Drama
Chapter 44: The Time Is Now
Leila's P.O.V.
"I still can't believe we did it, guys," I begin as we sit down to eat breakfast the next morning.
"I know. It feels like an eternity ago that we made up this plan," Niall adds.
"It hasn't even been a week since I was fired and now I'm back on the show," I continue. "I feel kind of weird, but I'm happy that everything worked out."
"You deserve it, Lei," Madison comments. "And I'm glad I could help you guys out. This has been a roller coaster but a once in a lifetime chance."
"I'm just so glad that Spencer's finally gone," Niall says. "It took way too long for everyone to figure out the shit she does."
"Well, they wouldn't have figured it out if it wasn't for us. And I'm surprised we had the guts to do it," I admit.
Madison looks at the clock and points out that we should probaby hurry up. We finish eating breakfast, head outside, and pile into Madison's car. It's a beautiful day outside and I kind of wish we could walk instead of drive, but it's too late to hike it on foot. Within a few minutes, Madison pulls into the community parking garage a block from the studio and as it turns out, we do get to walk the short road to the building.
The second I see the security guards I begin to panic. We don't have passes. How are we going to get in?
"Leila! Niall! Madison!" Uncle Charlie greets, emerging from behind the security guards. "They're with me."
The security guards allow us in and Uncle Charlie leads us inside. The building feels happier now that I know I'm not going to get in trouble for anything and Spencer's not going to play any shenanigans on me. It just feels right.
"We'll be waiting in here for a while until Brian returns," Uncle Charlie informs, guiding us into the familiar meeting room I've been in so many times for the table reads in the show. I take a seat and Niall and Madison sit on either side of me, Uncle Charlie across from us.
"What's he doing right now?" I cautiously ask.
"He's talking with Spencer and her dad," Uncle Charlie clarifies. "They are in the monitor room looking at the video evidence."
"Oh," I reply knowingly.
"He figured it would be best if they showed Spencer the proof rather than blaming her and watching her try to get out of it. We all know how Spencer works and she will fight for what she wants," Uncle Charlie continues. "In this case, what she wants isn't what's best for everyone."
"Hasn't that always been the case?" Niall points out.
"What do you mean?" Uncle Charlie questions.
"I mean, all of the things Spencer's done is for herself, not for everyone. It's always like that for her. Has she ever done anything nice for anyone? Because as I recall, she's met a lot of people and become friendly with them but I don't see very many of them around here," Niall explains.
"Well, people come and go," Uncle Charlie suggests.
I have to butt in, "Yes, but what's the reason for them leaving? Spencer found a way to get rid of them. That's why you don't see them around here. It's better for her if these people are gone because they are probably in her way of getting what she wants, but to everyone else, these people are useful for the company. Like me. She tried getting rid of me to get what she wants but if you get rid of me, well, you saw what it was like."
"What I don't get is why she wanted you gone," Uncle Charlie puts out.
"Spencer wants me," Niall says. "It's really twisted, though."
"But she's always hated you," Uncle Charlie responds.
"She did when we were younger, but now that I'm going to be in a famous singing group, she wants me now. Basically she just wants fame and she was going to use me, but there was no way I was letting that happen," Niall explains.
"Oh, I get it now," Uncle Charlie voices. "But she has to go through all this trouble to do that?"
"Apparently," I sigh.
"Are you sure that's the reason though?" he asks.
"I got to Niall before she did. She was jealous that I was now standing in her way to getting what she wants, so she did all of that to try and get rid of me. She got pretty far, surprisingly, but she's forgetting one thing. Niall wasn't going to agree to be her slave again because he hates her. Just because she may be nice to him now doesn't mean he's going to forgive her for the shit she's done to him in the past. Her plan was never going to work anyways because of that," I reveal.
"She wasn't thinking about me. She was too focused on the path to getting what she wants and getting rid of Leila. Yeah, she would have had another block in the road once she figured out that I'm not agreeing to her plan, but she never even thought of that before," Niall adds.
"Ah," Uncle Charlie breathes. "This is twisted."
A knock on the door disrupts our thoughts and Spencer, her dad, and Mr. Conners walk in.
Spencer sits down but Robert and Mr. Conners continue standing.
"Well, we've talked with Spencer and showed her the footage and she admitted to be the one behind those tasks. She hasn't given us the reason yet, but that's a different step we don't need to go to," Mr. Conners begins.
