The Best Director

At the exercise yard outside the Rikers Island Prison AMKC, inmates were gathered in small groups, chatting or playing basketball. Wang Yang sat on a bench at the edge of the yard, staring blankly at the distant, high wire-mesh fence. A bald black man laughed and bumped fists with another black man passing by: “Yo yo, MAN! Did you get it?” The latter glanced at Wang Yang and whispered, “Top-notch stuff…”

Wang Yang stood up expressionlessly and walked toward the phone booths. His parole application had still not been approved, damn it! What drove him crazy was that today was an important day—he was supposed to be happily spending it with someone important, but here he was, still in this place.

He arrived at the phone booths and, after waiting for a white inmate inside to finish, Wang Yang stepped in, picked up the receiver, and dialed a number. After a series of beeps, he heard the system’s voice once again: “Sorry, the party you are trying to reach is temporarily unavailable…” He scratched his head, what was going on? She knew this was his yard time every day; she had been there every day for over a month. Why was it like this today after half an hour? She had just gone back to Los Angeles two days ago. Could something have happened?

With that thought, Wang Yang’s heart suddenly tightened, and he hurriedly dialed another number. It connected quickly, and he asked with a frown, “Joshua, is Jessica there? No one’s answering her cell phone. Even our home landline isn’t being answered—where did she go? Did she go to Santa Monica by herself? Try calling her…” After hanging up the phone, he closed his eyes, overtaken by worry and frustration, and banged his head against the glass of the phone booth a few times.

Anxiously, he called again after a while, and this time, someone finally picked up! He heard Jessica’s voice, hurried and apologetic on the other end: “Yang, I’m sorry, I was driving to Santa Monica Beach and halfway there, I realized I didn’t have my phone! I’m so sorry! I’m such a mess…”

Hearing her voice, Wang Yang took a deep breath, thankful to God! He quickly said, “No no no, as long as you’re okay!” He tried to sound relaxed as he laughed and said, “Jessica, happy birthday!” Jessica’s gentle voice came through the receiver: “Mm, thank you.” Wang Yang leaned against the phone booth, smiling, “Who’s coming to the party tonight? Uh… I’ve prepared a gift for you, which Joshua will give to you. I think you’ll like it, haha… No, you’ll find out this evening…”

They didn’t talk long before a shrill bell suddenly rang out across the yard, signaling the end of yard time! What’s the rush with this damn prison! Unable to contain himself, Wang Yang kicked the phone booth and laughed as he said, “I have to go back now, Sweetheart, happy birthday.”

At night, in the dimly lit cell, Robert John Downey Jr. stood in front of the cell door with a cigarette in his mouth; Wang Yang paced around silently, imagining the birthday party happening in Los Angeles. Were they gathered on the garden lawn at the bar? Or singing and dancing inside the house? Did they mention him?

Happy birthday…” Wang Yang sighed despondently, reminiscing about her 17th birthday when they were not yet in a romantic relationship and she happily introduced her family and friends to him, upset because Miranda couldn’t help with the release of “Paranormal Activity”; her 18th birthday, celebrated joyfully at the premiere of “High School Musical”; 19, just as happy and memorable. But today, her 20th birthday, such an important number, he had completely missed!

In the past month, he had missed USC’s Sweet 16, the Elite Eight against Duke; he missed the finals, the Oscars… none of that mattered, but Jessica’s 20th birthday! There would be no second chance; a 20th birthday comes only once, and if missed, it is missed forever. He knew that every girl looks forward to milestone birthdays like 18, 20, and now, the situation was her boyfriend was locked up. It would be memorable alright, but would she be happy?

The more Wang Yang thought about it, the more his heart felt choked with discomfort. Then, suddenly, wafts of smoke drifted over, irritating his nose. He turned to look at Robert John Downey Jr., still smoking, and shouted angrily, “Stop smoking in here, damn it!”

Downey flicked the ash, took a deep inhale, and exhaled a cloud of smoke, saying casually, “I’m standing right at the doorway smoking, buddy, what more do you want?” Besides, it wasn’t the first time he had broken the “rules. He looked at Wang Yang, clenching his teeth and with anger boiling in his eyes, and said carelessly, “What’s the matter? Having a bad day?”

Robert.” Wang Yang clenched his fists, the inexplicable rage trembling through his body. He spoke coldly: “I’ll say it once more, don’t smoke in here! Downey took another drag, then turned his back on him, laughing, “Kid, this is my freedom.”

Freedom, huh? That’s all the freedom you’ve got left?” Wang Yang laughed scornfully as he took a few steps over to Downey, grabbed him, turned him around, and twisted the collar of his prison shirt: “I’ll tell you, in here, nobody has freedom! Freedom is outside!” With that, he plucked the cigarette from Downey’s mouth and threw it to the ground, then crushed it emphatically with his prison shoe.

