10. Long knives

Charlie Porter, former shrink impersonator and some time music impresario, was armed and dangerous. She had bought a packet of pens and a thick notebook. She sipped vodka cranberry, whilst waiting, not for her prince to come, but for a Caesar salad. Troy was nowhere to be seen, which, she felt was quite frankly a blessing. She had come to this pretend town to write a script about pretend people doing unbelievable things, in a believable way.

As if to prove her point and justify the trip to herself, her heart missed a beat when she saw what looked like a black man running naked and backwards down the sidewalk. Well he was running backwards but his black leotard contributed to the other surprise. She smiled and deeply inhaled a lung full of LA.

When the salad arrived, she was ready for it, with a fork in one hand, pen in the other, and a mind bursting to pee. A great feeling when it starts to flow. Better than sex, drugs and, most definitely, rock’n roll. Pen hits paper as fork kills lettuce, the explosion, the exhilaration, the phone rings.