Smile, Alondra, I thought, closing my eyes for a minute to take it all in. They love you. They're here to see you, give them something to take a picture of. I opened my eyes and smiled at the blinding lights flashing in my face. I'm still not sure if I'll ever get used to the paparazzi. But, then again, it's my job, and I do love my job.
A few months ago, someone saw a video of me singing on YouTube that my best friends Katie and Chantal dared me to upload. I was terrified that people wouldn't like it, but they told me that I needed to do it if I ever wanted to fulfill my dream of being a singer, and they uploaded it anyway. Nearly a month later, it had gotten almost 1 million views, one of which was Justin Bieber's manager Scooter Braun.
Scooter called me and practically begged me to sign with their record label, which I did almost immediately.
And the rest is history. My album went platinum in three weeks, and I was nominated for Breakout Artist of the Year at the Teen Choice Awards. And I'm still in cardiac arrest from the amount of popularity I've gotten.
I was strutting down the red carpet now, wearing a gorgeous red dress with sparkles lining the neckline, back, and a band of glitter around the waist. I'd always dreamed of having a dress like this, and I couldn't believe that I'd finally found it. AND been able to afford it, for that matter.
'Okay, Alondra, breathe,' I thought. 'You look FABULOOOOOOUS! Work it, girlfriend!'
My own thoughts made me burst out laughing, creating a natural, genuinely happy smile. Every time I try to make a fake smile for the cameras, I can't help but feel plastic and fake, which is the last thing I wanted. When I started to get famous, I promised myself that I'd never turn into a ditzy Barbie Doll diva. Thank goodness my thoughts are so hilarious.
I held the natural smile on my face while putting my hand on my hip, going for the most common model pose I know. As much as I love being famous, I also love poking fun at Hollywood. In doing so, I already have hundreds of thousands of fans, even though I've only been famous for a few months. But I somehow have all of Hollywood talking about 'The Arab Princess,' as they've been calling me. I LOVE my nickname.
I continued with my mock model poses for a few minutes until my feet started hurting from the heels. Much to the paparazzi's dismay, I made my way off the carpet and walked into the theatre.
As I walked in, some gossip reporter I didn't recognize met me at the door and greeted me with a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek. I've spoken to so many gossip reporters that their faces have started to blur together. But nevertheless, I decided to pretend I knew exactly who she was.
"Alondra! It's been so long, omg!" she squealed. Damn, she's short. Short and busty, she's probably had her boobs done. Her hair was such a fake shade of blonde and she was wearing so much makeup, it made me sick.
"Omg yeah!" I squealed back. I had no idea what to say next.
"You don't recognize me, do you?" she squealed again.
I had to be honest with her. I shook my head. "Sorry," I said.
"No, it's fine. It's been a few years anyway," She answered. "It's Rebecca, remember? From your grade nine fitness class?"
And I did remember. I remembered how much she bothered me at school. And all of the rumours floating around school of the slutty things she'd done, but there's no knowing whether or not they were true. She probably just wanted a reputation. And how she NEVER actually participated in class, she just sat there texting. But since I'm a nice person, I decided not to rub it in her face that I'm more successful than she is.
"Omg yeah! It's been forever! What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I'm interviewing people on the red carpet, I work for ET!"
Well THAT wasn't a surprise. She had always been the queen of gossip, at least she found something she was good at. But she might have just gotten the job because she wanted to throw her chest in Justin Bieber's face or something. Oh geez, that's not a fun image.
"Omg, that's great! I'm gonna go sit down!" I said with bright enthusiasm. Maybe it was a little blunt, but I needed to get away from her, her squealing was SO ANNOYING.
"Okay, Bye Alondra!" she screamed after me as I scuttled away as fast as I could in my blistering feet.
A week ago, I got an email with the seating plan for where I was going to sit. I had almost choked when I saw who I'd be sitting between.
Adele and Josh Hutcherson.
Adele. My role model.
And Josh.
Freaking.
Hutcherson.
I think I might have died if I hadn't grabbed onto the wall.
I've loved Josh since he was in the Hunger Games three years ago, so it's been a while. But considering he didn't know who I was, I wasn't sure if it really counted as love. But either way, I was probably too excited for my own good.
I looked over to where our seats were. He wasn't there yet, which was okay with me. It gave me more time to prepare so I won't just scream in his face. I've met plenty of celebrities, but the fact that it's Josh Hutcherson made everything a lot freakier.
I sat down, so beyond relieved that I could rest my aching feet. I didn't know how long the awards show was going to be, but I figured that my feet still might be hurting at the end. The heels were gorgeous, but damn, they hurt.
Before I could have another thought, I noticed someone sitting down to my right. I turned to see Adele. Holy duck! I started to fangirl on the inside because I didn't want to scare her away.
"Hello, love!" she said in her British accent. Her voice was so sweet and friendly.
"Hi! It's such an honour to meet you, I'm a huge fan!" I said, trying to control my excitement and holding out my hand for her to shake.
"I should be saying the same about you, I absolutely adored your album," she said. Adele shook her head when she saw your outstretched hand. "I don't go for that, it's too formal, give me a hug woman!"
I couldn't help but laugh. She's probably more hyper than I am, which is something that I'm definitely not used to seeing. I used to think that Katie and Chantal were the only ones who could be this hyper, but I guess they need to meet Adele.
Either way, she pulled me into a tight warm hug. "It's so great to finally meet you, I've heard so many great things about you!"
I wasn't sure how to respond, so I just smiled as she released me from her bear hug. I was about to continue talking to her, but Rihanna sat down on her other side and started up a conversation, leaving me alone with my thoughts once again.
I turned to face the stage again, and saw something out of the corner of my eye that made me quickly turn my head away to stop from screaming.
I took a few deep, slow breaths, causing Adele to ask if I was alright. I answered with a simple nod, my words freezing in my throat from what I was not prepared to see.
Once I collected myself, I turned back and held my hand out.
"Hi, I'm Alondra."
He gave me a warmhearted smile, causing me to melt a little.
"Hi, I'm Josh."
Remind me to thank Katie and Chantal.