Donnie frowned and shouted discontentedly, “Hey! What are you doing!? Before his words finished, there was a loud smack, and he felt a tremendous pain on his left cheek as his head involuntarily jerked to the right—it was Wang Yang’s fist smashing into his face! With a pained and astonished expression, Donnie tried to struggle, but Wang Yang landed another punch in his stomach and hissed, “Has anyone ever told you this? You’re nothing but a pile of dog shit!”

Bang! Donnie’s stomach took several more hits, causing him to clench his teeth and widen his eyes in pain, unable to make a sound, “Oh, oh…” As Wang Yang beat him, he cursed uncontrollably, “Smoke your mother’s cigarettes, do your mother’s drugs, can’t you just fucking think for once? You’re locked up in here, and you like that, huh? You hurt Jessica, you hurt your wife and son, FUCK YOU! I didn’t want to get involved, but your dog shit messes with others. I told you not to smoke, everyone said not to do drugs, can’t you fucking listen just once? Smoke then, FUCK YOU—”

As he spoke, he forcefully pushed Donnie, and with a loud “bang,” Donnie’s whole body slammed into the iron bars of the cell and then fell to the ground. Curled up in pain, Donnie let out a numbness that spread from his stomach throughout his body, “Ah… ah, my God! Ah…”

The loud noise also caught the attention of other prisoners; they all knew what had happened, and the entire prison suddenly erupted, “Woah—haha! Shh shh shh— ” Various jeers and whistles echoed in the distance.

Listening to these sounds and looking at Donnie covering his stomach and writhing in pain on the ground, Wang Yang suddenly calmed down. What was he doing?! Why was he so violent, didn’t he want parole anymore?! Damn it…

“Kid…” Donnie was sweating profusely and looked at the bewildered Wang Yang, painfully laughing, “Cough cough… I just fell, cough, just fell on my own! I won’t mess up your parole.” He laughed heartily, then grimaced in pain, saying, “You tasted it, right? This is what it’s like to be in prison—aggression, loneliness, being isolated from the entire world! You can see the world, but you can’t touch it. What’s the fun in prison? This is it! Ha ha…”

Wang Yang silently covered his forehead and let out a long sigh, “Robert, I’m sorry.” It wasn’t wrong for him to hit Cole; but the anger he felt now from hitting Donnie was mostly because he had missed Jessica’s birthday… He shook his head and apologized again, “I’m sorry! I lost control of myself, today is Jessica’s birthday, and I was too angry…”

Oh!” At first, Donnie showed a look of sympathy, then incredulously exclaimed, “So I have to take a beating for that!?” Wang Yang bent down and extended his hand to him, saying sincerely, “I’m really sorry. But listen to me, don’t touch drugs again.” Donnie, in pain, let himself be pulled to his feet and laughed, “I’ll think about it, I will think on it.”

At that moment, the voice of a prison guard came from outside, “If you don’t want solitary, quiet down! Damn it!” Accompanied by the sound of footsteps, he shouted again, “Who the fuck is causing trouble?” Another prisoner laughed and said, “Sir, it’s the celebrity cell!” “That Hollywood director and the big star are fighting!” Soon, the guard arrived outside cell 149, and looking at Donnie sitting on the bed and Wang Yang standing, he asked, “What’s going on here? Does anyone need help?”

Good evening, officer! But nothing happened.” Donnie replied to the guard with a laugh, one hand on his stomach and the other caressing his still aching cheek. Wang Yang also shrugged nonchalantly to indicate all was well.

Seeing that both said there was no issue, the guard couldn’t be bothered to intervene any further and left after a remark, “No more trouble.” Wang Yang and Donnie exchanged a self-mocking smile. After spending a month together, although they often argued and fought, they also developed some “feelings” for each other, understanding what kind of people they were. So Donnie chose to forgive him and didn’t interfere with his parole request.

Lying on the solid upper bunk, Wang Yang tossed and turned incessantly. Why had he been so irritable? Because he was isolated from the whole world? When he first arrived, although he was impatient, he didn’t think it was a big deal; gradually, that changed… Is human nature really so afraid of loneliness? He flipped over and looked at the ceiling so close to him, wondering how the party was going? Did Jessica like the gift? Was she thinking of him… As he mused, his eyelids slowly closed.

Huff!” Wang Yang suddenly woke up in alarm, feeling waves of pain all over his body. Looking at his arms and legs, he screamed in shock, “Oh, my God!” His hands had turned into black beetle claws, and he had grown a pair of antennae on his head, his abdomen and back were covered with a tough carapace—he had become a giant beetle!

What’s going on!?” He bounced off the bed and jumped down, disbelief on his face, now feeling a pair of wings on his back. He spread them open and suddenly felt elated—he could fly away from here! With that thought, Wang Yang glanced at the snoring Donnie, quickly moved to the cell window, jumped out, and flew all the way from Rek Island, New York to Beverly Hills in Los Angeles.