"Spence, do you have something to say?" Robert pushes. Spencer rolls her eyes and sighs, not making eye contact with anyone.
"I'm sorry," she mumbles.
"What?" Niall asks. I look over at him and I can tell he knows what she said, but he wants to give her a hard time.
"I said, I'm sorry," she apologizes, more forceful this time. I'm trying my hardest not to laugh at this because I've never seen Spencer like this.
"Now, Spencer, for your punishment-"
"Punishment? What am I, 12?" she exclaims.
"No, but you've been acting like it," I reply.
"Okay, okay," Robert interferes. "As I was saying, for your punishment, you are fired from Deep Secrets and as a father, I'm not allowing you to guest star on Pretty Little Liars next season."
"What?! Dad!" Spencer yelps.
"You crossed the line this time, Spencer. This is what happens when an actress turns into a diva. I hope you've learned from this and I especially hope that it will not happen again," Robert replies.
"Ugh! Fuck my life," Spencer mutters, slouching in her seat and crossing her arms.
"What did you just say?" Robert asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing," Spencer grumbles. Robert keeps a stern eye on her for a second and then turns to face us.
"I'm terribly sorry for all of the trouble Spencer's caused you. I hope she hasn't ruined your experience here because we'd hate to see you go. I understand you've been let go once, but you're welcome here as long as you want now," Robert apologizes, reaching out and shaking
my hand.
"Thank you," I respond, returning the gesture.
"Now, we have some other business to take care of. Have a great day, all of you. Spencer, let's go," Robert says, leading the way out of the room. Spencer hastily gets up and follows after him.
"Is it bad I actually enjoyed that?" I announce. Madison and Niall laugh and I can see that even Mr. Conners and Uncle Charlie are smiling a little, too.
"Alright, well, now that Spencer's off, we need to replace her," Mr. Conners begins, looking at Madison.
"M-me?" she stutters, pointing at herself.
Mr. Conners nods. "I spoke with Leila yesterday and she tells me you're in college for theater.
We'd love to have you here."
"I-I don't know, I..." Her head swivels to look at all of us.
"I'll give you the weekend to think about it, alright?" Mr. Conners suggests.
"Okay, thanks," she replies. Mr. Conners looks at his watch and his eyes widen.
"Oh, we better get going. Speech time," Mr. Conners declares. "Shall we?" He directs us out of the room and we enter an enormous room I've never been in before. A lot of people are in here and a few of them squeal when they see Niall, but he stays close to me. We find a couple of seats for us and wait for Mr. Conners. He's talking with a few other older gentlemen and women who I take are the other directors and important crew members of the other shows going on here.
A few minutes later, he turns his attention on us and we silence.
"Thank you all for attending this lecture. Now, many of you may be wondering why I've called you here and if you know the answer, you may be thinking that there's no reason for you to even be here. News flash: there is a reason for you to be here," Mr. Conners begins. He takes a deep breath and continues, "For the past few weeks, we have been having issues in our cast. I'm not pointing out names or anything, but some people have been purposely making other people's lives a miserable time. I don't know the exact reason for why they kept doing what they did, but it ended up in a horrible disaster. I have a feeling they didn't mean for it to go this far, but it did, which just tells you that whatever you do, it can affect so many others even if you don't intend it. There was too much drama happening in my cast and I blamed the wrong people for it and ended up making things worse. Long story short, I don't know if any other casts have been like ours, but if they have or will, I need to inform you that whatever the reason is for you to be creating this much drama, it's probably not that big of a deal. If you're jealous of someone because they have what you want, take a step back and look at what you've got. For God's sake, you're on a TV show! You're living an actor's dream of being displayed on TV! What more could you want? So many people who aren't even in this business are jealous of you already, especially the ones who auditioned for these shows but didn't make the cut. If you're that jealous of someone, you need a reality check. I got sick and tired of having my show be jeopardized because some people couldn't figure that out. I don't even know what to do with my show now because I've fired and hired so many new people and the first season isn't even done. The people behind all of the drama in my cast didn't even think about how it was for me trying to be the mediator. I had enough to deal with, I didn't need these stuipid, selfish acts, too."
He pauses and I'm surprised at how quiet everyone is. No one is even saying a word, nobody's whispering to their friends or distracted by something else.
