The Fight for Kidsboro (27 page)

“How do you know? You've only made one.”

Valerie wasn't yet done reading the page, but she was already shaking her head and saying, “I'm not saying this … I'm not doing this … I'm definitely not saying
that
…”

“Listen to me,” Max said. “This will make the movie seem more real. People use this kind of language in real life. You want this movie to be realistic, right?”

“Not if I have to embarrass myself and my family,” Pete said.

“Your family? What's your family got to do with it?”

“I've been telling them all about how well this project is going, and they can't wait until they get to see it for the first time. I am
not
going to have them come here and hear that stuff coming out of anybody's mouth.”

“No way, Max,” Valerie added. “I'm not saying this stuff. Forget it.”

“Oh, come on, Val. I've heard you say stuff your momma wouldn't be too proud of.”

“Well, I'm not putting it on film,” Pete said. “Now get outta here.”

Max smiled his evil smile. “You guys don't get it, do you?
I'm
running the show here. Pete might be the director, but there's nothing going on without me. If you don't say what I want you to say, there's no movie.”

“Fine. Then there's no movie,” Valerie said. Pete snapped a look toward her.

“Wait, wait,” Pete said. “Let's just take the script and talk about it for a second. I think we can come to some kind of agreement.”

“I think we can too. And I think we'll do it my way.”

“But Max …”

Max gave him a stern look. “We
will
do it my way.”

There was a long pause. Everyone looked at Pete.

“I can't.”

“All right,” Max snapped. “Then I guess there's no movie.” He looked around at the cast and crew. “None of you are getting paid any more. Which pretty much means, that's a wrap, people! Everybody can go on home!” He left quickly.

Valerie and Pete looked at each other, then Valerie rolled her eyes and packed up her makeup and left. Pete and the rest of the crew soon followed.

A day later, we held a scheduled town meeting. Thirty of 31 people showed up. There was nothing on the agenda until Max stood up to make a motion. I had no idea what he was going to suggest, and I was horrified when he finally uncovered his agenda. He wanted to officially change the name of the town to Maxboro. We had no laws regarding the name of the city, so legally he could bring it before the city and call for a vote. All he needed was a majority consensus. He stood up in front of the crowd and took the vote. All the people who owed him money raised their hands. The final vote was a reluctant 16 to 14 in favor of switching the name to Maxboro, but I could see that everyone was fed up with Max's changes.

I was determined to put this on the agenda in the upcoming city council meeting. We had to put a stop to this, but for now, the city was officially named Maxboro.

Our church had more people in it than I had ever seen there before. It was practically the only place in Kidsboro that wasn't run by Max, and this apparently appealed to a lot of us. I counted 15 people. I sat between Jill and Scott.

Joey had something to say today. He came out with fire in his eyes. Perhaps he had been inspired by one of his dad's sermons. Perhaps he had read something in the Bible. But more than likely, he had seen what was happening in Kidsboro—and he wanted to say something about it.

He slapped his Bible on the front cover and immediately had us turn to Joshua chapter seven. He told the story of Achan. Joshua commanded the Israelite troops, and he sent 3,000 men out to conquer this tiny little place (with a tiny little army) called Ai. The Israelites got there, and the 3,000 men were defeated. Joshua was shocked, and so he asked God, “Why did you let this happen?” God told him that because Israel had disobeyed Him, He let their army be defeated. Joshua didn't know what God was talking about, so he went back to his men and asked, “Who disobeyed God?” Finally, Achan confessed, saying that he had stolen some things from God.

“Can you believe this?” Joey said, and I could almost hear his father's voice coming out of him. “An entire army was destroyed because of one man!” Joey went on, and though he didn't use the most poetic language or organize his thoughts in the most effective way, he made an excellent point. “We have an effect on our society. Whether we know it or not, our actions affect others. We have a responsibility to live an honorable life—if not for ourselves, then for the benefit of others.” I immediately thought of the lawsuit against Nelson, a selfish act that had ended up causing the entire town to go into a tailspin. One single act.

