The director chops his hand in the air. “Cut! That’s a wrap. Good job, guys.”

I stand up from the black leather chair, and my counterpart does the same. He offers his hand. “Thanks for coming out, James. It was a pleasure. This show’s lucky to have you here.”

I tilt my head slightly, and smile. “Hopefully this’ll drive both our ratings higher.”

He laughs. “Ain’t that the truth. Listen, I hate to jet, but I have another appointment. I’ll see you around, yeah?” With a final nod, he jogs off to an agent waiting on the sidelines. As he leaves, an intern comes up to me with a cup of coffee.

I wave her away. “I don’t drink coffee. Thanks, though.”

She nods, and curtly scurries away. I look up at the production lights and sigh. How much longer?

My agent walks up to me, clipboard in hand. “Alright. That’s done, a bit ahead of schedule. Next, down to Averney, for the cover of Cordon Gold. After that, there’s a gala at the Copernick center tonight, and I want you to be there.”

I sigh, and run a hand through my hair. “I thought you said I’d have tonight off.”

He shrugs. “Things come up, you know? You’ll handle it.” He motions to a driver, who nods and exits the stage area.

I follow him dejectedly. Man, just when you think you’ll have a moment... kill me. Sorry, Tonio.

I settle into the backseat of the black sedan, and as we drive away, I don’t bother to put on my seatbelt, simply losing myself in thought. I’ve been overworked... when’s the last time I talked authentically with someone without a camera in the room? I’ve been spending too much time talking to cameras... and I am almost burnt-out. When’s the last time I had a night to myself? Oh, I can’t remember. This blows. I need a shake-down.

The driver pulls into an underground parkade and stops the car. “Here you go, James. Office is the fifteenth floor. Kevin will be waiting for you there.”

Just the name of my agent shoots pain through my head. “Ugh. Any chance you know somewhere I could dispose of a body?”

He laughs from the front seat. “Man, I get you. It’s a rough life, right? Not enough time. Just hang in there, champ. You’ll get rest eventually.”

I step out, rolling my eyes. “Thanks for the advice.” I shut the door behind me, and head to the elevator. I hit the button, and wait about five seconds for the door to open before the two halves slide apart. I step in, and hit the number fifteen. I ascend steadily, but stop at the eighth floor. I stand, arms crossed, puzzled until the door slides open and the selfsame intern steps in. I recognize her by the way she looks absolutely shocked to see me again.

I wave, barely, and mumble a quick “Hey”. She slides into the corner opposite me and hits the number fifteen as well. The doors shut, and we continue up.

She looks around uncomfortably before tentatively opening her mouth. I, however, interject before she can start. “No. I understand now that you’re my new go-fer, but I can’t stand idle chit-chat. Save it for later.” She shuts her mouth, looking sheepishly at the floor. The doors open, and I breeze out before she can. I locate Kevin easily, and put on my fake smile, just like I always do. “Hey, Papa Kev. What’s the biz?”

He motions to a man behind him, who is beaming with a gleaming ivory smile. “This is Chet, head of Cordon Gold’s photography division. He’ll set you up. I’ll do the negotiations for rates and appearance fees. We should be done around four.”

I nod. “Let’s get this show on the road, then, shall we?” I shake hands with Chet, and he motions for me to follow him. I do so, leaving Kevin behind.

Chet has me dress up in glitzy uniforms and pose with different items before settling on a microphone. I take a few shots, gazing confidently into the camera, flashing the smile my mother so gracefully gifted me with. He purrs as the camera shutter clicks again and again. “Yes. Move your hand up a smidge. Left leg back. Bend your elbow. Raise your right eyebrow. Yes... much better. Great!” He stretches, and looks at his camera. “I’m going to go get another memory card,” he chuckles, pulling out the old one, “and I’ll be right back.” He quickly prances out of the room.

Once the door shuts, I let loose, slumping down in my chair and sighing, rubbing my eyes. “God. This is going to be longer than four, isn’t it?”

After waiting about a minute, I stand up, and observe my surroundings. I’m in a music studio. An actual one, complete with recording equipment. It seems even Cordon Gold tried their hand at recording, once. I open the door to the inner booth, and run my hand over the mixing console. It’s an Allen & Heath iLive T112, nothing too fancy, but definitely a fun toy. I flick the power switch on the back, for fun, and the entire board lights up like a Christmas tree on crack. Faders move to preset positions, a small screen lights up, and the EQ section of the board immediately shows the dials’ positions. I fiddle around for a moment, sliding things up and down, tweaking parameters, and, though there is no sound, I imagine for a moment what it would sound like.