"If you see any drama going on or are the victim of it, please tell us. Don't be immature kids and say, 'You're a tattle tale!' You're old enough to understand that this can be hurtful to not only the victim but the cast as well. I just told you what happened with our cast. Let that be your example if you continue to let something like this happen. Be the one to make things right. You're all smart and very talented, but this stuff has to stop. A cast is supposed to be your family. That's why I love being a director here because with each show I'm in charge of, I get a new family to work with. We share so many laughs on set, too many funny bloopers we can't leave out, amazing times we'll never forget. A family is with you for the rest of your life, and after spending at least 2-3 years working on the same show together, these bonds and friendships will hopefully last a lifetime. You're all here for the same reason to come together and put on a show. You're also very unique individuals. Accept each other for who you are and become a family. A family who works together and works hard together is a family that excels together. So work hard and excel together because who knows? These shows could be the best part of your life, but that's only if you make it worth the time."
I feel my eyes beginning to warm up and they cloud with tears. I had no idea this speech was going to hit me in the heart, and as I look around, so many others are wiping their faces. Niall takes his arm off of me and begins clapping. I realize what he's doing and join him, and soon everyone else is standing up and applauding. Some are even cheering and Mr. Conners looks surprised. I don't think he was expecting this. His face has a big smile plastered on it and the other directors pat his shoulders.
After a few moments, the clapping dies down and everyone takes their seats again.
"Thank you all for listening and thank you for that wonderful response. You are all free to head back to your respected sets or go out for lunch, depending on your director. To my cast, you are free until Monday because I have to figure out so much stuff. Thank you again," Mr. Conners ends, waving at us. We applaud again, but not as extreme as it was before.
His speech is probably the best speech I've ever heard. Because acting is my life and I've been in a lot of plays before, I know how it is with casts. Most of the casts I've been in have been families to me, but we only spend about 2 months together, not 2 years. It's amazing how close you can become to people in 2 months when most of the time during rehearsal, you're actually working. But Mr. Conners' speech is the only one that has really described me and inspired me and I look up to him now as my best mentor. Who could ask for anything more?
"I still can't believe we did it, guys," I begin as we sit down to eat breakfast the next morning.
"I know. It feels like an eternity ago that we made up this plan," Niall adds.
"It hasn't even been a week since I was fired and now I'm back on the show," I continue. "I feel kind of weird, but I'm happy that everything worked out."
"You deserve it, Lei," Madison comments. "And I'm glad I could help you guys out. This has been a roller coaster but a once in a lifetime chance."
"I'm just so glad that Spencer's finally gone," Niall says. "It took way too long for everyone to figure out the shit she does."
"Well, they wouldn't have figured it out if it wasn't for us. And I'm surprised we had the guts to do it," I admit.
Madison looks at the clock and points out that we should probaby hurry up. We finish eating breakfast, head outside, and pile into Madison's car. It's a beautiful day outside and I kind of wish we could walk instead of drive, but it's too late to hike it on foot. Within a few minutes, Madison pulls into the community parking garage a block from the studio and as it turns out, we do get to walk the short road to the building.
The second I see the security guards I begin to panic. We don't have passes. How are we going to get in?
"Leila! Niall! Madison!" Uncle Charlie greets, emerging from behind the security guards. "They're with me."
The security guards allow us in and Uncle Charlie leads us inside. The building feels happier now that I know I'm not going to get in trouble for anything and Spencer's not going to play any shenanigans on me. It just feels right.
"We'll be waiting in here for a while until Brian returns," Uncle Charlie informs, guiding us into the familiar meeting room I've been in so many times for the table reads in the show. I take a seat and Niall and Madison sit on either side of me, Uncle Charlie across from us.
"What's he doing right now?" I cautiously ask.
"He's talking with Spencer and her dad," Uncle Charlie clarifies. "They are in the monitor room looking at the video evidence."
"Oh," I reply knowingly.
"He figured it would be best if they showed Spencer the proof rather than blaming her and watching her try to get out of it. We all know how Spencer works and she will fight for what she wants," Uncle Charlie continues. "In this case, what she wants isn't what's best for everyone."
"Hasn't that always been the case?" Niall points out.
"What do you mean?" Uncle Charlie questions.
"I mean, all of the things Spencer's done is for herself, not for everyone. It's always like that for her. Has she ever done anything nice for anyone? Because as I recall, she's met a lot of people and become friendly with them but I don't see very many of them around here," Niall explains.
