The Perfect Fake - by S

Chapter four - The Real Me

Chapter four – The real me

It the big concert tonight and mother has planned my set list weeks in advance. My songs are sickly sweet bubblegum pop, that everyone else seems to love but that  drive me insane, but the times I’ve tried to add proper songs to my set list mother has vetoed them with a wrinkle of her nose and a casually humiliating comment.

I have a plan, and my nerves are buzzing more than ever before

I wade through the energetic dance numbers and get ready for my big finale. But as the first bars of America’s current number one begin I put down the mike. The band stops, confused and I walk over to Joe and take his hand, pulling him into my spotlight. He begins to play the first bars of my favourite song, a song full of hope, living life to the full, and mainly about truly being yourself.

This is just the sort of thing mother hates, and I can see her face in the wings, full of rage and horror. Well tough luck mother because today is the day when I let everyone see the real me. As I reach the chorus and sing the infamous words

Catching my breath, letting it go,

Turning my cheek for the sake of the show

Now that you know, this is my life,

I won't be told what's supposed to be right

I quickly wave at her and as the last note fades into the air. I smile and address the audience.

‘Hello everyone I bet that’s not what you were expecting. Well a speech isn’t what you were expecting either, but I have a few things to say to you. All my life I’ve been stuck trying to what I’m not, please people who don’t care about me and all for the sake of a ‘dream’ that I never really had. Well I though you should know that tonight is going to be my final concert, at least of this kind. I don’t want this, any of it. My names not Honey, its Katie. I couldn’t give a damn about most of the things that I’m supposed to love, most notably Joshua James so-vain-he-should-marry-his-reflection Matthews.’

The audience gasp and start to talk and take pictures but I put one hand up. ‘I’m not done. What I wanted to tell you most is that you should follow your heart, and you know what, my heart is telling me to stop acting like this perfect girl, stop singing songs that I don’t really care about, and most of all, to do this, in front of everyone, so that you can see I’m serious.’

With those words I turn to Joe and kiss him, passionately, full on the lips.