Chapter 4 "I Wanted to Prove to Everyone that I can do it.”

"I've heard of that, too," the recording guy said. “The man appears to be conscious, but his mind is no longer in contact. He usually collapses completely shortly thereafter.”

“I saw it” added Mońka. “The guy is shot or badly beaten, after the car accident... People think he's okay, they try to talk to him, but he doesn't react. This is one of the phases of unconsciousness. Sometimes it only takes a moment, sometimes a little longer. Hell, I shouldn't have left him alone. I should have stayed and secured him!”

Tobiasz Mońki's remorse was sincere. Accidents happened on the set, it could not be completely avoided, but it was possible to minimize the risk, and when an amateur was to shoot stunt scenes, he should be under the constant supervision of an experienced colleague. Tobiasz, who was responsible for the safety of the people working on the set, failed to fulfill his duties, failed, and the young actor almost lost his life.

“So what's your assessment of the situation?” The director looked at both men.

“It's my fault” Mońka took responsibility. “I left him unattended.”

“But he was the one who messed with the harness” said Różycki, fully aware that if someone from the set is to blame, not the actor himself, they will have to pay a good compensation. “Brylski acted like a total amateur.”

“He is an amateur” pointed out Mońka. “Even a novice stuntman shouldn't be left alone, let alone an actor.”

“Listen” Różycki pointed a finger at him “you trained him, prepared him and before you left, you checked literally everything. Knowing you, you did it twice. That's right?”

"Yes," the special effects specialist replied grimly. He had an unpleasant feeling he knew where the director was going.

“And that's what you should stick to. Only this, do you understand?” Różycki's finger moved before Mońka's eyes, clearly emphasizing the importance of the situation and the unspoken threat.

"I understand," growled Tobiasz Mońka. “I understand very well.”

There was nothing here that he could not understand. The director made it clear that this was an accident that could not be prevented. It was a completely random and unforeseen event. If anyone dares to say otherwise...

Tobiasz looked at the camera specialist staring at the monitors, who pretended he wasn't there. Director Różycki had a lot to say in the world of television and cinema, and if someone is on his blacklist, he may have serious difficulties with finding employment for another production.

Poland was not a tycoon in the field of entertainment, so someone with a wolf ticket from Różycki could say goodbye to practicing his profession. While Mońka himself could do without it, he employed a dozen or so people in his team. If he loses access to film and TV sets, they will lose it too.

“Great” Różycki smiled crookedly and his eyes flashed with satisfaction. This is what a person looks like when he thinks he is on the roof of the universe.

Tobiasz hoped that one day he would see Różycki fall from this roof, how Rafał Brylski fell today. He also hoped there would be no one downstairs to catch him.

***

“Stop being so nervous” said Anita Janiszek trying to contain her frustration. "I already told you everything's fine on the set."

Rafał Brylski, lying in a hospital bed, looked pitiful. As a blond with reddish hair and green eyes, he naturally had a very fair complexion, so the red sunburn that he contracted despite the strong sunscreen and makeup with a good UV filter made his face look in no way beautiful and resembled more tomato than human.

The burns weren't bad and in a few days they should have clearly disappeared and good makeup will hide the rest, but Rafał, this idiot, more than with his health and the fact that he almost died, was worried that he caused trouble for the entire team due to his carelessness.

“It was such an important scene” Rafał groaned and tears appeared in his green eyes.

Rafał Brylski did not cry because he was sad. His eyes reacted that way to frustration. There was something beautiful and disturbing about it. Rafał never looked weak, but when tears appeared in his eyes, out of nowhere, most girls and women immediately turned into caring mama bears ready to murder anyone who hurt their little bear son in the form of Rafał. Brylski could then have a submachine gun in his hand, a military camouflage on his back and spit in series, destroying entire legions of enemies, and anyway, each representative of the fair sex was ready to shield him from bullets with her own breast.

Anita, however, was totally insensitive to it. Although she absolutely adored Rafał, she had not succumbed to his incredible charm for a long time.

“What, are you afraid they'll shoot it without you?” She asked him bitterly.

"Yes," Brylski admitted. “I really wanted to do it. I wanted to prove to everyone that I can do it.”

Anita gritted her teeth. She understood Rafał perfectly. Her friend did not come from an acting family, did not graduate from acting school and had practically no professional experience, because the three little roles he had played so far were really small. Rafał liked acting, however, and since there was an opportunity to play the lead role in a production as large as the series, he wanted to take full advantage of it, learning as much as he could and giving his absolutely everything to prove that he was worth the chance. He also wanted to prove to all doubters that you don't have to belong to a clique to achieve anything in this profession.

"And you will prove it," a third voice replied suddenly, interfering with the conversation. Anita unscrewed her head and saw Damian Radosz. “Good morning, Mr. Brylski” the man extended his hand to the patient. “I'm Damian Radosz, something like the producer of the series in which you appear. Can we call ourselves by ‘you’?”

“Er, yes, of course” Rafał shook his hand. “Anita told me that you saved my life... Thank you.”

“There is nothing to talk about” Radosz blushed, which contrasted so much with his nonchalant, self-confident style. “I hope my visit is not tactless. I wanted to see how you feel...”

“I feel great!” Rafał assured enthusiastically, attracting the attention of the other two patients in the room. “I can get back to work right away! Only my face...”

Anita, furious with her friend, gritted her teeth again. Rafał almost lost his life and he was worried about his face! He sounded like an empty doll with nothing but his own beauty in mind. And Rafał was not like that! Why was he giving people such a negative impression of himself?

Anita should not do scenes in front of the producer, but she could not let Rafał waste his reputation during the first meeting with Damian Radosz, who paid for this production.

“Your face! Does it matter to you? Not that you barely survived?” She hissed furiously.

“I'm alive” Rafał replied, as if he were stating a simple fact. “And the face is a working tool for me. If the bricklayer breaks his arm, he cannot work on the construction site. If the surgeon breaks a finger, he cannot operate. If an actor has a damaged face, he cannot act. While the bricklayer or the doctor can be replaced by someone else, the actor in the main role, at this stage of production, no one can replace him without causing losses. The fact that I am here, not on the set, causes losses to the entire production...”

Anita would really like her friend to get rid of this habit of thinking about the good of others first, and then about his own. Maybe if he didn't want to help the production so much, he wouldn't have agreed to become like some idiot, in a thick, dark suit and in the scorching sun for over half an hour.