Tainted. Timothée Chalamet

002

stand by

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Arlo

it was a weird feeling getting all dressed up and glammed for the first time to present anything. I have never been to the Met Gala before and it's daunting. I have a fear that someone or somehow photos of me presenting will get leaked and that's my worst nightmare.

When I was thirteen i was already producing art in my own little bedroom. My father was so proud that he secretly entered my paintings in the junior Archibald prize and i shockingly won. Thanks to him, he put it under a fake name and i was nothing but pleased. I was living two lives and it was exhilarating. By the age of fourteen, after more and more success i was offered a position that was hard to refuse. I sat down with my parents for almost five hours as we discussed my future. Eventually a decision was made and i moved from my city in Australia to an even bigger city in America to live with my uncle and to start a once in a lifetime apprenticeship at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. They supported me through everything and gave me the opportunity to continue school and balance it all so i never felt overwhelmed.

Needless to say i moved up the ranks and when i turned eighteen more offers floated my way. At this point i had worked with so many people that i built up contacts who let me explore my creative vision. I started photography and captured celebrities for vogue, GQ, cosmopolitan and even dazed. I was living the dream. It felt surreal but only because i was still living my double life and people respected that and let me continue it.

I was shocked when Anna asked me to host the Met by myself, seeing as though she was very aware of my distaste for being in the public eye. She reassured me that nothing would go wrong and that she would take extra precautions this year to ensure privacy. I believed her because she has always believed in me.

When i first met Anna i was at the ripe age of fifteen. She fostered me to my full potential. For someone with a cold demeanour she was so welcoming and sweet to me.

But here I was now squeezed into a dress i designed myself getting ready to walk out to my car. My sister, Sawyer, had moved here not long after me and she was incredibly jealous that i was invited and not herself. It's hard to explain to Sawyer that the reason i was invited was only because I was the creative director this year for the event. She still questioned why i was the host though and I also found myself asking the same thing. I felt like i didn't deserve it and it should've been handed to someone with a-lot more notability then myself.

You watch videos of celebrities coming out of their hotel rooms being swarmed by paparazzi as they made their way to this event. When I walked out of my apartment foyer there was nothing. Not a single soul. I giggled to myself as i quickly hopped into the waiting black SUV. As we drove closer and closer I couldn't help but watch everyone spewed out on the sidewalk waiting to catch a glimpse of anyone attending tonight. I swallowed hard as my fear of being spotted crept back up my throat. I guess if i was spotted they would still not know who i was but definitely question who i was and how i was invited.

From the safety of my car I watched people that i had become close with over the years hop out of their cars and step onto that carpet. I watched soon their foot made contact with the ground it and how it released a wave of camera flashes and I flinched at the sight.

My car pulled around safely to where all the catering trucks where unloading. We parked in the garage, away from everyone and began our exit. When my feet touched the black tar beneath me the silence soothed me and calmed my increasing anxiety. No camera flashed, no shouting, just nothing.

I walked up the loading area stairs and opened the door to what was waiting for me. A part of me was excited to talk to everyone and i forced that to be the main emotion of the night. What i didn't know at that time was who i was going to meet and how they would irreversibly change my life.

☆*:.｡.| tainted | .｡.:*☆

normalise short chapters hehe