On the lush, spacious lawn where the party was set, tables and chairs were arranged with delicious food laid atop. Joshua, Zachary, Michael Pitt, Rachel, Natalie… and Jessica, all of them were there, all wearing joyful smiles, chatting with one another. Wang Yang ran overjoyed towards them, waving and calling out, “Hey, everyone, I’m back! Jessica, happy birthday!”

As soon as they heard the voice, everyone turned to look at him, but each of them wore a bizarre and astonished expression. Danny hissed softly, with all his fur standing on end. Jessica furrowed her brows tightly, pointing at him in confusion, she asked, “Yang, how did you turn into a beetle? What is going on!?” Natalie also asked in surprise, “Dude, did you become Beetle Man?”

Wang Yang looked at his own body left and right, also very puzzled, he said, “I don’t know, I woke up like this… But it’s okay! Jessica, everyone, believe me, I will find a way to change back!”

This…” Jessica’s face was full of hesitation, Natalie looked doubtful, Rachel and all the others viewed him with suspicious eyes. Danny suddenly barked with a “woof,” causing Jessica to scream, “You are not Yang! What are you?! Get lost…” Natalie followed with a teeth-clenched statement, “He’s a monster, a real monster!” The others also chanted with disgust, “Right, he is not Yang, Yang is dead!” “Who is Yang? Kill him!”

Just then, Mark-Alba burst out of the house like a furious evil spirit, holding a shotgun in his hand, he spoke with malice, “You filthy bug, my gun is aimed at you! Disappear now if you don’t want to get shot, or else I will kill you!”

No! I’m not going anywhere, this is my home!” Wang Yang’s heart nearly stopped beating from distress, he looked at the people around him, and cried out painfully, “It’s me, it’s me! Wang Yang!” Across from him, Natalie said with disdain, “You’re no longer Yang, you’re just a bug, nobody cares about you anymore!” Wang Yang glared at her angrily, gripping the antennae on his head, he shouted, “Even if I am a beetle, I am still Yang!”

Go to hell!” Click—a sound indicated that Mark-Alba unlocked the safety of the shotgun and was about to pull the trigger. Jessica suddenly lunged forward, grabbing him and crying out, “Dad, don’t kill him! Let him go, let him go… Yang, run!”

How can this be!” Wang Yang painfully spread his wings and flew up, landing in the corner of a grey and dirty alley. Under the dim street light, he curled up next to a trash can, very hungry, he recklessly ate the rotten bread in the trash. He watched the moths under the lights, a sense of unparalleled desolation and loneliness came over him. Was he going to die here…

Suddenly a figure appeared in front of him, as he looked up, he saw the tender face of Helen. He exclaimed with joy, “Helen! I am Yang!” Helen smiled and nodded, then said, “I know.” She suddenly kicked him hard, yelling angrily, “Yang, you bastard, die!”

Damn it!” Wang Yang abruptly opened his eyes, gasping heavily, staring at the white ceiling, his body was drenched in cold sweat. He quickly looked at his hands and feet — not a beetle! Thank God, not that damned beetle… He wiped the sweat from his forehead and shook his head with a bitter smile, “It was just a nightmare, only a dream!”

But the desolation and loneliness from the dream still troubled his heart, he covered his face with his hands, feeling very oppressed… Why did he have such a dream? Why was he lying here?

The reason he was here all traced back to that day when he had agreed to meet Natalie at a cafe. There were traffic jams, getting lost, seeing Ms. Carmen desperately pleading with that bastard cop… and then he helped carry Brianna to the hospital, where he gave Cole a beating and was sentenced to jail.

Brianna needed his help because of that scumbag cop, perhaps it was racial discrimination, or perhaps he was just crazy, the little girl almost lost her life! But later, the New York police claimed they investigated all the officers in that precinct that day and found no one involved in the incident, that the man was likely an official in a vehicle similar to police, and it wasn’t until he helped Ms. Carmen not give up on her lawsuit that the New York police finally “exposed” the traffic cop, made a public apology, and fired that scumbag. Ms. Carmen’s family didn’t want to pursue the lawsuit anymore, and so the matter ended.

Then there was his assault case, that scumbag Cole was not just a nuisance on the road, but also wanted to provoke him into throwing a punch to create news, he played right into that guy’s hands, if jail was it, then so be it!

Why did Cole do that? The cop? Were they so indifferent because of racial discrimination? If Brianna were their daughter, if something similar happened to them in the future, would those scumbags regret it? Why do humans always have to hurt each other? Yellow folks, white folks, black folks, aren’t we all people? Why can humanity be so ugly at times? What kind of creatures are humans, really?

