The Small Things [Elvis]

Chapter 2 - Thrown Through a Loop

Thanks for all of the reads on the first chapter! I love you guys!

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How hilarious it was that we would film one of the opening shots and the ending shot in one day. Making a film was akin to putting together a puzzle. All the pieces, or the scenes to the film, were scattered and in no particular order, and they had to be put together. I was used to doing films that way. There wasn't a film I was in that was shot in order.

What a crowd of people! I looked around the carnival at all the extras as I stood on a small stage where I would start singing "Brand New Day on the Horizon." Most of these people I had already met. The place was loud like a carnival would be, and all the characters were there—clowns, dancers, jugglers, the bearded woman, the heavy woman, the fire eater, the tall and short people... and that included Shannon. She stood there on a stage down a ways to my right, wearing a cute little black dress that no child would ever wear. Well, a child wouldn't have the chest and curves to fill it. She was most definitely a woman, and a shapely one at that. She was just tiny.

A dog barked among all the chaos, and that brought me back to what we were doing. The back of my neck heated as I tried to focus on the scene. John shouted into a megaphone instructions for all the extras and what I would have to do as well—sing as I walk through the crowd.

"Alright, let's try it out!" John shouted, and music started playing. All the music I prerecorded a month back and was blasting through speakers. I would still sing, though, so my mouth matched the song lyrics.

"Action!" he called, and we all got to it.

This song was one of my favorites of all the songs in the soundtrack, mainly since it sent a good message of good things to come and to always stay positive. I needed that reminder almost constantly because of how busy and stressed I could get with my job. It wasn't the only remedy, though. The smiles on everyone's faces as I passed them was a pretty good medicine. I lived to make people happy, and these people were glowing with happiness without John needing to tell them to look happy.

It sure made me feel good, knowing that I could bring smiles to people's faces and improve their lives just a bit.

"Don't you know I said, everything's gonna be alright, and the whole world's gonna be mine!"

"Cut!" John shouted, and the music stopped. "Great job, but I think I want the whole band following Elvis through the crowd, not just the dancers. Let's start over and see how it looks. You boys good?" The band hollered the affirmative. "Great. Elvis, in this order, I want you to exit the stage, turn the wheel at the stand, brush the blonde lady's cheek, take Joan out of the stall, and walk up to the stands, not just walk through the crowd."

"You got it!" I said and looked over at the stands and saw the wheel and the blonde woman. John came over to me as I stood near the stands.

"Now, this part here," he told me and those on the stands where Shannon was, "Elvis, you're going to go down the line of stands, nod your head to the fire man, pinch the big lady's cheek, bump Stong Man in the shoulder, then pick up the little lady by the waist and give her to Strong Man. You all heard that?"

Everyone on the stands that were lined up near each other told him they did, and he instructed the dancers to just keep dancing, and the dancers from the stage that I was on originally to continue following me. Everyone else was to dance a little and have a great time. I eyed Shannon. I would have to pick her up. Again, that heat on my neck came back.

This was odd, getting nervous to touch a tiny woman. Heck, I had never even encountered a woman like her before. She was so interesting. I met her gaze for a second but looked away as I headed through the crowd and back to main stage. Shannon really did look great in the black dress, and her blonde hair was done up in a pretty way.