Bradbury Collection

Coach’s Quandary (Bradbury week 7)

665 words

The young woman had been acting for several months and was delighted to get her first big acting job. The only obstacle in her way was Ricky Dylan, the sleaziest of the acting coaches. He had no official power on the television show where he worked, but he could get actresses fired if they didn’t have sex with him. It was easy for him to make up a reason that sounded legitimate and get the producers to bend to his will. Every once in a while it actually worked, and a young woman submitted to his advances.

The young actress was turned away, unable to get past the grey chest hair of the late 50-something acting coach. She tried not to vomit, but failed; some liquid forced its way up her esophagus and she spit a little of it up as she left his office.

Just as he was about to reach for his phone and notify his superiors that yet another actress had to be turned away, a voice called out to him.

“You really have a way with women, don’t you?”

Ricky turned to see a man standing in his office wearing a multi-colored polo shirt and sunglasses.

“Who are you?” Ricky shouted, almost falling down out of his chair. “How did you get in here?”

“Who I am isn’t important. I’m going to take you for a little ride, to an alternate reality. Who knows, I might leave you there!”

The strange man pointed a futuristic device at Ricky, and Ricky became dizzy. The room seemed to spin around. He fell down and lost consciousness for a minute, but when he awakened, he was in a different office, somewhere else.

A woman old enough to be Ricky’s mother sat in the office chair, behind a huge desk.

“When you’re done with the theatrics, can you answer my question?” the woman asked.

Ricky stood upright and replied, “What question?”

“Will you have sex with me in exchange for a part in my movie?”

Ricky looked her over, and saw that she was extremely old and wrinkled, a far cry from the 18 to 21 year olds he usually had casual sex with. From Ricky’s perspective, she was the most unattractive woman he had talked to in ages. He turned to avoid vomiting in front of her, and released some liquid from his throat into a planter.

“That plant is fake,” said the woman. “If you’re that offended by my offer I can get you blacklisted from every studio in Hollywood!”

Ricky ran out of the office and headed to the gate of the production company. He was let out. He walked to where he had parked his car and found it missing. He managed to catch a bus to the main boulevard a street over from where he lived.

When he arrived, the apartment complex where he used to live wasn’t there. He asked around, but nobody in that neighborhood had ever heard of him.

The businesses that were supposed to be on the corners of the main drags a block over were where they were supposed to be, but his apartments were gone.

“You’ve made your point!” Ricky shouted. “I’ve learned my lesson, you can take me back to my own reality now!”

The man who caused this showed up. “I’ve decided to leave you here, Mr. Dylan! The world you came from is a better place without the likes of you! You forced attractive young women to be your sex toys, now you must act in that role for the rest of your days. You will live as a pawn for predatory female producers! It’s not so nice when the shoe is on the other foot, is it?”

The man disappeared, and Ricky was left standing on the sidewalk all alone. He would have no choice but to acquiesce to the demands of the female producer he had met earlier if he was to survive in his reality.

The End