Page 77 of The Actor: Harrison

They stare at me for a long time, no doubt thinking I’m out of my mind, but I really have no idea when it died or when I last walked away from the couch. I remember I went to my bedroom to grab the power cord for my laptop, but I didn’t stop to sleep or anything.

“Are you on drugs?” Aaron is worried.

“What? No! I started writing this screenplay and just…lost track of time.”

Aaron smirks. “You’re writing a screenplay?”

I feel a bit shy talking about it. It’s something I’ve never done and I’m not sure I’m any good at it. He’s the best producer around and could destroy my script reading just the first page. I’m not sure I’m ready for him to put his hands on it.

“And you lost track of three entire days of your life?” Leonard sounds outraged by the idea.

“I…” I try to explain but he raises a hand to stop me.

“If you say ‘I don’t know,’ I’m going to slap you.”

I close my mouth and say nothing.

“Unbelievable,” he whispers again.

We look at each other for a long time. I’m not even sure what to say. This whole screenplay thing just took me by surprise. I thought I was going to lose focus as soon as I put my hands on the keyboard, but I actually started to write and never stopped. Is it supposed to be like that? I’ve never done it, so I have nothing to compare it to.

“You need to eat. Please, go to take a shower while we order pizza,” Aaron says with a grin.

There is a strange, proud look in his eyes I’ve never seen before. He always considered me an excellent actor. He was never shy about telling me what he thinks of my movies, but he seems especially excited about this step in my career. I don’t say anything, not sure what I’m supposed to tell him, so I take his suggestion and shower before eating something. My stomach grumbles, and I realize I’m starving.

“I almost fell asleep under the shower,” I admit when I come back to the kitchen where they put the pizza boxes.

“I can’t believe you forget to sleep and eat and do things a normal person does to survive.” Leonard seems to want to scold me.

“It’s not like I’ve stayed on that couch for three days. But I just grabbed something from the fridge and ate it in front of the computer. I have bodily functions I need to pay attention to, you know, like going to the bathroom,” I tease him.

“So, tell me about this screenplay.” Aaron finally gives in to his curiosity.

I shrug. “I didn’t finish it yet. It’s a story I’ve had in my head for a while and I finally had the guts to write it down.” I don’t want to go into detail before it’s finished, but I can see he’s dying of curiosity.

“Can I read it when it’s done?” He’s like a kid asking for a new toy.

I roll my eyes and bite into the pizza. God, I was really starving. “After Sienna reads it. She’s got first dibs on the screenplay,” I say without any doubt in my voice.

He grins. I don’t know if he’s happy because he’s going to read it or because I’m considering Sienna for my next project. To be honest, I don’t want anyone else to direct that movie.

“So, you’re doing this to win her back? Isn’t this plan a bit complicated?” Leonard points out chewing at his pizza. He puts his on a plate and uses a fork and knife, like the psycho he is.

“I’m doing this because I need to, not because of some elaborate plan. I feel like my actor career run has run its course and I want to try something new.” It’s the truth. I want Sienna to be the first to read it, but if she doesn’t want me back, I’m not going to throw away what I built.

“You’re not acting anymore?” Leonard frowns.

“I’ll still be an actor, but I want to branch out a bit. More or less like you did with the different companies you have. I want to try my skills at something I actually enjoy.”

I went head-first into this project, but now that I think about it, it doesn’t feel like a job. It’s more something I needed to get off my chest and I had fun doing it. Sleep deprivation included.

Maybe I won’t have anything more to say after I write this screenplay, and my writing career dies there, but at least I’ll try it and see how it goes.

“You should sleep and go back to it tomorrow…or in ten days when you wake up. You really look horrible,” Aaron points out, chuckling.

“Maybe I should, but I feel like I can’t go to sleep until I figure it out. My brain feels like it’s in overdrive. Does that make sense?”

This is foreign for me. I’ve always been someone who never stays up at night worrying about things. I take my time getting ready, doing what I need to prepare for my job, and then go to bed so I’m in perfect shape the next day.

---