Wang Yang’s eyes stared unblinkingly at the ceiling, as the thought in his mind became clearer and clearer, if he truly became a beetle, would that dream come true? Or maybe… He jumped out of the bed and went to the desk, under the dim light, he picked up a Kafka Collection and began to read “The Metamorphosis.”

Buddy…” Just as he was engrossed in watching, Downey suddenly called out, seemingly never asleep, he said, “Uh, um… do you think I can get off drugs? Man, maybe you don’t know, but when I was 8, my dad started giving me some banned substances to eat, that crazy bastard; and then I grew up smoking weed since I was 10,14,18, followed by cocaine, heroin… Oh!” A look of utter misery flashed across his face as he softly asked, “Can I get rid of them?”

“I’m surprised you made it past your 36th birthday without dying,” Wang Yang closed the book in his hands and looked earnestly at Downey who had sat up, “Robert, it’s time to end this terrible way of life. Let everyone see a new Robert John Downey Jr.”

Downey was silent for a long time before shaking his head with a smile, “Who cares?” Wang Yang shrugged his shoulders, “Who cares?” Without a second thought he responded, “First of all, it’s for yourself! Second, I must say, no one cares about a repeat offender who breaks hearts repeatedly, someone who’s just scum; it’s you who drove the people who cared about you away. But they haven’t truly given up on you. If you pull yourself together and show them hope, they will come back! Now is the right time, in fact, there’s never a wrong time to start. Better early than late, so start now!”

Wang Yang knew that Downey would succeed in quitting drugs, but he didn’t know when he quit. But that meant he could have the determination and belief, right? Maybe he was starting to quit now, but Downey needed the care and concern of others. He now knew what it meant to be lonely, to be “abandoned, and that feeling really sucked. After thinking for a bit, he patted the ‘Kafka Collection’ in his hand and smiled, “If you get rid of drugs, then New Robert, I’ll invite you to play the lead role in my next movie.”

What?” Downey’s face was a picture of surprise, with a mix of confusion and amusement, “You’re saying you want me to be the lead in your movie? A person who can’t live without drugs?” Wang Yang shook his head with a smile, “No, I’m inviting the New Robert, not this piece of trash.”

New Robert, New Robert… Downey looked at the young, sincere face before him and suddenly felt a twinge in his heart; that guy was only 21 years old! Where was he when he was 21? Up to no good, constantly hurting that woman named Sarah Jessica Parker until she left him for good at 26; and now, ten years later, he’s 36 years old, married and divorced, with an 8-year-old son—why could he still be so selfish? What has changed in all these years?

The guy was right, dead right! The time was now! Taking a deep breath, Downey spread his arms with a smile, “What movie? You’re not going to make me dance, are you? Though, I’m pretty good at singing. Or a pregnant middle- aged man?” He stopped with a chuckle and added, “But whatever it is, I’ll take the role.”

As long as you quit drugs and are the right fit,” Wang Yang said with a smile before wondering to himself, “What movie?” He closed his eyes to feel the chill of loneliness, the emotions from the dream just now, the shifts in his mood from meeting Brianna to being jailed… The answer was that the sunny Wang Yang was temporarily gone! He opened his eyes, “I think it’s going to be a movie so oppressive it will drive people insane!”

So that was also why he invited New Robert for the role, because the male lead in this story needed someone who could portray the extreme loneliness, oppression, and pain of transformation, an actor of Oscar-winning Best Actor caliber! And Downey’s acting skills were undoubtedly impeccable; his own personal experiences could surely help him fully understand the pain of the protagonist. Plus, this “Best Actor” would come at a bargain price.

From an emotional, rational, and business standpoint, Downey was the obvious choice, provided, of course, he stayed off drugs.

Buddy, it’s going to be a big production!” Wang Yang swung the ‘Kafka Collection’ he held in one hand, cupping his mouth with the other, mimicking Downey’s tone and voice, he mysteriously repeated, “It’s going to be a big production!”

Downey burst into laughter, suddenly feeling a thrill of excitement he hadn’t felt in a long time, “How big?” Wang Yang, with a clueless look on his face, shrugged and laughed, “I don’t know, I really don’t know. But I do know that this idea is going to be expensive, and I know I’m crazy now, truly crazy! How big? too million, 200 million? Let the US dollar go to hell, however big it needs to be!”

I understand, that’s the taste of being in jail,” Downey said, looking at the book in his hand and asked out of curiosity, “Kafka? Russian, German, or Chinese?” Wang Yang just smiled and shook his head, to which Downey replied with a laugh, “He knows me, but I don’t know him… Buddy, are you thinking of making a Kafka movie?”

Yes,” Wang Yang nodded and then shook his head, “Not a biography of Kafka but a story from his pen, a story about a man who turned into a beetle. It’s called ‘District 9’, pretty cool!”