Click!

I whirl around to the source of the noise, in the doorway. “Dammit, Chet-“ I squall, only to notice that it is not, in fact, Chet. My new go-fer stands in the doorway, cell phone held in front of her, smiling slightly. “That’s a nice picture, you know.”

I close the distance between us in two steps, irate. I snatch the phone from her hand, growling. “Give me that.” I look at the photo, and for a second, I have to admit, I do look very good. The lights play across my face perfectly.

I shake my head, and giver back the phone. “I need you to send that photo to me and then delete it immediately.”

She nods, grinning sweetly now, like a child freshly endulged. “Okay! Oh, by the way, Chet said I could get you, because he’s got enough photos for today.” She turns and hurries out, a noticeable spring in her step. I shake my head. She won’t last long.

Kevin corrals me out of the building as soon as I see him, down to a waiting car. “We’ll get you dressed up at your apartment. Let’s wheel.”

As we both sit in the back, I chuckle. “Lord almighty, you’re old, aren’t you, Papa Kev?”

He chuckles back, looking wistfully out the window. “Heh, maybe I am. But I do you good, don’t I?”

I prop my head up on my elbow. “Yeah, as good as good does.”

The rest of the ride transpires in silence. Upon arrival, he ushers me into my wardrobe. “We want a dressy look, but something that could go casual as well.”

I point to a nice grey vest. “That, with the purple long sleeve, and a black tie. Your choice of pants and the matte-black running shoes we got last year at Runnington’s.”

He laughs. “Unorthodox. I like it. Where’d you get the style?”

“A friend,” I say, looking longingly at my computer, “a friend I met online. His name is Antonio.”

Kevin grabs the necessary clothes off the shelves and thrusts it all into my arms. “Go, go, get changed. We don’t have much time.” I rush into the bathroom, and swap clothes. Tucking my shirt in, I step out. “Well?”

He sighs. “You’ll steal the spotlight tonight, man.”

I smirk. “It’s not stealing if it’s rightfully mine.”

He throws his head back and chortles. “You’re a cheeky one! Save it for the camera, eh? Let’s get moving.”

The car ride gives me a moment to watch the golden sun set into an iridescent blue mountain range, robin’s-egg speckled with white snow. It’s beautiful, but it soon disappears behind a jumble of skyscrapers and billboards. I place my eyes back on the road, and notice we’re arriving at the Copernick center. The car stops, and I step out onto a red carpet, complete with paparazzi lining either side. Their cameras spackle the night with a dazzling barrage of lights, but I ignore them, instead ascending the steps to enter the gala.

I soon find a table, and sit down. Many others file in, chatting amiably with others, but I simply sit and watch, fiddling idly with my napkin. There’s no reporters in here yet, so I’m using this free time to unwind. I breathe slowly, letting my muscles relax.

A chair pulls out from beside me, and someone I know sits down beside me. It’s the new go-fer yet again, this time dressed in dress pants and a cute floral top. Her red hair is arranged in a fiery cascade of ringlets down her back, and her blue eyes pierce mine from above the sea of freckles on her cheeks.

“Hey,” I start, scootching my chair away, “could you not get so close?”

She giggles. “I’m sorry, I didn’t notice. How are you doing?”

“I don’t need anything, if that’s what you’re asking,” I reply coldly, “and not too well otherwise.”

She tilts her head a bit. “Oh? Tell me about it.”

I look around, and it seems the cameras still haven’t made it in yet. I lean back on my chair. “I’m barely alive, but, I’m giving it a try. Overworked, you know? I wish I had more time.”

She folds her hands on the table. “Can’t you just take a day off?”

I scoff. “I’ve spent my life moving up and down the social ladder. There’s no days off unless you’re dead.”

She sits straight in her chair, eyes wide. “Then get off the ladder! What’s so wrong with unwinding?”

I lean fowards, looking her in the eyes. “Kevin would- no joke- eviscerate you, disembowel you, and desecrate your corpse if he heard you right now.”

She waves a hand. “So what about Kevin? Don’t let others ruin your life for you!”

