Original Airdate: Friday, August 6, 2010
Starring: "Michelle", "Mark"
Notes: "Fuck."
INT — MIDAS — DAY
"What the fuck."
"What the fuck! What the fuck!"
"WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUCK!"
Mark comes storming out of his office, flinging around his door like it's nothing. Granted, anyone that was up here could've clearly seen this coming, thanks to the glass walls and everything else that happens within that office of epic doom that belongs to Satan Himself.
"Alright, hey, pond scum! You too, Chachi. Listen up." Mark reaches up to pinch his nose for a second, before just holding his hands out in front of him. "We got a problem and his name is James Cameron. For some blatantly selfish reason, he doesn't want to cast Mackenzie in his next film. So here's what I need every single one of you fuck ups to do. First of all? Stop fucking up. Second of all?" Breath. "GET OFF YOUR ASSES AND GET ON YOUR PHONES AND CALL EVERY GOD FORSAKEN DIRECTOR IN THIS SHITHOLE OF A CITY AND YOU FIND MACKENZIE CULKIN HIS NEXT ROLE BY 5:00 TODAY OR YOU'RE ALL FUCKING FIRED!!"
Mark points dramatically, before turning around and stomping back towards it. He passes by a clock…
4:08 PM.
Sounds like a normal day at the office then. In other words, this is as good a time as any to surprise Mark with quality time. Guess what was forgotten? Quality time with one of the kids. Switching out weekends is sweet, only not so much.
With Mark's voice booming from the office, Michelle knows she's in the right place. Despite being pleased at seeing her dad, she wears a petulant expression of teenaged sullenness as she walks in through the main door. Her designer weekend bag is more or less dragged behind her as she more or less nods to dad's punch, err, secretary. Hmmm.. to say hi, or sit still and quiet until it's time to remind Mark to leave.
"Fuck you! Oh wait, I'm sorry. I already did that! And it was fucking HORRIBLE!!"
Mark slams the phone down onto the desk, before looking up and spotting something on the outside of his glass. Something that he really didn't think he would be seeing today. Something that he really doesn't need to be seeing today.
His Daughter.
"Oh fuck me. This is the worst fuckin' day of my life." Mark takes a moment to sigh and then presses the button on his com. "Hey Fuckface. Send my daughter in here, will you? She's going blind lookin' at your face."
Michelle makes a face, scrunching her nose up at her dad's colorful language and insults. Ew. That's gross, and that's not something she wants to picture. Thanks daddy. Her sight seems fine however, as she's sent into Mark's office. She's liable to go deaf before blind however from the fantastic example being set for her.
Since running up to the old man, hugging him and showing affection is just so Brady Bunch, and not at all cool, she skulks into his office and slumps into a chair across from Mark's desk. "Hey," she says, in that indifferent way teens have of speaking towards their parentals. "Mom said it was your weekend."
Patrozing Tone Activated, "That's because your mother's a lying whore that wants the house to herself this weekend so she can suck off all your male classmates, honey." Mark gives a dismissive wave of the hand, not even in the mood to be dealing with his ex-wife's bullshit and just tries to get back to work. "Uh. Why don't you just hang there, listen to your iWhatever and let me finish up. Kay? Good girl." He's even talk to her like she's a dog. Damn.
Michelle lets a wince escape, cause in all likelihood, Mark's not even looking her way now. "Her smelly friend is back. He wants us to call him Uncle Dave." Mouth open, and about to say more, she just shuts it and fixes her hurt expression into a glare. "Didn't even wanna be here anyway, wanted to play on Facebook instead," she mutters, just loud enough for Mark to hear. Her iPhone is pulled out, and she purposefully sets off a ringtone. The latest hit of Justin Bieber.
"Yeah, Janet? Just… put your slightly less competent boss on the phone. I don't care if she's in a meeting! This is G-14 High Priority… GODDAMMIT WILL YOU SHUT THAT DAMN PHONE OFF!" Mark is literally standing and leaning over his desk to get the yelling going on at Michelle. Even the phone is being held out as a weapon, before he realizes it. "Oh shit." Pulling the phone back, Mark checks it for a response but whomever's on the other end has gone. "Fuck my life. Fuck it hard!" Phone slam. "Look. Daddy's trying to pay your bills. Maybe you should try being a little less Denise the Menace and more STFU Barbie, hmm?"
