Some of Us Are Looking at the Stars

The job was not what she expected.
Well, the job itself, yes. But not the hours. The very long hours of filming of course hade the makeup crew working just as long plus a couple more. The days of filming were 15 hours long. That meant she had to be there an hour before and after. Sometimes more to help the zombies get all the makeup and prosthetics off.
It wasn’t what she had expected. It was more. She loved every second of it. Almost anyway. But this week had been especially long, working 19 hour days. Her body ached and she felt like crying. She looked at herself in the mirror. Then she wrinkled her nose and sighed.

“How you doin’?” She said to her reflection, mimicking Joey Tribbiani and his famous line from Friends and raised an eyebrow.

“I am fine thank you. And how are you?” a voice said behind her and she turned around, startled.

In front of her, with a small smile playing on his lips was Norman Reedus. One of the lead actors of the series. She furrowed her brows but quickly forced herself to relax and stand up straight.

“Fine. I think you are in the wrong trailer. I do the make up for the extras. The zombie extras that is.”

“Yupp, whatever. Someone on set were supposed to get you and I was bored and it’s fucking hot so I volunteered, to get you. You look as surprised as Greg that I did that” He laughed a little at her confused expression.

“No, well yes because… Well I don’t go there. On set I mean. I do the extras, the ones you can’t really see. So you are in the wrong trailer.”

“No. Look ma’am...fuck if I know? Some prosthetics shit is acting up. Mary had problems and Greg lost his shit having broken his fingers and not being able to work… he told her to get you to help. That’s all I now. I am going now. You coming with?” He looked impatient now.

“Do you always use the polite ma’am and the not so polite fuck in the same sentence?” His smile grew big.

“Yeah, I do!” She laughed a bit.

“Ok, I am coming. Just give me two minutes to pack some things. Oh by the way. I am Lilith ” He nodded and his smile grew bigger.

**********

She helped Mary with the prosthetics of a zombie who had lost half his chin in a face to face fight scene with one of the actors. This was not something she was used to and she was trying her best to focus.

“How is it going Mary?!” Greg’s irritated voice was heard behind them.

“It’s going! Just back off!” Mary snapped back. “It’s the material, it’s acting up.”

Lilith felt herself grow anxious, it didn’t happen often but Greg intimidated her a bit. She also had immense respect for him. After all, he was a special effects wizard and guru in the industry. On the show he was the special make-up effects supervisor, co-producer and sometimes the director. Lilith had her training in makeup and just some in special effects so she felt a bit lost as to why she had been the one asked to help with this zombie who seemed to be in a significant scene. She didn’t doubt herself though. She was talented and she knew she had to say something.

“I…I think it’s the mix. It’s not right.” She blurted out, instantly regretting it when Mary turned her eyes to her. “It, I mean, the…it’s not the way it’s suppose…” Mary interrupted her.

“That will be All Lilith! You can go now.” Lilith backed up and turned around but Greg interfered.

“Stop. Is that it? You got the damn proportions wrong?” He looked sternly, between Lilith and Mary.

“No of course not. I have been doing this for years. It must be something wrong with it!” Mary looked offended, and very pissed off. Greg stared back at her.

“Move!” He walked up to the zombie. Inspected Mary’s work and touched it with his broken fingers sticking out of the cast.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” He spat out. Now Lilith felt like she wanted to disappear. She had done it. The thing you are not supposed to do. Question your boss. In front of their boss. Greg turned around, pointing at Mary.

“There is no fucking excuse for this, in all my years…You are suppose to be a professional! This is the last time you do this…You go! She stays! Get over here….Lily, is that your name?”
Mary looked shocked, so did Lilith. She started backing up.

“It’s Lilith… Mr Nicotero, I am sure it’s the material, Mary would never…”

“Stop! This is the moment! The moment I am giving you an opportunity. Will you take it? Because she is out of here. Either way. On my set, mistakes like this do not happen. Do you understand? IF you decide to take this opportunity, you remember that. I am fair but I don’t have time for bullshit!”
Lilith turned around, Mary was gone. She could see her walking away in the distance. Clearly fuming. She turned back.

“I am most definitely seizing this opportunity. I can do it.” She looked him straight in the eye. His shoulders suddenly relaxed, then smiled and took her hands in his. They were warm and he felt her shake a bit. It made him glad, if she was a bit nervous, a bit at least, she would try harder.

“Welcome Lilith, to where the action is! You’ll still be in the trailer like we all are, of course. But you’ll be out here with me. A lot. Everyone is on a half an hour break now so you fix that damn face that is falling apart over there, it’s not supposed to do that, well not yet.”
He laughed and she smiled back at him, then hurried off to the Zombie, sitting a few feet away in the grass.

When she reached him he stood up and they spent the next twenty minutes talking and fixing his chin. They were laughing a lot, Lilith was in the best mood she had been in moths and felt like she was on fire. Firing away with funny jokes and topics to make the zombie comfortable. The zombie laughed so hard at her babbling away while working on his face that she almost couldn’t finish it, his face was twitching so hard. She laughed with him.

“There!” She said suddenly. “You are done….uhm..what’s your name, I never asked, I am sorry?” He smiled at her through the makeup and it looked crazy scary.

“Andy. Lincoln” he held out his zombie hand and she took it.

“I am Lilith. Nice to meet you. Andy Lincoln, that’s funny…you could borrow the chair over there” She pointed to the chairs 50 feet away. “It’s got your name on it, the same name as the lead actor” She laughed again. “No one could blame you!” He smiled his scary zombie smile again.

“No they wouldn’t. Not at all actually! I think I will try it. Thank you for your help Lilith.” He walked away from her, over to the chair and sat down. She looked at him. A bit surprised and nervous. Everybody was coming back from the break and his was not moving from the chair! Then she realized he didn’t have to. Danai Gurira and Norman Reedus approached him and talked and laughed and the director yelled his name.

“Andy! Norman! It’s time. Let’s get this fight started, and Andy…this time, let him win ok?” They all laughed and took their places.
Suddenly she felt like a fool. It was the lead actor. She had heard they did this a couple of times on the show. When they were on set on another location, like this week, but wasn’t in any of the scenes that day. They took the place as one of the zombies, for fun. She suddenly felt stupid, trying to make the zombie comfortable, to laugh, when he obviously was very used to this setting. The actors walked by her. Norman looked at her.

“Hey Lilith, great job man!” She laughed and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Man?” Andy laughed with her.

“Well, man, is a compliment in this guy’s head. But he is right. You did an amazing job. With the makeup but also with making me laugh today” He looked serious for a second. “I needed it, so thank you Lilith”. He, nodded and him and Norman took their places by the door of an abandoned barn.

Suddenly...it all felt good again. She didn’t feel like a fool. The day had started out with her feeling like a sleepwalker and now something was actually happening. Something new and great. Her hard work had paid off. Not in the way she had planned the and she felt bad about Mary but…it was happening and she suddenly realized...

She had just landed her dream job.