Pop goes the Weasel

The atmosphere in Beck's RV was so intense; you could cut it with a knife. Or with a pair of scissors, in Jade's case. She had been pacing for two hours now without a break. She was nervous.

"Will you calm down?" Beck asked, trying to stop her from walking a hole into his floor.

"I won't calm down! They said they would call today if they picked me and they didn't call yet!" she said, louder than necessary.

"They will pick your script. You've been working on it for three years now. It's perfect." Beck told her. Jade had sent her script in to Paramount, one of the world's largest movie production companies. They were looking for scripts for a horror-thriller, and Jade had sent in a script she had been working on for years. It was about a killer who would murder his victims after torturing them and leave a Jack in the Box that played the song and left a note for the police. She sent it in and they told her they would call her until a certain date if they picked her. And today was the last day.

"No! If it was perfect, they would have already called me and said that they are going to buy it! But they didn't call did they!"

Beck threw his arms up in defeat. He wasn't mad at her reaction. He understood her nervousness. This was an opportunity in a lifetime. Suddenly, Jade stopped.

"You know what? Screw them. I'm done waiting. Let's go somewhere. They won't call anyway. Bastards!" She said as she went to pick up her bag. Right then, her phone rang. Her heart stopped. She couldn't move.

"Jade? Jade!" Beck yelled. "Answer it!" he said as he tossed her the phone. She struggled with hitting the answer button, but finally succeeded.

"Hello? Yes, it's me…. Really? Oh thank you so much!" she said in excitement, a big smile forming on her lips. Beck smiled himself. This was great. "Of course, I'll be there tomorrow. Yes, I know where it is. Ok. See you tomorrow. Thank you again. Bye!" she said as the other line. She sat down on the bed. She couldn't believe it. They want her script.

"What did they say?" Beck asked, tired of waiting for her to get a grip. She looked up at him, a smile so wide it could rip her face if she smiled even a bit more.

"They loved it. I'm going to meet the producer tomorrow at noon in their office here in Hollywood. He said he wants to discuss the details. Oh my god, they picked my script!" she said as she jumped up and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him afterwards. He held her, happy for her. She really worked hard on that script. For two years, she had read it over, corrected some mistakes, and rewritten some parts to make it better. And now, it paid off.

"We need to tell the others." Beck told her.

"Can you call them? My hands are still kinda shaking." She said, sitting down again to calm down. It was a dream coming true.

"Sure. I'll tell them to meet us at the cafe." He said as he picked up his phone and started sending the messages. He still didn't tell them about Paramount accepting Jade's script. Jade would tell them there. He looked back at her. She looked more excited than ever.

"There, I told them all to meet us there in an hour." He said as he returned his phone into his pocket. He sat down next to her and placed his arm around her shoulder. She turned in his arm and kissed him intensely. After a few minutes, she pulled away. She needed to breathe sometimes, too.

"Do you know how happy I am? First, I have you back, then my dad gets rid of that bitch he dated for the past year, and now this. This can't get better." She said as she lied down on his chest, his arm securely around her.

"I didn't want to tell you this…" he said as she got up so she could look him in the eyes," But… I told you so." He said with a laugh.

"Jerk!" she responded. Yes. He did tell her so. And thank god he was right.

The gang was sitting on their usual table at their favorite café. They were waiting for Beck and Jade. They were late again.

"Hey, do you think this is about Jade's script?" Andre asked, looking at his friends.

"Maybe, I don't know. Do you think they picked her story?" Robbie wondered himself.

"Today is the last day. If it is, then we should celebrate." Tori responded. They all nodded in agreement.

"But what if it isn't? What if they didn't pick hers?" Robbie asked.

"They must have. She worked on this for so long. And it's really good. I always get scared when she talks about it." Cat said, remembering how Jade would describe the killings in very graphical detail to her.

"Cat is right. And they were looking for such a plot for the new movie. Hell, if I remember right she made some drawings of how the murder scenes should look." Tori agreed.

