Scarlet Starlet

3 - Catapult Girl

Four girls were pulling my hair and sliding different brushes over my face while talking non-stop about pricey products I should try. If I had thought that Lilian and Leila were overwhelming then these four new girls made me consider living the rest of my life as a recluse.

“Do you know when I have to be on stage?” I asked one of the makeup artists as she applied a third layer of mascara to my fake eyelashes with a steady hand. How my eyelids would be able to carry the weight of the makeup for more than half an hour was a mystery to me, but I would have to figure it all out soon enough.

The female, who I didn't dare guessing the age of, stopped working the mascara wand up and down the plastic lashes and checked her cellphone for the time. Her dark eyes were narrow and focused on the screen and her lips smacked repeatedly.

“Ten minutes left, dear.”

Ten short minutes left until I would have to stumble out on stage in my ridiculously high heels to get interviewed on air. America's most popular morning show had rung my manager the moment critics had reported their reviews of 'Lovely Jane', which had its dazzling premiere yesterday. The critics claimed that it was the best romantic comedy of the year. That statement would have flattered me immensely if it wasn't for the fact that it now was early spring and 'Lovely Jane' was the first heart-warming comedy that had premiered this year – if we disregard Marcus Height's movie about a girl being abducted by a feisty alien.

I knew that I had to expect a very busy schedule for quite some time and the next few weeks would be filled with promotion interviews, photoshoots and public appearances. My manager's phone had already died once due to overheating and media's interest in the movie got stronger with each and every minute.

A great part of the success was thanks to the 'mysterious relationship' between me and Ziggy. Media had painted up a picture of me, the shy girl, swooning over Hollywood's biggest hunk and the feelings were, according to media, not unanswered. It made me feel a bit uneasy that everyone thought that I was dating Ziggy when I in reality couldn't form a proper sentence in his presence.

The warpaint on my face hid eventual signs of exhaustion and the blemishes were all covered up to make me look flawless. The stylists had squeezed me into a tight black dress and a pair of shoes that were a size too small for my wide duck-like feet. The straps and seams dug into my skin and I couldn't think of a less comfortable outfit to wear at eight in the morning, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to look good in front of millions of viewers.

A man barged into the small dressing room and wore a frantic look on his face. His face was plum-colored and as he spoke a spray of saliva flew through the air. I could see how some of the small droplets of spit landed in his bushy mustache and it seemed like time slowed down for a few seconds. “What are you doing here?! You should be on stage in three minutes!”

I jolted to my feet and almost ripped my dress in the sudden movement. “Can you show me where to go?”

The man with the mustache, which resembled a dead hamster glued to his upper lip, grunted and gestured for me to follow him with a sweeping hand-movement. I couldn't help but wonder why he had chosen to work for a morning show when he clearly wasn't a morning person. But then again, maybe he was related to Snow White's dwarf Grumpy and had the moodiness in his veins.

We walked through lit corridors as quickly as we could to make it in time for the big interview. The man walked first and I faltered behind him and tried not to sprain my ankles in the high heeled shoes I was wearing. I focused merely on putting one foot in front of the other and managed to find a rhythm in my walking. My backside didn't sway like the models' on the runway, but nonetheless it worked for me.