give me something

Maybe it was something in that Seabrook water, because there were boys who were totally even shorter than me.  A set of twins actually, and they’re like six foot now…and a girl but she’s only a bit taller than me now. You’re right though, on the nine year old part, there have been incidents on that.  No…but I was sickly, and I’ve heard that stunts your growth a bit added to the fact that as an adult my mom was only 4’10ish.  The thought of his parents beliefs brings a smile to the small blond’s face.  That’s a really gorgeous way of thinking, if it works out anyway.  I like the idea of that.  Maybe optimism is they key, you know?  You’re never gonna see just how bright the sun can shine with tinted windows.  Kate laughs, shaking her head.  No, I look as Aryan as it gets, but my dad is Mexican and his entire side of the family wanted him to marry within the culture.  My nickname from birth was ‘cracker’, and once I figured out what that meant it led to me figuring out their other little gestures.  One thing led to another and my last name changed from Villanueva to Hudson and I haven’t seen them since.  But for future reference, in South East Texas you are 100% better off with ethnic looks than anything like me.   Kate’s brought back to Earth after a few minutes of being completely zoned out, looking at the little boy.  Strange how once you lose something you realize just how much you wanted in the first place.  Oh whoops, zoned out a little there.  She forces a bit of a laugh.  She looks through a couple more trees before tilting her head.  What do you think of this one? 

Ah. Kyle nods. I see, I see. Maybe it's just a sign that people shouldn't try and live in the desert. It definitely isn't a natural thing. You probably were so short because you were trying to need less water so you could survive. It was an adaptive mechanism. He laughs. Yeah, I got really lucky. I have no idea what I did to deserve a family like mine. I'm sorry about that, though. Racism in any form is a truly ugly thing. Pity, though. Villanueva is a pretty last name. He rolls it around in his mouth. Villanueva. Makes you sound exotic. Kyle examines the tree Kate picked. It's smaller than the other, so she should have no problem reaching the top of it to put on a star. It's nice. I mean, I'm no horticulturist, but the branches look good and it won't collapse on you. He grins. How does it smell?

No kidding.  Kate laughs, scrunching her nose.  Lucky I hit that growth spurt senior year or I would seriously have a problem.  Kate watched the tree swirl, a comfortable appearing on her face as the smell hit her.  Truth.  She wags her finger no where in particular.  It’s fluffy too, so that’s good.  I think we’ve got our tree.  She chuckles.  That’s…awesome, really.  My mom would have cried for days had I brought Jason around for anything.  She glances away but only for a fraction of second.  Kate doesn’t like the way his name feels on her lips anymore.  I dunno, the only reason I asked was because I was a bit of an observer in high school and it wasn’t uncommon that I’d hear people complaining like crazy that they had to spend the day with the family instead of whatever was happening in the social world.  I think I agree with you there, just a sense of togetherness.  There’s magic in the simplicity of it.  Kate digs her hands deeper into her pockets, looking around briefly, the smile still clear on her face.  Mhmm, I do think that’s what’s next on the agenda.  Her eyes follow a little boy running across the pathway to his mother, a warm smile on her face, waving back to him after he waves at her like little kids do.

You're pulling my leg, right? Kyle narrowed his eyes. There's no way you were ever legally a midgit. I mean, you're small. But not dwarfism small. When she pronounced her acceptance of the tree, he raised a hand and waved the attendant over. Would you please keep this tree for us? We're going to find a second one and I'd rather not forget which this is. Unless you can remember? It was half a tease, half serious as he looked down at Kate. Her attention to detail was phenomenal. The attendant just shrugged and took the tree, eyebrow raised as if to ask why they needed two trees. Jason...? The image of call after call on her cell phone screen flashes into his mind. Oh. Your ex. Yeah... We just brought the social world to our family. Riss's sophomore through senior year we had to coordinate to make sure we weren't using the same weekend as her girlfriend's family because they both wanted to do both. He laughed. As of late, Riss had begun seeing someone new and apparently she was pretty happy about it. Well, you're the one who has to pick it. Go on. Find something you like! Kyle followed Kate's gaze after the little boy, a broad grin breaking across his face at the child waving at her. He likes you.