I stand up, angered. “On second thought, a glass of punch would be nice.” I stalk away from the table, my head a jumbled mess. On one hand, what she said makes sense, but on the other, it’s absolutely idiotic to even consider. There’s no way I can just drop off the grid for a week. My schedule would be fricked! But I need it... I need a pick-me-up. I feel like I’ve fallen down... I need a movement!

Collecting my cup of punch, I return to my seat. My new aide is no longer there, as the cameras are now flashing. I drop my cup at my spot and sashay around, greeting others with the same fake smile each time, receiving the same fake smile in return. Once all the chit-chat is out of the way, I sit down at my table, now populated, and watch the gala, clapping when everyone else is, and laughing as everyone else does. The entire time, though, my mind is on her, and her comments. “So what about Kevin?” Yeah, so what. He basically controls my net worth! I can’t just leave that. But, I do need to. “Then get off the ladder!” Oh, if it was that easy, I’d have been off a long time ago. But I do need a respite! Argh!

As the gala winds down, I notice a flash of red amongst the heads milling around in the crowd. I decide to work for my answers, and weave through the crowd skillfully until I reach her. She stands solitarily, eyes off in the distance, focused on God-knows-what. I cough, gaining her attention.

“Hey, about what you said earlier...”

She grins. “What is it?”

I look down at my feet. I’ve never had trouble speaking before, but this confounds me like no other. “I...” Damn it all, Laubach, speak!

She cocks her eyebrow coyly, and I look up, locking eye-to-eye. “I need a break. But I can’t do it alone. I... will you come with me?”

She looks as shocked as I feel. Where in all of God’s green earth did that come from?! From the hush that descends on the crowd around me, I surmise everyone else is flabbergasted as well. Her mouth hangs open, her hand lightly resting in the air, frozen halfway through a movement.

I feel a camera flash go off, and something in me snaps. I can’t stick around! I grab her hand and start to push through the crowd. She follows me first reluctantly, then I feel less and less resistance until she runs beside me. We track down the Copernick center’s front steps, a kerfuffle behind us. The valet looks at me, confused.

“Valet! Keys! Black Beemer, LAU964!” He nods, and goes through his coat, tossing me the keys as I pass him. I dash to my car, my intern not far behind, laughing.

I press the button on the key fob, and it unlocks the doors. I fling the driver’s side port wide open, and slip in, starting the engine with the button on the dashboard. As I shut my door, the passenger side opens, and my cohort jumps in beside me, closing her door.

I slam the car into reverse, swiveling out, and then switch to D, peeling out of the parking lot. The woman beside me squeals happily, her laughing buoying me up. I blaze through more than a couple red lights on my way out of the city, but soon we’re on a country road, heading to nowhere.

I turn to look at her as the road slightly curves, and she’s resting her head against the window, smiling contentedly. I place my eyes back on the road as my heart starts to beat faster.

“Thanks. I need to hear it, uh...”

She laughs, her hand in front of her mouth as her curly hair bounces around her face. “It’s Mariah. You’re welcome, James.”

I drive for a moment in silence, then continue. “God, I’m going to enjoy this. I was spending too much time talking to camera, you know? And I’ve been doing it so long I can’t remember why!”

She shakes her head in a sort of melancholy way. “Too many people can’t.”

I nod. “I know I spent too much time thinking about what I don’t know. Maybe, maybe there’s a better place that I can call home, better than the den of misery I used to live in. I know one thing for sure, I need a switch-up.”

She grabs my hand from the steering wheel forcefully, and I look at her. She gazes into my eyes with an icy passion. “You don’t have to go through these changes alone. You don’t. I’m here, I’ll support you.”

I let my hand linger in hers for a bit before grabbing hers slowly as well. As we drive down the deserted farming road, I sigh. The headlights of my BMW illuminate the road ahead. I press on the gas just a bit more, and we rocket down the road even faster, into the night ahead.

...

I open the bathroom door to see Mariah sitting on her bed, staring out the hotel window at the sunrise. I sit down beside her, and she leans on my shoulder. I hug her closer. “I... I’d been living a lie, so I thought I’d try it out, you know...”

She looks up at me and smiles. “Best decision you’re ever made?”

I grin. “I was barely alive, but I think... I think I’m better now.”

End

Inspired by: Better Now - Fox Stevenson