RTT2

Michael Jackson had followed him and was now standing in front of them� She slightly gasped and would have stepped back if Steve hadn�t been right behind her. He put his hand on her shoulder to help her relax, prove her that it was reality. She briefly closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

�Are you alright?�

Michael�s voice made her open them again immediately. He looked worried and had walked down the few steps that separated them.

�I�m really sorry�� she mumbled, confused and ashamed, aware of the fact that her cheeks were no doubt turning as red as two apples�

�Too much excitement I suppose!� Steve said, leaving her time to gather her thoughts again.

�Ah, you must be Steve, right? The man who �knows everything� as they call you��

�Do they? Na, they�re wrong� I just know a few things�� he mumbled, blushing too at the compliment.

�Don�t be shy; I was told about some ideas you brought. They were very good. I�m glad we have someone like you in the team.�

Wow, that was a hell of a compliment for him!!! He didn�t usually like people complimenting him because he was never sure whether they meant it, but coming from Michael Jackson, well that was completely different! Seeing that they suddenly were both blushing and no doubt feeling ill at ease, he spoke again.

�I�m really sorry that I have to welcome you in this trailer, but that�s all I have here� If you�d like to come inside��

And he gave them way, welcoming them inside by a motion of his hands. Reese suddenly felt awake and awkwardly walked up the few steps, inside the trailer. Once there, she had a quick look everywhere. It was the make-up trailer, or whatever they called it. There apparently were many personal things belonging to him in there, like photos, cuddly toys� And there was all the professional stuff: hairdryers, make-up, clothes�

Once they were both inside and he had joined them, he closed the door, but Reese saw through the window that Tony was standing right next to the door knob, just in case. It was good to know that security wasn�t just a joke around here.

�Do you want anything to drink? I only have orange juice in here, sorry�� he added with one of those irresistible smiles.

They both accepted � but presently they could have accepted anything from him, especially Reese � and so he walked to a small fridge and took some orange juice out. As he did that, Reese tried to look carefully at him. He was dressed all in black, with loads of zips and what looked like buckles all over his suit, and a white T-shirt under it. In fact she realized, a few seconds late, that it was the BAD suit that he was wearing, and he looked just as if he had come out of the video in a way� His hair was a bit longer, but as a whole he looked very similar. In three words: he looked good! And now, here he was in front of her� And he was getting some orange juice for her and Steve! Something seemed very wrong in the situation� How come there was no one else; no one to do this for him? She had imagined him always surrounded by a crowd of people ready to do anything for him. But maybe it wasn�t true; maybe Michael Jackson had some moments when he wanted to be on his own, and serve guests if he had some�

He finally sat down on a chair in front of them after giving them their glasses. He was smiling, obviously quite nervous himself.

�So�� he started, �You�re Reese; right?�

She stood straight, as if struck by lightning, and when she looked up their eyes met.

�Yeah, my name�s Reese Conelly��

She didn�t know what else to say. But she didn�t want to look too stupid in front of him� Steve � who did nothing but drink his glass of orange juice � didn�t really help.

�Mr. Jackson, I ��

�Oh no please,� he interrupted her, �Call me Michael� No �Mr. Jackson�; that�s too weird�� he added with another killing smile.

�Alright� Michael� I would like to thank you so much for allowing me to be on this set, and to meet you. It means so much to me. I know you hear this every day, but I really wanted to thank you��

He smiled at her, slightly blushing. Yes he heard it all the time, but he couldn�t get used to all those fans telling him how much he meant to them, and all the incredible things they usually told him�

�I�m glad I bring you joy Reese; I try to� I sometimes think of myself as a mere instrument through which joy is conveyed to all the people who need it in this planet. I know some will say that I�m big-headed when I say that, but it�s just how I feel.�

�You do bring so much joy to all your fans, and so many people all around the globe��

She couldn�t take her eyes off him, and strangely enough he kept staring back, in a nice way; not a way that meant she had to lower here eyes because it was disturbing him� He seemed to be very relaxed. After all, maybe all the things said about him indeed were false. She hadn�t really ever listened to all the junk that was in the press, but sometimes part of it was actually true and official, so she didn�t know what or who to believe.

Steve was very silent� He kept staring at his orange juice. Was he that shy in front of Michael? Strangely enough she now felt quite confident, at ease in front of one of the men she admired most. And she had that strange feeling that he was feeling the same, but she couldn�t say why she felt that. They didn�t really know what to say or what to do, but this uneasy silence didn�t last for very long because someone quickly knocked on the door. Steve had to go; they needed him. After all, they started shooting in about ten minutes�

�Maybe I should leave you too�� she softly said turning to Michael. �You surely have things to do before you start.�

And as she said that, three people entered the trailer too. They had only about ten minutes to check that everything about Michael was alright, and he just shrugged his shoulder and smile in an I�m-sorry way, while looking at Reese.
.
�I�ll see you again, hopefully,� he said.