This is where most girls would probably start crying. Not Michelle, she's too much like the old man. "You don't have to talk to me like I'm four," she snaps in an ungrateful tone. Why can't she just cry like a normal kid? Le sigh. Instead of turning the phone off as 'requested', she turns the volume up, but at least the 'music' is gone as she pulls up her Facebook app and starts punching away at the keys to make her update.
"My dad sux. Ask his secretary."
This could be an otherwise productive time, with Michelle sitting quietly and doing her homework. HOWEVER, dad's in his normal rage, making retaliation the easiest option. Without looking up from updating Facebook, she grumps, "Mom wants more money."
"Then tell your mother to get back on the corner where I found her. Plenty of money there!" Mark is not in the mood for this right now and it is showing. Mostly because he keeps having to hang up the phone since it is impossible to actually function while in the presence of his own hellspawn. "Look. You don't want to be here, I don't want you to be here. What's it going to take for you to go back to your Mom's and help her clean up after all her coke party?" Mark sniffs hard and wipes his nose. Ohhhh! That coke!
"FINE. I hate you and you hate me and you hate mom!!" Michelle says, finally looking up from her own phone. "Mom may be as loose as you but she doesn't do coke!" Because she's hurting, she's mouthing off right back at Mark, but not too badly. There's still that fear and awe of the old man. She has yet to actually grab her bag and run out of the office. So that's at least a sign that she doesn't want to leave, or maybe it's all temper and pride keeping her in place. Either way, she doesn't respond to the what will it take question. Most questions are rhetorical in this family anyhow.
Mark sighs, looking up and past his daughter, through the glass, at a couple of his ants looking back at him like he's despicable. "Shit." With a sigh he slams the phone down again and pushes up from the desk. It takes him a little bit to get over to where the daughter is sitting, but he does and he drops down into a small crouch in front of her. "Hey. Listen to me. I don't hate you or…" Pause. "I don't hate you." There. That should help. "I just… I'm really trying to close a deal today. And I wasn't expecting to have you. So I didn't plan anything. I just… I've got a lot on my plate right now. Can you understand that? Hm?" Offering a small smile?
"So you forgot I was staying this weekend," Michelle points out in a dull tone, not looking at Mark.
That's right, Mark Long, you should be looked at as if you are the lamest lamesauce evar.
"You're always trying to close a deal." And yes, Michelle sounds resentful of this. She doesn't quite grasp that work equals money and is necessary just yet. What she does understand is that this work comes first, she and her siblings come way afterwards, and aren't as important. Although, when Michelle glances up to see her father smiling at her, the anger melts a bit and she smiles back. "Didn't mean to yell back," she says in a roundabout way of saying she's sorry.
"I didn't… okay, I forgot." Honesty is probably the best policy on this one. Especially with people watching and all that craziness. "Look. Tomorrow. You and me. We're gonna' go and do all kinds of stuff you want to do. But I need you to just hang with me tonight, okay? Just let me get through the rest of my night and I promise you, with all my heart, we'll do something fun tomorrow, okay?" It's really a shame that he lies so easily. It comes with the damn job.
It's an even bigger shame that Mark lies to his own kid, and she believes it. C'mon, daddy's smiling at her! Michelle nods to Mark and decides to try and be a normal daughter. At least for a little bit, until it gets boring, or she has a tantrum. "Okay daddy," she says, and for a brief spell, will be his little girl again. Unaware of the looks Mark is getting from the office, she decides that she may as well get her homework done. Especially if she's going to be reminding Mark of his promises later.
Mark leans up from his crouching position to plant a quick kiss on his daughter's head, before he pushes all the way up to his feet. With a moment to straighten out his jacket, he's at the door of his office and stepping out of it just as fast. Of course, he has something to say to all those on-lookers.
"Everybody that's staring at me better have four directors, each, on hold, in their offices, ready to sign our little bastard to their movies!"
Scatter!