I tried collecting all the neighborhood strays…but that didn’t end so well.  Apparently, I’m allergic.  She laughs, grinning back at him when he turns to her.  Awe, that’s perfect!  Active imaginations, we had.  Her eyes follow him as he explains what a tree really was, a warm grin on her face.  Well…if it does that, then by all means I’m all for it.  She chuckles despite the truth within the statement, she didn’t exactly have a ‘home’ at the time so the thought of making one was incredibly appealing.  No…not at all,taller than me anyway. I like it. She smiles, picturing the traditions in her head.  It painted a perfect picture, something she had always wanted.  Family.  That sounds just…lovely.  Really.  I love that, the whole concept of it.  And it holds up?  Like even with teenagers who have boyfriends/girlfriends and what not?  The idea of family coming first no matter what was such a foreign concept to her, her mom had always come first to her-no matter what, but with so many variables it never got further than that.  That really does sound like it has a magical air to it.  She meant it, she could see it in her head, but materializing it seemed so much harder.

Everything's taller than you are. Kyle had a warm smile on his face to mitigate his words, conveying without speaking that he meant no offense. He was just teasing Kate. So that doesn't really answer my question. He spun the tree again, examining it. Though this one is pretty nice. It's not like we need something twelve feet tall for the staging area. That would just get in the way. I think this is about how tall trees were at home. He looked away for a moment at her question about teenage significant others. Savannah hadn't really had any kind of Christmas celebration at her house, so she'd taken part in decorating their tree. No... No, it wasn't a problem. No boyfriends, but girlfriends certainly weren't prohibited from coming over and being a part of things so long as they were a positive presence. It was pretty open, and it was just one day of decorating and stuff so there's never been any problems thus far. The whole point was family. Other people could be part, but it always comes back to the five of us. I think that's the greatest possible kind of magic. Kyle shrugged with one shoulder. So. If this one's good enough for set, should we look for a tree for you?

I was a weird kid.  She shrugs her shoulders, laughing.  I thought I was gonna be a zoo keeper…so I tried starting my own zoo and one thing led to another and…well, yeah.  She glances up at him, the amused look still on her face.  My ideas always stretch way further than my ability to go through with them.  I told you it didn’t count.  Kate laughs a little more outwardly.  Alright…I just figured that’s where I’ll be spending all my time anyway…but okay, yeah.  It’ll brighten up the living room anyway.  She follows him, laughing as he went on.  Thank you, that’s really nice of you.  Crush me?  Killer trees, we have here.  She jokes, putting her hands in her pockets.  Is it?  That’s kinda cool.  I guess the whole Christmas tree farming dealio prolongs Christmas even more there, doesn’t it?  When do you guys go about decorating and what not?  I know some people make it tradition to do it on Christmas Eve.

That doesn't seem so weird. Somehow managing to collect geckos and frogs for your zoo is a little odd, I think more kids envision a zoo full of mammals. But hey, you make do with what you can. I tried to be a sled dog racer. Using jump ropes and a Radio Flyer. He shares a smile with her at the silliness of their respective childhoods. Kate, the point of having a tree isn't being there all the time with it. It's a lot less maintenance than a pet and you don't have to do anything to it. It's walking in the door and it's there and it's light and it's warm. Christmas trees make just "places" into homes. That's why you should get one. He steps forward, pulling one out and twirling it on the truncated stem, running his finges over the slim green needles. What do you think of this one, Kate? It's not too short, is it? Kyle shakes his head, looking nostalgically into the distance. We always make a day of it. I don't usually get home in time anymore. But we'd go pick out a tree and then Dad and I put it up while Mom, Riss and Cam brought the decorations down from the attic. Dad would make hot cocoa on the stove and we'd turn on Christmas music for the first time that year and then we'd all just get started decorating the tree and hanging stockings and laughing and being together. No one was allowed to mention homework or cut out early. Then we'd have it there, so we could start putting presents under the tree and turning on the lights when we sat in the living room. It was like... like a magnet. Drawing everyone together. Magic.

Sounds pretty fair to me.  Kate laughs, her grin genuine.  She was joking, but she really did mean it at the same time.  From what she had seen so far there wasn’t much of anything that would cause her to think they’d ask for too much from her.  Within her learning, memorizing them, she had come to know that they were all one of a kind in one way or another…people in which she found was a rare phenomenon to find so many of which are so genuine in one place as a group.  Ah, yes that’s very true, I’ll just have to take your word on that one though.  I’m more familiar with herding geckos and frogs.  She laughs, the expression putting a rather amusing imagine in her head.  

