Brush With a Hero

-B

My sister picked up her cell phone as I waited anxiously.

“Hello… yeah… uh huh… okay.” Then she hangs up.

“Are we going now?” I ask.

“Yeah,” she replies “let’s go”.

We rush down the stairs and hail a cab. I’m kind of excited. I mean, it’s not every day you get to hang out with Milo Ventimiglia. Apparently, when he’s not out saving cheerleaders, he’s hanging out at the Soho Grand. And tonight, so were we.

I try not to watch too much TV, but lately, I’ve been guilty of allowing myself to fall into addiction with several shows. A couple of them, regretfully, are MTV programs, the type that make you stupider by watching. Another is “Entourage”, a show that brilliantly draws the attention of anyone with testosterone and a libido. Unfortunately, it’s mid season, and the new season doesn’t begin for a couple of months. I had to find another show, and quick.

“Heroes” is a show about people who begin to discover that they have special powers. As they begin to understand their powers, their lives coincide and eventually they realize that they all have a common goal. That goal is to save the world. I grew up knee deep in the comic book culture so it wasn’t hard for me to become addicted to this show. It also helps that the show has a ridiculously hot MILF and cheerleader. Yes, I know the cheerleader’s underage, but still, she’s quite “homina homina”.

Milo Ventimiglia plays Peter Petrelli on the show, the brother of a politician, who believes he can fly. He later learns that his actual power is the ability to mimic the powers of heroes in his vicinity. Peter meets an artist who is capable of painting the future, and with information provided by this artist, he embarks on a quest to save a cheerleader’s life.

When my sister and I got to the Soho Grand, we found their table and joined them. There wasn’t enough room, but nicely enough, Milo and party got up and we moved to another table. There was around 6-7 of us, and I didn’t realize that we were playing a game of, “let’s pretend the famous guy we’re sitting with isn’t famous”. So when I shook his hand and met him and his friends, I said, “Hi Milo, I’m actually a big fan, I love the show, especially since I grew up a comic book geek.” They laughed and Milo pointed at the guy he was with:

“That’s Jeph, if you like comic books, you’ll definitely like this guy.”

I shake his hand and scrutinize his face. Unfortunately, writing talents are rarely recognized, especially TV show writers. However, I regret not having known his work.

Jeph Loeb worked very closely with Jim Lee, one of my childhood comic book heroes. He’s also worked alongside dozens of other artists I used to worship as a child. However, he’s probably not known in pop culture as the comic book writer, rather a TV writer. The TV show he used to write for? A little show some of you might know as “Smallville”. He was also a supervising producer for “Lost”.

I shrug my shoulders and shake my head, unable to recognize him, not realizing that this guy is basically living one of my childhood dreams.

Milo is surprisingly nice. Not only did he stand up when my sister and I arrived and moved to a bigger table, he also stood up when we left, a gesture I sincerely appreciate. He also laughed at some of my drunken corny jokes, and paid the entire bill. However, Milo doesn’t drink, and he’s a vegetarian. Yes, I know, absolute and utter insanity. Now I’m not gay, but honestly, Milo is a very very pretty man. If you’re a guy sitting at a table with Milo, you become invisible. I could’ve gotten up on the table and began doing a Russian tap dance, and the girls at the table would’ve probably still had their eyes glued on Milo. I don’t mind though, after all, we can’t all be heroes.

In conclusion, Milo’s a really nice guy so I’ve decided to remain a staunch advocate of the show “Heroes”. A new episode comes out in mid January so don’t miss it. And if you want to see any episodes you missed online, go to http://www.nbc.com/Video/rewind/full_episodes/heroes.shtml for streaming videos of every episode.


INT. NYC – WINTER – SOHO GRAND – LATE NIGHT

A group sits at a table in a lounge drinking cocktails and beer. Then B looks down at his hands with a startled look on his face. Milo looks over at him in curiosity.

MILO

B, are you alright?

B

My… my hands (holds up his hands to the light) they’re… disappearing.

MILO

(BEAT) I think I see what’s going on here. You see B, there are people out there just like you. People with gifts, with special powers. (BEAT) A couple of months ago, did you black out for like a day?

B

Actually, yeah I did. But I thought it was because I was really drunk.

MILO

Don’t worry man, just go with it.

B looks as the rest of his body parts fade away in a Back-to-the-Future-esque manner. Soon he is totally invisible.

MOHINDER SURESH (VOICE OVER)

What is society’s infatuation with actors? With rich people? With the beautiful and the famous? How do they command the attention of everyone without any effort at all? Maybe it’s insecurity, the inexplicable desire to compensate for that which they lack. Or maybe they need for so called important people to acknowledge their existence for fear that one day, they may become… “invisible”.

Table continues to talk amongst themselves as a now invisible B watches in silence. Beer bottle lifts up in the air seemingly by itself as B takes a swig.

Fade to black.