[color=ed1c24][center][h1]Mordechai Boaz[/h1][/center][/color]
Mordechai swung his leg over and hopped off his motorcycle. There were still no students milling around the school so he took his time crossing over towards the memorial garden up front. While Ty had his own plaque, having been the actual target of the shooting, the rest of the victims had a small tree planted with their name engraved in the trunks. The garden was beautiful and well tended to, just off the side of the school's main entrance; nobody would trample it, but it was still easily seen and respected for what it was.

His knees hit the dirt and he knelt in front of his little brother's tree. [b][i]'Danny Boaz'[/i][/b] was engraved length-wise on the thin trunk of the young Red Maple. Trembling fingers traces the smooth letters as a pained noise left his throat.

"Gavrie-"

His hand flew to his mouth-

[color=007236][center][h1]Aisik Shomer[/h1][/center][/color]
"Cut!" The director called as the set went silent. "Aisik, wha-"

"I'm sorry." He choked out, snapping into a standing position as he covered the wounded noise coming from his throat. His accent came out thick as he fought back the feeling of being closed in on. "I'm sor-sorry I ju-" The stunted words fell passed trembling lips and fingers, as though he was trying to catch them before they even came out.

He took off before the director could say anything else, off the set and speeding passed the snack table as a sob choked from his body and he almost tumbled into a cast or crew member as he took a sharp turn towards the trailer lot. He could just barely hear the blur of words as people called after him.

His trailer loomed over him as he threw the door open. He couldn't bring himself to remember if he'd locked the door as he threw himself against the small couch, chest heaving. He grabbed the pillow and dropped his face into it, breath erratic and tears falling freely. He hadn't expected his first scene on set to end like [i]that[/i], but seeing the memorial tree for his on-screen brother brought about memories of Gavriel that he'd been hoping to be able to keep at bay while working.

[i]'Hell,'[/i] he thought. [i]'I didn't even tell anyone why I left mid-season all those years ago. Does anyone even know?'[/i] 

Aisik had been very careful about keeping his personal life out of media, and even kept it away from his co-stars and crew members lest something get leaked. The only people that would have had any idea about it would have been the people who'd cast him at the auditions, given that he'd all but crashed his way into the room, bloody, bruised, and beaten. But he didn't talk about Gavriel or his parents; didn't talk about the gangs in his neighborhood or their affinity with him, even after he'd started acting. Now that he though about it, teenage Aisik probably made the makeup crew want to burst into tears. A lot. There were always bruises or cuts to cover up.

No media covered random gang violence in a shitty South Boston neighborhood, didn't care about a random victim caught in the crossfire. Everyone in that neighborhood was either a criminal, lowlife, or otherwise wholly unimportant; why write about one more nobody dying? No one knew he was Edenridge star Aisik Shomer's baby brother. 

But that left the question: Does anyone know why he left? Why he just broke down? Or would they think it was just the stress from suddenly coming back to acting after 10 or so years?

[i]'I shouldn't have kept everything so close to the vest...'[/i] the thought came as unbidden as the tears.