Herding... what now? Kyle does a double take, staring openly at Kate. People don't herd geckos! Or frogs! What is that even supposed to mean? He can't even imagine the circumstances under which anyone would consider herding an amphibian. You were eleven months old? Kate, you have to get a tree. It's all very well and good to get one for charity, but sometimes you just... He shakes his head. Come on. We might as well get you one while we're here. I can help you put it up so you won't have to do that alone. Otherwise the tree might fall on you and crush you, and that wouldn't be any good. I don't suppose you have decorations either, but since we have to get some for set anyway... We usually get our tree from a local Christmas tree farmer - we don't actually chop it down ourselves, but Christmas tree farms are kind of a thing in the pacific northwest.

No, it makes sense, it’s like…mentally replacing her and even the sound of that’s disrespectful.  I get it.  Especially working so closely with her.  Kate nodded to herself, it sounded better in her head but nonetheless she agreed.  Really?  Lucky it wasn’t a huge fan-based book, they would have had hell with it, even with such a small change.  They always do.  Venice, really?  Never would have guessed it.  Kate tilts her head to the side, nodding before laughing lightly, a playful grin on her face.  You don’t sound too sure about that.  I get far too attached to people/things to leave before I absolutely have to.  When I’m given a shot in hell anyway.  She scrunches her nose in thought, still laughing slightly.  It was true, she spent so much of high school watching people, never participating in conversation or friendships but learning things that when people actually wanted her around she memorized them without trying to.  That made it way harder to leave when she needed to.  She was definitely well on her way to that point.  Oh, I bet…you guys have been working together for what…two years?  That’s a long time, lots of things can happen in that time.  She chuckles, remembering her own instance of ‘ninja’ watching.  Ninja is more fun than maturity though, right?  

Well, good. Because we're kind of like an exclusive club here. Sure, the only thing you have to do to join is join the cast or crew, but as long as you're working with us, you're in and if we like you you're in for life. You may have to pay dues in the form of tolerating us making a montage of how you change over time, but that's a small price to pay for the company of everyone here. He laughs, but he means it. Friendships forged on set are harder than diamond. Sure, they can shatter sometimes but for the most part all but living together really cements peoples' camaraderie. Ninja may be more fun than maturity, but sometimes maturity is preferable. Trying to get your cast to do what you want is harder than herding cats.

Oh, absolutely not.  She chuckles, shaking her head.  When I do sleep the existence of the outside world has to be questionable, so sleeping with any light at all just wouldn’t do.  Kate even had black curtains carefully placed over every part of the window to ensure headlights wouldn’t invade her bedroom. Before Jason she was able to fall asleep anywhere, anytime, but things are different now.  Everything is different now.  There’s no one else I could see as clearly for Tess…after watching that girl you guys had in mind’s audition before Marleigh was chosen, I mean.  People are almost never what you think at first glance.  It’s a good thing the whole bad influence aspect fades a bit in adulthood, isn’t it?   They seem like quite the pair, it’s hard to imagine one without the other now.  She laughs, nodding.  Buddy the Elf is definitely better imagery than those wrestling midgets anyway.

Well, now that I've seen her as Tess, I couldn't imagine anyone else for the role either. She's good. Not that I'd imagine anyone else as Tess anyway. It seems kind of disrespectful to me, though I can't really explain why. It's almost like it would be an invalidation of Marleigh's work and the amount of effort she's put into her character to envision another actress in the role. Though did you know that Tess was originally written as a blonde? The show is an adaptation of a relatively little-known book series that Director Hayes found and in the source material, she's a blonde. But as soon as Marleigh auditioned, he wanted her - and Venice opposed it. He chuckles, shaking his head at the recollection. That didn't last long. But she was a lot quieter then. A lot less certain. You'll see - if you stay, that is. It's odd. Kate hasn't been with the cast very long, but she already feels like part of their little family. The idea of her choosing to leave, while Kyle intellectually knows it's possible, seems alien. It would be like Talen or Indie leaving. She just belongs with them. Everyone changes a lot over time. The actors don't seem to notice as much. They're all leaning on each other and yelling and playing 'ninja' even though they're in their twenties and should be more mature. But crew definitely sees it.