�Yeah� And if we don�t meet again, I wanted to thank you so much for those minutes you allowed me to spend with you��

He blushed again, unable to control it.

�That was nothing really�� he said, staring at the floor. �I offered you orange juice��
�But orange juice from Michael Jackson isn�t just a simple orange juice,� she said with a smile, before heading towards the door of the trailer.

** When I got outside the trailer, it was as if reality suddenly struck me again� It all seemed so blurred; I couldn�t really explain what I was feeling. I had just met Michael Jackson, and I had ended up talking to him as if he was just a normal person. Hang on a minute! Why am I saying that??? Of course he�s just like anybody else; what was I thinking?! Yeah, just like anybody else� And he offered me orange juice; I just can�t believe it!!! But I shouldn�t have left him do all that, it felt so weird� I should have been the one doing things for him, it would have been more logical really. But then, it wasn�t my trailer. Maybe it would have seemed even weirder� What was I supposed to do really? And where is Steve now??? He was very silent; that was quite unusual� Where do I go now? What am I supposed to do? Mmm, I don�t like this� Ah, Tony comes towards me! Oops, I was apparently going the wrong way� Sorry� Hey, Michael�s here again, this time surrounded by the crowd I was expecting. Oh my God, he�s waving at me, asking me to come�

�See, I told you we�d see each other again. I didn�t think it would be that quick though�� he says to me, once again giving me one of those killing smiles � how am I supposed to survive that???

�Well, I guess I wasn�t supposed to be here anymore, but I got a bit lost��

�Good, come with us then�� he says with a slight nod, as the crowd around him starts moving too. **

*****

She had never ever seen a movie set before and thus was amazed by all there was to look at� Many people were busy around Michael and it took Reese a few seconds to see Steve waving at her.

�You looked pretty lost, princess,� he said with a smile. �Where were you?�

�Well, I could say the same to you! And how come you were all silent back there???�

�You little idiot! D�you really think I was going to spoil that moment of yours with load of talking?! I didn�t want to disturb; I thought at the beginning that I wouldn�t come inside with you� I bet you had time for nothing anyway��

�That�s very true, but I don�t mind; I got to talk to him at least once�� she said with a big sigh.

�D�you wanna stay with me while they shoot? You could have quite a good view��

�Won�t I disturb you?�

�Not at all� By the way, this is David, who works with me��

She quickly said hello and turned back towards Steve.

�So, what is it all about?�

�Ah, I can�t tell you, you won�t have the surprise when it comes out��

�Oh c�mon, I just wanna know what happens�� she begged.

�Alright� Right now, they will shoot a dancing scene.�

She gasped with joy and a huge smile brightened her face.

�The idea is that Michael is in a kind of �dancing competition� with an animated rabbit that will be added in postproduction� It would be too long to explain you the whole thing. But now we�re filming Michael��

�Erm, what�s this set about? Desert�?�

�Oh, in the story, Michael is riding on is motorbike and he stops there� Don�t ask me why�� he added with a smile.

A few minutes later, everybody went silent as Michael finally appeared on the set and stood where he had to be, with someone standing next to him, doing nothing. Steve explained to her that Michael was supposed to look at the rabbit once in a while, so the person was just standing where the rabbit would be added later on, so that Michael would have a sort of �point of reference��

They all stood motionless when he started dancing, Reese most of all. She appeared frozen and hypnotized. For a while she forgot the world around her, and nothing mattered; there was only Michael dancing� Since he was a perfectionist � in case some people on the set still ignored it� � they had to start the shots again and again, until, finally exhausted, he admitted that it was alright. She had never seen anyone so involved in something� And the change of attitude was unbelievable� He was like those �big� actors in fact; funny, joking and smiling between two shots, and as soon as the director was ready again, in one second Michael would be all serious again and concentrated on his dance routine. And the way he danced� It was just unbelievable! She had loads of admiration for the people who would actually animate the rabbit in postproduction, and make his moves match Michael�s� Those people were the other true geniuses � but he was the best, of course�

When she gave a small glance to her watch, she realized that time had gone by without her realizing it, and it was almost 11am!!! That meant they had been there for about 2h30 already! It was hard to believe, but Steve told her that time always seemed to go quicker on set� Sometimes shots had to be taken again, again and again � when for instance you work with a perfectionist like Michael Jackson � and you finally ended up spending three times the time you had first thought about. She saw that all the people who had been installing all the equipment were uninstalling everything again.

�What�s going on now?� she asked Steve.

