had Pete trim his hair so it no longer went over his ears and on his neck. He put a little gel in his hair and wore a plain black shirt, black sun glasses, and faded jeans. Sam did his best to try and feel like an actor as well as appear as one. On the way to the studio he stopped by the gas station and picked up a coffee and a pack of cigarette. Pete drove him to the Hollywood area and dropped him off outside of the studio and made sure Sam had everything he needed before he parked and waited. Sam walked up to security and showed him his ID badge and they confirmed he was on the list for a screening tryout. Sam’s new alias was Jacob Bennett. He walked around for a bit until he finally found the right building and the right room. He checked in with the lady and asked how long it would be. She said it would probably be an hour or so before they started because the talent recruiters weren’t there yet. He looked around and all the chairs were taken by other actors and actresses looking over lines and practicing. He felt very much out of place and walked downstairs and outside. Sam put on his shades and sat on a bench and lit up a cigarette. He saw a Mercedes car roll by in front of him and didn’t pay any attention to it. It parked nearby and two men got out of the car and started walking towards him. One of two men stopped and asked Sam for a smoke. He went ahead and gave him one and lit the end for him. He sat down next to him while the other man walked inside.

“The names Cameron, but I like to go by Cam.” The guy said sticking out his hand. Sam shook it and didn’t offer his name. “Are you an actor then?” He asked.

“Aren’t we all actors trying to play roles in other people’s lives?” Sam said.

“I guess that’s true. What movie are you reading for?”

“I don’t even know the name of it. I just know my agent said the role wouldn’t be too hard to play. He basically said I just have to act like myself and I’ll get it.” The two of them laughed.

“What’s the character’s name?” Cam asked. Sam flipped through the script. He really didn’t think that much about the name. He realized the character’s name was Charlie and had a flashback to the first time he met Charlie above the bookstore.

“His name’s Charlie.”

“Charlie? You’re reading for my movie. What did you think of the script?” He asked. Charlie read the script but only remembered the characters background and memorized the lines he had to read for.

“To be honest I only read the first half of the script or whatever leads up to the scene I’m reading. I don’t want to know the ending. It takes away from it you know? I need to be into each scene as it is.” Cam finished half his cigarette and threw it down on the ground.

“Yeah I understand. Well good luck young man.” He reached out his hand again and Sam shook it. Cam then walked inside the building. As he walked in a pretty brunette girl in a sundress came out and sat down on the bench. She had to be five foot five inches tall but she had shoes on that gave her a few more inches. She also had some pink highlights in her hair.

“Are you Jacob?” She asked. Sam blew out the smoke before answering.

“Yeah. Why?”

“I’m your reading partner. I was hoping you were here so we could practice and go over the scene.”

“Look I’ll be honest with you. I memorize the scene I have to do. I spend time getting into character and then I just do it.”

“So you’re like a method actor?”

“Sure.” Sam said sarcastic.

“Have you done any movies before?” She asked.

“Movies? No. I’ve done a few plays.” Sam said thinking about the situations he had gotten himself into and wondered if those could be considered acting.

“Yeah I haven’t either. My agent just said I should give it a shot and see if anything happens with it.”

“Oh. Ok.” Sam said not really knowing what to reply.

“I’m Jamie by the way.” The woman said sticking out her hand. Sam shook it. “Can I be honest with you?”

“I would prefer it yes.” Sam said glancing around the area.

“This is my first reading. I hope that doesn’t bother you. Do you have any advice or suggestions?”

“Just relax. If you know your lines and understand the character that you’re playing, all you can do is just do your best. They have this image of each character they want so even if you’re good it still may not be exactly what they’re looking for so just relax. Let them worry about the whole thing.” Sam said. Jamie smiled and leaned back onto the bench.

“What kind of music do you like?” Jamie asked. Sam was a little bit annoyed by all the talking but Jamie was just to pretty to be mean to. Even if she couldn’t act she definitely had that movie star look to her.

“A little bit of everything really. It all just depends on my mood or what I’m doing.” Jamie reached into her purse and gave him a promotional flyer.

“Well I’m actually a singer. I do a little bit of guitar but mostly just sing. That’s my band. We moved out here trying to make something of ourselves. We’re having a show tomorrow at this club. You should come out. We write our own stuff but we cover some Paramore songs. We’re basically doing whatever we can to get more gigs and make some money. That’s kind of why I’m here for this job. Even if I can just get a small part in some show or movie it’ll be exposure and hopefully I can meet the right people.”

“Well good luck with that. I hope you get discovered out here. I have nothing going on tomorrow so I’ll probably come check it out. Where is this place at? I’ve been staying in the Oceanside area in southern California so I don’t really know a lot of places around here.”

“Here just give me your number and I’ll text you the address of where a parking garage is so you can park. That way you won’t lose it.” Jamie handed her phone to Sam and he entered in Pete’s cell phone number and handed it back. She entered in the address and sent the message.

“That was real smooth what you did right there.” Sam said. “You totally just tricked me into giving you my number and giving me yours.” Jamie smiled and giggled.

“Well if you don’t want my number you can always just delete it, but I hope you don’t. You seem like a cool guy.”

“Wow you are charming.” Sam said with a sly smile. “So do you get a portion of the cover charge for this club tomorrow?”

“No we just get a flat fee but if we bring in a big crowd we can get a bonus.”

“So will I be on the V.I.P. list and get a full access backstage pass if I show up?” Sam asked sarcastically with a smile. Jamie laughed.

“I’m pretty sure the only backstage is a place where they keep storage but if you want to stand next to boxes and listen to music by all means you can. I just figured you’d want to see me on stage all dolled up and rocking out.”

“Yeah you’re probably right.” Sam threw his cigarette on the ground. “Let’s go inside and see how long we have till we’re up. If we still have awhile we can come back out here and practice this scene.”

“Alright yeah.” Jamie said and followed Sam inside the building.
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Pete sat parked outside of the complex full of studios and buildings. A few hours had gone by and he saw Sam walking out past the security guard stand with a brunette girl. They said a few words and the girl kissed him on the cheek and they went their separate ways. Sam walked to Pete’s car and got inside.

“How’d it go?”

“What do you mean how’d it go? You can hear them can’t you?”

“Yeah you put the bug under the table like I said?”

“I handed them a folder with those couple head shots we did this morning and put the bug underneath then. I doubt they’re expecting someone to spy on them. Is it even worth listening to until all the auditions are over?”

“It’s interesting at least to hear what they say after the scenes are over and the people leave the room. You curious about what they said about you?”

“Not really. I just tried to act like I was an actor and get that bug in place. I actually ran into the buddy I think you were talking about on the golf course. He bummed a cigarette from me. He seemed pretty nice.”

“Was that Cameron?” Pete asked.

“Yeah. You already knew his name?”

“I wouldn’t be good at my job if I didn’t do some background checks.”

“He wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.”

“He’s kind of a scum bag. He is married but he goes after the hot actresses that can’t act and takes advantage of their false hopes. Kind of like that chick you walked out with. That doesn’t happen to be Jamie does it?”

“Yeah that was her. You get that text message she sent?”

“Yeah what’s that about?”

“She’s just trying this acting thing out for some extra income. She’s really a singer in a band. She invited me to come see her play tomorrow.” Sam said. Pete shook his head and smiled at Sam.

“What?” Sam questioned.

“You’ve been hiding at that house for months now and the first day you go back out there and you get a date within a few hours.”

“Oh shut up. Just drive the car. I want some lunch I’m starving.” Pete pulled out into traffic and drove away.