I tend to keep it simple..lights and a tree although lights I kind of keep around year long.  She laughs at the thought of her make shift twinkle lights she hung in her bedroom.  That does sound like quite the dilemma there though.  It doesn’t surprise me that Marleigh found it amusing to be honest.  She’s something else, that one.  The other day she caught me hiding a bag of those mints Jack always seems to have around in his camera bag…the next day I came outside to see my car with one of those ‘car costumes’ on it dressed as an elf.  But on the bright side I’ve moved up from ‘Midge’ to ‘Buddy’.  Kate chuckles at the thought, shaking her head softly.  I agree, if you look at things right, the idea of Christmas can just…brighten things up for a little while.  Making the little things the big things and all…although that should really be an everyday thing.  Her grin twitches a bit.  It’s all about the memories attached to things, right?  That’s what makes them special.  They remind me of my mom.  She love love loved Christmas trees, almost to a point of ridiculousness.  When she got sick, she got me to put it back up even though it was February.  People thought we were crazy, but that was alright because it made her happy.  Just a little light. She spoke lightly despite the heavy subject.  

That sounds nice. Don't tell me you sleep with the lights on, though. I honestly don't understand how anyone does that. Icicle lights are lovely until someone wants you to sleep with them on. Savannah trained him well. She could never fall asleep in anything less than pitch blackness and even now, Kyle doesn't allow any sources of light that can't be turned off in his bedroom. Marleigh... I wouldn't have picked her for this project, honestly. I wouldn't have even thought of her. But Aaron - Venice and Indie's father - does things his own way, and she's perfect as Tess. Plus, Indie worries about Venice. I think she's glad to see her sister have a solid friend, even if that friend isn't always the best of influences. Buddy's not a bad nickname, though. It's like a golden retriever rather than a fly. 

At the mention of the Christmas disbandment, she remembered the appointments she had made to fill her time during the break, she almost cringed at the thought.  Oh, thanks I really like the thought of having one around too.  My thoughts are pretty much invaded by ways to make Christmas more Christmas..ey (Her eyebrows furrow as she fumbles over how to express her thought bubble.) by Halloween.  White elephant and secret santa?  That is definitely something I can get into.  She chuckles.  Christmas trees have a way of doing that don’t they?  They can change the entire feel of a room.  She murmurs a ‘thanks’ as she took her seat in the car, waiting until he was in himself before speaking again.  Excited for the break?

Christmas-y? Kyle raises his eyebrows, laughing. If that involves flocking, the answer is no. Our first year on set I let Venice - who was only eighteen with all the terrible judgment that implies at the time, mind - talk me into letting her bring flocking onto set. She ended up with a combination of pink flocking and pink silly string... Marleigh was the only one who found that incident amusing. Talen almost strangled her when she got some on his camera. At the time, it absolutely sucked, but in retrospect it makes a great story. I think the purpose of Christmas is to make things better. I like trees a lot, but that's mostly because they remind me of my little siblings. My sister never grew out of Christmas, and my brother used to hide things in the branches of the tree and then lose them. So it'll be nice to have a tree around, and it makes things smell good too. 

Kate’s head pops up at the sound of the knock on the door, smiling she zips her boot and hurries over to the door, looking through the peep hole before opening it. Hey!  Yep, good to go.  She smiles up at him before digging her keys from her purse to start the process of locking the door.  The girl may have gone a little overboard when it came to installing the locks.  How are you? She grins innocently at the slightly creepy man who was always trying to talk to her as he walks by them, unknowingly to her eyeing a thankfully fully clad Kate, her mind fully set on the idea of Christmas trees.

Kyle glares fiercely at the passing man as soon as Kate's not looking, causing the pervert to scurry along, eyes firmly averted from her body. The effect probably won't last, but for the moment she's safe from that man. Clearly, she doesn't feel safe enough if her door needs to be locked that many times. This was a good idea, Kate. I know we're disbanding for Christmas break, soon, but it's still really great to have our own kind of celebration and a cast-and-crew bonding around it. We always do a white elephant gift exchange and a secret santa the week before hiatus starts too, so it'll be nice to have a tree in the staging area to brighten things up. He follows her until they get out of the building before taking the lead; subtly steering her to his car and opening up the passenger side door for her.

Not a problem, Kyle.  Kate sips at her hot chocolate, savoring the smell of the peppermint fumes coming from the mug.  I noticed.  She smiles softly.  Everything alright?  She looks over to him as she retrieves a tiny box of craisins from her bag to put in her salad.

