An actress acting out.

“Cut!”

The director gives a frustrated sigh while shaking his head. 

“Madison, you have to say ‘I’m not so sure about this, let’s leave.’ Please stick to the script.”

Madison Hamilton does not look impressed with the director telling her what to do. 

“Fine, just give me a minute.” 

“Hey! You can’t just leave when you please!”

Madison does not hear a word and charges forward to the trailer. The director pinches his nose as if anticipating a headache. The whole crew look at him in expectation. “Everyone take five!”

The crew start to disperse and leave their stations for the short break. “Now that is how it’s done. When I say you can take five.” Director Norris mumbles under his breath. He really thought that working with her would be alright. Never would he have expected her to be so… a Drama queen. The rumours said she was a wonderful actress and a true artist in her craft. Some say she was a bit tricky, but where there is a rumour there is bound to be some sort of truth. There are many actors who are brilliant, but horrible to work with. This is the third day of shooting on set and it’s already like this…

Norris proceeds to the coffee table then eyeing the donuts and thinking he should not. His coffee is already poured and he slowly adds creamer to still stare at the donuts. 

“I heard that on the set of ‘The Waking’ she a nightmare!” the makeup artist, Sharon takes her coffee, but leaves the donuts.

“How so? What did she do?”

“Oh my soul is there anything that she did not do?! She changed the lines in every scene as she saw fit according to how she thought then she spit in her makeup artists face. Also she had this huge temper tantrum and through over one of the lights, but luckily no one was hurt.”

“What?! Are you serious?!” Carol from costumes looks absolutely stunned by this news.

“Yup, so now I am scared to death she might do something to me so I just have to be nice and does what she asks or else.”

“It’s really strange… Madison has always played these pure and innocent roles. She plays the damsel in destress or the kind cheerleader. My favourite role of hers was in Princess Amelia where she put her people’s needs before hers to save her country.”

“Well, that was one of her first roles. I think after her big break she started to get full of herself, but the role that someone play is not who they are. It’s just a role.” Sharon takes a donut and shoves it into her mouth after her testimony. 

Director Norris also gives in and takes a donut as well. So there you have it from a kind and much loved princess to the cruel Drama Queen.

“Uhm…Director?” He looks up and sees Carol’s soft eyes.

“If I may ask… was Madison your first choice to play this role?” She asks so softly as if asking how he coping after his dog’s unexpected death or something.

Director Norris scoffs at the question more rudely than intended. “No! I wanted Carmen McCarthy to play the role.” It came out more rude and loud than expected. 

“Oh my soul I love her! She would have fit so well with this role.”

“I know. That’s why I choose her, but she never answered her call again and the studio pushed me to stick with the dates and start shooting.”

“I heard Carmen is missing.”

“What? Missing?”

“Yes, it was on the news this morning. It’s just simply awful.”

“Gosh it is… I hope they find her. The police will probably do her part and now we must do ours. Let’s start filming again.”

Director Norris proceeds to Madison’s trailer. He stands in front of the door, but hesitant to knock for a moment then he hears her voice inside. 

“This was your idea! Your bad idea! Thanks for getting me this role, but now they are going to start asking questions!”

There is a moment of silence as the caller on the other end of the line speaks. 

“My doing?! My fault?! It was your idea! I did not know that is what you meant?!”

There is another quick pause. 

“I needed this role if I could be actress of the year again! Besides it was technically an accident what happened to her! How was I supposed to know she would trip?”

The caller on the other line replies for the longest moment thus far and then ends the call without Madison even getting the chance to say goodbye. 

Madison is quiet in the trailer after the call. The time has come and no longer should there be paused or contemplated and knocks. “Madison! It’s time to go on again!”

“I’m not ready!”

Director Norris gives a deep sigh. They are on a tight schedule. Maybe she is going through a tough time, but then he will have to encourage her. “I’m coming in.”

Without thinking too much his hand is on the door handle and he opens. She has no time to answer. Her expression changes like the seasons. First she is shocked with her mouth slightly open an expression you hardly ever see on her. Next is the scowl of a six year old after they could not have a toy. Once director Norris enters her expression softens again this time the most unexpected expression. 

Fear?

