Chapter 4 – Going with the Flow
Before Mindy could afford expensive makeup, she watched tutorials of how to apply it correctly and it seems all that practice pays off. She looks about the same as if the professional makeup designer did her face. Once her makeup is done, she gets dressed then heads outside to see Adrian.
“Did you do your makeup by yourself?”
“I did. I practiced for a while back at home.”
“Impressive. I don’t think the staff told you, but they do have makeup artists. You don’t even have to pay them because the company does.”
“Eh, I’d rather do it myself.”
“Suit yourself. Are you ready for your interview?”
“Yes, sir.”
Adrian drives Mindy to a TV studio that is doing their daily morning show.
Along the way, she asks Adrian, “I wonder, how did the Diamond Architects start?”
“You don’t know? I gotta get our backstory more publicity. Our company started with a desire to help the poor, charities, the homeless, and the like, but they didn’t have the money to do this. This is where the clothing, makeup, and other departments came in. The founders made clothes and other products not only for the poor but also for the celebrities and politicians. This gave them tons of recognition and money to get them to where they are today.”
“That’s an impressive start.”
“I know. That’s why we hire and pick up the people who can make themselves famous. We emphasize self-made people who apply themselves and go after their dreams with confidence and hope. That’s also why I want to spread our origin story to inspire other people to do the same.”
“How did you get hired?”
“I gave haircuts and tailored outfits from my house for a cheap price. A woman from the company was in the area, heard about my services, and liked what I did.”
“Do you think I can see the haircuts and tailoring that you do one day?”
“Sure, I’ll even make you your own outfit and hairstyle.”
“I’d like that.”
Before Mindy gets to the studio, she calls her parents and tells them what channel to watch her on TV. They get excited and tell her that they’ll be watching and recording the show. Mindy then arrives at the TV studio and is taken backstage and given a few minutes to gather her thoughts and collect herself as she prepares to go on live TV for the first time in her life. The backstage crew gets Mindy after a few minutes of waiting. Mindy is then called out and goes out on the stage to a crowd who is excited to see her. She shakes the show host’s hand then sits on the guest coach. When she looks out at the crowd, she sees pairs of eyes in the crowd that don’t have faces. Thinking that this is just her imagination, she ignores it.
The host takes her seat then asks Mindy, “So Mindy, you’re fourteen years old and you’re already hired into one of the top ten businesses in America. How did you do that?”
“I worked hard every day. I exercised, studied, and became friends with the teachers at my school.”
“It sounds like you worked yourself to death. Back in my younger days, I couldn’t be bothered to study and yet you did all that and more, which we are going to show the audience today.”
The video of Mindy kicking the burglar in the face plays on the TV. The crowd claps in approval and so does the show host.
“What possessed you to go after the burglar after running a race?”
“The will to do good and protect people. I also thought it would impress the representatives at the school.”
“Amazing. In the video, you had brown hair and less makeup. I trust that the Diamond Architects are treating you well?”
“They are and then some. They’re the friends I wished I had in school.”
“You didn’t have any friends? I thought a talented young woman like you would be popular with all the boys and girls.”
“The only popularity I had was the jealousy of some of the other girls. My parents and teachers were my only friends back then.”
“So you weren’t bothered by the lack of friends? I even read that someone pulled a terrible prank on you by rigging your locker to launch dirty mud at you when you opened it.”
The audience gasps.
“I wasn’t bothered at all. I always held onto hope for a better future and here I am in a better present.”
“Let me tell you that you’re one of the strongest young women that I know. Let’s give her a round of applause people.”
The audience stands and claps and cheers for Mindy who is blushing and smiling in joy. They sit back down, and the talk continues.
“I’ve seen several Diamond Architects advertisements of you. They’re working you hard already, aren’t they?”
“There’s no better way to work. I’m surprised they’re out already.”
“I’ve got an exclusive look at them, but they should be circulating the internet and TV by now. What do you think your parents will say when they see you in these ads?”
“They’ve always supported me no matter what I do, so I don’t think they’ll say anything negative.”
“Even in the ads where you look like this?”
The host put some of the ads on the screen that show Mindy in showy outfits and in evocative poses.
“Even those.”
“You must have the best parents ever. Both understanding and supportive like how all parents should be.”
“Do you mind if I ask you to tell the audience to give them a round of applause as well?”
“Ask them yourself.”
“Uh, can you clap for my parents? They deserve it for everything they’ve given me.”
The audience stands up and claps for Mindy’s parents who are feeling proud of their daughter at this moment.
“One last question that I probably should’ve asked earlier. What was it like in Hillside City? I heard that place is one of the craziest places on earth.”
“It was alright. I don’t know what to tell you since life in Hillside City was how I thought things were in the country as a whole. My parents trained me to defend myself in case something happened.”
“You seem to really love your parents. Can you tell us a bit about them?”
“My mom is a teacher and my dad is an electrician. They’ve been my best friends and my greatest source of support. What else can I say besides that what parents should be?”
The audience awes.
“And you’re not just saying that because they’re watching you on TV?”
“No, not at all. My parents taught me to be honest even if they’re the ones who are wrong.”
“Remarkable. One last question about you before I let you go. What do you hope to accomplish with your fame?”
“I hope to help everyone that I can. There are uncountable amounts of people out there in the world today who need our help. I know I can’t help everyone, but if I can help as many people as I can and inspire others too, then maybe suffering in the world won’t be such a problem. Everyone can help in their own way, which is why I ask everyone here to help support the Diamond Architects so that we can accomplish this goal.”
