Scarlet Starlet

I tapped my pencil against the white page of my notebook and stared at some glued together wooden balls in different colors. Two black, one red and six white ones.

“Uh... Ethanol?” I asked as I remembered seeing the same structure in the chemistry book's chapter about organic chemistry. The red ball was an oxygen atom, connected to a chain of the black coal atoms, and linked to it was a white ball; hydrogen.

“That's one hundred percent correct!” my wayward tutor said.

I allowed myself to sigh in relief and shot the man a weak smile. His glasses were hanging on by a thread on the tip of his nose and the tufts of gray hair left on his head were greasy. Mr. Malone was, despite his looks, a very proper old man with advanced academic education in his baggage. I had hired him to bash some knowledge into my head between movie recordings – and he was well worth the money!

Education had always been important in my eyes and I missed going to school like normal teenagers did. When I during recordings hauled my books up people merely laughed at me, saying I wouldn't need to read a single sentence in my life because of my bright future in the film industry. That concerned me since I've always appreciated my brain enough to maintain and challenge it.

Mr. Malone pushed the wooden molecule over the tabletop until it touched the side of my notebook. “Now tell me more about it.”

“It's an alcohol because of the hydroxyl group,” I said and grabbed the linked together oxygen and hydrogen atoms with my hand, “And it's not methanol because there are two coals instead of one... Uh, the side with the hydroxyl group is polar and very mixable with water - hydrophile in another word.”

The man nodded approvingly and then rolled up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal a watch. The strap binding the small device to his arm was made of old black leather and looked like it was about to wither apart any second.

“Unfortunately, our time for today is up,” he said and snatched the ethanol model right before my eyes. What a socially smooth man... The model then slid down into the depths of his big brown briefcase to a world full of books and calculators.

I let go of my orange pencil and leaned back to rest against the backrest of the chair I was sitting on. My shoulders were stiff from sitting in an awkward position for too long and my right hand was aching from scribbling down notes. The time had just flown by like a rocket in action.

“So, what do I get for homework until next time?”

“Just read the chapter about genetically modified organisms and we'll discuss it after the weekend,” Mr. Malone said while putting his black coat on and heading towards the door.

I already knew quite a lot about GMO and disliked the whole idea of it. Humans should not try to be God and play chess with organisms' genetics to produce something to benefit from; there is a balance in the universe which shouldn't be stirred up. What gives us the right to change other living creatures?

The door creaked and squeaked as Mr. Malone opened and closed it.

I stayed in the kitchen for a while, gazing through the window to overview the peaceful street outside. My house was framed in by a high fence to keep my privacy in and paparazzi out. Well, I wouldn't say that I'm a typical A-list celebrity, I'm probably placed on the lower half of the C-list, but still I occasionally saw a man with a camera pacing back and forth on the other side of the fence.

I followed the dark tall figure of my tutor with my eyes as he tottered towards his small car. The weight of carrying the briefcase made his back look crooked and the bottom of the heavy thing nearly scraped the ground. I chuckled and got up to my feet while exhaling a whiff of air.

The kitchen was stainless and furnished with chrome appliances. The kitchen table made of impressive oak stood robustly next to a big window which overlooked the neat garden. On the tabletop laid my school books and notepads next to a decorative vase. It felt good to be in the medium-sized kitchen. It felt zen.
However, I knew that the illusion of peace wouldn't last for long. The arms of the ticking wall-clock told me that a driver and a limousine would come to pick me up in two hours and drive me off to the Grand Cinema downtown for the premiere of my new movie, 'Lovely Jane'.

The grand premiere meant that my personal stylist and makeup artist soon would barge into my house and make my appearance worthy of the red carpet. I didn't know how to feel about the fact that they insisted on having at least two hours of applying beige mud to my face. Really, did I have that many imperfections? Then the stylist would have to help me get into my dress, because she insisted on the 'fact' that I would rip it if I tried zipping it myself.

And as you speak of the devil...

I beheld a dark red sports car that stopped by the fence of my house; its windows were rolled down and a woman with long dark hair and heavy bangs sat in the driver's seat. Next to her, in the front seat, sat another woman with equally dark hair tied up in a bun. The driver pressed a few buttons which formed the secret code to a gate in my fence and she could enter my property with ease.

I sat myself down by the table again and braced myself for the long two hours to come. Some might think that being dolled up is an amazing privilege and it might be as well, but the girls of my staff weren't for the faint of heart. They were loud, obnoxious and insensitive - and the list goes on for weeks. Sure, they're good at what they do, but not the kind of girls I'd want to just chill out with. To take everything to the next level of unbearable bickering - the girls are sisters. Jackpot.

The sound of my doorbell echoed through the house.

“Come in! The door is unlocked,” I yelled and heard the front door creak and footsteps entering my home. I could hear them arguing with each other over which brand had released the best lipstick in the new spring collection as they took their shoes off and walked into the kitchen.

The first one to walk through the door frame leading to the kitchen was my stylist with the bangs, Leila. She carried my dress of the night inside a plastic wrapper and she held it like it was more precious than a baby. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of huge sunglasses that made her look like an alien insect from somewhere far off in the galaxy - which she apparently considered a fashionable look. Leila carefully laid the plastic wrapped piece of fabric out on the tabletop and smoothed out imaginary wrinkles with her hand.

Leila was the kind of person who would hatch rude or plump comments without acknowledging it. I would have just sacked the two of them if they weren't so skilled with hair, makeup and fashion.