"Well, people come and go," Uncle Charlie suggests.
I have to butt in, "Yes, but what's the reason for them leaving? Spencer found a way to get rid of them. That's why you don't see them around here. It's better for her if these people are gone because they are probably in her way of getting what she wants, but to everyone else, these people are useful for the company. Like me. She tried getting rid of me to get what she wants but if you get rid of me, well, you saw what it was like."
"What I don't get is why she wanted you gone," Uncle Charlie puts out.
"Spencer wants me," Niall says. "It's really twisted, though."
"But she's always hated you," Uncle Charlie responds.
"She did when we were younger, but now that I'm going to be in a famous singing group, she wants me now. Basically she just wants fame and she was going to use me, but there was no way I was letting that happen," Niall explains.
"Oh, I get it now," Uncle Charlie voices. "But she has to go through all this trouble to do that?"
"Apparently," I sigh.
"Are you sure that's the reason though?" he asks.
"I got to Niall before she did. She was jealous that I was now standing in her way to getting what she wants, so she did all of that to try and get rid of me. She got pretty far, surprisingly, but she's forgetting one thing. Niall wasn't going to agree to be her slave again because he hates her. Just because she may be nice to him now doesn't mean he's going to forgive her for the shit she's done to him in the past. Her plan was never going to work anyways because of that," I reveal.
"She wasn't thinking about me. She was too focused on the path to getting what she wants and getting rid of Leila. Yeah, she would have had another block in the road once she figured out that I'm not agreeing to her plan, but she never even thought of that before," Niall adds.
"Ah," Uncle Charlie breathes. "This is twisted."
A knock on the door disrupts our thoughts and Spencer, her dad, and Mr. Conners walk in.
Spencer sits down but Robert and Mr. Conners continue standing.
"Well, we've talked with Spencer and showed her the footage and she admitted to be the one behind those tasks. She hasn't given us the reason yet, but that's a different step we don't need to go to," Mr. Conners begins.
"Spence, do you have something to say?" Robert pushes. Spencer rolls her eyes and sighs, not making eye contact with anyone.
"I'm sorry," she mumbles.
"What?" Niall asks. I look over at him and I can tell he knows what she said, but he wants to give her a hard time.
"I said, I'm sorry," she apologizes, more forceful this time. I'm trying my hardest not to laugh at this because I've never seen Spencer like this.
"Now, Spencer, for your punishment-"
"Punishment? What am I, 12?" she exclaims.
"No, but you've been acting like it," I reply.
"Okay, okay," Robert interferes. "As I was saying, for your punishment, you are fired from Deep Secrets and as a father, I'm not allowing you to guest star on Pretty Little Liars next season."
"What?! Dad!" Spencer yelps.
"You crossed the line this time, Spencer. This is what happens when an actress turns into a diva. I hope you've learned from this and I especially hope that it will not happen again," Robert replies.
"Ugh! Fuck my life," Spencer mutters, slouching in her seat and crossing her arms.
"What did you just say?" Robert asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing," Spencer grumbles. Robert keeps a stern eye on her for a second and then turns to face us.
"I'm terribly sorry for all of the trouble Spencer's caused you. I hope she hasn't ruined your experience here because we'd hate to see you go. I understand you've been let go once, but you're welcome here as long as you want now," Robert apologizes, reaching out and shaking
my hand.
"Thank you," I respond, returning the gesture.
"Now, we have some other business to take care of. Have a great day, all of you. Spencer, let's go," Robert says, leading the way out of the room. Spencer hastily gets up and follows after him.
"Is it bad I actually enjoyed that?" I announce. Madison and Niall laugh and I can see that even Mr. Conners and Uncle Charlie are smiling a little, too.
"Alright, well, now that Spencer's off, we need to replace her," Mr. Conners begins, looking at Madison.
"M-me?" she stutters, pointing at herself.
Mr. Conners nods. "I spoke with Leila yesterday and she tells me you're in college for theater.
We'd love to have you here."
"I-I don't know, I..." Her head swivels to look at all of us.
"I'll give you the weekend to think about it, alright?" Mr. Conners suggests.
"Okay, thanks," she replies. Mr. Conners looks at his watch and his eyes widen.
