“We’ve got to hurry,” Josh said, opening his car door. “Ice cold Pacific Ocean, that’s what I’m thinking about.”
Madison laughed. “Laura’s red bikini, that’s what I’m thinking about,” she said. Josh shot her a hurt look across the hood of her car. Their eyes locked and she broke the gaze.
“Please, don’t think about that. We are going to talk it through, tonight,” Josh said. “We need to. It’s not what you think.”
She wished she hadn’t brought up the scene, that scene, but it did help her come back to earth, focus on what they were doing instead of how much she wanted Josh. He was, and always would be, a source of hurt and humiliation. She couldn’t let him back in.
They walked side by side down the sidewalk and turned left onto Forest Avenue, the charming main street of Laguna Beach that dead-ends into the ocean.
“Look, there’s a crowd,” Josh said, and Madison grabbed his hand. He loved the audience, she was much happier on the beach yesterday with a few tourists watching. This time, at least fifty people had lined the yellow tape cordoning off the shoot, keeping the sidewalk clear for the cameras and crew. Madison knew from the vague script she and Josh would be sitting outside on the patio of the Italian restaurant, pretending to be deep in discussion when the scene opened.
“How are we supposed to pretend we’re alone on the patio?” Madison said as they approached the growing crowd.
“We’re actors, remember?” Josh said, squeezing her hand before letting it go. “We don’t want anybody to think we’re a thing.”
“I think that may be too late,” Madison said, pointing to a stack of newspapers,
The Laguna Beach Independent
, with the two of them on the front cover. The headline read: “They’re back. Are they together?”
“Are they?” Josh said, glancing at Madison, his eyes hidden behind his dark glasses.
“No, they aren’t. He’s not reliable,” she said.
“He’s changed,” Josh answered.
“There you two are!” Marty yelled, and the entire crowd turned in their direction. “Get over here! We need you in makeup.”
“We’ll see,” Madison said quietly to Josh as they ducked under the tape and walked onto the set as a murmur spread through the crowd. Madison felt herself flush while Josh seemed to come alive beside her. He was grinning at the crowd, high-fiving some women standing along the edge of the tape. He was eating this up.
“Josh, meet Tom,” Marty said introducing Josh to the man Madison had talked to yesterday at the cove. Tom wore the same CREW T-shirt, the same kind smile.
“Hey,” Josh said as they shook hands. “Are you crew?”
“Very observant. Can I have a few minutes?” Tom asked. It sounded to Madison like more of a command than a request.
She watched Josh look at Marty. “Go ahead, we’ll start with Holly,” Marty said. Josh was thrown off again, Madison knew as she watched him walk away behind Tom.
“Time for make-up dear,” Marty said to Madison.
“What is Tom’s job exactly?” Madison said.
“He’s a producer, like Roger, but he’s a specialist,” Marty said. His green eyes flashed and Madison knew there was more to the story.
“What type of specialist?” she said, settling into the makeup chair hidden from the public by a tent the production team had set up on the sidewalk. It must cost a fortune in permit fees to the city, shutting down a restaurant for the day and the two businesses on either side, she thought, wondering who was financing Roger’s deep pockets.
“He’s called a date producer,” Marty said. “I’ve got to go, but just remember, this is a reality show. We of course don’t have contestants, but we do have a story. We’re going for money shots, just like they did back on your show.”
“Money shots?” Madison asked, her stomach began to feel queasy. She needed water.
“You know, the pivotal footage that makes that episode’s dramatic climax. Somebody crying, somebody cheating,” Marty said. “See you on set in five.”
Madison suddenly realized this was a game, a reality TV game, and she and Josh were the pawns, just like before. She needed to find him, to stop him from talking to Tom, the Date Producer. She’d already said too much to him yesterday. Now she really felt sick, and paranoid, glancing around to see if there was a hidden camera mounted in the tent. She’d had one mounted in her bedroom during episode five of the second season, recording her complete mental meltdown, day and night.