�Well, they have to shoot another bit today but you�re not gonna be allowed to follow that because Michael will actually be running around, and that would be too difficult cause we�ll all have to move all the time��

�Alright� What I am gonna do then while you work?�

�Mmm, don�t know� I could ask one of the guys to show you around the studios; would you like that?�

�Sure! The whole thing seems so interesting.�

�I�m sorry, Michael won�t be there��

�Well, I think I�m already really lucky; so I can survive you know��

They had a sort of brunch with all the crew and she got to talk to loads of people who explained to her what their job was. She wouldn�t have thought it took so many people just to shoot a movie. That�s when you realize that you really don�t know anything� After it, around 12.30, everybody went back to work and Reese was introduced to Rita, who showed her almost the whole place. It indeed was very interesting and Rita seemed to know everything there was to know, but Reese was wondering where Michael was, and what he was doing right now� But still she listened carefully and even asked question to prove Rita that she was. 2h30 later, they had finished the �tour� and Rita was taking Reese back to the main entrance, where she would eventually meet Steve again. But on their way they met a crowd in the middle of which Reese spotted Michael. He seemed preoccupied with something, but as the two women passed by the crowd, Reese stopped and tried to speak over the noise.

�Mister Jackson� I mean, Michael ��

�Not now! I don�t have time!� he said very authoritatively, making the crowd move on.

Poor Reese was almost frozen where she was. What a sudden and complete change� He hadn�t even given the smallest glance in her direction� And his tone� She was first shocked, but what did she really expect??? That he would stop everything, come up to her and have a chat?! Not really; no� They walked back to the first set where Steve was waiting. He saw the look on her face and immediately came up to her.

�Hey Reese, didn�t you enjoy the tour?�

�Yeah I did� It�s something else, but don�t worry��

�Of course I do worry! I wanted you to have a great day and ��

�And I did! It�s just� It�s just that I came across Michael a minute ago. He was surrounded by a crowd, and I thought it wise to interrupt them and try to talk to him. Who am I to think that?! As a result he �sent me packing��

She stopped talking and sat down on a big box next to where she was standing. She felt so miserable.

�Reese,� he said in a reassuring tone, sitting next to her, �There�s an explanation to all that��

�That I am stupid?!� she said with a bitter tone.

�Not at all� While shooting earlier on, Michael fell over as he was running and badly tore his trousers��

�Oh my God, really?! Did he hurt himself? I didn�t see anything��

�You must have come across him as he was on his way to his trailer to get changed. And let me tell you that he was quite cross with the whole thing, so no wonder why he �sent you packing� as you say. But he surely didn�t mean it; don�t take it personally��

�You think so?�

�Yeah; he never gets mad at anyone unless you really do something bad to him. Well, that�s what I�ve been told.�

�Oh, OK then,� she said with a smile and a sigh at the same time.

The rest of the shooting went quickly once Michael was back with new trousers on� He started by thanking everyone for their patience and apologized for the delay he had caused. For Reese it seemed incredible to see him doing that. Remember Reese, he�s just like anybody else� Well, he still was Michael Jackson � and that�s not really just anybody � but the man himself was just like any other. They had soon finished shooting and Steve joined her again; she had been quietly having a look around the sets, making sure not to disturb anyone. She helped him tidying everything away and they headed towards his car.

But they were stopped on their way by Tony, who came running after them.

�Miss Conelly?�

�Yes?� she answered as she turned towards him.

�I was afraid you were already gone� I�ve got something for you; from Michael.�

�Really?!� she said in a start.

�Uhuh, here it is��

And he handed her a paper.

�It�s an exclusive permission from him personally that allows you to come back during all the days that he�ll be shooting here.�

She froze; literally froze.

�What?!�

�He didn�t give me any more details. Just said he was sorry for the way he spoke to you today� You must know what he�s talking about; I don�t.�

He said goodbye, turned around and walked away.

�See, I told you not to take it personally�� Steve said with a smile.

Reese couldn�t help staring at the paper she was holding; to her it was like the key to the gate to Paradise�A wonderful smile was on her lips all the time they were in the car and once back at home she felt in a sort of trance� The whole thing seemed so extraordinary; not incredible, because she knew it had happened for real. She lay in her sofa for a long time, silently, motionless. And suddenly she sat up. Shit! If that paper allowed her to be back in the studios, it also meant that Steve would pick her up at 7.30 again tomorrow� And what about work by the way??? She had taken today off because Steve had talked about it a while ago, but what about tomorrow, and the days after? And how long would it take them to shoot that movie? She had bee invited for every day; she couldn�t really say no to Michael Jackson because of a job�! Oh well, I haven�t been ill in a long time� she said to herself with a big grin. I�ll call and say that I got a cold; sorry�

Half an hour later she had made the phone call and everything was alright. Well, almost everything� She had got carried away and had said that she would do some work at home since she had the file she had to translate� Stupid me� How would she do if she were to be out at the studios all day? Oh well, she would find a way! Knowing that she would have to wake up early again, she forced herself to go to bed early too and watched TV there. But she couldn�t sleep and finally decided to do a bit of work. And so she did until she felt really tired. She threw the file, dictionary and pens on the floor and finally turned the light off.

Chapter 2

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