A Scandal in Hollywood

I woke up the next morning half asleep when my alarm clock went off. I threw on some clothes, grabbed my messengers bag and headed to the Starbucks near my apartment. On my way to the college I let my coffee cool down.

I spotted a bench on the campus grounds and set my coffee down for a minute as I rummaged through my bag for my English notes. I finally found them and held them in my hand before picking up my coffee. I looked over my notes in my hand as I sipped on my coffee and headed for the class. I closed my eyes for a brief second as I enjoyed the taste of warm coffee in my mouth. It tasted so good, just like how mom used to make it-

Suddenly I felt someone shove me back and I felt the hot coffee splash all over me. My head hit the concrete and all I felt was pain. My head was swimming and I could barely make out the voice that was calling to me.

“Oh, are you alright?!” I voice cried out. “Please, please, don’t be dead!”

I forced my eyes open to see a blonde girl who only looked a little older than me.

“Oh, thank God!” she breathed out in relief, putting a hand over her chest. She reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me up into a sitting position.

“Are you alright?” she asked frantically, her calmness gone in a split second. I reached behind and felt the back of my head, and realizing I hit it on the exact same place as last night. I hope I don’t have a concussion. Suddenly I felt someone bright shining in my eyes and I closed them and looked away out of instinct.

“No, open your eyes. I need to see if you have a concussion,” she instructed me, and I opened my eyes to see a tiny flashlight attached to a bunch of keys.

“Ok, now look at me and keep still,” she said. She shone the light in my eyes and let out a sigh of relief when she turned the flashlight off. “Ok, no signs of any trauma or a concussion. But if you experience any dizziness, lightheadedness, or anything out of the ordinary, really, go see your doctor or the school nurse. Either one would be fine.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And what are you, a nurse?”

“A nurse in training,” she announced with a proud smile. I couldn’t help but smile back before feeling something warm and soggy in my hands. I looked down to see a big brown coffee stain on my red shirt, but what was worse, was my English notes were completely ruined.

“Oh no!” I exclaimed. She glanced at the notes in my hand and gave me an apologetic look.

“I am so sorry!” she said before grabbing my papers and trying to shake off the coffee but the papers only tore and fell to the ground in a soggy heap. The girl’s mouth fell open and she seemed at a lose to say anything for a moment. I was about to cry.

“Can those be replaced?” she asked nervously.

“Those were my English notes,” I almost cried.

“Wait, English I, with Miss Robertson?” she asked excitedly. I nodded numbly but her smile brightened.

“My baby sister has her class! I’ll ask her if I can borrow her notes!” she exclaimed. “Um, do you have lunch free?”

I nodded. “Ok, good. Meet me at the coffee shop on campus near the music building and I’ll give you the notes. Again, I’m really sorry. I’ll even buy you a coffee at lunch!” she said before running into a nearby building. I let out a sigh. Why were people always in such a rush here?

Then again, I couldn’t really talk, I had been in a rush earlier this morning. With a shake of my head I stood up and picked up my mostly empty cup of coffee, drowning the last of it before tossing it into a nearby trashcan and heading to my class.



The alarm clock on my bedside went off with a shrill whistle. I groaned before reached over and pressing any buttons my fingers could find before finding the right one. My eyes were still ringing but I sat up and looked around groggily. I looked in the mirror and saw light bags under my eyes and my curly brown hair in a mess, as usual.

With a yawn I got up and pulled some clothes out of my trunk before pulling my shoes on and going to the door. I was about to reach for the knob when a sudden knocking came from the other side. I jumped back and put my hand over my chest in surprise before reached out and opening the door. Brett stood on the other side with a smile on his face.

“Oh sorry, dad. Did I wake you up?” he asked when he saw the tired look on my face. I shook my head and made a resolve to splash my face with water before heading to the set.

“No, I was about to head to the set. What’s up?” I asked, leaning against the doorframe.

“I was wondering if I could bring Laura by the set tomorrow so you could meet her,” he announced with a smile. I gave a tired nod.

“Sound good. I’ll tell Dave to give you and whoever you bring a pass when you come to the gate tomorrow. Can’t wait to meet the mystery girl,” I said with a smile.

“Awesome, so maybe around lunchtime?” he asked and I nodded.

“Ok. Well, I gotta be somewhere right now,” he said as he glanced at his watch. “See you tomorrow, dad!”

“See you, Brett,” I called back before going back into my hotel room. I walked into the bathroom and splashed water on my face, but it didn’t help the slight bags under my eyes. Oh well, nothing some Hollywood make-up and airbrushing couldn’t solve.



