Bittersweet Serendipity

Chapter 9 - Videos and Vigor

"Which top?" asks Sadie, holding up two hangers of tops, alternating them over her body for me to get a better overview.

"Mmm," I think, examining carefully the clothes she has chosen. "This one." I point to the one at my right. We are currently getting prepared for the Gold Forever video shoot, where we shall be appearing as background extras, as Jay had offered us. Well, of course we agreed to it, I mean, all our encounters with The Wanted may never happen again, or never happen to anyone else, so why not take that opportunity? Besides, if we profit from it, then the bargain would be twice as great for Sadie and I.

Getting there is quite a challenge; the studio is packed with people, other extras and dancers who will appear in the video as well. I message Jay to let him know we have arrived instead of actually looking for the lads, since crossing past the huge sea of people is difficult and Sadie and I are very lazy. A moment later, he replies, saying that they were still getting ready with hair and make-up. So, in the mean time, we decide to queue because an agent is going to verify our validity to be in the music video. Otherwise, if our names aren't on the list, then we're going out.

"Names please?"

"Caleigh Pennington and Sadie Baker-Ford."

"Oh, yes, you're on the list. You're the two girls Jay and the other lads invited over, correct?"

I feel heads turning to face us, eyes closely observing, and lips whispering. "Um, that is correct," I humbly say, starting to shrink from where I am standing. The lady smiles, as soon as the air around us became filled with murmurs, jots something down on her clipboard, and walks away, her heels clicking on the floor. Her short blond hair sways at her shoulders and all I'm doing is watching her walk away, wondering why she decided to blurt out the naked truth to the entire population of extras and dancers.

Soon enough, the murmuring and the whispering increases in volume, and suddenly I feel a pat on my shoulder and see a curly-haired man wearing a red nose. "I can't breathe in this thing. Hi, Cales. And hello to you, too, Sadie," he says, sounding like a child with a clogged nose. I guess, in a way, it is. "Are you guys excited?"

"I would be, if not for the people talking about us," I whisper in his ear, with hints of annoyance in my voice.

He spins around to look at everyone, and bluntly asks, "Why would they be talking about us? And if so, how are you so sure it's us they're talking about?" I can feel everyone's eyes burning through our comfort bubble. I can sense that their ears are inching to listen more to our conversation. For God's sake, James, I think, how thick can you fucking get? I roll my eyes.

"Their eyes and ears are directed towards us, you bastard, in case you haven't noticed," I say. "Besides, one of the agents basically broadcasted that you invited us over personally for this."

He shrugs it off as if it isn't exactly a big deal, but I can feel the intensity of the room; it is humid and glances from corner to corner to us are being made. I can sense pangs of jealousy and/or envy in the waiting room, especially now that the man of subject visited Sadie and I. I hear whispers saying, "She's so lucky. What did she do to have him invite them over?" Honestly, I don't know either.

"Don't mind them. The video shoot starts in about five minutes." He looks at us with utmost gratitude and hugs us both, squeezing us in his arms so tightly that we can hardly breathe. "Thanks for doing this, though. Big help." The ends of his mouth tug upward, and it makes my heart spin into a frenzy and my stomach keeps doing somersaults. He has to really fucking stop that cute fucking smile of his. It makes me want to kiss him and slam his head on a wall at the same time. He barely knows that his face is so, so, so, so offensive. Just... fuck him. Fuck him hard. Hard in the anus.

It seems as if Tom and Jay enjoy the video shoot the most; they keep doing mad things and make everyone laugh throughout. Jay, with his tree stunts and Tom, with his chicken dancing (when, in fact, he is supposed to be a flying butterfly). None of them really pay much attention to the extras, so we just watch them doing their mental antics from a distance. I stay in one corner, which is definitely fine by me, considering the fact that I don't want any special attention from anyone. So I watch silently and in solidarity.

I met a few people who were nice enough to understand that I am not vicious, and all they'd need to do is ask. Paisley is a Year 11 student who taps my shoulder and asks without a tone of annoyance or jealousy, but sheer curiosity. She has auburn hair that travels down to her navel and eyes as golden as honey. "Caleigh, isn't it?" she inquires. "I'm Paisley. Nice to meet you, but um, I was wondering... are you Jay's girlfriend or...?"

I appreciated her approach, but the question got me cackling louder than a witch who performed a voodoo curse to have her enemy's head chopped off and be skewered by a spike. The question was beyond hilarious and uncalled for, and my laugh explained it all. I know it was rude to just laugh so blatantly at such a calm manner of asking, but her question blew me to peices. She stares at me like I was possessed; she is quite flabbergasted and confused at the same time.

"No, love, I'm not," I reply after my raucous show of laughter. "We're friends -- no, technically, I'm a fan, but we grew close. And I have no idea how that happened. All I know is that I'm grateful for him, no matter how shitty and fucking stupid he is." I shrug, and Paisley smiles at me with so much awe that she might cry any moment now.

"You are so lucky," she says. We swap twitter usernames after and she promises to follow me and that I will follow back on my behalf.

Moments after the shoot, I check my watch to see if I still have enough time for me to go to Theatre and not be late. My energy is running low, and I have to memorize my lines for Scene Two when I arrive home. I exhale a gust of wind, when a familiar voice interrupts my train of thinking. "What's the deep sigh for, Cales?" asks Jay, scooping me from behind. I try to hide how I am currently feeling, but it is not exactly easy, since my heart is knocking loudly against my rib cage. Jay McGuiness, you are an evil man.

A wave of fatigue rushes over me and I mutter a few silent curses, some of them dying in my mouth. "I still have Theatre practice to attend and I might be late for it if I don't leave now. Then, when I get home, I still have to memorize and memorize and memorize and ugh -- I'm stressed." I run a hand across my face as a sign of my exhaustion.

He tilts his head at a slightly inconspicuous angle and a small crease forms between his eyebrows. His lips curve down a bit -- a tad bit, like it is an expression between concern and wonder. "You didn't have to come all the way here if you had other important matters, you know," he remarks.

"I did it for you." I realise what I said right after, and hurriedly added (successfully without stammering), "And for the money. And the opportunity."

"Right, well," he chuckles, "why not you, me, and Sadie get out of this place and head to Theatre, then your home? I'll help you with the memorisation and whatnot. I mean, personally, I think I act quite fine, if given the chance to have practised." His voice was tinged with arrogance when he said it, but even I knew he was being completely, and utterly ridiculous. He is wearing the smuggest look I've seen him wear since World War I. And it made me grin.

"Oh, shut up. You and I know you couldn't act for shit," I say, and we both laugh. Though I am still not quite sure if I'd have him do the favour of being a memorisation partner for today. It's too much to ask of him.

All I hope for is enough strength to get me through the day.