The Other Shoe

It was well after midnight when my husband jostled me awake.

"Are you up?"

"Mmph"

"I just found a blog you're gonna love! This woman was with her daughter, an extra in the movie . . . she wrote about our son!"

I chuckled involuntarily, it seemed. The shadowy darkness hid the smile my facial muscles had produced, as sleep swallowed it whole.

******

This morning, dutifully, I found the link my husband had meticulously provided for me in my inbox.

You may recall the big day The Aussie and The Actor invaded the space of several hundred extras. Finally, you've a comparative read, from the other perspective - the other shoe, if you will.

An excerpt from the blog of Heather Heath Chapman:

Not long after that, two tall, handsome boys tumbled into the gym together like puppies, arms and legs everywhere. “We’re bored!” they announced, and a wave of interest rolled through the crowd of extras. These were the two male stars of the movie, whom my daughter had already seen and deemed “cute.” A group of kids soon gathered around them. The boys signed autographs and joked amiably with everyone.It was interesting to watch them. Aside from the fact that they had the clearest skin of any teenagers I’d ever seen, they reminded me of the boys at my daughter’s school: gangly, silly, adorable, awkward. Like every other boy in the gym, they looked funny in those Sixties-era clothes. Like Madeline—like any teen—they were looking for a little attention.

It was just as my favorite trash mag had always claimed: Stars. They’re just like us.

Except surprisingly acne free.

With bodyguards.

And an omelet station.

But just people, apparently, and not as mysterious as I’d always suspected.

I made this point to my daughter on day three as we walked back from the prop room. “So,” I concluded, “if those boys ever become really famous, you can tell everyone that you’ve met them, and that they’re just as dorky as any other boys.”

Enjoy Heather's three part series on the Flipped experience here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

My husband was right - I was delighted in Heather's literary saga! I wonder to myself how many times I looked her in the eye as L'il Man and I entered the cafeteria brimming with people? Or, better yet, if she'd reconsider her Big Mac boycott, if she knew The Aussie had a unique moniker for the joint? That we have photos of The Director?

A season shared, yet separated by task - Two Moms, Two Thespians - people who gained an experience, but had no conscious knowledge of the others' thoughts . . . until midnight last night.

Thanks, Heather, for sharing your side of the story. The Other Shoe.