"Oh, we better get going. Speech time," Mr. Conners declares. "Shall we?" He directs us out of the room and we enter an enormous room I've never been in before. A lot of people are in here and a few of them squeal when they see Niall, but he stays close to me. We find a couple of seats for us and wait for Mr. Conners. He's talking with a few other older gentlemen and women who I take are the other directors and important crew members of the other shows going on here.
A few minutes later, he turns his attention on us and we silence.
"Thank you all for attending this lecture. Now, many of you may be wondering why I've called you here and if you know the answer, you may be thinking that there's no reason for you to even be here. News flash: there is a reason for you to be here," Mr. Conners begins. He takes a deep breath and continues, "For the past few weeks, we have been having issues in our cast. I'm not pointing out names or anything, but some people have been purposely making other people's lives a miserable time. I don't know the exact reason for why they kept doing what they did, but it ended up in a horrible disaster. I have a feeling they didn't mean for it to go this far, but it did, which just tells you that whatever you do, it can affect so many others even if you don't intend it. There was too much drama happening in my cast and I blamed the wrong people for it and ended up making things worse. Long story short, I don't know if any other casts have been like ours, but if they have or will, I need to inform you that whatever the reason is for you to be creating this much drama, it's probably not that big of a deal. If you're jealous of someone because they have what you want, take a step back and look at what you've got. For God's sake, you're on a TV show! You're living an actor's dream of being displayed on TV! What more could you want? So many people who aren't even in this business are jealous of you already, especially the ones who auditioned for these shows but didn't make the cut. If you're that jealous of someone, you need a reality check. I got sick and tired of having my show be jeopardized because some people couldn't figure that out. I don't even know what to do with my show now because I've fired and hired so many new people and the first season isn't even done. The people behind all of the drama in my cast didn't even think about how it was for me trying to be the mediator. I had enough to deal with, I didn't need these stuipid, selfish acts, too."
He pauses and I'm surprised at how quiet everyone is. No one is even saying a word, nobody's whispering to their friends or distracted by something else.
"If you see any drama going on or are the victim of it, please tell us. Don't be immature kids and say, 'You're a tattle tale!' You're old enough to understand that this can be hurtful to not only the victim but the cast as well. I just told you what happened with our cast. Let that be your example if you continue to let something like this happen. Be the one to make things right. You're all smart and very talented, but this stuff has to stop. A cast is supposed to be your family. That's why I love being a director here because with each show I'm in charge of, I get a new family to work with. We share so many laughs on set, too many funny bloopers we can't leave out, amazing times we'll never forget. A family is with you for the rest of your life, and after spending at least 2-3 years working on the same show together, these bonds and friendships will hopefully last a lifetime. You're all here for the same reason to come together and put on a show. You're also very unique individuals. Accept each other for who you are and become a family. A family who works together and works hard together is a family that excels together. So work hard and excel together because who knows? These shows could be the best part of your life, but that's only if you make it worth the time."
I feel my eyes beginning to warm up and they cloud with tears. I had no idea this speech was going to hit me in the heart, and as I look around, so many others are wiping their faces. Niall takes his arm off of me and begins clapping. I realize what he's doing and join him, and soon everyone else is standing up and applauding. Some are even cheering and Mr. Conners looks surprised. I don't think he was expecting this. His face has a big smile plastered on it and the other directors pat his shoulders.
After a few moments, the clapping dies down and everyone takes their seats again.
"Thank you all for listening and thank you for that wonderful response. You are all free to head back to your respected sets or go out for lunch, depending on your director. To my cast, you are free until Monday because I have to figure out so much stuff. Thank you again," Mr. Conners ends, waving at us. We applaud again, but not as extreme as it was before.
His speech is probably the best speech I've ever heard. Because acting is my life and I've been in a lot of plays before, I know how it is with casts. Most of the casts I've been in have been families to me, but we only spend about 2 months together, not 2 years. It's amazing how close you can become to people in 2 months when most of the time during rehearsal, you're actually working. But Mr. Conners' speech is the only one that has really described me and inspired me and I look up to him now as my best mentor. Who could ask for anything more?
Notes
THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY! We have 3 chapters left! :oSo I don't know how many of you actually read Mr. Conners' speech but if you did, thank you. And if you didn't, I would suggest you do because it has some good life lessons in it. Before I started writing it, I wasn't sure if I should continue because I had no idea how many people would actually read it, but once I was halfway through, I realized that I made some good points in it and I would really appreciate it if you could read it!
Rachel :)
Make a Sequel please.
9/13/14