Celebrity

Back In America

These three guys are Ava's representatives, that means she didn't just ignore my message, and maybe I might be back at Harvard. "Can we come in?" the man on the left says. I let them in and take them into the living room, where I tell them to sit, but there isn't enough chair, so I get some stools outside. After I have them seated, I grab my phone to call my parents to come back from work. After thirty minutes, both mom and dad arrive at the same time. They make their way to the living room as both mom and dad take the seats that they did the last time we sat in here for a meeting, whilst I just stand there.

The first guy handshakes with my dad and introduces himself as Wayne and his two associates, Peter and Bryan. "We've come here on the guidance of Ms. Ava Wilder to strike a deal with you," says Wayne. "What kind of deal is that?" my dad replies. Then Bryan opens a briefcase that contains a blue file; he then hands it to Wayne. "Ms. Wilder wants to offer Thomas Phiri to work as an assistant to her," Wayne says. "But why would he work for her when what he needs is education?" my mom says, slightly irritated. "That's the other part of the deal; instead of getting paid, he'll be provided with food and accommodation, together with tuition for Harvard for his whole time there."

There's a silence that falls into the room. I start getting very nervous because it seems like my parents are going to reject the deal until my dad stands up and says, "Okay, we'll take the offer." Everyone gets off their seat as my dad signs the contract and shakes Wayne's hand. "Why is this Ms. Wilder doing all this for my son?" my mom says. Then Wayne turns around and says, "She's repaying her debt to him." "It must be some debt," my dad says sarcastically.

After the representatives leave, my dad turns to me and asks, "What did you do for you to be owed that much money?" "I listened," I replied. "What do you mean?" my dad says. "You know what, it doesn't matter," he quickly says, then leaves the house.

Then my mom walks up to me and asks, "Who is Ava Wilder?" I look at her with astonishment, then remember which era I'm talking to. "She's a celebrity," I say. "A big celebrity," my mum just pats my shoulder and leaves.

I go back to my room and throw myself onto the bed, just trying to process the events of what just happened, because I still couldn't believe it. I'm going back to America; I'll get to see Max, and most importantly, I'll get to see Ava, my favorite artist, who's now paying for my education, and I'm now her assistant. I don't know how that's going to work, but I think that means seeing her more often than not.

Then I thought, did she reply to my message, and I didn't know or didn't see? I grab my phone from the desk just by my bed and check my DM, but I saw nothing, just that she read but never replied to it.

A few minutes later, my sister Angela barged into my room, squealing, "You and Ava Wilder!" She shook the living hell out of me so hard that I felt dizzy. "How did you get her to pay your school for you?" "I mean, we talked once," I say. "What!" Angela shouted a little bit too loud for my liking. "Are you two like... dating?" I was utterly shocked by the question; me and her, she's a superstar, while I'm a nobody. "No, we're not; she's just doing me a favor," I say.

Angela stares into my eyes intently. "It must be something great because of how much the fees are." That's a good point; I don't know why she would do all of this for just one night with a stranger, and I will be eternally grateful. "I mean, she's rich; it's probably nothing to her," I say to Angela when I realize that I've been thinking for too long. "You're probably right; you should take a pic with her while you're there and send it here," she says. "I will; I promise," I say to her. She's like a huge Ava Wilder fan; might even be a bigger fan than I am.

The following day, around noonish, we received mail, and it was my plane ticket back to America, which surprised me that it was this early. I had to begin packing all my stuff all over again. It's a weird feeling of nostalgia going on because I'm going to America once again, with new prospects awaiting and probably new people I'll meet, seeing that I won't be rooming with Max anymore. That's actually a good question - where am I going to stay? I didn't really give much thought to that; wherever it is, I hope it's close to campus.