It's A Filthy Goddamn Horror Show
Hello.
Renee Ashley Davis was officially twenty-one today. Most kids would be going out and spending their entire day getting trashed with friends, but Renee was a bit different. Spending the day with her dad, watching what they both love to do, was the perfect way to spend any birthday for her.
She set her alarm for 6:30AM and the blaring radio scared her out of bed in the morning. Within seconds she had untangled herself from her satin sheets and ran over to her desk to slam her hand down on top of the snooze button. The morning darkness was just starting to roll out, and Renee decided she really needed a shower. After her morning bathroom routine, she set out to pick out her clothes for the day. Standing in front of her floor to ceiling mirror, Renee must have changed her outfit six times, but finally she settled on a pair of light denim shorts, a black bandeau, a flowing white tank-top and her favorite black vans. As soon as she had pulled on her left shoe her phone started ringing behind her. Reaching over to the charger she answered her father's call.
"Hey, sweetheart! I'm on my way over to pick you up now, be there in about five minutes, okay?" Renee responded excitedly and they amicably ended the call.
Itching with anticipation Renee headed over to her desk. Her silver MacBook Air sat open, a half-typed essay brightly shining off the screen. Across the keyboard there were multiple pens scattered along with bobby pins she'd lost during stressful nights of studying. Next to the laptop was a fairly large pile of law books. Renee rested her small hand on top of the stack and closed her eyes.
Renee's father had been in the show business for as long as she could remember. He always worked weird hours and was constantly talking about his job, but he'd never taken Renee along, no matter how many times she had begged.
Renee's mother, however, was a very different story. She had grown up an army brat and thought nothing of the idea of show business. She was a calculus teacher at Renee's high school, and had always pushed her to be her very best in school.
Slowly Renee opened her eyes again and slid the cover of the book open. A small, folded piece of paper fell onto the wood desk below. With a deep breath Renee grabbed, and unfolded the sheet of paper and let her eyes follow the words across the page for the millionth time.
"Ask your father for the money I put away for law school, make me proud babe."
The swirly cursive began to smear as tears fell from Renee's eyes and splashed across the ink.
Renee's mother had suffered from lupus almost all of her life, and on Renee's sixteenth birthday it finally killed her. On this day Renee found out why her father had never taken her on set with him before. In her will, her mother outlined how Renee would earn her inheritance. With a plan for law school set in place long before she was even born, Renee knew she couldn't disappoint her mother. So, she pushed through schooling for things she didn't care about and was now only a year away from her undergraduate degree.
But television, her father's passion, had always been what Renee really wanted in her life, and today was the first day she'd be able to see what had always been right in front of her. Her nerves swelled up inside of her again and she heard her father honking out front.
~~~
"So, what do you think?" Earl whispered, and there was a smile in his voice.
But Renee was silent, in awe. She looked around as her father drove across the lot; actors and crew members walked passed, all with a look of intensity across their faces, giant cranes were being moved and a hectic atmosphere washed over all of the workers.
She held onto her father's arm as he parked the car, and walked her through security. It was like a maze to Renee, not knowing where to turn or how exactly to stay out of everyone's way, but she held on tightly and kept quiet as she followed her father to his office.
He called it an office, but it was more like a dressing room. Multiple couches, chairs, huge mirrors and an entire wall covered with make-up, brushes, costumes, applicants, and anything else you could imagine. It was huge, all the walls painted white and all the furniture black, but it was very inviting. The warm lights around the mirrors made the room's temperature rise, but Renee was comfortable in her shorts and tank top.
"So, first we have to get our stuff set up according to who's coming in what order." her father explained as he walked over to the wall adorned with every make-up artist's dream tools.
"How do you know who's coming?" she whispered, still in awe of her father's workspace.
"I have a list, come look," Renee walked over to the wall and looked at the paper taped above one of the shelves, "It says Jessica Lange is coming in first today. Lucky you." he laughed.
"Oh my gosh, you do not understand dad. This is so cool." Renee let her hands roam across some of the brushes, trying not to mess up her father's organizational skills.
Earl chuckled slightly, a knock interrupted the bonding moment and he headed towards the white oak to pull it open.
In walked Jessica Lange, a goddess in plain clothes, and again Renee stood in awe. She watched as Jessica took large strides across the room to the chair nearest the mirrors, the entire time she was focused intensely on a text message or two. Renee turned to her father as Jessica finished the text and looked up at her with a heavy sigh.
"And who are you?" she asked as she cocked her head to the right.
"I- I'm- I'm, uh.. dad's.. er- um.. sorry, ha." Renee stumbled over her words and she could feel a rush of blood to her cheeks as her face flushed scarlet.
"This is my daughter, Jess." Renee's dad laughed as he excused her less than normal behavior.
"Oh, the infamous Renee. I've heard a lot about you." Jessica joked, "Also, your dad is the only one who gets to call me Jess. So don't try it."
After a few more uncomfortable seconds Renee piped up, "I hope you've only heard good things."
Jessica and Earl both chuckled, and Renee felt another blush fill her face. Her father set to work on the make-up, setting out creams, foundations, mascaras, eyeliners, brushes, blushes, and bronzers. His station looked beautiful. Renee took a step closer to watch him at work, he grabbed a white cream in a clear bowl, he dipped his index finger out and slopped some of the goo on Jessica's face.
"Quite interested, huh?" Jessica joked, "How come you never brought her around before, Earl?"
Renee looked at her father and he avoided eye contact. They both knew this was her passion, but neither of them wanted to disrespect her mother's dying wish. Again, the topic would be avoided and they both went back to the work.
