Handler - Are You There, Vodka? Iss Me, Chelsea

Are You There, Vodka? Is's Me, Chelsea

Blacklisted

I was nine years old and walking myself to school one morning when I heard the unfamiliar sound of a prepubescent boy calling my name. I had heard my name spoken out loud by males before, but it was most often by one of my brothers, my father, or a teacher, and it was usually followed up with a shot to the side of the head.

I turned around and spotted Jason Safirstein. Jason was an adorable fifth-grader with an amazing lower body who lived down the street from me. I had never walked to school, had a conversation with, or even so much as made eye contact with Jason before. After lifting up one of my earmuffs to make sure I had heard him correctly, I nervously attempted to release my wedgie while waiting for him to catch up. (A futile effort, as it turned out, when wearing two mittens the size of car batteries.)

I heard you were going to be in a movie with Goldie Hawn, he said to me, out of breath.

Shit. I had worried something like this was going to happen. The day before, I had forgotten my language arts homework, and when the teacher singled me out in front of the entire class to find out where it was, I told her that I had been in three straight nights of meetings with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, negotiating my contract to play Goldie Hawns daughter in the sequel to Private Benjamin.

The fact that no sequel to Private Benjamin was in the works, or that a third-grader wouldnt be negotiating her own contract with the star of the movie and her live-in lover, hadnt dawned on me.

Yeah, well, that was kind of a lie, I mumbled, recovering my left mitten from in between my butt cheeks.

What? he asked, astounded. You lied? Everyone has been talking about it. Everyone thinks its so cool.

Really? I asked, quickly changing my tune, realizing the magnitude of what had happened. It occurred to me that this was the perfect opportunity to get some of the respect I believed had been denied me, due to my father dropping me off in front of the school in a 1967 banana yellow Yugo. It was 1984, and my father had no idea of or interest in how damaging his 1967 Yugo had been to my social status. He had driven me to school on a couple of really cold days, and even after I had pleaded with him to drop me off down the street, he was adamant about me not catching a cold.

Dad, I would tell him over and over again, the weather has nothing to do with catching a cold. It has to do with your immune system. Please let me walk. Please!

Dont be stupid, he would tell me. Thats child abuse.

I wanted my father to know that child abuse was embarrassing your daughter on a regular basis with no clue at all as to the repercussions. Word had spread like wildfire throughout the school about what kind of car my father drove, and before I knew it, the older girls in fifth grade would follow me through the hallways calling me poor and ugly. After a couple of months they upped it from ugly to a dog, and would bark at me anytime they saw me in the hallway.

Our family certainly wasnt poor, but we lived in a town where trust funds, sleepaway camps, and European vacations were abundant, along with Mercedes, Jaguars, and BMWsa far cry from my world filled with flat tires, missing windshield wipers, and cars with perpetually lit check engine lights.

The idea that showing up at school in a piece of shit jalopy led to me looking like a dog didnt make much sense in my mind. It really irked me that I had to be punished because my father thought he was a used car dealer and insisted on driving us around in the cars that he couldnt sell. I wanted to tell my classmates that I didnt like his cars either, and I certainly didnt like being called a dog. I hadnt had a low opinion of myself before then, but after being called the same nickname for six months straight, you start to look in the mirror and see resemblances between yourself and a German shepherd.

If it had been mild teasing, I think I probably could have handled it. But it was incessant, and started from the moment I got to school until the moment I left. After a while, most of my friends in the third grade would avoid being seen with me in the hallways because they didnt want to be blacklisted too. My best friend, Jodi Sapperman, was the only one who would walk with me to every class and defend me when the fifth-grade girls would come over to our table in the cafeteria and ask if I was eating Alpo for lunch.

Well, I shouldnt have said lie. Thats the wrong word, I told Jason. Im having trouble getting the trailer size I want. Goldies being pretty cool, but Kurt is so mercurial. He doesnt understand why a nine-year-old needs a Jacuzzi and a personal chef, I said nonchalantly, with a wave of my mitten. These types of things always take time.

You get your own trailer? he asked.

Yeah, you know, your own little house when youre on set. Every actor gets one. Theres sooo much downtime in movies, you really need a place to unwind. In my opinion, its not nearly large enough to live in for three months, but its my first major role, so Im willing to settle for a little less than the crme de la crme.

My vast knowledge of movie-making at the age of nine came from spending every free minute watching television, movies, and reading any book about the filming of The Breakfast Club I could get my hands on. I think when you grow up in a house surrounded by cars from the previous two decades and parents who insist that ten dollars for a pair of jeans in 1984 is excessive, you have no choice but to immerse yourself in a world where money is no object.

I didnt even know you were an actress, Jason said. How did you get the part?

Its actor, I said, correcting him. The thing is, I was in a little Off-Broadway production with Meryl Streep. I took a long pause, allowing him to interrupt.

Meryl Streep? he asked. The one from Sophies Choice?

Is there another? I asked, rolling my eyes at his naivete. Anyway, she and I really clicked. She recommended me to the director of this movie. Thats how Hollywood worksone thing leads to another, blah, blah, blah. But theyre having a ton of creative issues, so who knows if it will even go.

Go where? he asked.

If the movie will even be made.

Oh.

I could tell Jason was disappointed and I didnt want to lose his attention, so I hurried to keep him interested. I had always dreamed of becoming romantically involved with an older man and thought Jason not only had the makings of a wonderful lover, but also of a dedicated father to the two black twins I had planned on adopting from Ethiopia. I mean, it will go, but it could take months. Maybe you can visit me on set.

Really? he asked, his eyes ready to pop out of their sockets.

I had to think of something quick to recant my offer after realizing I would never be able to pull it off, so I quickly added, Well, I mean if your parents will let you fly to the Galapagos Islands.

Who?

The Galapagos, I said, trying to come up with a reason they would be shooting the sequel to Private Benjamin surrounded by turtles. They have a ton of rare animals there, so the movies going to be more of her roughing it in the water with jellyfish and sea horses. Its basically a cross between Splash and Private Benjamin.

I loved Splash! Jason screamed. This is so cool!

Darryls a complete mess, I told him, shaking my head.

Darryl Hannah?

Dont even get me started, I snorted.

Once we arrived at school, I played it cool and left Jason with his mouth agape, as I told him Id talk to him later and went on my way. It felt great to get attention from him. Even if our star signs didnt end up being sexually compatible, he was cute and popular, and it would definitely not hurt to have him as a friend. He could be the perfect ally to help get the evil fifth-grade girls to show me a little respect.