You're To Blame

Fame (1)

Chapter 8: Fame (1)

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Sometimes it’s hard to relax even in your own home… so how could I ever do that in someone else’s…? Making such an impulsive decision, going out of my way to go and live with a guy I met a year ago… I must be going insane…

“What’s your name anyways?” Derrick asked while tilting his head to the side. He was so casual about it all even when I brought over my luggage, so I guess it took me a while to catch onto the fact what we were doing wasn’t normal.

“Mine? It’s Angelica.” I replied to him. I’d forgotten to mention my name back then and even now…

“What a nice name.” Derrick remarked although his expression didn’t change so a part of me assumed he was actually making fun of me.

“And is your really Derrick?” I asked him while stepping closer but he created more distance between us with his next words.

“Why? You don’t like it?” Derrick asked me somewhat ironically. It’s not like it matters what I think.

I shook my head. “I just thought it was a bit too plain for someone like you. I was expecting something fancy.” I admitted, something like Alejandro or the like would suit him much better. I mean his longish blond hair, his green eyes that stared into your soul when you look back at them… A simple name like Derrick seemed odd.

Derrick looked at me and sighed. “We don’t really get to choose those… Besides I use a stage name when working. You must know that one at least.” He told me and I raked my brain to figure it out. Sure I’ve seen his image before but I never paid attention to his name…

“Golden Model?” I said, although it sounded more like a question than a statement.

He sighed once more but this time it actually sounded sad. “No, that’s my nickname by the fans. They call me Sky.” He remarked.

“Should I use that or Derrik?” I asked him, since I didn’t really know what to do anymore.

“Whichever you prefer, doesn’t really matter to me. Just so you know almost no one calls me Derrik so you’d do better to use Sky.” Derrick… I mean Sky… He looked very strange when he said that, almost like… he was disappointed about something.

“Right, then Sky… why’d you suddenly invite me here?” I asked him looking around. The huge apartment I was standing in was probably worth more than all the houses in my hometown combined. It was luxurious, high raise and definitely needlessly expensive. He had house keepers that roamed around but they were like ninjas… If I didn’t know they were there I wouldn’t have noticed them at all… its kind of creepy.

“Isn’t it obvious? To become a star we have to begin with your appearance and that’s not an easy thing to do. So I hired a few people to come over and help out.” Sky explained it all to me as if it was obvious. But that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

“Help out about what?” I asked him perplexed and he headed into the other room where there were a few women standing there at the ready.

“Your personal sense of style… the way you act, your mannerisms, the things you wear, the things you do and like… You have to build those up to be recognizable.” Sky remarked while crossing his arms.

“Are you saying I’m hideous?” I raised my eyebrow feeling like this was somewhat of a backhanded insult. Yet his expression remained neutral to say the least.

“No, but you need polishing and what good would it be if you couldn’t even do something as simple as that?” Sky asked me and that actually hurt my pride a bit… just a bit…

“But I like the way I dress… what’s the point of changing it?” I asked him, this seemed like far too much of a bother. I didn’t want to have to go through all these hoops just for a chance to act.

Sky looked at me as if I had five heads and a new one was growing at the very second. His expression in utter disbelief. “Because if you want to be a large star you have to become someone else entirely. You shouldn’t be content with the way things are, you shouldn’t be okay with mediocrity.” He told me and those words although inspiring still didn’t make me feel too good about it all.

“That’s… is it really that difficult?” I asked him while slumping my shoulders, I didn’t want to do it but I had to. If that was the only way then I had gotten so far, I should go further than that.

“I told you before, this is a cutthroat industry, it’s not something you could easily overcome by yourself or at all…” Sky spoke while resting his hand over my shoulder. His serious expression and his tone of voice that I didn’t feel like seeing or listening to… I was forced to.

“Right… so…” I looked around the room filled with women that calmly waited to be introduced.

Sky let go of my shoulder. “They’re here, I will leave you in their capable hands.” He remarked as he headed up the stairs and locked himself in one of the room.

“What? Sky, please just stay-!” I couldn’t even call out to him quickly enough, the moment I did, he was already out of my line of sight.

I stood there feeling like a complete i***t about it all…

“Oh, girl! You worry too much! Here, I’m your trusty hair stylist Jacklyn.” One of the women remarked as she smiled happily my way. She held up a comb and scissors as if to introduce herself.

“I’m Gabriella your make up artist!” The next woman spoke up as if her turn had came and held up a few brushes. It was almost comedic how animated they all acted.

“And I’m your stylist Norleen.” The next one didn’t seem to have any desire to introduce herself at all as she did. She then proceeded to avoid eye contact with me for a while.

“I’m the photographer and instructor Sofia.” The last woman to speak up seemed like the kindest one, but the way I saw it all of them were carefully observing me and gauging the way I will behave.

“This is all a little too much, don’t you think?” I asked them, all of which looked at me as if I was insane. Which I probably was since I went there.

“Of course not! You heard Sky, right? You need to learn a lot so you can climb higher!” Gabriella seemed enthusiastic as she reached out to me and gave me a hug.

“Yes, yes! So just sit back and trust us with our skill. Together we can make you look absolutely flawless in every way!” Jacklyn added, she moved closer as well as the others did.

“That’s really kind of you all but…” I tired to speak up but their very presence seemed intimidating. I didn’t even know why I felt that way to be completely honest.

“You shouldn’t lose confidence, alright? Look forward and do your best, that’s the way you should be living your life. It’s the way all of us gathered together here thanks to Sky.” Sofia was the one that settled my initial worries. And that’s the moment I realized that all of them were likely recruited by him as well.

“Sky is…” Before I could even start, I had someone else finish my sentence for me and reply to my question quickly.

“He’s the reason we all have jobs right now! He’s a really cool guy so we’re doing this favor for him by coming over to help you.” Norleen the one that looked least enthusiastic to see me was now the one inching closer.

“I understand… then I will be relying on you. Thank you for your help in advance.” I lowered my head a bit, feeling overwhelmed by their collective presence. These four women had this charisma to them that I couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

“You got it! Then Let me start first since the way you look is key!” Gabriella was the one that pulled me to her station first. She was a beautiful woman with curly dark brown hair and tanned skin. Her eyes looked a shade of greenish brown I hadn’t seen before, she was a bit shorter than me and seemed friendly and outgoing by her first introduction…