I walked to the coffee shop at the far end of the campus and looked around the shop. I didn’t see the girl from earlier anywhere. I walked over to a booth by the window and took a seat. If she said she’d be here then I believed her.

I was about to leave twenty minutes later when a flash of blonde hair rushed through the door before glancing around frantically. Her eyes spotted me and she slid into the seat before leaning back and letting out a sigh.

“Sorry I’m so late, my professor wanted to talk to me about my studies and he took longer than expected. I was afraid you’d left already,” she said before reaching in her backpack and pulling out a bundle of papers. “Here’s my sister’s notes. She said you could keep them for the night and give them back to my tomorrow or the next day.”

She got up, leaving her backpack on the seat across from me. She walked up to the counter and a minute later she walked over to the table with two cups of coffee.

“I didn’t know what you liked, but you look like a black coffee kind of girl,” she said with a smile, sliding the steaming cup of coffee over to me. I tried not to make a face; I hated black coffee, but I didn’t want to seem rude after she’d gone and bought me a cup. With a forced smile I picked up the cup and took a small sip while I tried not to gag on it. She smiled back before taking a sip of her own cup of the same black coffee.

“So, what are you majoring in?” she asked.

“I haven’t decided yet, but I’m thinking Forensic Science. I just love mysteries and figuring things out,” I said with a smile.

“Sounds like a good choice then. As you already know, I’m studying to become a nurse. Only one more year!” she exclaimed excitedly. “By the way, I’m Christine.”

“I’m Laura,” I said. Suddenly a Beatles song started playing and Christine pulled out a cell phone from her backpack. She glanced at the caller ID before answering it.

“Hey, honey,” she answered it with a smile. “Yeah, I’m just having a cup of coffee with a friend.” I smiled when she called me her friend. It’d been so long since I hung out with a girl my own age.

“Yeah, I’ll pick some up on my way home. Ok,” she paused a minute before smiling. “Love you too.” She closed her phone and put it back in her backpack before turning back to me.

“Boyfriend?” I questioned and she shook her head.

“No, that was my husband. He wants me to pick up some baby formula on my way home,” she said and for the first time I glanced at her hand and noticed the diamond ring on it. I looked back up at her in confusion.

“You look so young.”

She laughed. “Well, I’m not exactly old. I’m only 25 but I’ve been married for a good seven years,” she replied with a smile. I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrows a bit.

“But that means you were married when you were eighteen,” I said, and she nodded. “But, why get married so young?”

“I’d found my soul mate; the one person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, so why wait?” she said with a shrug.

I couldn’t help but smile. “Wow, it sounds like something out of a fairytale.”

“Ha! It’s anything but,” she said, looking at me with an amused expression. “I love Jeff, but marriage isn’t all fairytales and rainbows. It’s hard work, and a lot of it! Especially if you have a baby. If I could do it all over again I would have waited until I was done with college, but I still don’t regret anything. Does that make any sense?” I nodded even thought it was a little confusing as I looked down at my coffee.

“Take my advice, get your career going before you get married,” she said, leaning over and putting a hand over mine. I looked up at her before a buzzing sound came from her backpack. She reached it and pulled out her phone. She looked down at it before letting out a sigh and rolling her eyes.

“I’d better get home with that formula before Jeff has a cow.”

She took out a small piece of paper and write something down on it before handing it to me. Then she picked up her coffee and slung her backpack over her shoulder.

“Just call me when you’re done with those notes. I’d like to hangout sometimes, it was nice talking to you.” She waved before heading off and I slipped the piece of paper into my pocket before throwing out the coffee.



“Cut!” Dave yelled from off set. My co-star smiled at me before walking over and clapping me on the shoulder.

“Great acting, Neil,” she said before walking off set to her husband waiting at the door.

“That’ll be all for today,” Dave announced to the other actors. I walked up to him and he gave me a smile.

“You’re doing a great job so far, buddy.”

“Thanks. Hey, my son is coming tomorrow with his girlfriend. Could you tell your guys at the front to let them in whenever they come?” I asked, and Dave nodded.

“So, he’s got a new girlfriend?” he asked with a sly smile. “That’s my type of boy! Although, I can’t see why he got rid of that one red-haired beauty a couple months ago.” I just rolled my eyes.

“Hey, nothing wrong with looking at other woman. And you have to admit, she was gorgeous. Didn’t Brett say she was a model or something?”

“It’s like you’ve completely forgotten about Nora already,” I said, remembering his wife who died only two years earlier. A somber expression came over his face.

“I could never forget Nora, but even I know you gotta move on sooner or later, Neil,” he said with a serious expression on his face before giving me a small smile and walking off.