From Twinkle, With Love(11)

“Yes,” Sahil agreed, sounding relieved.

I squinted up at him in the sun. You know, I’d never noticed before, but his black hair has glints of red in it. It’s gorgeous. I wonder if he gets that from his mom (she’s white). I wonder if Neil has that too. Anytime I’m in his vicinity, though, my senses go completely dead from shock, so I haven’t noticed. “So, do you have an idea of what genre of film we should make?”

His face, which was still stupefied-looking, suddenly became animated. “YEAH! Yes. So, I was thinking we could do a remake of Dracula. Like, the really old, classic version from 1931?”

I stared at him, nerves back once again, internal panic building. I was supposed to be the film expert here. The only acceptable answer to that question would be, Why, yes, Sahil, I know exactly what you’re talking about. But I totally didn’t. I’m more of a documentary and modern movies kind of girl. I mean, I’ve watched some Alfred Hitchcock, but that’s about it.

Okay, Twinkle, I told myself. Time to fake it till you make it. You can’t sink this now. Especially not after your pencil disaster. “Oh, right, Dracula,” I said, nodding intelligently.

“Right.” Sahil returned my nod, only his was super enthusiastic. He was clearly pumped (as I’d been before I realized I was about to be exposed as a charlatan). He had clearly watched the stupid movie. “So, I have my own ideas of what scenes we should shoot, but what are your faves?”

Crap. Okay, what do all vampire movies have in common? “Um …” I tapped my pencil on my notebook, trying to buy time. “Well, I liked the one with the … ah, bat? And the, ah, castle? It was such a great castle.”

Sahil studied me. The corner of his mouth twitched. “You … haven’t seen Dracula, have you?”

I hung my head, feeling pathetic. What sort of film expert has never watched Dracula? “No, sorry,” I mumbled.

Laughing, he said, “Totally okay. This gives me a chance to convert another unsuspecting human to becoming a Bela Lugosi nerd, which is my mission in life anyway. I’ll bring you the DVD tomorrow.”

I grinned. My (as yet nonexistent) street cred as a director didn’t seem to be damaged. It was pretty cool how Sahil accepted my shortcoming without judgment. Maybe it wasn’t that big a deal to anyone but me. “Wait. Did you say DVD?”

He nodded.

“Wow,” I said. “That’s pretty old-school.”

Sahil raised an eyebrow. “It’s kind of my thing.”

I snorted. “Okay, but if you want to capture people’s attention at Midsummer Night, you have to go all out. You can’t have a plain retelling. We need to put a spin on it that no one’s done before.”

Sahil frowned. “So, what are you thinking?”

I gnawed on my pencil eraser. “Ooh.” I sat up straighter, an idea growing. “What about this? Dracula, but gender-swapped. Like, a Dracu-lass!”

Sahil beamed. “Bella instead of Bela! I love it!”

“Excellent.” I hopped off the table and began to pace in the grass, energized now. “So, we could have our Dracu-lass be a total man-charmer like Dracula was a lady-charmer. All the roles in the film could be gender-swapped.” I glanced at Sahil, realizing fully how important this idea was to me. Changing lives could start right here, right now. “Are you okay with most of the cast being female? Because I think probably a movie made in 1931 had mostly male leads?”

Sahil nodded immediately. “It did. And I’m on board. It’s about time someone shook up Dracula.”

I grinned, my heart all warm and happy. It was all … clicking. We were on the same page about everything. Maybe making a movie with Sahil wouldn’t be as hard as I thought. “Precisely what I was thinking.”

“So, we’re going to need to get costumes and props. Maybe we could go this weekend.”

I pursed my lips, feeling that bite of tension I always felt when the people of PPC, who seemingly had limitless pockets from Narnia, talked about money. I’d love to easily say, “Sure! Let’s do it!” But my family doesn’t have random spending money. Every dollar I use is taken from someone’s lunch or clothes allowance or Support Group for Reincarnated Individuals and Those Who Love Them fees. “Um … I don’t know if I can afford too much. …”

Sahil waved a hand. “Don’t even worry about it. I’m bankrolling this operation.”

Was it charity? I didn’t want charity. I studied Sahil’s expression closely. “Um, are you sure? Because that can get expensive.”

His face was pity-free. “I’m sure. I’m the producer. All I want you to worry about is making the most kick-ass movie you can make.”

I smiled at him, relief making me slightly giddy. “Now, that I can do.”

I’m trying to be calm and casual about this, but inside I keep screaming, I’M OFFICIALLY A DIRECTOR! LOOK OUT, WORLD, HERE I COME!

How the heck do you have so much chill, Jane?

Love,

Twinkle





Four



Still Wednesday, June 3

Honors Calculus


Dear Sofia Coppola,

I just witnessed the weirdest thing in the history of PPC.

I was waiting by my locker for Maddie (we always walk to Honors Calculus (me) and AP Chem (her) together because they’re right next to each other) when Brij came up to me. “Are you ready for that econ paper?” he asked, pulling a gigantic binder from his backpack. I wasn’t sure how he’d fit that in there. It was like watching one of those clown cars, where people keep coming out of this tiny space.