“Sit still honey,” the makeup artist instructed, patting her face with a make-up tipped sponge. “They need you out there right now. And there’s somebody special waiting.”
What now, was all Madison could wonder as she bolted from the chair and hurried down the sidewalk and into the restaurant’s tiny outdoor seating area where Annie sat waiting for her, a glass of red wine in front of her and not a kid in sight.
“Annie? What are you doing here?” Madison said, pulling out a chair in the otherwise empty restaurant, sitting down across from her best friend.
“Well, truth be told I got a call from these guys a month ago, and they paid me a lot of money to just be in this one scene with you. I swear, I didn’t know about Josh coming back or anything. They just said it would be a mini-reunion, shot in pairs, with your best friend from
Laguna Nights
.”
Annie took a sip of her water and Madison could see her face flush with embarrassment.
“We need the money, Madison. Hank and me. They offered a lot of money. Enough for some help with the kids,” she said. “This wine is for you. I’m not supposed to be drinking, not until my next one arrives.”
Madison sat staring at her friend and then she looked out at the sidewalk. Roger was standing a few feet away, smiling. This was enough, Madison decided. She stood up and marched out of the restaurant and faced Roger.
“Where is Josh? I demand to know what is really going on,” Madison said. “Have you been secretly filming us, outside of the segment at the beach yesterday, and at the hotel?”
“My dear, please lower your voice, the crowd can hear you,” Roger said, as he handed his half burned cigar to a lowly crew member and grabbed her arm, hustling her back into the restaurant. “You are here to have a nice girl’s gossip session with your best friend, followed by a lovely lunch with your ex-boyfriend. You have a good gig. Don’t mess it up.”
“Madison, sit down please,” Annie said, her round brown eyes pleading. “I need this.”
“What’s her part of the story?” Madison demanded, pointing at Annie while working hard to keep the tears from filling her eyes.
“I’m sure she’ll provide a ‘frankenbite’, as we call them,” Roger said, a smile spreading across his face. “Our editors are masters of manipulating viewer perception of our talent. A couple of them actually worked on your show back in the day. The best in the business. A single clip, a good frankenbite, gives an editor a way to manufacture a story even when one isn’t there. Sit down, Ms. Alcott. You are not through here.”
Madison dropped into her chair across from her best friend. Annie mouthed a silent “I’m sorry” as Roger walked off the patio and back to the crew.
“Places everyone. Where’s the DP?” Roger yelled.
“Here. Ready, speed,” the DP said. Madison blinked.
“So what’s it like having Josh back in town, Holly?” Annie said, leaning forward in an artificial conspiratorial camaraderie that gave Madison the creeps.
Madison looked at her best friend, trying to shake off the shock of the moment, of this situation. “It’s great having him back in town, actually,” Madison answered, picking up the wine and taking a big sip. “We’ve both changed and grown up a lot, of course. At heart, though, he’s the same person you remember from
Laguna Nights
.” Madison put her right fist over her heart and took another drink of wine.
“But Madison, you hated Josh by the end of the show, for what he did, and who he did it with. Laura,” Annie said, lowering her voice as if it was a secret, as if her humiliation hadn’t been broadcast to millions of viewers across the country.
“I know that, Annie, and part of me still does hate him. I know I could never trust him,” Madison said, the surge of hurt and anger bursting out before she could stop it. She knew she needed to stop drinking and to stop talking.
“Why do you think he did it?” Annie said, her innocent brown eyes blinked and Madison sat aghast at her friend’s duplicity, and could barely find the words to answer her. But she knew she had to, they wouldn’t let her out of here without getting an answer recorded.
“Same reason most people do things, even people you think you know. Power, fame, sex, and money – I think most people will do anything for
money
,” Madison said staring at her friend. “I mean, that’s why they shot the original show. Here we are nestled in this picturesque town, surrounded by massive homes and beautiful people. Everybody wants to be here, to be us.”