"Yeah, I remember. Freaked the hell out of me." Andre said. "Hey, there they are."

Beck and Jade slowly approached. They were in no rush. They didn't care that they were late. The others should be used to it by now.

"Hey guys." Beck greeted them. His expression was his usual one. Jade was as grim as always. She had to use all her acting to hide the smile she had since that phone call.

"Hi." She said in her usual voice. Beck looked at her. "Damn, she is good." He thought.

They sat down with the others. Silence filled the table. They others were waiting for Jade to spill the news. But she didn't say a word. And neither did Beck.

"So?" Tori started. She wanted to know.

"So what?" Jade responded, looking at Tori with the usual annoyed look.

"Your script? Did they call? Today is the last day." Tori said. Her curiosity was killing her.

"Oh, that was today." Jade simply stated, turning around to the waitress to order her coffee.

"They didn't call? Jade. I'm so sorry." Andre said, hoping she wouldn't kill them in a minute.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Jade said with a straight face.

"You don't know what we are… Jade, you've been talking about it for the past month. Are you kidding me?" Robbie said, quickly averting his eyes from her before she could glare at him.

"Jade?" Cat asked, a confused look appearing on her face.
Jade finally couldn't take it anymore. Her smile reappeared and she began to laugh at her friends. Beck smiled himself. Good thing he didn't have to say anything. He barely kept it together.

"They accepted?" Cat asked, her face lighting up in excitement.

"Yes, they did. They want my script." Jade said proudly. Cat jumped up and ran over to her. She wrapped her arms around her best friend, happy for the amazing news. The others congratulated her too. The mood on the table was completely changed. Jade couldn't wait to talk with the producer.

"So you are going to meet him tomorrow?" Andre asked.

"Yup. We are going to talk out the details and I'll sign the contract. I wonder how much they are going to pay me." Jade said, not actually caring so much about the money. She was happy her idea would be transferred to the big screen.

"Well, what if they ask you to write some more?" Tori wondered.

"I'm just glad they liked this one. I don't want to rush things with my expectations." Jade said.

"Yeah, but think about it. They make this movie, it becomes a success. It's only natural they are going to ask you to write more. Maybe a sequel?" Beck said

"Guys, can we wait until they film this one before you get my hopes up?" Jade said with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry." Beck apologized.

"I can't believe I'm friends with a to be famous screenwriter." Tori joked.

"Who says we're friends?" Jade asked, hiding her smirk. Tori looked at her, a bit hurt.

"Well…" she said, turning to the others. Jade let out her laugh. She really enjoyed this.

They sat there for a few hours, joking how in the future they can all star in one of the movies Jade will write. After they were done, they all went home. Jade wanted to go and prepare for tomorrow.

Jade told her father when he came home. She simply wanted him to know. She didn't expect any reaction from the cold and judgmental man. This is why his reaction shocked her even more. He was happy. When she told him he hugged her and kissed her on the head.

"I'm so proud of you. I knew you had it in you. I knew it since I saw your theatre play that day!" he proudly said, leaving her speechless. He never told her that he was proud. He never said that he believed in her. And now this? After she talked to him, she went upstairs and lied down on her bed. Unbeknownst to her, the others planned a surprise party for her tomorrow evening at Tori's place. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't wait to talk to the producer.

The night flew by. She didn't sleep, but it didn't matter to her. She was too excited to care. She stood in front of the Paramount building. She remembered what the producer told her. 12th floor. She entered the elevator and pushed the button. After a minute, she was there. She looked around at the interior She had never been to such a place. It wouldn't bother her if she had to come here to negotiate again. She then walked over to the secretary. The woman was typing when she noticed the young girl standing in front of the desk.

"Can I help you?" she politely asked the Goth.

"Hello. I'm Jade West. I came here to talk about my script. I was told to come here." Jade explained, a bit nervous.

