The Heiress Lives Again

3 - THE FRIEND

CHAPTER THREE

FRIEND

I spent the next few days researching the owner of my new body. Alida Simone Gotiangco was her name. I found her IDs among her things so I decided to search for her on the internet. Based on the websites I found, she’s a rising actress who’s very popular nowadays because of her beauty and talent in acting. She was born on March 16, 1997 so that means she’s three years younger than me. She’s the same age as my sister, Althea.

She recently received an acting award from an international film festival for her role in an indie film. It was her breakout role. After that film, she instantly shot to popularity. New acting projects came for her, ranging from films to TV dramas. Also, many brands lined up for her to be their endorser. She was a real big shot. She recently wrapped up filming her part for a drama series when the accident happened.

Aside from being known as a good actress, apparently, she’s also known for her cold exterior and snobbish attitude. She doesn’t have many friends and from fan videos I’ve seen, she doesn’t really smile or interact with her fans. It’s like she didn’t really give a care as to what people think of her.

We have completely different personalities. Or maybe not really…

After the accident I actually became a bit closed off. I couldn’t interact with people after that. I guess the easiest part about pretending to be her was the fact that I didn’t have to interact with many people. They wouldn’t find it weird if I don’t socialize because that’s how she was originally…

But then there’s the acting part. Won’t people find it weird if all of a sudden, she became a bad actress? They say even if a person loses his or her memories, her skills or intelligence won’t be affected. Your brain may not remember but your body will remember it. This is going to be difficult… I don’t know if I can even act that part. It’s difficult enough to act like her in front of the people close to her. Acting in front of the camera is a totally different thing.

I decided to watch the indie film wherein she got an award for, hoping that she was a bad actress so I could somehow justify my bad acting in the future if ever but who was I kidding? She couldn’t possibly win an award if she was a bad actress. My expectations failed so badly. She was a really good actress. A terrific one at that. Her emotions and acting voice were all on point that everything seemed so believable. And even without saying a line the emotions in her eyes were so terrific.

Now how am I supposed to copy that? I’ll probably suck so bad that I will be the reason for her downfall… What if she somehow comes back to her body and finds out that her career was already ruined? I can’t even start to imagine it…

I was still caught up in my dilemma when I was jolted back to the present because of the sound of the doorbell ringing. I stood up from the sofa, wearing only a satin matching pajama, and checked the intercom to see who was outside. I was relieved when I saw that it was Shane, Ally’s manager. I opened the door to let her in.

“I didn't know you were coming...” I said.

She smiled thriftly. “I wanted to check up on you. You don’t reply much.”

I just smiled awkwardly as I went back to the living room and sat back down on the sofa. I wasn’t able to close the browser on the laptop so she saw what was on it. I saw as a sad smile made its way on her face. I immediately closed the lid but of course she already saw so it was useless.

“You don’t need to be shy around me, Ally. I understand what you’re going through…” She said in a gentle voice. I could only sigh. If she only knows… “How are you? Still no improvement?”

I shook my head. “I still can’t remember a thing...” Of course, you won’t… You’re not Ally.

Shane nodded. “I know it’s still awkward for you to talk about this but you’re going to need our help on this one Ally… I know you’re used to doing stuff by yourself but getting your memories back will be difficult if you do it on your own...”

“I know… but don’t I have a family I can talk to? Is it really just you and… B-Basty?” I asked hesitantly.

The expression on Shane’s face changed upon the mention of the word family. I didn’t have to ask more. I think I already got an idea based on her expression alone. It’s either Ally has no more family or she’s on bad terms with them.

“You don’t talk to your parents anymore, Ally...” She said carefully. So Ally only has her parents and no one else? I wonder why she doesn’t talk to them anymore. “It’s a bit complicated and I don’t really know the full details but you don’t talk to them anymore… and you don’t really like mentioning about them so I never really knew much about them too...”

“Oh...”

She sighed. “I’m sorry, Ally…”

“No, it’s okay… Actually it’s better that you told me. At least I know now that I shouldn’t expect much from them...” I told her. She looked so torn about it that I felt bad instantly. So if there’s no family. How about friends? Does Ally really have no friends? “How about friends?”

She looked more problematic now. “You don’t really like socializing… so you don’t have many friends.”

“Still, I should have at least one right?”

She sighed again. “You ended it some time ago, Ally. You already cut off all connections with your friend. There’s no such thing for you now...”

My forehead knotted instantly. Was she really that cold and unfriendly? She doesn’t even have friends, not even one! At least I had one good friend even during my dark days…

The thought suddenly made me miss her…

If only I could call her right now…

But that’s too impossible now, isn’t it?