Welcome to the Small World - Mirek

Tak s tímhle jsem vyhrál druhý místo v soutěži o nejlepší anglicky psanou povídku pro mladý český autory. Slušná akce. Akorát mi za to nedali ani korunu, což mě, jakožto chudýho studenta, trochu zklamalo. Ale tak co, aspoň jsem si potřásl rukou s Livií Klausovou!

Welcome to the Small World//National Literary Award for Young Writers commission

 “There are two things that matter in this shitty hellhole called Hollywood. You need to sell and to be famous, kid. You’re not famous and your stuff wouldn’t sell. The stuff you write, it’s good. But it wouldn’t sell.”

I thanked Craig for his time and went straight for the door, when he stopped me: „Hey, what are you doing this Friday night, nothing? Good. We’re going to go for a drink, you and I.  Wanna bring a date? Fiancée? Whatever. Check with my secretary, she’ll put you in my schedule“.

And so I did, I was pleased by his sudden interest. He was the greatest publisher I could ever have and we both knew it.

xxx

In a retrospective, everything about the 13th of June, Friday, seems unfortunate. My fiancée, Zoë and I arrived half an hour late to the snobby bar that Craig picked. I didn’t like the place and Zoë didn’t seem all too excited either. I expected it to be glamorous and shiny. Instead, it was crowded,
expensive and looked otherwise like a normal boring bar.

Craig finally arrived after another half hour. He wasn’t alone; he took a friend from the industry. I knew the guy – it was Manny. Manny majored English back in Seattle with me. He made quite a career for himself, he even wrote a bestseller. He grinned from ear to ear when he saw me and hurried over to the table to shake my hand:  “Jack, hey buddy! I was so excited when I heard you were coming! There’ so much new! Wait, I’ll introduce you to my wife!”
His lovely wife came right after him: “Sheryl, my dear, meet Jack.”
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Jack. Manny has told me so much about you!”

We sat down and kept talking for hours, just like old friends who have met after many years do. Manny and Craig kept going on and on about what’s happening in Hollywood and as the night went on, I was more and more excited. The stuffy air in the bar was making me feel dizzy, though, so I suggested going for a walk. I felt the usual cloud in my head, like I do always when I am drunk.

We clumsily picked ourselves up, helped the ladies into the coats and with a shaken, uneven pace lurched towards the door. It was nice to finally get out of that hellhole. After walking down several blocks of Santa Monica Blvd., we saw the cozy lights of a little convenience store. Craig ran in and I turned around to see where the ladies are, but I got suddenly interrupted by a shattering sound right behind me. It was the wine regal falling. Next to it stood confused Craig and a younger guy in a pizza-stained tee, carrying as many Cheetos bags as he could. You could see his pupils were dilated. Craig yelled: "Fuckin' stoners and their midnight munchies!” In response, the young guy smiled and said: "I fuckin' love you too, bro!" and slowly walked away from the convenience store. Craig took a couple more undamaged bottles from the shelf and headed towards the counter. He took out his wallet and uttered "Sorry. Take money." I well remember the owner's relief after that. I think that's the happiest face I've seen here so far.

We stumbled out of the store, popped open the bottles and disappeared into the night again.

At the next crossroad we took a left turn and headed towards the Chateau Marmont. We were already walking for a while when Manny tumbled over a broken sidewalk and bashed his head into the wall on the left. He acted as if it was all a part of a plan, whipped out his dick and started peeing on the wall. I started laughing, but then I realized I have to pee too. So I waddled towards him and crossed his pee stream with my own. He leaned towards me and with a grin said: “Get outta this place before it eats you up, Jack”.
“What do you mean?” I didn’t understand.
“It’s not all that great like I told you back in the bar. Hey, remember how we watched Fight Club together, back when we were younger? Do you remember the first rule?”
Of course I do. “You do not talk about Fight Club.”
“Well, same applies for problems in Hollywood. Nothing would work here, if everything wasn’t perfect. And nothing can ever be perfect. Hollywood with all its glamour is just an illusion. In fact, it’s a small world on its own. No stranger can understand it. And when you finally do understand it, you’re part of it. There’s no escape for you then.”
“Man, you’re getting deep.”
“Sheryl doesn’t wanna fuck.”
“Oh. I see.”

We zipped up just in time, when the girls and Manny with a bottle of sparkling wine appeared from behind the corner. I reached Zoë and grabbed her in my arms. She ripped the bottle from Craig’s hands.
 “Thank you, my prince. My feet were killing me.”
“It’s a pleasure, my lady. Now give me a sip from that bottle. Your stallion is thirsty. Thanks.” Zoë took one more slip from the bottle and finished it.
 “The well has run dry. Put me down.”
 Craig took the last two bottles out of his clinking plastic bag, gave one to the trio of ladies and Manny, took the other himself and speeded up to match my pace.

xxx

We finally reached Chateau Marmont. Manny and girls were far out of sight already, it was just me and Craig. There was a stranger leaned against the Chateau’s wall, the first stranger we’ve met that night. Craig approached her: “What art thou doing here this fine evening, my lady of the night? He added a little bow, but he lost balance, so it looked rather ridiculously. She looked at us and smiled amiably. Heather, which she said was her name, was a real beauty. She had a long black hair underneath her hoodie and her facial features looked like those of eastern European girls. She must’ve been barely twenty, but she didn’t seem to be ashamed of the bottle she was holding in her little hand, on the opposite, she took a big swing and wiped her mouth like a confirmed drunkard.
We stayed for quite some time and we had a good time. She was funny, gentle and showed to be a real party queen. But then, Craig said out of nowhere something that I consider completely inappropriate. Shame I didn’t at the time. He said: “Jack, you wanted contract, right? Oh, I’ll get you a contract little fella. And you’ll get a threesome with me and the lady here for free! You in?”

That’s the last thing I remember from the night.

xxx

Tick tock says the fucker on the wall. Tick tock, he insists. Doesn’t feel like stopping. I opened my eyes, only to be blinded by the bright sunshine. My head was throbbing. I commanded my brain to lift my eyelids. He didn’t like it, but he complied. This time I beat the sun. At least it was my apartment. I reached to my bedside table and I found Aspirin and sunglasses, truly a gift from heaven. Only now I noticed Zoë wasn’t there. I got up and dragged my ass to the living room. There were two things on the table. First I picked up the letter. It was carefully wrapped. I tore it apart. A ring fell out. A twin to the one I was wearing. There was a piece of paper too. The writing was shaken, stained with tears.

Is this what this place is like?
…how you are like?
We should never have come here.
We could have been happy.
Your dreams are foolish.
It’s your fault.

By the time you read this, I’ll be on my way back to Seattle. I’ll be staying at my dad’s for a while.
Don’t come.
I don’t know if we’ll see each other, ever.
I’m not sure if I want to.
Goodbye, Jack.

Zoë

The letter fell out of my hand. Thoughts started racing in my brain like little worms. Then I remembered what Manny said last night. I pictured his voice in my head: “You’re in the small world of Hollywood. Even the sun and the trees hate you here. That’s why you must pretend you’re beloved. Once you understand how the small world works, there’s no running away. Your new life begins NOW.”

Computer, the other thing on the table, beeped loudly and the screen lit up. A new mail from Craig has arrived. There was some document attached and a piece of text:

Oh, boy. You sure know how to party. Sign here. I’ll make you a star. And welcome to our small world. I am its ruler.

P.S.: Get rid of that little bitch you dragged around last night. I’ll get you a better one.