Remains to Be Scene by R. T. Jordan Read Free Book Online

cleared her through Customs despite finding a Ziploc bag filled with enriched uranium in her purse. She straightened her posture, turned around, and for the first time since Placenta had handed her the script for Detention Rules! ” she produced a genuine smile. “I’m so ashamed,” she said. “I should have properly introduced myself.” Polly walked back to the receptionist. “Don’t you just hate it when living legends think we’re above common manners?” She reached out her hand. “I’m Polly Pepper. Of course. And you are?”
    “Michael,” the young man said. He was grinning with excitement, as he accepted Polly’s hand and gave it a quick shake.
    Polly recognized a fan when she met one. But, she thought, Michael is too young to have seen the original broadcasts of my shows. She also suspected that anyone bright enough to know her name must, by virtue of a gene reserved for her favorite ten percent of the planet’s population, sing in the choir with Tim.
    “We studied you in college,” Michael said with pride.
    “An anthropology major?” Polly joked, trying not to appear irritated that she was suddenly being made to feel like something viewed under the magnified lens of a microscope.
    “We examined your complete oeuvre,” Michael said.
    Polly blinked. “Only my gynecologist is supposed to have that much fun,” she laughed.
    Michael looked askance at Polly, not getting her joke. He recovered. “You were a required subject,” he said, trying to explain. “‘Icons: Critical Thinking and the Myth of the Value of Celebrity in Global Society.’ AFI.”
    “Myth?” Polly repeated, awkwardly.
    “I got so hooked on you and your work that I even bought bootleg 16 mm prints of the horror movies you made in Mexico. You were the best in Crawling Eyeball II: The Vision Returns! ”
    Polly emitted a giggle of self-satisfaction. “Mary Kay Place and I had a scream making that one,” she said. Polly was so completely charmed by Michael’s attention that she temporarily forgot the reason for her visit to her agent’s office. “Film school,” she said, finally making the connection to the AFI. “Perhaps your thesis script—you did have to write one, didn’t you—has a role that requires my talents?” she cooed. “I’m not one of those horrid golden calves who only accepts material submitted through my agent.”
    “J. J. would fire me. We’re not even supposed to talk to clients,” Michael said, looking around to ensure that no one was watching. “But I guess it’s not like you’re Diana Ross, or someone.”
    “Or someone,” Polly repeated. “Oh, screw J. J. And Diana,” she declared. “Until this morning, he hasn’t sent me anything to read in over a year!” Polly caught herself slipping into J. J. bashing mode. “I mean, there’s so little material out there for a star of a certain age.”
    “For a star with a certain comic brilliance, you mean,” Michael corrected.
    “You’re such a transparent toady,” Polly said with a lascivious smile. “You’ll go far.” She wanted to wrap her arms around his youthful body and physically express her appreciation for his obvious intelligence and sophisticated taste. Then Polly looked at Michael and pouted. “How can a young man of your elevated sensibilities be working as a mere receptionist?” she said.
    “A college degree doesn’t mean anything in Hollywood,” Michael said. “Here it’s all about nepotism, and who you put out for. But you know all that.”
    “There are exceptions,” Polly said, eliminating herself from Michael’s generalization.
    “I’m paying my dues,” Michael added. “J. J.’s promised to give me a hand.”
    Polly stopped herself from making the obvious comment.
    “By the way,” Michael added, “I think you would have been awesome in Detention Rules! ”
    Polly continued smiling for an awkward moment. “Would have been? I haven’t exactly made up my mind yet about the role,” she said, suddenly