CASTING CALL: Extras are needed for crowd scenes being filmed for "UFO Undercover." We are especially interested in teens for a large outdoor concert scene. If interested, please report to the West Roswell High football field after school today or tomorrow.

Maria could feel her heart rate rising and the adrenalin flowing. How cool would it be to film a scene from a television show!

"What's up, Maria?" Alex shifted his stack of books from one arm to the other and peered at the notice that had grabbed Maria's attention.

"Alex! Look! We so have to do this. Come with me, today, after school. I want to be first in line!"

Alex smiled indulgently. "Maria, you'd just be an invisible face in the crowd, you know. You're not going to get 'discovered' or anything."

"Please, Alex. I really want to do this. Besides, there's a concert scene. Who knows what band they've got lined up. Maybe you'll get to hear somebody really cool."

She'd hit him where he lived and his eyes lit up. She had him.

"So I'll meet you at the concession stand right after school, okay?"

"Okay, I'll just go take a look. We'll see." Maria's eyes were sparkling as she turned to find Liz. Maybe she could recruit her, too!

******************

Jamison Katsin stood on the concert platform with a megaphone. The crowd of locals were milling around in the school stadium waiting for instructions before the filming was to begin.

"May I have your attention!" he yelled over the loud murmur of excited voices. "I'm Jamison Katsin, director of this episode of 'UFO Undercover.' Our goal today is to get some general crowd scenes that can be spliced into the final cut for effect. We'll be playing the music over loudspeakers, and we'll be filming with mounted cameras that you'll see around the perimeter of the stadium, and with hand-held cameras in the crowd. Please do not look directly at any of the cameras or try to make your own voice heard above the crowd. Just mill around, greet your friends, look happy and excited, okay?"

Alex turned a disappointed face to Maria. "I thought the band would be here," he complained. "We just get the music piped over the loudspeakers?"

"They'll probably be here later, or tomorrow," she soothed him, eyeing the locations of the mounted cameras. "Hey, Alex, you're tall. If you see any of those hand-held cameras in our general vicinity, let me know. Maybe we can get close enough to be in the shot!"

"Maria, he just said not to do that. Just walk around and talk to people."

Maria rolled her eyes at him. "Alex, babe, do you really think people are discovered by accident? Sometimes you have to make your own break, you know? Trust me on this. Just let me know if you see one of them."

Bright spotlights that had been mounted around the area were switched on, throwing beams of multicolored light onto the crowd in a swirling pattern The music began to blare throughout the stadium and a voice yelled "Action!"

All around Maria and Alex people were laughing, talking, moving to the music. "I wish Liz would have agreed to this," yelled Maria into Alex's ear. "This is so cool!"

"Hand-held camera at 2 o'clock!!" shouted Alex. Immediately Maria turned toward the camera, pulling Alex by the hand. When she spotted it, she turned to him and started dancing wildly, her gyrating hips and sultry look taking Alex completely by surprise. When she draped her arms around his neck and started grinding on him, his mouth dropped open and he gaped at her. ** think I saw this in Dirty Dancing,** he thought to himself. He grabbed her shoulders and set her back from him.

"What are you doing, Maria?"

Maria's annoyance was obvious. "Dancing!" she yelled back, as if this is how they had always danced.

Alex threw his hands up and took a step back, bumping into the guy behind him. "Sorry," he yelled as he turned to see one of Kyle's jock friends glaring at him. He turned back to Maria. She was at it again, this time clapping her hands over her head to the beat. She turned suddenly and hit Alex across the face with the back of her hand.

"Maria! Will you calm down?" He clamped her arms by her side, and glanced at the camera. The camera operator shook his head and turned to find some new faces.

"Look what you did, Alex! Now he's going somewhere else!"

"Good!" Alex wasn't sure what he had expected, but this sure as hell wasn't it. He looked at Maria impatiently and bent toward her ear. "Didn't you hear anything that guy said? You're not supposed to mug for the cameras, Dixie Chick. Just mill around."

Maria shot him a withering look as she moved off. "I clearly need a different partner!" And she was lost in the crowd. Alex just stared after her, shaking his head.

*****************

As usual, these crowd scenes with local extras were a free-for-all. Jamison stood at the bank of monitors, closely watching the kinds of footage being recorded from the different cameras. His attention was snagged by a cute pixie of a girl trying very hard to get her reluctant partner to dance with her. She was clearly aware of the hand-held camera nearby and was doing everything in her power to attract attention. He couldn't help but be amused. There was always at least one hopeful in the crowd doing her level best to be discovered. Her partner didn't seem to share her aspirations, however, and he watched their exchange with amusement. When she accidentally slapped him and the boy pinned her arms to her side, Jamison chuckled and noticed that the camera operator moved on. Good. He certainly couldn't use that.

After a couple of hours, the crowd was growing weary of being perpetually blasted with music and smiling. He thanked them for helping with the scene and sent them on their way. He was exhausted, but he still had so much to do. He had invited the cast members to stop by and watch for a while, hoping they would catch some of the local flavor and observe this small town's enthusiasm, but only Brent Fairchild, who played the other male alien, had shown up. He had enjoyed the scene and joined Jamison at the monitors to see what they were getting on film. Jamison knew he had to come up with another way to get the actors to connect with this town, its flavor and people. But how?