She set her alarm for 6:30AM and the blaring radio scared her out of bed in the morning. Within seconds she had untangled herself from her satin sheets and ran over to her desk to slam her hand down on top of the snooze button. The morning darkness was just starting to roll out, and Renee decided she really needed a shower. After her morning bathroom routine, she set out to pick out her clothes for the day. Standing in front of her floor to ceiling mirror, Renee must have changed her outfit six times, but finally she settled on a pair of light denim shorts, a black bandeau, a flowing white tank-top and her favorite black vans. As soon as she had pulled on her left shoe her phone started ringing behind her. Reaching over to the charger she answered her father's call.
"Hey, sweetheart! I'm on my way over to pick you up now, be there in about five minutes, okay?" Renee responded excitedly and they amicably ended the call.
Itching with anticipation Renee headed over to her desk. Her silver MacBook Air sat open, a half-typed essay brightly shining off the screen. Across the keyboard there were multiple pens scattered along with bobby pins she'd lost during stressful nights of studying. Next to the laptop was a fairly large pile of law books. Renee rested her small hand on top of the stack and closed her eyes.
Renee's father had been in the show business for as long as she could remember. He always worked weird hours and was constantly talking about his job, but he'd never taken Renee along, no matter how many times she had begged.
Renee's mother, however, was a very different story. She had grown up an army brat and thought nothing of the idea of show business. She was a calculus teacher at Renee's high school, and had always pushed her to be her very best in school.
Slowly Renee opened her eyes again and slid the cover of the book open. A small, folded piece of paper fell onto the wood desk below. With a deep breath Renee grabbed, and unfolded the sheet of paper and let her eyes follow the words across the page for the millionth time.
"Ask your father for the money I put away for law school, make me proud babe."
The swirly cursive began to smear as tears fell from Renee's eyes and splashed across the ink.
Renee's mother had suffered from lupus almost all of her life, and on Renee's sixteenth birthday it finally killed her. On this day Renee found out why her father had never taken her on set with him before. In her will, her mother outlined how Renee would earn her inheritance. With a plan for law school set in place long before she was even born, Renee knew she couldn't disappoint her mother. So, she pushed through schooling for things she didn't care about and was now only a year away from her undergraduate degree.
But television, her father's passion, had always been what Renee really wanted in her life, and today was the first day she'd be able to see what had always been right in front of her. Her nerves swelled up inside of her again and she heard her father honking out front.
~~~
"So, what do you think?" Earl whispered, and there was a smile in his voice.
But Renee was silent, in awe. She looked around as her father drove across the lot; actors and crew members walked passed, all with a look of intensity across their faces, giant cranes were being moved and a hectic atmosphere washed over all of the workers.
She held onto her father's arm as he parked the car, and walked her through security. It was like a maze to Renee, not knowing where to turn or how exactly to stay out of everyone's way, but she held on tightly and kept quiet as she followed her father to his office.
He called it an office, but it was more like a dressing room. Multiple couches, chairs, huge mirrors and an entire wall covered with make-up, brushes, costumes, applicants, and anything else you could imagine. It was huge, all the walls painted white and all the furniture black, but it was very inviting. The warm lights around the mirrors made the room's temperature rise, but Renee was comfortable in her shorts and tank top.
"So, first we have to get our stuff set up according to who's coming in what order." her father explained as he walked over to the wall adorned with every make-up artist's dream tools.
"How do you know who's coming?" she whispered, still in awe of her father's workspace.
"I have a list, come look," Renee walked over to the wall and looked at the paper taped above one of the shelves, "It says Jessica Lange is coming in first today. Lucky you." he laughed.
"Oh my gosh, you do not understand dad. This is so cool." Renee let her hands roam across some of the brushes, trying not to mess up her father's organizational skills.
Earl chuckled slightly, a knock interrupted the bonding moment and he headed towards the white oak to pull it open.
In walked Jessica Lange, a goddess in plain clothes, and again Renee stood in awe. She watched as Jessica took large strides across the room to the chair nearest the mirrors, the entire time she was focused intensely on a text message or two. Renee turned to her father as Jessica finished the text and looked up at her with a heavy sigh.
"And who are you?" she asked as she cocked her head to the right.
"I- I'm- I'm, uh.. dad's.. er- um.. sorry, ha." Renee stumbled over her words and she could feel a rush of blood to her cheeks as her face flushed scarlet.
"This is my daughter, Jess." Renee's dad laughed as he excused her less than normal behavior.
"Oh, the infamous Renee. I've heard a lot about you." Jessica joked, "Also, your dad is the only one who gets to call me Jess. So don't try it."
After a few more uncomfortable seconds Renee piped up, "I hope you've only heard good things."
Jessica and Earl both chuckled, and Renee felt another blush fill her face. Her father set to work on the make-up, setting out creams, foundations, mascaras, eyeliners, brushes, blushes, and bronzers. His station looked beautiful. Renee took a step closer to watch him at work, he grabbed a white cream in a clear bowl, he dipped his index finger out and slopped some of the goo on Jessica's face.
"Quite interested, huh?" Jessica joked, "How come you never brought her around before, Earl?"
Renee looked at her father and he avoided eye contact. They both knew this was her passion, but neither of them wanted to disrespect her mother's dying wish. Again, the topic would be avoided and they both went back to the work.
♠ ♠ ♠
I don't know how I feel about this yet, we'll see. I might only do a couple chapters and give up, but hopefully not. Idk, give me feedback I guess? It might be kinda short. I don't know yet, I just don't know. //Dramatic post.