"Well," Al said, punching in a code on the hand-link. "Ziggy is eighty percent sure you're here to have James and Rachael start a relationship, but Ziggy also says if you do that, then there is a ninety-five percent chance that Rachael will die on the set."
"Die? How?"
"Ah, we're not sure," Al told him. "Ziggy has no data on that yet. I'm having Gooshie run a program on all other possibilities to make sure this is not the only scenario you have."
"So if I fall for her, she dies. Is that it?"
"Maybe not," Al replied. "Ziggy's been wrong before, remember? Gooshie and I will work on the program and let you know."
Sam asked, "What am I supposed to do in the meantime?"
Al suggested, " Go home and study your lines for tomorrow."
Sam looked at Josh who was still sleeping and asked, "And what about our friend Sleeping Beauty?"
"Oh, wake him up, obviously. Then go home," Al said before he exited.
Sitting down opposite where Josh was, Sam said, "Okay, Jackson. Front and center! You're needed on the set."
"Yeah, be right there," Joshua mumbled. The, Joshua quickly sprung up, eyes wide open. "I'm all set. What scene is it?"
Sam laughed. "We're done filming for tonight. Lock up for me, will you? I'm going home."
"Huh? Oh sure," Joshua said, still half-asleep and blankly looking at Sam.
"We'll talk about Rachael in the morning. Goodnight, Josh," Sam said as he turned to leave.
"Hey, wait up," Josh said. "I'll lock up and we can talk on our way to the cars."
Sam did not have any trouble finding the right vehicle, since Joshua quickly locked up and walked with him to his own vehicle. Josh talked about James' old truck in comparison to his own Chevy Tahoe, so Sam was able to tell what vehicle belonged to James.
It was midnight when Sam arrived at James' place. Once inside, Sam sat on the couch and quickly memorized all the lines from the scenes that were going to be filmed the next day.
Sam noticed a work schedule posted on the refrigerator and a daily planner on the table. Sam looked up what time he was supposed to be on the set in the morning, and set the alarm clock to go off at the right time. Then he quickly flipped through a few magazines to help him identify all of his co-stars on the show that James was supposed to know. He then popped a video tape into the VCR. He wanted to pick up a few of James' acting mannerisms so that he could copy them when he began acting in James' place in the morning. Unfortunately, Sam fell asleep after watching only half an episode of "Dawson's Creek". He hoped he had picked up enough of James' acting mannerisms to fool everyone when they started filming in the morning.
Sam arrived at work several minutes early.
"Guess I will get some coffee," Sam said to himself as he got out of the car.
"James, over here," called a man who looked to be in his early thirties. He was wearing a blue and white jogging suit and was carrying a bottle of water. "Hey, David tells me you guys were up late last night."
The man approached him, smiling. Sam reasoned this man must be either a writer or an actor on the show. Sam thought, maybe it's my brother.
"Yeah," Sam said, agreeing with him. "We were here quite late. You know, sometimes things don't run all that smoothly around here."
"Tell me about it," the man said. "You try producing this show like I do and you'll know how much things can go awry."
Producer, Sam thought, dressed like that? This man must be Kevin Williamson, he reasoned. Sam had done some research last night on the names and faces he should know, and Sam was just about positive that the man standing in front of him was the show's producer and creator, Kevin Williamson.
"Well," Sam started, "is there anything going on today I should know about?"
"Um, no," Kevin said. "I don't think we'll need you on the set for at least an hour or two, but you never can tell. The way David directs, he never shoots anything in the order I tell him to."
"I heard that, Kevin," David Semel said, suddenly appearing a few feet away. They all laughed.
Kevin turned back to Sam and said, "If you don't have to be on camera at eleven, I'm going to be looking at the dailies from yesterday. I'd like to go over them with you."
"Sure," Sam said, not knowing what Kevin meant by "dailies", but he nodded as Kevin and David left to discuss the day's shoot.
at breakfast
Sam recognized her immediately. "Good morning, Michelle. I didn't sleep that much since I was here late last night, but I did sleep solid."
Michelle Williams, Sam remembered from his research last night, portrayed Jen Lindley on the show. Jen was Dawson's love interest in the show's first season. Sam noticed that Michelle was snacking on her favorite cookies.
Sam asked, "Are you eating cookies for breakfast?"
"Yep," Michelle said, teasing him by passing a cookie under his nose. "You know, I have to remember to buy some of these and bring them with me the next time I take that long seven hour ride from New York to the set. I think the cookies would make the drive down here absolutely perfect. Just listening to Bjork and eatin' my cookies," Michelle said with a huge smile on her face.
Sam nodded in agreement.
"Didja see Kevin this morning? He told me that he has this strange feeling that something is different around here, but he hasn't been able to figure out what it is yet," Michelle said.
It must have been my leap-in, Sam reasoned, but how could Kevin Williamson have sensed that? Maybe Ziggy would be able to figure that one out.
"Um, I can't seem to find my usual breakfast," Sam said. "Do you know where it is, Michelle?"
She reached over to the small refrigerator in front of Sam and pulled out a container of cream cheese and a bottle of apple cider. She then picked up some english muffins that were on the table next to her.
"Breakfast is served. If this was any closer to you, James, it would bite you," Michelle said as she handed the food to Sam that had been right under his nose the whole time.
"Oh," Sam fumbled in response. "Thanks."
"A feast fit for a king. Those are your words, James. I still don't know why you started eating that combination a few days ago. It's the weirdest combination of food I've ever seen anyone have for breakfast," Michelle said as she was leaving. "Just don't tell Jason I ate the last of his Krispy Kreme doughnuts."