“Amen!” I heard from behind me. Mr. Whittaker was sitting in the back row, gleaming with pride at Joey's revelation.

Joey went on to tell the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. “Jesus had no food to offer the people, so He asked around for help from the crowd. One boy came up with just five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus took what the boy gave, and He performed a miracle, feeding all 5,000 with this little bit of food. Can you see how one small,
un
selfish, honorable act helped the whole crowd?”

Joey finished his spirited sermon, and I wanted to stand and cheer. We sang a hymn, took up an offering, and we all filed out. Before everyone left, I suggested that we get together on Monday and talk—the 15 of us, and anyone else who wanted to come. I wanted to tell them not to invite Max, but I thought that might be rude. Besides, I think that was understood.

On Monday, everyone still seemed to be energized by Joey's sermon. We'd all had some time to think things over, and I was hoping this meeting would generate some ideas. All 15 people showed up including, surprisingly, Valerie. Before we even started the meeting, Scott came through the door. “Um …” he said with a frown, “I think there's something we need to go see.”

The entire group filed out, and Scott led us to the out skirts of the town. We stopped when we saw what Scott was pointing to. There, 30 feet in front of us, were Max and Jake pounding a sign into the ground that read: “Welcome to Maxboro.” Underneath, in small letters, it said, “Land of Opportunity.” My shoulders drooped. Jill's eyes were glazed over as though she was about to cry. Scott bit his lip. Nelson looked down at the ground with his hand on the back of his neck. Alice cracked her knuckles as if in preparation to hit something. We were completely silent as we all stared at this spectacle, wondering what had become of our city.

Finally, Kirk spoke up, “I'm gonna go home.” A couple of others agreed and followed. They drifted toward their individual homes.

“Wait!” I said. They all stopped. “Hang on a second. I've got an idea.” I'd gotten everyone's attention, though they didn't look hopeful. “Why don't we make our movie?”

Pete shook his head. “Ryan, I don't have the money to pay anybody since I won't go along with Max's changes.”

“I know, but … Kirk? Valerie? What do you say? You can work for free, can't you? Scott? The rest of you guys in the crew? I'll help out too.” Everyone sort of stared at me blankly. “Come on, now. We need something to give us our town back.”

Scott looked around, and when no one else volunteered, he said, “All right, Pete, I'll be your stuntman for free.”

“Thanks, Scott,” I said. “Anybody else?”

“I'll do it,” Kirk joined in.

“Yeah, me too,” Valerie said. Soon, everyone in the cast and crew had agreed to work for free in order to finish the movie.

Pete got a sudden burst of energy and shouted, “All right!” and pumped his fist in the air.

“All right!” I repeated, and suddenly everyone forgot about going home. Instead, they went straight to the movie set. Maybe with this one unselfish act, we could get our town back.

That first day of filming again was extraordinary, almost magical. Pete was sharp and creative, while Valerie and Kirk put more energy into their performances than I had seen up to this point. Scott was asked to swing from a tree and crash into a pile of garbage, and he didn't even complain. When he emerged from the bags, he had a banana peel stuck to his shoulder. He laughed right along with the entire crew.

A good portion of the day was taken up filming an intense scene with Kirk, Pete, and Valerie. In it, Kirk was supposed to face off against Rock Bockner for the final time. They attempted to do the scene, but Pete started giggling for no reason at all. Then they tried again, and Pete did it again. Another take, and Pete smiled, making Kirk giggle. Soon, none of the actors could even speak a word without the cast and crew laughing uncontrollably. They did the scene 17 times before they finally got it right. But number 18 was perfect. And no one complained about numbers 1 through 17.

I was still laughing when Jill came up behind me. “I got it!” she exclaimed.

10

COMEBACK CITY OF THE YEAR

J
ILL PULLED ME INTO HER
office and closed the door behind us. “I found the proof.” She opened a folder. “I went to Alice to see if she had any of the evidence left from the trial, and she did. This.” She held up a sheet of paper and I looked at it.