"Oh, yes. A minute please." The secretary said and pressed a button on her phone. "Mr. Oswald, Miss Vest is here."

"Thank you Stephanie. Send her in." was the answer. The secretary got up and signaled her to follow. After a few doors, she knocked before opening and motioning Jade to enter. Jade did so. She looked at the big office in awe. The view was amazing. The flowers were beautiful. The wall was full of posters of previous Paramount horror movies. Behind the desk, a dark haired man, late twenties, young thirties stood up and walked towards her. He was wearing a dark suit with a white shirt.

"Jade West?" he asked. She only nodded. "Hello. My name is Jacob Oswalt. We talked on the phone." He said as he extended his hand.

"Jadelyn West." She said and shook his hand.

"Please, take a seat." He said, pointing towards the chair in front of his desk. He walked around and took some papers out. He sat down and wrote something on them.

"Can I call you Jade? You can call me Jacob. I'm not that old to be called Mr. Oswalt." he asked, looking up at her.

"Sure." she said with a smile.

"I'll be honest. I loved your script. I read it all in one sitting. I was hooked from the first page up to the last. And my higher ups agree with me. We love the atmosphere you created throughout the whole plot. The main character is incredibly easy to connect too while the murders are both exciting and scary. How you used a song as "Pop goes the Weasel" and a toy like the Jack in the Box to create such a scary atmosphere is really astonishing. And the drawings were a great addition too." He explained. Jade smiled at the compliments.

"Thank you. I've been working on the script for three years now. Changing it, perfecting it, etc. I really gave a lot of thought to it. I had many ideas about what could be done, but I only picked the best ones. I'm glad you like it." She said.

"Me and my bosses agreed that a story like this should be put in special hands. You see, right now, Paramount is focusing on finding young talent. Young writers, young actors and also young directors. My question to you is, how would you like to direct this movie?" Jacob asked. He looked at her expression, slightly amused. She looked at him, stunned. She didn't blink; her mouth open, her hand's clinging to the chair she was sitting in.

"D… d… direct it? Me?" she stuttered. He looked down at the script.

"Yes. I am a big horror fan myself, and I've overlooked the production of some. You have some great ideas which we believe you could transfer the best on the big screen. So I offer you the job of directing this movie. Here is the deal. If you don't want to, no problem, we will buy the script. The offer for the script is 20,000$. The fees are usually higher, but since this is a low budget movie in today's standards, I can't offer more. If you decide to direct it, we will pay you 30,000$ per month with a 3% share of the total earnings. The filming will last 6 months, and we will film over in Florida. The studio already found a great location." Jacob explained. Jade's face fell a bit. 6 months in Florida? That was on the other side of the country. She wouldn't see her friends this whole time. She would miss school. But this was an opportunity of a lifetime.

"6 m.. Months in Florida?" she asked. Jacob noticed the change in her expression.

"Yeah, that is the downside. We are going to pay the hotel and the plane ticked. But I guess that is not the problem."

"No… This is an amazing offer. But… you know, my boyfriend and my friends." She sighed. Of course there was something like this. Nothing could go on without complications.

"How about you give me a call in two days? Or earlier, if you make up your mind. Talk to your friends and your boyfriend. I know this is a difficult decision, but think about it. This can be the beginning of your professional career. Let me know, and I'll contact your school. At least I can take care of that." He said as he gave her his business card with his number on it. She took it and looked at him.

"Thank you so much." She said.

"Don't worry. Give me a call when you decide what you want to do. If there is nothing else, I have a meeting in an hour." He said as he placed some documents in his suitcase. Jade got up.

"Goodbye. I'll give you a call." She said and left his office. She waved Stephanie goodbye and entered the elevator. She couldn't make up her mind. Direct a movie. The one she wrote herself. This was her dream. But what about the others? Beck? Cat? Tori? Andre? Robbie? 6 months without them. She didn't know. She needed to talk to them. Thank god they were having a poker night at Tori's today. Then she could tell them the news and ask them for advice.