She’s sent him screeners of my work. One of the best actors of the last generation has seen my work. I feel a warmth rise up inside me at the thought, my feeling of dread abating.
“He wants casting approval on Eliza if he signs. So we’ll work on making this happen together, right? You and me. You give me one chemistry read and hopefully we can go straight to offer. Either way it’ll be one hell of a ride. You up for it?” She places her palms down lightly on the portfolio in front of her, like a blackjack dealer, and grins.
14
Stars
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12
Souki’s ready and waiting when I pull up outside the sad-looking Hollywood Star Tours building, a bundle of energy, her doll-like features framed by a bush of wild blond hair, her petite frame snuggled into a cashmere tracksuit, headphones slung casually around her neck.
After a flurry of hugging and effusive greetings, Souki roots out our tickets and we join the queue forming beside the safari truck. Inside the truck is bench seating that can comfortably carry the seven of us currently queuing. It’s an eclectic group with Souki and me, three chatty southern soccer moms, two cheerful Indian gentlemen, and one Korean student.
Our tour guide arrives full of energy, sporting a Hollywood Star Tours shirt and a microphone headset, shaking each of our hands individually as we board the truck and take our seats. Souki flashes me a grin.
“This is everything,” she whispers. “I love that we are doing this!” I stifle a giggle as she pulls me in to another tight rugby-tackle hug.
“So, Mi…I have questions,” she says after releasing me. “（A） Why has it been so long, （b） are you going completely mad out here too? and （c）， in the interests of full disclosure, I’ve heard about what happened with George.”
Everybody knows what happened with George.
“Okay, well to answer （a）： Sorry it’s been so long. Work, I guess. And （b） yes, I definitely think I am going a little bit mad out here.” I run through her questions as lightly as I can. “And do you mind if we do （c） a little later? Bit of a downer.” I make a joke of it but I really don’t want to lose my good mood yet and rehashing the breakup is guaranteed to do that.
She nods understandingly. “Sure, later. But yeah, I know what you mean about going loopy. I’ve been in LA for three weeks now, and I swear to God I’m starting to forget how to be a normal human being. It’s a bio-dome of bullshit out here.”
“You’ve done three weeks already? Are you going home soon?” I ask, suddenly terrified to lose the one person I’ve actually felt comfortable being around for days.
“Yes, thank God! My flight home is on Sunday morning.” Souki stuffs her headphones away in her rucksack and slips on some sunglasses. “I cannot wait to get back to London. I just want people to be a bit rude to me again, you know? I don’t know how many more times I can believably say ‘Have a great day’ to complete strangers without cracking up.”
I let out a laugh just as the tour guide flicks on his sound system and a high-pitched wail of feedback fills the air. Hands fly to ears and faces pucker. Here we go…I mouth over the noise and Souki snorts with laughter.
“Sorry, folks, technical difficulties!” the tour guide booms as the driver starts the engine. “Okay, gang. Welcome to the Hollywood Star Tours, rated the number one Hollywood stars’ home tour for the third year running by Tripadvisor.” Souki nudges me grinning and gives a silent double thumbs-up. And I can’t help but feel a little thrill of genuine excitement as he continues. “My name is Phil and I’m your guide today, so if you enjoy the tour then feel free to post a review, good or bad—I’m joking of course!” A spatter of chuckles from the group as we cast off from our moorings and join the flow of traffic, sailing westward, toward the hills, the warm sun on our faces.
I hear the low hum of Phil’s voice, the soft cluck of camera shutters, and the honeyed drawl of American passengers’ voices. When I look up, the palm trees of Sunset Boulevard are gliding by above us, backlit by blue, and with the sun on my skin and the breeze on my face, Hollywood rolls past.