year ago I was just a high school kid with a part in a TV show. Then it was like one morning I had a movie, and then another movie, and suddenly I’m in the spotlight all the time. It sounds great, and a lot of the time it is. But sometimes you don’t want the entire world to be watching you. I acted like such a baby and messed upthe whole shoot. How can I go back and face them?”
“Actually, Quincy, it doesn’t really become a problem until Helvetica Grenier gets to the office,” I explained.
“Exactly,” Ivy said. “My mom says shoots run late all the time, for any number of reasons. They expect that, it’s normal. What they’re worried about is Helvetica showing up and asking where you are, and nobody being able to tell her.”
Quincy looked up. “And she isn’t in the building yet?”
“No,” I said. “Listen, you could have taken off for any number of reasons. For all anyone knows, you…you saw a mouse or something. It wouldn’t be the first time. We could all just go back up there together and walk in as a group. Believe me, nobody will care
why
you left. All they want is to have you back so they can get on with the shoot.”
“Absolutely,” Ivy said. “We’ll all walk in together. Nobody will be anything less than thrilled. And Helvetica will never know. Believe me, no one is going to tell her they lost a movie star!”
“Really? Oh I can definitely do that, going in as a group,” Quincy said. “You guys are great.”
Dakota’s phone made a little chirping sound, and she held it in front her.
“Well, it might be too late to slip in unnoticed,” shesaid. “Whit just texted that Helvetica’s on her way up in the elevator right now.”
“Oh no,” Quincy said. “I can’t face her like this. It’s too humiliating. Once Helvetica finds out how unprofessional I was, everyone in the whole industry will know.”
“No, they won’t,” Ivy said firmly. “First of all, Helvetica can be a terror to work for, but she keeps what goes on at
City Nation
very quiet. My mom has told me that more than once. Second, it’s not necessarily too late. Dakota, did Whit say Helvetica was on her way up to the studio or just that she was on her way up?”
Dakota checked the text again. “Just that she was on her way up,” she said.
“So if she just got here from her meeting, wouldn’t she go to her office first?” Ivy asked.
“Yeah, she would!” Dakota said. “She’ll go to her office to put away her coat and have a fresh coffee. Nobody is allowed to disturb her until she’s had that coffee. Then she calls Constantia in to get the morning roundup. She always does it that way, every single time.”
“But if we take the elevator, we might run into her,” Quincy said. “You know what? I’ll just have to risk it. I created this mess in the first place. The least I can do is own it.”
“No, you don’t have to,” Dakota said. “There’s a way to get to the studio from here that I can guarantee Helvetica won’t be taking.”
That seemed like a difficult promise to keep, but Quincy immediately brightened.
“Cool! Let’s go!” she said.
We dashed to the door, Ivy stopping long enough to switch off the lights. “Where are we going?” she asked Dakota, who was heading down the opposite direction from the elevators.
“Fire stairs,” she said. “You aren’t supposed to be able to get from the stairwell back onto a floor. But people always prop the doors open so they can go between floors without going out to the elevators. It’s so much faster. This way.”
She pulled open a door, but not before I read a sign on it that said F IRE D OOR —N O R EENTRY . I hoped she knew what she was talking about. From what I’d seen of Dakota, chances were she did, but now that Helvetica was in the office, we really had to stay hidden.
The sounds of our footsteps made clattering sounds that echoed up and down the stairwell. I couldn’t believe Dakota could climbs stairs that fast in
“Actually, Quincy, it doesn’t really become a problem until Helvetica Grenier gets to the office,” I explained.
“Exactly,” Ivy said. “My mom says shoots run late all the time, for any number of reasons. They expect that, it’s normal. What they’re worried about is Helvetica showing up and asking where you are, and nobody being able to tell her.”
Quincy looked up. “And she isn’t in the building yet?”
“No,” I said. “Listen, you could have taken off for any number of reasons. For all anyone knows, you…you saw a mouse or something. It wouldn’t be the first time. We could all just go back up there together and walk in as a group. Believe me, nobody will care
why
you left. All they want is to have you back so they can get on with the shoot.”
“Absolutely,” Ivy said. “We’ll all walk in together. Nobody will be anything less than thrilled. And Helvetica will never know. Believe me, no one is going to tell her they lost a movie star!”
“Really? Oh I can definitely do that, going in as a group,” Quincy said. “You guys are great.”
Dakota’s phone made a little chirping sound, and she held it in front her.
“Well, it might be too late to slip in unnoticed,” shesaid. “Whit just texted that Helvetica’s on her way up in the elevator right now.”
“Oh no,” Quincy said. “I can’t face her like this. It’s too humiliating. Once Helvetica finds out how unprofessional I was, everyone in the whole industry will know.”
“No, they won’t,” Ivy said firmly. “First of all, Helvetica can be a terror to work for, but she keeps what goes on at
City Nation
very quiet. My mom has told me that more than once. Second, it’s not necessarily too late. Dakota, did Whit say Helvetica was on her way up to the studio or just that she was on her way up?”
Dakota checked the text again. “Just that she was on her way up,” she said.
“So if she just got here from her meeting, wouldn’t she go to her office first?” Ivy asked.
“Yeah, she would!” Dakota said. “She’ll go to her office to put away her coat and have a fresh coffee. Nobody is allowed to disturb her until she’s had that coffee. Then she calls Constantia in to get the morning roundup. She always does it that way, every single time.”
“But if we take the elevator, we might run into her,” Quincy said. “You know what? I’ll just have to risk it. I created this mess in the first place. The least I can do is own it.”
“No, you don’t have to,” Dakota said. “There’s a way to get to the studio from here that I can guarantee Helvetica won’t be taking.”
That seemed like a difficult promise to keep, but Quincy immediately brightened.
“Cool! Let’s go!” she said.
We dashed to the door, Ivy stopping long enough to switch off the lights. “Where are we going?” she asked Dakota, who was heading down the opposite direction from the elevators.
“Fire stairs,” she said. “You aren’t supposed to be able to get from the stairwell back onto a floor. But people always prop the doors open so they can go between floors without going out to the elevators. It’s so much faster. This way.”
She pulled open a door, but not before I read a sign on it that said F IRE D OOR —N O R EENTRY . I hoped she knew what she was talking about. From what I’d seen of Dakota, chances were she did, but now that Helvetica was in the office, we really had to stay hidden.
The sounds of our footsteps made clattering sounds that echoed up and down the stairwell. I couldn’t believe Dakota could climbs stairs that fast in
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