A New Life (River Phoenix)

Fuck the Business

"Rio, what are you doing next?" One of the men asked. River laughed and rolled his eyes before answering.

"Some small bit for Indiana Jones 3," he answered. There wasn't a hint of emotion in his voice. "It'll be cool, I guess."

Flea laughed and shook River's shoulder, ultimately shaking me as well.

"I'm proud of you, man," Flea began. "You put up with a lot of that movie-star bullshit and never do any complaining."

River smiled small at Flea and hit his arm, causing them both to exchange glances. "Yeah, fuck the business, man." One of the men responded.

Laughter filled the room almost instantly, with different people and voice saying, "fuck the business."

The more River talked about his acting, the more I took note of how he truly felt.

Overall, he didn't enjoy it.

It seemed to me like any mention of his fame drove him over the edge, and I made a mental note not to bring it up in the future. Flea, on the other hand, saw his fame as a fun way to share his music.

He seemed to make the most of his social status, which is something River did as well, just in a different way.

I was almost completely zoned out of the conversation until Flea said my name.

"Carmen, you've been awful quiet." He told me. I laughed lightly and adjusted myself, noticing that River's hand had not yet moved.

In fact, his grip may have gotten more firm.

"I'm not a big talker." I answered.

"Should be," Flea insisted. "You're a cool girl. You don't say much, but when you do, it's sure worth it." He told me.

His comment made me feel a little less awkward. Not that I'd felt uncomfortable around anyone there; my desire to talk was just at an all time low.

And for some reason, I think it had to do with River being so close.

In a strange way, I didn't want to say the wrong thing. So naturally I stayed quiet.

"Tell us about you." River said politely.

As he turned to me, I noticed the amount of heads that did the same. All eyes had seemed to stop on the quiet girl, and It made me anxious. River rubbed my side lightly, probably noticing the pink of my cheeks begin to come out.

"There's not that much to know," I replied. "I grew up in Nebraska, moved to Colorado, and now, here I am."

One of the women in the room spoke up. "Nebraska, eh? That's where I was born. Awful boring there." She said.

I laughed at her comment and nodded.

"Yeah, not a lot to do. But it's a great place to just live in peace."

"Aint that the truth," she responded.

River spoke up.

"What's your family like?" He wondered.

I thought about it. I'd never really described my family to anyone.

"Hm, they're okay. Pretty normal. I have an older brother, and he's married with two kids, who are adorable. My parents are nice." I said awkwardly.

Flea leaned over and caught eyes with me, asking, "What about Piper?"

"What about her?" I asked. He shrugged and insisted I talk about her, so to his command, I did.