Obsessions & The Dangers of Fame

Chapter One

                                                                          Chapter One

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     "Vanessa! Vanessa, over here! Vanessa! Right here, Vanessa!"

     Photographers screamed at the rosy-lipped beauty. Camera lights flashed brightly and reflected off of her silver-sequined mini dress.

     Vanessa Annalise was a star. She was the epitome of gorgeous and she wasn't afraid if everyone knew it. She had true star quality; there wasn’t a person in the world not enchanted by her sultry voice and hooky songs. She was invited to nearly every party, opening, and event across the globe, and before she had left L.A for her world tour, she was cutting the red ribbon at the grand opening for Sony Music's new record label. Her second album, "Trust Me, This Isn't Love," had just been released, and it had already sold an astounding 2 million copies in its debut week. She had beaten out Taylor Swift as the best selling artist, bought herself a brand new Mercedes Benz, and now, Vanessa was preparing to board the tour bus that would showcase her talents all across the globe.

     "Vanessa, we have to leave now if we're going to make it to Arizona on time for tomorrow night's show," Seth Forester, her manager, said as he appeared from behind and grabbed her forearm gently, ushering her away from the cheering crowd. They could hear the president of SONY starting up a speech about how "rewarding" it was to have build this fantastic building in such a great city. Vanessa kicked off her heels as she followed her manager's lead toward the parking lot. Seth stopped midway through the lot and climbed hastily into a midnight black limo, leaving the door open for Vanessa as she climbed in behind.

     "I thought the bus would be here? Why are we taking the limo?" Vanessa asked her manager as she buckled her seatbelt. She had thought that she was going to cut the ribbon, and then get straight onto her bus to start her second world tour. Changing plans so abruptly, she knew from experience, only caused complications.

     "We . . . had some concerns about how the evening would play out, and John and I thought it would be best if you didn't board the bus directly off of the red carpet," Seth said flippantly.

"Oh." Vanessa knew what the concerns were. Seth and John, her agent, were afraid of fans sneaking onto the bus. That had been happening a lot lately. Crazed fans were everywhere, it seemed.

     Everyone wanted a piece of Vanessa's life. Even if it was as simple as stealing toilet paper from her tour bus or taking pictures of her through her windows on their cell phones.

Before they were caught and fined, or arrested, of course. Whichever David decided they deserved. 

    As the limo pulled up in large parking lot of a local Walmart, Vanessa peered out the window in excitement. Her team had apparently conversed with Walmart and ensured a boarding site, because the lot was clear of any and all civilization. There were only a couple of cars surrounding the posh, interiorly glamorous double decker bus that Vanessa would soon begin the next six months of her life on. She knew to whom every familiar car belonged, and when her eyes fell upon the one of her aunt's, her insides leaped with joy.

     Vanessa loved her life, but between her demanding label, management team and security department, she was suffocated. Everyday, she couldn't help but feel that things were becoming more and more phony. She never got to do what she wanted- only what other people told her to do. At 17-years-old, she was too young to be spending 4 hours daily in the dance studio, only to go straight to recording sessions and then take care of the interviews, photo-shoots and other various obligations before being shuffled off to a hotel room to prepare for the next day's tasks. Vanessa had her whole life already laid out for her and sealed in cement. In her heart, she knew that now, there was no going back.