Ch-51

"So you're telling me," I began slowly, "that Steven Spielberg offered me the lead role in his next film and you declined? That's why he's mad at me?"

"Yes," Mum looked uncomfortable at my scrutiny. "You are doing films non-stop, Troy. At this speed, you'll burn out."

"But then he'll be extra harsh against [Billy Elliot] and even against me later in my life!" I whined. "That's so unfair!"

"That's life, get used to it," Dad commented drily. "Moreover, Spielberg is not the only big name in Hollywood. There are countless others."

"But my schedule is free for the next six months," I countered. "Probably even more if the production of the second [Harry Potter] film is delayed for some time. I can shoot a film in the meantime. And it's Steven Spielberg of all people! I love his films."

Mum put her hands on my shoulders, looked me directly in the eye, and said, "Son, which part of you not having any time to yourself don't you understand? You shouldn't be so focused on your work. We had this whole trip planned and everything! I was hoping you'd go back to school maybe for a few months before the shooting for [Potter 2] begins."

"I'm not going back to school, Mum," I said resolutely. "Irrespective of whether I do the Spielberg film or not. It's a nightmare and full of bullies. I would do anything else. Anything! As for our holiday plans, we can always tell Spielberg to give us some time for that. I'm sure he'll agree."

Mum and Dad shared a look before Dad spoke up, "Why don't you go back to your room? Let me and your Mum talk it out."

"Alright," I agreed immediately.

(Break)

"Steve–" Kathy began only for Steve to raise a hand.

"I understand your concern, Kathy," Steve said. "But Spielberg's not doing this because of some grudge match. I know him, he's much more mature than that."

"Then why did you tell that to Troy?" Kathy argued.

"Because that's better than telling him that Spielberg is suppressing his future Oscar aspects this early on," Steve explained. "From some of my close confidants at Warner Bros, I have come to know that DreamWorks is gunning for a clean sweep at this year's Oscars with their latest film, [Gladiator]. Troy's performance is too good in [Billy Elliot]. If Steven praises him too much publicly, that would be an endorsement of sorts from Steven Spielberg himself, cementing his prospects for a second Oscar. That's why he was being so evasive and downright rude with his comments."

Kathy went silent for a moment as she thought about the whole story behind Steven's behavior. After a few moments, she vocalized her thoughts, "That's fucked up."

Steve snorted in amusement, "Don't I know it? If we oppose him openly, that wouldn't be good for Troy's future. I don't want him to make an enemy as big as Steven Spielberg this early in his career. We aren't exactly an ambitious bunch and I know we would be happy after [Harry Potter], even if we don't get any more work. But Troy is too ambitious for his own good. I see it and I know you see it as well."

"Is it about the musical?" Kathy asked.

"That's one part of it," Steve agreed. "Any opportunity that comes his way, Troy always appraises it and if it's good, he won't let it go easily. Now that he knows about the Spielberg film, I don't think he'd let it go at all, especially knowing that Spielberg's not happy, given how big a fan he is."

Kathy sighed out loud before saying, "You want him to do the film?"

"I don't," Steve replied honestly. "But I don't see the harm in letting him do it as well."

Kathy was having an internal battle with herself before she sighed one more time and nodded her head in acquiescence.

"What about his work conditions?"

"Oh, don't you worry about that," Steve grinned. "I have already given it some thought. If we're doing this, I'll make damn sure Troy would come out on top. You just wait and watch."

(Break)

Steven Spielberg stood up and announced, "And the Best Actor of this year's Cannes Film Festival is Troy Armitage for [Billy Elliot]."

I was stunned for a whole minute as Mum and Dad hugged me from both sides, whispering congratulations. Didn't Steven Spielberg openly condemn my performance not even a week ago? What changed between now and then? Still, this was a televised event so I fixed a smile on my face and got up from my seat, walking towards the stage as Isabelle Huppert, one of the best actresses of all time, presented me with the Best Actor Award which came in the form of a certificate, unlike most others which were presented as trophies, making it much more unique in itself.

