The Long Road Home (The Full Story)

SEQ. 1. INT. DAY. G'S APARTMENT.

G is busy with house work when his cellphone rings. It's Ces Aldaba, his actor-uncle whom he recently met at the taping of an infommercial. Tito Ces asks if he's available for taping the next day for an afternoon soap. He excitedly says yes and agrees to wait for more details from Tito Ces.

SEQ. 2. INT. NIGHT. G'S APARTMENT.

Piper and G are busy with work when G receives final instructions for taping the next day in Pampanga. The call time was 6:00 AM. The role was going to be a doctor. The soap was Gaano Kadalas ang Minsan, starring Marvin Agustin and Camille Pratts. Scenes of international stardom flash before G's eyes.

SEQ. 3. INT. DAWN. G'S APARTMENT.

It's 5:30 AM. G is packing some doctor clothes and preparing to leave. He did not finish his writing assignments and resolves to finish them on the road as he closes the door to his apartment and leaves.

SEQ. 4. EXT. DAY. 7-11 OUTSIDE GMA.

It's past 6:00 AM. G is waiting for the production staff, Jonsky, to call him into the van that will bring them to Pampanga. Jonsky tells him he was supposed to have been called at 5:00 AM and should have joined the rest of the talents/extras in the jeepneys. In his mind, G thanks God for his luck. He gets to ride with some of the minor actors/celebrities in the van.

SEQ. 5. EXT. DAY. PARKING LOT OUTSIDE MT. CARMEL HOSPITAL.

The van arrives in San Fernando, Pampanga, at the location - Mt. Carmel Hospital. G and the actors/celebrities get off the van and proceed to the hospital building. Jonsky instructs them to proceed to the standby room at the 2nd floor. G follows the actors/celebrities. Jonsky stands by the door and looks G in the eye, and says, "Go and have breakfast at the parking lot." G quickly realizes he does not belong with the actors/celebrities and lines up for breakfast - heaps of rice and one slice of paksiw na bangus. He lugs his wardrobe and laptop bag around and looks for a decent place to eat in. He finds a spot in the basketball court and picks his way through the fish bones of the bangus. He decides not to eat the rest of the fish for fear of having fish bone stuck in his throat the rest of the day. He hears some lady yelling for the talents to gather.

SEQ. 6. INT. DAY. 2nd FLOOR HOSPITAL LOBBY.

G joins the rest of the talents in the exodus from the parking lot to the 2nd floor lobby where they were supposed to wait for their call. G suveys the lobby and tells himself, "So, this is camp. Bummer." He picks a spot at the stairs and begins working on his writing assignments.

SEQ. 7. INT. DAY. 2nd FLOOR HOSPITAL LOBBY.

G occasionally looks up from his work to check if any of the staff are calling him. None did. Many of the other talents are busy putting on nurses' costumes and doctors' costumes and rushing to and from camp. G wonders when his call will come.

SEQS. 8 to 16. INT. DAY. 2nd FLOOR HOSPITAL LOBBY.

Same as Seq. 7. This goes on through lunch. No calls. No instructions. No nothing.

SEQ. 17. INT. DAY. MAIN LOBBY.

G is surprised to find an old acquaintance from theater entering the main lobby carrying all his coats, shirts, and pants. G thinks to himself, "Aha! A co-actor! Finally, someone I know! Now, I am not alone." G approaches Allan, an actor more experienced on TV than G, who promptly introduces him to his girlfriend, fellow actor, Mimi. They exchange a few words and Allan and Mimi camp out with G at the 2nd floor lobby. G and Allan are handed scripts by one of the staff. A few minutes later, Allan announces he has found a nice, comfortable place for us to camp out in at the ground floor. G joins them but says he fears he might miss his call. He leaves his things with them and goes back up again to the 2nd floor lobby.

SEQ. 18 to 101. INT. DAY. 2nd FLOOR HOSPITAL LOBBY.

Much like Seqs. 7 to 16, except G finishes his writing assignments and starts wondering how much longer he has to wait. He occasionally visits Allan and Mimi to chat, but nothing seems to appease his growing anxiety.

SEQ. 102. INT. NIGHT. CONFERENCE ROOM.

Ground floor camp. Very comfortable seats. Air-conditioned room. The staff that gave G and Allan their scripts earlier comes in and announces G has been memorizing the wrong script. G gives a faint smile as he receives the correct script.

SEQ. 103 to 856. INT/EXT. NIGHT/DAWN. ALL AROUND THE HOSPITAL.

G waits. And waits. He smokes. He waits. He eats. He chats. He sleeps. He waits. He plays computer games. He waits. He sleeps again. He waits. And waits still. He washes his face. And waits still.

SEQ. 857. EXT. DAY. PARKING LOT.

G calls Tito Ces to get advice. He has been waiting 24 hours to be called for his scene. Tito Ces says he should wait. G puts the phone down and briefly considers committing suicide.

SEQ. 858 to 903. INT. DAY. CONFERENCE ROOM.

G waits. And waits. He smokes. He waits. He eats. He chats. He sleeps. He waits. He plays computer games. He waits. He sleeps again. He waits. And waits still. He washes his face. And waits still.

SEQ. 904. EXT. DAY. PARKING LOT.

G is smoking his last stick when he finally gets his call. He rushes inside and everything suddenly becomes a blur. Before he knows it, the scene is over and he is sweating like a pig. He breathes a silent prayer that the ordeal is finally over.

SEQ. 905. EXT. DAY. ON A BUS.

G collects his thoughts as he makes his way back to his life. He remembers doing the scene with Marvin Agustin and Camille Pratts. He remembers the Assistant Director calling a cut when he missed his blocking and completely blocked the lead stars from the view of one camera. He remembers hitting his foot on the bench on the scene. He remembers forgetting his line and imagining the director cursing because of it. He remembers hitting the door on his exit. He remembers saying sorry a lot and Jonsky shushing him because his lapel microphone was on and the scene was still ongoing. He remembers briefly swearing off show business for the rest of his life. He remembers needing only one take for the other half of his scene and taking back his decision to swear off show business. He remembers all this and starts writing on his blog,

After 28 hours at a taping out of town, I am finally on my way home (literally writing this on a bus). This is probably one of the longest days of my life. There are stories to tell. More in a later entry.

Then G falls asleep.