The audience claps for Mindy and cheers for her.
“The inspiring, young, and beautiful Mindy! Thank you for being on the show!”
Mindy shakes the show host’s hand. She looks over to Adrian who is giving her two excited thumbs up with a smiling face. After the show, Adrian talks to Mindy backstage.
He says, “That was great, Mindy! I’ve been getting texts and emails about your performance. You’re the Architects’ favorite right now especially since you included us as the way you are accomplishing your life’s goal, which is our goal as well.”
“I’m glad I impressed them.”
“They’re really going to start pushing your image and message into the mainstream more than the other stars we have. You’re really going to start getting in the work now. Speaking about that, we’re going to see the two girls from yesterday. We’re going to be shooting new commercials and little films. Have you ever wanted to act in a movie?”
“I have, but I wasn’t too sure about it especially after my favorite actor, Marlia, went crazy.”
“Yeah, that was a tragedy, but we don’t work you as hard as the film industry. You’re a natural talent anyway so this shouldn’t bother you. Anyways, we should get going. I’m sure your friends are excited to see you again.”
Mindy is taken to a commercial studio where she sees the two girls from before and Jude. The two girls are dressed in outfits that match each other.
Jude embraces Mindy with a welcoming hug then says, “That was a great show, Mindy!”
“Thank you, Jude. I’m happy you enjoyed it.”
“I’m sure Adrian told you what we’re doing today. The crew is still setting everything up so you can relax until then.”
“Okay.”
Mindy heads over to the two girls and says hi to them. They both say hi in unison now in an audible voice. One girl introduces herself as Vivi and the other introduces herself as Zivi. The three girls make small talk about what they’re doing until Mindy asks them about how they got into the business.
Vivi says, “We were the top performers in our school. During one of our performances, something went wrong with the stage pyrotechnics and the stage spewed fire for almost half the performance, but we didn’t know that. We just kept performing near the surrounding flames as if it were part of the show. The entire thing was recorded and put on the web. That’s how Jude found us.”
“That’s amazing. I’m surprised you two are so shy.”
“Talking to other people isn’t exactly the same as doing dangerous performances,” Zivi notes.
“True, but still. How are your careers so far?”
“Decent but we probably won’t get as much work attention because of what you said.”
“I’m sorry. I just try my best all the time.”
“It’s fine. Zivi and I were thinking about leaving the business soon anyway.”
“Why would you do that? This job is so great.”
“Eh. The sparkles and fame wear off after a while.”
“What are you going to do after you leave?”
“We’ll probably do some small job back to home. I don’t exactly know yet. We have enough money to live without working, but I’d rather do something than just lay down on my butt until I die.”
“I’d probably do the same thing too. What do people usually do when they retire from this job?”
“We don’t know exactly. Most people don’t retire from this job until they can’t do it anymore. The others just seem to fade from reality. I guess people just want to be left alone after having the world watch you.”
“Makes sense.”
The three girls are called over then do the various ads together. They do some normal looking ads, though the majority of them have the girls in suggestive poses. They don’t act in any suggestive way during the acted commercials, but Mindy is still uncomfortable about doing these things even though she doesn’t make it known in her actions nor her expressions. She does, however, talk to Adrian about it.
He tells her, “Don’t worry about it, Mindy. You’re a woman now and that means you have to show off that only true women have. We won’t make you do anything that’s too explicit because we couldn’t market to younger audiences, but we mainly won’t make you do anything explicit because we respect human dignity, unlike some of those other companies. Have you seen some of those people in the industry that try to normalize pedophilia? Absolutely disgusting.”
Mindy is filled with confidence and completes the rest of her work for the day. Before going to bed tonight, she indulges in as much cheery material in order to not having any extreme nightmares like last night. When she does dream, she dreams about doing one of the poses she did in her ads. She stands still in the center of a stage in the spotlight while dozens upon dozens of visible eyes watch her from the darkness. Nothing happens for several seconds as Mindy feels the uncomfortable stare of all the eyes. She doesn’t know what they’re thinking as she can only imagine what’s going through their head with the showy outfit that she’s wearing.
A single skinny hand slowly reaches out from the darkness covered in eyes. It touches the area around Mindy and stops there as if there’s some kind of invisible barrier. More hands start reaching out from the darkness until she all of the eyes enclose her in their own casing. Now Mindy feels extremely uncomfortable by their stares and the deafening silence. This goes on for a couple minutes until a single small hand breaches her personal space and touches her leg. The feel of the arm feels weirdly moist because of the eyes that also tickle her skin with their eyelashes. Mindy tries to move away from the eyes, but she can’t, however, she can’t feel pain when she resists, unlike the last time. The single arm gradually moves up her leg and now she feels unbelievably uncomfortable as she tries to move her legs and body. The arm makes its way from her leg to her shoulder. Once it does, it shakes her until she wakes up from her dream. A member of the staff with a cart full of various kinds of breakfast dishes is by her bedside.
“I’m sorry miss,” the woman says, “I knocked on your door several times then came in to wake you up. You must be a heavy sleeper.”
“I…I guess so,” Mindy says as she rubs her eyes and wonders why she didn’t wake up.
Usually, she wakes up early in the morning just fine, but today was different for some reason. Throwing that aside, Mindy picks out what she wants for breakfast and enjoys herself while she still has time to rest before work.
No comments:
Post a Comment