"This is something," I whispered out loud into the mic. Although the mic was fixed at a height much above mine, the presenters had brought a stool for me to stand upon to make the speech possible. "I was not expecting this. First of all, thank you so much to the jury and the Cannes Film Festival for giving me this tremendous honor. Everyone involved in the creation of this movie is equally deserving of this prize. As actors, we stand upon a lot of shoulders to become the face of a film and I'd like to thank each and every one of those people. I'd like to thank my parents for always supporting me, everyone at Universal, Studio Canal, BBC, and all our other producers. My co-stars, Julie, Gary, Jamie, and Jamie, thank you for your support and for giving equally wonderful, if not better, performances. Lee Hall for writing this extraordinarily beautiful story. Peter Darling for his choreography and most importantly, Stephen Daldry for selecting me for the role of Billy when everyone else was against my casting. Thank you so much."

That brought a huge round of applause from the people as I shook Steven Spielberg's hand one last time. He smiled at me, "We'll be seeing each other soon. Thanks for agreeing to it." I merely nodded and walked back towards the audience and retook my seat in between my parents.

The way Steven said that to me made me question a lot of things on my way back. Was it just a coincidence that my parents agreed to let me feature in Steven Spielberg's next film and just then I won the Best Actor award in a ceremony he was the President of? Was it a quid pro quo type of situation or did I really earn this award?

I watched the rest of the ceremony quietly as [Dancer in the Dark] won both Best Actress and Palme d'Or. Thankfully, the Cannes win was not followed by an interview session, or I would've said something to the media that I probably shouldn't have. I had always heard from many people that the award ceremonies were more or less rigged from the start, but was I a part of the same thing?

I couldn't put it out of my head even when the ceremony ended and a ton of people congratulated me on the win. I just smiled and said thanks, not even bothering to try to engage them in a conversation. My parents were quick to notice that something was amiss in my behavior and, without wasting much time, escorted me back to our hotel suite.

As soon as the door was locked, I turned to the duo and asked in a no-nonsense tone, "Did I win the award, or was it rigged?"

Mum and Dad exchanged a glance, and right in that moment, I knew.

"Oh, God! Why? Did you bribe Steven with my role in his next film?" I raised my voice a little, which I probably shouldn't have, but I couldn't help myself. I was angry.

"He was trying to suppress you," Mum finally broke the silence. "He didn't want you to win the prize so your award buzz would be low at next year's Oscars."

"What does that have to do with anything? I already got an Oscar! They won't be giving me another one so soon."

"We know," Dad said this time. "But we won't just take suppression from some old man lying down who thinks he knows better just because he set up a big film studio. That day at the premiere of that Clooney film, I knew immediately what he was trying to do. So I placed a condition for him: you'll do the film only if he would stop dismissing your performance as trivial. Nowhere have I explicitly stated that you have to win the award. He assumed that on his own."

I let out a sigh of disbelief. "I feel like such a fraud right now."

"You're not," Mum reassured me while raking her fingers through my hair. "If your performance wasn't among one of the best of the year, Steven alone wouldn't have been able to do anything at all. The jury is a full panel, not a single person. While the president does have some sway over the decision of the jury, he can't give out the award to an actor who is undeserving of it."

"Your mother's right," Dad agreed. "If you don't believe me, just wait for the reviews to come out in newspapers next month. I'm sure you'll see what I mean then. Everyone loved your performance, and it's not just a rigged award."

"When you say it like that… How can I remain mad at you?" I offered them a small smile.

"Atta boy," Dad patted me on the back with his heavy hand. "Come now, let's pack. We have to begin our vacation now."

"Alright."

"But before we go, we have a surprise for you," Mum gave me a mysterious smile as she said that.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"Come along," Dad motioned towards the door of the suite, and I followed him silently. We exited the room and walked over to the other suite located on the same floor, right beside ours. Dad knocked on the door, and what I saw inside was enough to shock me to silence.

"Surprise!" A boy my age, who I hadn't seen in quite some time, greeted me enthusiastically with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Evan!" I tackled him in a hug.