Then Leila's younger sister came flying into the kitchen with a wild look upon her face. She was waving a makeup brush like it was a sword or a magical wand. To honor the day she had painted her eyelids in a plummy color and framed her eyes with excessive amounts of eyeliner. Well, that's Lilian in a nutshell; wild and fearless. I had always preferred Lilian over Leila, mostly because of her free spirit, but also because she knew when she had crossed the line.

“Hi Leila... and Lilian,” I said and shot them a smile.

“Troya! Hi!” Lilian cooed and made her way over to me and planted a theatrical kiss on my cheek, “Would you mind removing the books from the table? I need some space for my makeup.”

“No, not at all,” I mumbled and started clearing the table free from my chemistry and math books.

Lilian then sprawled her various kits of makeup and brushes out on the table and ordered me to have a seat. Leila had meanwhile fetched a studio lamp from the trunk of her car and placed it on my kitchen floor. When she turned it on, the bright light landed directly on my face. I felt quite uneasy as the light left me feeling naked in my makeup-less state and I knew that the two sisters could see every little blemish and blackhead up close. I imagined my pimples flipping Lilian and Leila off as foundation covered and smothered them and I struggled to not laugh out loud.

The girls immediately got to work; Lilian with painting my face and Leila with detangling my scarlet red locks of hair.

“You should try to drink more water and make sure you've slept well before a public appearance,” Lilian said whilst dabbing on a third layer of concealer to cover up the dark shadows underneath my eyes, “It would make my job a lot easier.”

Leila laughed. “Our little actress has been too busy to sleep these past few weeks. She's been hanging out a lot with a certain Mr. Ziggy Sullivan, am I right?”

“Certainly not!” I said out loud. The 'romance' between Ziggy Sullivan and I was nothing but a result of an article in a glossy-papered magazine, but suddenly the entire world thought we had a flaming love story going on. I had never even touched Ziggy when I wasn't in the shoes of my character Jane in 'Lovely Jane'.

Heck, I had never even had a boyfriend and the first, and last, real kiss I had received was in a sandbox.

Lilian raised one of her carefully plucked eyebrows and her intense blue eyes bore into me, “Really? I wouldn't blame you for giving in to that honey-haired sweet man, though... “

“Knock it off, will you? I don't have a thing with Ziggy Sullivan,” I said loudly and suddenly felt a bit irritated.

I didn't hold a grudge against Ziggy since I barely knew him, but I just didn't want to add flames to the already burning fire. Ziggy and I had been cast to play the couple in the romantic comedy 'Lovely Jane' – which was the movie that would be shown for the first time tonight. He had been acting kind of flirty between shots, but I had dismissed it as a product of my over analyzing head. It was probably just his way of behaving when approaching females and I should not put more thought into it than necessary. We were simply nothing but colleagues, and with the job finished – we were nothing.

Lilian held both her hands up in defeat. “Geez Louise, I didn't know it was such a touchy subject!”

“Yeah, you should have warned us earlier!” Leila said and I was shocked to hear that she for once agreed with her sister.

I hummed something barely audible in response and then let the ladies work their magic on my face and hair. I closed my eyes and now and then I could feel the sharp edge of an eye pencil running along my upper lash line or the sensation of brushes traveling all over my face. The smell of slightly burnt hair reached my nostrils as Leila had started to style my hair with the infamous curling iron.

When I, more than an hour later, finally was done I could barely recognize myself. My scarlet red hair was shaped into loose Hollywood curls and my skin looked absolutely flawless. Different dark shadows on my eyelids made my blue eyes look alluring and like I was hiding a dirty little secret. I smiled to myself as Lilian held a mirror up for me - and she and Leila were grinning as well.

“Gosh, I don't look too bad at all! Thank you!” I said. It was when I saw the final result that the annoyance of being around the two sisters paid off.

“No need to thank us, just give Ziggy a smooch and try not to smear your lipstick,” Lilian said mockingly. I rolled my eyes at her Ziggy-comment, but decided to let it go this time.

Then it was time for me to get into the dress and Leila removed the plastic wrap around it. I had fallen in love with it during my first fitting a month ago; and now I fell head over heals again. The fabric was airy and sheer, reminding me of a salty ocean breeze.

Leila helped me to carefully slip the dress over my head to not do any damage to either the dress or the makeup. She then zipped it on the side and I was ready to go to the premiere of my own movie.

I had been to four other big premiers of movies, in which I had a role, before and on top of that I had attended quite a few other red carpet events. Still, I felt like a newcomer among the lines of actors and actresses. They all looked so confident and secure; and there I was, an eighteen year old girl who still suffered from shyness.

I had only been one of the main characters in one other movie and that's when the whole fame thing blew up. I ended up getting an important role as a quirky teenage girl in the movie 'Hue of the Heart', which was based on a best-selling book. I had been a clueless little girl with a love for acting who suddenly found herself being thrown into the most hectic of lifestyles. I still am clueless but I'm more hardened now.

A car horn was honking and I knew that the one who would drive me over to Grand Cinema had arrived. My heart started beating a little bit faster.

What if I slip on the red carpet and my boobs fall out? What if no one likes the movie? What if an angry fan attacks me with a pair of scissors? The disturbing thoughts ran around like headless chickens inside my head, and I found myself being temporarily paralyzed.

Lilian snapped me out of the trance with her high-pitched voice. “Aren't you supposed to go? I'll get your shoes for you!”

Lilian then took off and soon returned with a pair of high heeled sandals dangling in her hand. The driver honked for the second time and quite a bit more furiously now. I slipped into the pair of high heels and then headed for the door. My mind was still making me doubt myself, but I inhaled sharply and forced myself to think happy thoughts.

I mean, what's the worst thing that could happen?