Supernova||Book 1 [Wattys 2024]

Episode 1 - Enter Jorah Jindaya

"JINDAYA LOSES IT AGAIN!"

The subscript ran across the screen.

"Seriously?" He raised a brow.

While he was used to gossip sites doing pieces on him, he'd never expected a serious news channel to stoop this low.

"Once again, here is footage of actor Jorah Jindaya assaulting a member of the press last night."

He watched as footage of the incident was replayed. On the screen was his own image as he lashed out at the intrusive cameras. It had been a moment of heated reaction that was now immortalized for public scrutiny, yet another strike against him.

"We have in the studio with us, Chuck Lee, media correspondent from TZN." When he heard the name, Jorah rolled his eyes. "Chuck, what are your thoughts on this latest footage from Mr. Jindaya?"

"Thank you for having me Jason." The new man began. "You know, this is just yet another, what I would call, unacceptable display from Mr. Jindaya."

The newscaster nodded solemnly.

"You know, time and again, Mr. Jindaya has shown himself to be one of the most menacing actors of this generation."

Words like these were not new to him. Jorah had already heard the full gamut. He was acutely aware of what they thought of him – A talentless bad boy, reckless and untamed.

He stopped questioning whether he deserved it ages ago. It would only ever be like this.

"I want you to weigh in on this Chuck. We've seen the footage. What exactly happened?"

"Well Jason, as you can see, members of the free press were just trying to get a few photos of Mr. Jindaya and unfortunately it resulted in what we just saw."

Members of the free press. Jorah snorted at the term. They were more like obnoxious bastards who have no respect for anyone.

"Right." The interview continued. "But this isn't his first incident, is it?"

Though the guest made a solemn face, his eyes were gleeful, and his voice was coated in criticism. "Unfortunately, it isn't. Mr. Jindaya has had quite a few questionable incidents offscreen."

The main presenter glanced aside, "We only have a few more minutes Chuck, can you weigh in on this phenomenon, more and more we're seeing people from wealthy families getting into the entertainment industry. Do you think this kind of thing has any bearing on incidents like this?"

The man's eyes lit up. "Oh of course Jason! I think there is a certain kind of entitlement that comes from being born, privileged as they would say. I mean, if you look at Mr. Jindaya's on screen track record, you will realise that all of his projects have been mediocre at best--

That was it. He'd had enough. The narrative wasn't new, but it was still tiring.

He took another look at the document that was in his hand before casually tossing it on to the sleek glass coffee table where it landed amidst a slew of tabloid magazines—each cover emblazoned with his image. It was all rubbish anyway, whether it was those ridiculous headlines or that letter claiming grievous bodily harm.

He clicked his tongue in disgust. Grievous bodily harm? The accusation was absurd, exaggerated to the point of defying common sense. Maybe they were idiots? Had his lawyer even glanced at the footage? It was a shove, a single moment where his personal space was being reclaimed, nothing more.

"Somebody didn't do their research." He rolled his eyes.

A simple assault charge might have held water at least. But people were greedy and tended to overreach. They undoubtedly saw him as a walking payday. With one successful lawsuit, he could probably retire from taking photos and move to a tropical island someplace.