Hmm? Yeah, yeah of course. I'm just working hard at my second job. Kyle shakes his head, sipping his coffee to try and get himself focused. No rest for the wicked, after all.

Kate opened the microwave in the break room, pulling out the heated cup of milk and retrieved a small plastic container of powder to pour into it. As she turned to smile at whatever Indie had said to her, a couple of the assistant camera men caught her eye, having found the cookies she had left for them earlier that morning making her smile brighten only slightly before turning back to her hot chocolate.  Upon her attention finding it’s place again she noticed drops Kyle’s drink slipping from the cup onto the counter and reached over to the pile of napkins on her side, grabbing a few.  Here.  She giggled lightly, handing them to him.  

It shouldn't be bothering him. But ever since Indie mentioned that Talen mentioned that Rick Jones from post-prod was showing a weird interest in the younger girls, Kyle's been on high alert around them. Obviously, they're all grown women and can take care of themselves. But he can't help but worry. As such, he's been missing other obvious things. Like his coffee sloshing on the counter. Talen starts when Kate, unprompted, attends to the problem. Oh. Sorry, Kate. He shakes his head self-deprecatingly. I guess I'm kind of distracted. 

Kate laughs with him.  It really can’t…detail is really important.  Oh, gosh.  I’m sure he did hear, Talen doesn’t seem like the sort to make effort to hide his opinions in any way. The previous guys sounds like such a trip though.  I guess that’s the one part of this whole set designing thing I’m absolutely familiar with, the detail and the process. I’m not new to design as a whole, so much as with sets alone.  

No. Well, he's not overtly rude, usually. Just... Blunt. Very blunt. And sometimes a bit sarcastic. And sometimes secretively rude. I'm making Talen sound like such a bad guy, and he's really not. Kyle shakes his head. What kind of design work did you do before Sight? I know I probably asked you when I hired you, but we were running low on time and you were good and not totally inexperienced, so I don't think I really cared.

At that point she decided it was best not to argue that it wasn’t insomnia and just smile and nod softly.  It was best not to think about anyway, what with this being the time she actually had with people.  In only an hour or so she would be going back to her empty apartment all alone.  Very true, for some things I get it…I get why sacrificing little things for efficiency is good but for the more artistic things…she shrugged her shoulders.  

Very true. Art cannot be rushed, after all. Kyle laughs. Perhaps you're more like our previous set designer than I thought. Not in that you're sloppy! He just always used to insist art took time, and then pretend he couldn't hear Talen mutter that he should try actually doing some art. Or maybe he was so oblivious he really didn't realize. I don't know.

Well, no.  I haven’t been to the doctor s-for a few weeks now…but it’s not a medical thing.  I could sleep if I let myself, and I probably should.  She looked away again momentarily, wondering just how bad it would be if she did go to sleep regularly.  Her first instinct told her that it would only last the one time it took to scare the hell out of her.  I agree, it can be very useful, and very necessary at times, but in some fields people are just taking it way too far.

I mean, it's not a bad thing to have to go to the doctor if you need to. People have problems with insomnia all the time. All of Kyle's instincts scream for him to stop engaging over such personal stuff. It's not his business what Kate does. If she's going to be jeopardizing her health, he does need to talk to Indie, but otherwise he's letting himself go too far. It's easier. People are all about efficiency and convenience.

Not exactly impossible.  She laughs before hearing the effects it could have on her.  That brings a small shrug from her as she glances away for a second, she’s had blackouts before.  Blackouts, yes, but I’ve not had any problems with hallucinations so far.  I’ve been parking up front near security around five or five fifteen just to get enough rest to get me through the day…preventing blackouts at work and all.  She smiles lightly.  Well, maybe not the actually things per say but…something I can touch…erase manually and such.  I sketch for the most part and then I have the program on my phone that I can take a picture of it and it’ll make it possible to detail the stuff I can’t do by sketch.

Okay, inadvisable. Have you seen a doctor about this? Because I'd strongly suggest you get some kind of medical help if you're having that much trouble sleeping. Privately, Kyle makes a mental note to talk to Indie about this. Kate's a good worker, but she's also quite a health risk apparently. Makes sense. As convenient as technology is, I'd say operating without it is a dying art, though there are a lot of benefits to it that people don't necessarily remember when they're caught up in electronics.