Ship It(30)

I pull away from him, pressing my shoulder up against the cool condensation of the window. “So it would change everything?”

Forest sighs. “I’m not sure what you want from me.”

He doesn’t get it. He’s never going to get it. He’s just a pretty-boy actor who wants to find the path of least resistance so that everyone loves him.

“Here’s a start. The next time someone asks you about SmokeHeart, you can try not being a condescending dick. You can try to understand where they’re coming from.”

He shakes his head. “So I guess this means you don’t want a selfie?” he asks drily, then stands up and finds another seat.


“GUESS WHAT PORTLAND Comic-Con has?” Rico turns to me excitedly as soon as we pull into the Portland Convention Center VIP parking area. “Gina’s Poster Emporium.”

Far ahead of us, at the front of the bus, Claire is the first to hop off, grabbing her backpack and heading out without looking at me, her weird mom right on her heels, asking her what’s wrong. It’s fine with me if she doesn’t want to talk to me, I didn’t have anything more to say to her anyway.

“Sounds amazing,” I say to Rico in a flat tone, but if he senses my sarcasm, he doesn’t react.

“There is literally no reason someone who has the greatest selection of rare and vintage Japanese movie posters in the world should also be just so darn nice. But that’s Gina for you!” He grabs his messenger bag from the rack and slaps me on the shoulder. “She’s also a looker. C’mon, I’ll introduce you.”

I had been planning to spend the rest of today working out and then playing Red Zone 3 in my room, but I know that hanging out with Rico will probably make me feel better than solitude, so I shake my head in defeat. “Okay, okay, let’s go see Gina.”

“Great! I’ve been looking for an original Japanese edition of Alien and she promised to hold on to one if she finds it.”

“I love Alien, it’s my favorite movie!”

“Right? Perfect film,” he agrees. “Perfect.”

As we deboard the bus, Paula is waiting for me, with Caty standing right behind her. “Forest, you’re free for the day, but we need you back by five.”

“Why?”

“We’re livestreaming interviews from the Demon Heart booth,” Paula says. “You and Claire.”

“Oh, come on. Can’t Rico do it?”

“No. Did you patch things up?”

Last night, Paula sat me, Jamie, and Rico down to tell us that there’s a strategy shift in how we’re approaching these conventions. Claire, in Paula’s opinion, is a silver bullet. A digital influencer, Paula had called her, because apparently she has a lot of followers online. So now I have to be nice to her and do everything it takes to make her like me again. Like it’s so easy to get on the good side of a moody teenager who’s already made up her mind about you.

“She hates me,” I tell Paula. “No amount of small talk is going to change that.”

“Forest, figure it out. You’re charming, you’re gorgeous, and you’re her number one favorite actor in the world.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’ve fallen in that ranking.”

“Then claw your way back up,” she says fiercely.

“Seriously, Paula, I’m not trying to be difficult here, but I think it would be better for everyone if Rico did the media stuff with her; she and I are like oil and water.”

“Caty?” Paula steps aside and looks pointedly at the social media maven.

“The buzz online is about you, Forest,” Caty says, brandishing her ridiculous pink phone. “People want to see you and Claire come together after the Boise snafu.”

“Snafu?” I know it wasn’t great, but I think that’s putting it a little strongly.

“The point is,” Caty says, “you have ground to make up. We think if we can show the two of you as friends, it will go a long way toward repairing what was broken in Boise.”

“Or what?” I say.

“Excuse me?” Paula draws herself up. In her heels, she’s exactly the same height as me, and she makes sure I know it.

“I said, or what? I don’t think what you’re asking me to do is reasonable, or possible. So what are you going to do if I say no?”

“Forest,” Rico says, low.

“No, Rico, it’s okay,” Paula says. “This is important.” Her voice is hard when she speaks again. “Forest, you may be under the same illusion a lot of young actors are under: that their job ends when the cameras stop rolling. But that’s not true. Your show only matters if people watch it. Publicity is just as important to the process as production, or writing, or editing, okay? So let’s dispense with this belief that the work I do is somehow frivolous or unnecessary.”

“I just—” I start to say, but she cuts me off.

“And if you can’t be motivated by wanting to help the show that you’re one of the stars of succeed, then I am happy to motivate you another way.” She narrows her eyes, and I can’t not feel intimidated anymore. I don’t know what this woman is capable of, but at the moment her powers feel limitless. “Caty tells me you’re looking to cozy up to Jon Reynolds and the Red Zone folks.” I pale, realizing where this is headed. “Do I need to remind you what studio has Red Zone? That’s right, the same one that has Demon Heart, the same one that pays me. I can pick up the phone right now and call the president of the studio and tell her that you’re too difficult to work with, and how do you think that will play once casting gets under way for your little video-game movie?”