(Break)

(Flashback - Evan POV)

Evan was going through a rough patch in his relatively small life. He wasn't very good at making friends, and it was doubly difficult in the public school he was attending earlier, where everyone seemed to think he was showing off if he wore better clothes than them or bought something expensive. But he never got the courage to tell his parents because they hardly ever understood his problems. So when Troy Armitage came and sat next to him one fine day and started speaking as if they had known each other for ages, Evan just let the situation flow naturally. As days went by, Troy and he became inseparable, and despite Troy's admittedly strange choice to become an actor, Evan liked him.

Despite his mother's crude jokes about him and Troy being 'boyfriends,' Evan knew that Troy was the brother he never had, but always wanted.

The first road bump in their friendship came when his cousin Jimmy warned him that Troy would leave him. Evan didn't want to believe him, but eventually, Troy confessed that it was true. He cried for a full day after learning that Troy would leave first for Philadelphia, and then for London, and this time permanently. However much his parents may have tried to console him and even made offers to talk to Troy's parents about it, he shot them down.

Then he made a big mistake. He was in the bathroom that day, and Troy was not at school, doing something actor-y, when another kid from his class, Raoul Garcia, asked him about Troy. And he told him everything. He just needed someone to hear without passing judgment on him, and Raoul seemed like a good enough listener.

Only later did he find out that Raoul told everyone what was told to him in confidence. Evan thought Troy would be mad at him, but when he didn't say anything about it initially, he shrugged it off as inconsequential. So he was beyond sad when he came to know that Troy was attacked by his class's worst bullies only because of the rumors started by Raoul about the role Troy was getting.

That seemed to be the final straw in their friendship, and Troy didn't speak to him after that day. Evan was heartbroken, but eventually, he moved on. He couldn't do anything, and life had to go on. Troy left the school after the Christmas break and didn't come back again. His parents introduced him to a few kids of their colleagues who also went to the same school, and he befriended a couple of them, but they were just there. There wasn't that bond that he shared with Troy or anything of the sort.

His parents had also started coddling him a little too much. Troy's mere name had become a taboo in their home. It just so happened that soon Troy's popularity blew through the roof after he started winning so many awards left, right, and center. His parents would subtly change the channel whenever someone was talking about him, his films, or was on TV himself. And Troy came on TV a lot. He even came on Oprah's show, and Evan was a little miffed that he had to miss an episode of his favorite show to avoid seeing his former best friend.

Then Troy's film was released in theaters and became the biggest thing out there. Troy even released a song, but Evan couldn't gather the courage to listen to it. He just saw a few snippets of Troy walking with a girl, while holding hands.

So it came as a great surprise to him when Marie and David, his new friends, asked him a full month after the film's release, "Dude, that song your friend wrote for you was awesome!"

"What?" he had asked.

Seeing Evan's confused looks, the duo shared a glance, and then told him all about the apology song that Troy sang on Oprah's show.

"I don't watch that show," Marie said off-handedly. "But Mom was watching reruns, and I had nothing else to do. Troy is so cute and his voice is beautiful. I thought you would know since he sang it for you."

"I had seen the music video of the song with that girl," David said. "But never knew about the Oprah show."

Evan ran back home, logged on to the internet, and luckily found a video of the song Marie and David were talking about where Oprah Winfrey was talking to Troy. Evan couldn't help but cry when he heard the song for the first time and how Troy dedicated the song to him. He wanted his best friend back to talk to him again, or play with him, or do his homework, or maybe just sit silently and say nothing.

But then he realized it was too late now to do anything. Troy was back in London, and Evan didn't even have Troy's new number or address. Evan felt guilty about it, and he had decided that he would talk to Troy as soon as he came to LA again.

He knew that [Harry Potter] would be released worldwide later that year, and Troy would definitely come to promote it. What he was not expecting was for Steve Kloves to call Evan's dad out of the blue and offer to let Evan come on a Europe trip with them.

It was pure luck that Evan was right there when the call came, and his father picked up the phone on loudspeaker, or he wouldn't even know about the offer because his parents were against him going anywhere near Troy. It took some convincing, but eventually, they caved in when Evan cried straight for a day and refused to eat anything. He knew it to be a childish move, but if it worked, what's the harm?

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