“I guess so, even when we really didn’t want to be us ourselves,” Annie said leaning back and holding her stomach.
“Cut. That’s a wrap. Great job ladies,” Roger said from across the sidewalk.
“Madison, don’t be mad. It was two questions. That’s all and you answered great,” Annie said, standing up awkwardly, her stomach bumping into the small café table.
“That’s not it, that’s not why I’m mad,” Madison said. “Just go.”
“Madison, wardrobe change please,” Tom said, appearing from nowhere. “Our trailer is right over here.”
“Where’s Josh?” Madison asked again, desperate to see him and compare notes.
“He’s filming down the street, a segment about the town, walking with a few fans,” Tom said with a smile. “He’s loving it.”
Madison didn’t doubt it, even if Tom was making him sound like the mayor of Laguna Beach.
Tom pulled at the handle of the star trailer and Madison climbed up the steps. It was basic but well-stocked with a long rack of women’s clothing in bright colors. “This is all for you. Your pick for your lunch date. This is all about your real lives today. Don’t be afraid to say what you really think. Tell him how much he hurt you,” Tom said, his kind face encouraging. “He was a jerk. He needs to know that.”
Madison gave him her widest, doe-eyed look and willed tears to spring to her eyes. And they did. She was good at this, even better than she thought. Someone knocked on the trailer’s door.
Tom pulled it open and revealed Francine, inexplicably dressed in a bright blue sweatshirt and sweat pants, smiling at her daughter. Two men supported her, one under each arm, as they walked her into the trailer, helping her onto the couch.
“Mom, what are you doing out here? You should be home,” Madison said, dropping to her knees next to her mom. “Did they make you come here?”
“No, of course not. I wanted to come and see you work in person. Roger just helped make my dreams come true again,” Francine said. She seemed a little out of breath, Madison thought, but in great spirits. “This is so fun. I never had time to come with you during the other show. I was always working.”
“I know Mom,” Madison said, cutting her off, certain a hidden camera was capturing all of this. “Now that you’ve been here, let’s get you home.”
“Don’t be silly. I want to see what you’re going to wear on your date. And this time, you’re telling him off, right? The ego monster doesn’t deserve a good girl like you,” Francine added with a smile. Madison had just heard her mom’s frankenbite, she was sure of it.
Back in the
Laguna Nights
days, for all the complaints Madison had about the show and how they manipulated the kids and the hordes of fans, everything had been fairly pure, she realized now. The cameras simply followed our lives, she thought, but didn’t hand us a script of uncomfortable situations. Whatever Roger was up to, it was pure manipulation. Reality TV had since evolved into the ridiculous and over the top, Madison saw it when she flipped through the channels at home. These series were scripted and the more drama, the better.
It was all so much more simple back then. When Josh had talked Madison into the audition with the MTV crew all she’d had to do was sign up in the quad at break and she got a call. It was a cool thing to do, and Josh was in the cool crowd, so she’d reluctantly agreed. They didn’t put words in her mouth, Madison realized, smiling at her mother. It was what it was; what happened, happened. Especially with Josh and Laura. She just had to accept it. She was a part of pop culture now, an impact she never realized she’d have. What she could control now, though, was whatever was happening now.
“I’ll let you ladies talk. Your call time is in twenty, Holly,” Tom said, closing the door behind him.
“Mom, did they tell you what this show really is? I mean, it can’t be a travel show. Not with all this drama, right?” Madison said, she was asking a question she knew her mom probably couldn’t answer. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?”
“Oh Madison, always so serious,” Francine said. “Just do what you said you’d do, what I said you would do.” Her mom laughed and squeezed her hand. “I know I should have told you I talked to these people, but it would have made you say no right away. As it was, we had to rope your boss Bob in just to make this happen. There’s no harm in this at all. Only gain. For all of us. Now why don’t you wear that gorgeous pale blue dress over there? Your eyes will pop.”