Bride of Slug Man by Julie Mata

Author:Julie Mata [Mata, Julie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781423195900
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Margaret is especially sad that we didn’t manage to nail Paul and Blake. She’s quieter than normal at school. I feel like her unhappiness is my fault. If I hadn’t come up with the spy gear idea, she never would have gotten her hopes up. I try not to think about our failed effort. Instead, I focus on the film festival deadline, which is coming up fast. I’ve decided what my movie really needs is a big chase scene to impress the judges. That means it’s time to move off the farm. I want a gritty, urban Batman-style setting. The best that dull downtown Medford offers is two blocks on the edge of town lined with warehouses, bars, and grimy storefronts. I choose Franklin Street, home to a tattoo parlor called Blink & Ink. It’s sandwiched between the Medford Thrift Mart on one side and a tavern called Crow Bar on the other.

This is where my cast and crew meet up on Saturday morning. After Noah arrives, he speed-walks in wide circles around Doris, casually whistling but not daring to get too close. His off-key melody starts getting on my nerves so I make him put on the slug man outfit. He still whistles, but it’s muted.

“Noah, don’t forget your glasses,” I remind him. “You need to wear them.”

He pulls them out of his pocket and wedges them on his nose.

A few cars cruise past and the passengers stare at us. Mostly, they stare at Noah in the costume. An old guy stumbles out of the Crow Bar as we’re setting up. He rubs his whiskery chin and squints at Noah. “Ha-ha, is it Halloween today? Hoo, look at the claws on that thing.”

We all look to my dad, who’s leaning against the back of our car, sipping his coffee. He stands up and ambles over. “It’s for a movie they’re shooting.”

“A movie?” the old man cries. “Well, you can shoot me! I always wanted to be in a movie.” He throws his arms wide and does a little jig. His T-shirt looks like it used to be white a long time ago, before they invented washing machines. There’s something sad and a little scary about him, even though he’s just an old man. Maybe it’s his grizzled chin, or the ropy muscles in his arms, or the wrinkly tattoos that look like purplish melanomas creeping across his skin. He looks like a character out of a movie.

A huge, blinding lightbulb pops inside my head. A guy like this is just what my movie needs! Lots of big sci-fi blockbusters include a down-and-out street bum who mumbles strange prophecies that turn out to be true. It adds cinematic style. The judges will love it. And this guy wants to do it. Just because he’s had some hard times doesn’t mean we should be afraid of him. He could be a great actor. I could be discovering the next Leonardo DiCaprio! Or, more like Leonardo’s down-on-his-luck uncle.

“I always wanted to be in a movie,” he repeats.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.