It does not matter the show must go on. “Madison, please we need to start shooting again I want to be done with this scene now so that we can move onto the kissing scene. The studio is pressing us for time. I am sorry for barging in and taking out stress on you as the studio puts their stress on me, but we need to go.” With the script in his hand he gestures to the trailers open door. She looks surprised and caught off guard, but also nervous. No surprise with being nervous her trailer is amess. The smell… oh the smell…

The director’s eyes meet the empty can of tuna, but it must have been standing there a while. The trailer does smell of reeking tuna, but a deeper stench has layered is as well. It’s a smell of rot and decay. Who knew that tuna left out could make such an unpleasant aroma. 

For the first time ever Madison jumps to a command and aims to leave the trailer and continue filming as the director wishes. She shoos the director out the door to make her exit. Madison turns around and closes the door proceeding to lock it. A habit she had since filming began. On set she says her lines without a stutter or a pause to argue. 

“Sir, here is the ball gown for the kissing scene.” Carol gleams as she shows the baby pink silk gown with delicate flowers of the rim of an open neckline.

“Oh Carol! You have done it again!” Thank heavens something has worked and now things are looking up. 

“Thanks sir.” Carol gleams with pride at the director’s awe for her hard work. “I’ll go put it in her trailer.” She turns, but he stops her. 

“Just please remove that tuna can. I don’t want that stench soaking up into your artwork, Carol.” She nods and proceeded to leave again, but is once again stopped. “You know what just take the cleaning crew with you. Here is the master key.” A tangle and jingle of keys is handed to her. She nods and takes the keys to deliver the dress. The key slides into the trailer’s lock smoothly and with a turn opens. As the door opens the odour meets them. Since her pregnancy she has become more sensitive sense of smell. 

“Oh dear heavens,” she squints as she smells. “Let’s go ladies.” Two of the cleaning staff members follow. The tuna can was pushed over the side of the table into the trash can. Bit by bit the clutter was moved and organized. The windows were opened for fresh air and the floor was swept all while the cast was filming the expected movie of the year. The smell still clung to the air after tuna can was removed. The bathroom was opened to be cleaned, but the ominous smell origins was not there. One cleaning staff member scrubbed the toilet and the other swept the floor. The smell was annoying Carol to the brink. As a mother of two boys she MUST find the origin of the smell. Is it a half-eaten sandwich under the bead? 

Or did another rat get where they did not belong and die? She looks under the bead, but there is nothing only dirty socks. She looks behind the dressing table, but only finds a makeup brush and makeup pallet. 

Sharon opens the closet door for the ball gown. The closet door creaked open, but with some resistance as something as been blocking it form inside. A mannequin topples out onto the floor. The mannequin flopped to the carpet floor like a rag doll and lands facing upwards and that is when she sees it. 

It is not a mannequin. Carmen McCarthy is sprawled on the trailer floor and still and peaceful like sleeping beauty. On her forehead is a red smear of blood. Her blue eyes are closed, but sunken in and grey. Her once flawless skin is a greenish blue and blisters has formed as gas has built up inside the dead body. Carmen’s slim figure has swollen grossly. No matter how different she looks its definitely her. 

Carmen McCarthy is found dead in Madison Hamilton’s trailer. The screams stopped filming and everything erupted into chaos. Bright stage lights have left the scene and replaced by blue and red sirens. 

Another face took the centre stage, but not and actress. “Reporting live from Fantasia studios we are here witnessing a shocking turn of events. Missing actress Carmen McCarthy has been found, but unfortunately dead.”

The word dead felt like a car breaking to a halt or someone punching you in the stomach. It was said so seriously and blunt. 

“She was found in her rival’s trailer and the suspect, Madison Hamilton will be taken into custody to start in investigation.” 

The pieces fell together. Why Carmen never called. How Madison got the part as the second choice.

Why the trailer had the smell of decay and how Madison did not want director Norris to enter. She made him leave as quickly as possible and was locking the trailer with reason. 

 An actress acting out after she did not get what she wanted and she almost go away with it. 

Director Norris held Carol in his arms. She was in shock and awfully traumatized after finding her favourite star dead. “I knew Madison was spoilt, but I never thought she would do this.”

“’There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.’ Oscar Wilde.” He said it so softly. He was absolutely disgusted with Madison. On the phone she said it was an accident and that she tripped, but then why hide the body if not guilty? 

Many things were uncertain. Will the movie run again and recast? Will the studio move the dates? Who will they cast now?

One thing was for certain after Madison’s reputation she would never act again….