The stream of extras from the stadium had dwindled to a trickle. Jamison and Brent were talking about the next day's shooting when a voice interrupted their train of thought.

"Ummm, Mr. Katsin?" Jamison turned to see a somewhat familiar face beaming up at him. "Hi, my name is Maria DeLuca and I just wanted to say how thrilled I was to be able to help out today. I love your show and . . . oh!" Brent had turned toward her as well and Maria suddenly realized she was talking to one of the show's stars.

"You're Brent Fairchild!"

Brent put on his "fan face" and greeted her. "Yes, I am. Do you watch the show?"

"Absolutely!" gushed Maria. "I wouldn't miss it! It's my favorite show!"

"Really? That's great. Maria, is it? Which was your favorite episode?"

Maria's mouth dropped open and her eyes were wide. She had no idea, of course, having never seen anything but the promos for it.

"I think she and I agree it was the one where you and your girlfriend save that little girl and then find out she has powers, too. That was awesome."

Alex had walked up from behind Maria, determined to rescue the show's director and save Maria from embarrassing herself any further. Maria turned to give Alex a grateful look.

"Well, Maria, we'd better be going." He tried to steer her toward the exit, but he was being way too subtle for Maria's excitable state.

"This is my friend Alex. He has a band, and I sing with it sometimes. So if, like, your band doesn't show up, or you need, like, an opening act for them or something, we'd be happy to help out. Right, Alex?"

Alex felt like choking her, but instead he nodded a quick "Sure," and pulled her firmly toward the exit. "Nice to meet you," he said, offering an apologetic look over his shoulder.

"Same here," Brent laughed, as Jamison shook his head in amazement, now recognizing the girl as the same one who had been dancing like crazy for the camera. There's always one, he thought again. They turned back to their conversation.

****************

Jamison just wanted some quick food and a place to think and make some notes. As he walked down the main drag in Roswell, his attention was drawn to a tilted neon sign that flashed "Crashdown Café." Perfect, he thought. Just the kind of hometown atmosphere I need right now, and he headed in the door.

Sliding into a booth, he began to take in the detail of the alien-themed restaurant. The menu was full of predictably "alien" fare, like an "alien blast," and the entrees certainly made a Hollywood connection. The Will Smith burger. The Sigourney Weaver special. There were aliens on the walls and posters about the 1947 crash. It was perfect.

A waitress approached him, and he smiled at her uniform. The apron's pockets were two stereotypical alien eyes and her head was adorned with silver antennae. But the girl was lovely and flashed him a welcoming smile.

"What can I get you?" she asked.

"What do you recommend?" Jamison answered.

"Well, if you're into fat, salt, and sugar, I'd suggest the Will Smith burger with Saturn Rings and an Alien Blast."

"Sounds great," he agreed, and she left to place his order.

The bell on the front door rang and in walked three teens, talking quietly among themselves. They went immediately to a booth and settled in. You could tell they had done this a hundred times before. This was their place, their teen hangout, and they were as comfortable as if in their own home. Almost immediately, two more teens came in; Jamison recognized them as the two extras who had approached him earlier. The cute little blond fairly bounced toward the first group of kids with her tall friend in tow. The dynamics of the group changed immediately as the blond slid into the booth next to a wild-haired boy, kissing him on the cheek. The other boy pulled up an extra chair and gave the taller blond a love-struck smile.

Jamison watched them closely. The dark-haired boy was quite good looking and watched more than participated in the banter around him. He was clearly an integral part of them, though, and he noticed that when the boy did speak, they all listened. Interesting.

The striking blond with him was obviously not his girlfriend, but there was an intimacy between them. A sister, maybe? They looked nothing alike, but something connected them. Her eyes flirted with the taller boy who was obviously very interested. The little pixie and the wild-haired boy had one of those edgy relationships, it looked like. They seemed to bicker over everything from passing the salt to who was hungrier, but the looks they exchanged told a different story. There was genuine affection there. So what was the story with the quiet one? No partner for him?

His waitress returned with his food and immediately made her way over to the group. The quiet boy stood, pulled her to him at the waist, and kissed her gently. Her arms went up around his neck and she smiled almost shyly at him. He sat again and pulled her to sit on his knee. Clasping the hand that still lingered on her waist, the petite waitress talked easily with her friends, exchanging soulful looks with her boyfriend every few seconds.

This was it. This was the group he wanted his cast to portray. Here was the wholesomeness, the small-town values, and the teen giddiness he'd been looking for on his set. Then an idea hit him. He rose from his uneaten dinner and approached the teens.

"Hi, I'm Jamison Katsin, and I have a proposition for you."

*************

WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

Jamison will get the kids to agree to host individual actors from the show. It's time for someone to find out these kids are different:

1 Mason develops a crush on Maria and comes on a little strong. Michael walks in on Mason forcing his attentions on Maria and unthinkingly uses his powers.

2. The teens are invited to a cast party. Max and Liz go off for some alone time, but Cheryl and Mason go in search of them and see Max making Liz's skin glow (as it did in SH).