"Hey, buddy."
"Hi!"
"You're the new guy, huh?"
"Yeah."
"You got a good look. You'll do okay."
"You think so? Really?"
"Sure."
"Wow, thanks. I'm a little nervous."
"No kidding. What's the matter? First-time jitters?"
"I guess. I've never done this before?"
"Talk about a baptism by fire."
"Oh. Well, I mean, I've, like, done it before. It. I mean I never did these movies before."
"It's not too bad. You get used to the cameras after a while. The pay's good. And at least you're getting laid, right?"
"Yeah, I suppose. I never really had a problem with that, though."
"You don't say."
"Yeah. It runs in my family, really. My dad used to fool around like you wouldn't believe. He made it with some real babes, let me tell you. Mom would get so mad at him."
"No kidding."
"Oh, yeah. He'd do anything. He'd disguise himself as some chick's husband, come all over her in a shower of sparks, that kind of thing. Sometimes he'd do some girl so good she wouldn't even know he was there. He even used to preded he was a bull or a swan or whatever just to get at some hot number."
"Really? What was his name?"
"Zeus."
"No kidding! Roddy 'Zeus' Williams was your dad? I used to watch him play when he was with the Lakers. He was okay. I didn't know he did animal acts."
"No, he was just named Zeus. I don't think he played basketball."
"Oh."
"Anyway, I didn't get into this for the sex. I just needed a job real bad."
"Shit. I've been there."
"I've been having a tough time finding work. I haven't had a job in about 1500 years."
"Wow. That's rough."
"My whole family's been down on their luck. Two of my sisters are working for the phone company."
"You made the right choice, kid. Beats working in a fast food joint, right?"
"Ha ha...yeah..."
---
"Full name?"
"Apollo."
"Full name."
"Really, it's just Apollo. The Romans sometimes called me Phoebus, but usually they just called me Apollo too."
"Uh huh. Prior occpation?"
"God of sun and light. God of music and poetry and the fine arts. All-seeing prophet of destiny. Paragon of male beauty."
"Was that your most recent occupation?"
"Um...no."
"Well?"
"Well, I worked for Taco Bell, but they, er. Fired me. For eating the tacos during work hours."
"I see."
"I was really hungry. They told me not to."
"Any relevant job skills, Mr. Apollo?"
"I have eminence over matter and energy. I am sovereign to the stuff of which the world is made. I can bend the sun and the light to my will. I have riven the heart of the earth, and the essence and substance of the seen and unseen is in my hands as unshaped clay. I see all that passes beneath the sun. My voice is purest clarion, clearest bliss. I am the bringer of harmony in full measure. I am the sustainer of order and the balancer of character. Also, I have some cash register experience."
"How much?"
"Three days."
"Do you have any references?"
"I am the son of Zeus, king of the gods, sustainer of worlds and ruler of heaven. My mother is Hera, queen of the Olympus, purest of all women, the eternal ideal."
"I meant professional references, Mr. Apollo. Can we call your supervisor at Taco Bell?"
"Oh, please don't do that! He was pretty mad at me."
---
"So anyway, not too long after that, I ended up here."
"Huh."
"Sorry to hog the conversation. When you're the most favored som of the god of the powers of the air, you tend to think the world revolves around you. And I guess it does! Ha ha."
"Great. Hey, you're on, kid. Knock 'em dead."
"Gee, thanks."
---
"Paul, are you ready?"
"Apollo."
"What?"
"My name is Apollo. Not Paul. Apollo, pure spirit of music, lord of light, most beloved of Delhpi and bestower of visions to the most high oracle."
"Terrific. Are you ready?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm ready."
"On one...and...action."
"Hey, baby. You look
really hot. Why don't you come over here and give me something
sweet?"
Quote of the Day: "Money, it turned out, was exactly like sex; when you needed it, it was all you could think about, and when you had it, you though about something else." (James Baldwin)