Where Are They Now?

Zara DeRealis

Interview # 21

Hello, Miss...

Zara DeRealis. *waves at the audience*

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

Uhm...*sweats nervously* Where do I begin? I'm kind of boring, to be honest, but here goes nothing...*takes a deep breath* I'm Zara, I'm eighteen, and I go to Cornwell High. It's a pretty crappy public high school, but it's either bad education or no education. I choose the former. That...pretty much sums it up. I don't really have any hobbies, I guess, but I really do enjoy doing mathematics. Lame, I know, but if I want to study architecture in university, I'm going to need it. *chuckles*

Oh, before I forget. I recently started to work at a dinner called Sammy Boy. The owner knew I was coming on the show, so he told me to advertise our new dish or *in a low voice* he would fire me. *forces a smile* For only eight ninety-nine, you can get a jumbo double-bacon and eggs cheeseburger with a side and drink of choice. So come on over, we'll be waiting!

Your fans are eager to know rather you think the new Zara, your good friend's current girlfriend, will replace you?

*scratches the side of her head* Well...it's hard to say. I have nothing against Melissa, if that's who you were referring to, she seems like a nice, genuine girl. She's left a pretty good impression on me, and I don't think she was just being polite when we talked, because people aren't usually very open with me about their personal lives...maybe because I look pissed all the time and I look like a thug, I don't know. *smiles*

It would be wrong for me to hate Melissa-it takes a lot for me to hate someone, I mean they have to do something that completely oversteps my limits. But overall, now that I think about it, I don't think she'll replace me. At least I hope she doesn't. Saffron and I go way back, while he just met this girl... as far as I know. *raises both hands in the air* I will not insinuate anything, because that's none of my business.

He's currently pissed at me, why I don't know-maybe it's his hormones or something-but hopefully we'll reconcile soon.

What's Max like, now that you two are friends...or something more as the rumors goes?

Ok, guys! As of now we are JUST friends. F-r-i-e-n-d-s. Nothing more, nothing less. But you know what? *leans in towards the interviewer* It wouldn't be a bad thing if it would develop into something more than that. *winks* If it happens, y'all will be the first to know.

You are or were a part time thief. Have you ever stolen a street sign before?

Crap, people weren't supposed to know about that. *facepalms* You're making it sound like it's my job or something, which it isn't. I only steal out of necessity, because I'm on the fringe of poverty and I have to take care of a disabled grandfather. It's easy for someone to say, "Stealing is wrong!" "Get a damn job, you miscreant!" "But there are better ways to make money than stealing from others!" Put yourselves in my position, walk a mile in my shoes before you talk shit. *takes a deep breath*

We have freedom of speech in this country, but that doesn't mean that you get to shit about other people without knowing about why they do the things that they do. I have a job, a low-paying one at that, and so does my grandfather, who works as a janitor. How much do you think we earn in a week? Two minimum wage jobs aren't enough to pay the bills-so I'm going to do what it takes to stay off the streets. I could be doing a lot worse.

But no, I've never stolen a street sign before. What's the point of that?

Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees?

Wow *laughs* why would I want to get attacked by either of them? If you would've just said "bear" I would've chosen that one, then opted to get attacked by a cuddly koala bear. But right now I'm thinking grizzly-they can knock your head off your shoulders with the swipe of a paw, and can run at speeds of around 30 miles per hour. There's no way I would make it out of that one alive.

I think I'll go with a swarm of bees-I can just jump in a nearby river and if they try to come after me, they'll all drown. *chuckles darkly*

What is your biggest pet peeve?

People who throw away their food for no reason. If you're not hungry anymore, give it to me!

What is the strangest thing you believed as a child?

That if you didn't say 'bless you' to someone when they sneezed, they would sneeze for all eternity. *eyes widen*

What is one guilty pleasure you enjoy too much to give up?

Anything chocolate. I'm absolutely obsessed with it. I could be having a really bad day, like the type when you just want to go home, crawl into bed, and die, but when I see the "chocolate mudcake" special on the school cafeteria menu, my day becomes a thousand times better. Almost good enough to make me cover the cafeteria ladies in kisses-almost.

What do you think about more than anything else?

I can't say what I want to say on live TV, so I'll go with my second option: *looks straight into the camera lens* food.

What's something that amazes you?

Extreme couponing-it's the craziest, most genius shit I've ever seen in my life. There are people who spend dozens of hours every week cutting out coupons from newspapers, printing them from the net, organizing them into binders, almost obsessively. When they go to the store, they rack up a bill of hundreds of dollars, then hit the cashier with a stack of coupons. It makes you cry real Jesus tears when you see that bill go down from five-hundred plus dollars to only about twenty. It's truly an art-if I was one of those suburban moms, I'd do the same.

If you got hired, loved everything about the said job, and are paid the salary you asked for, would you continue your thieving work?

Hell no! The only reason I steal in the first place is because I need money! So if I have an amazing job with an amazing pay, why would I risk it all just to steal paraphernalia? Anyway, I wasn't planning to have this kind of life forever-that's why I decided to get a parttime job in the first place. It's the first step to getting clean.

Who is your role model, and why?

I don't have a role model. It's me, myself, and I. I aspire the best I can be, not to become like someone else.

Zara, we want to know, what are you up to these days?

Studying, stressing over university applications...I have my SATs coming up, so I'm studying as mad for that. I've basically done all the practice exercises in existence. I'm more than ready to ace them.

Any message or word to your fan base?

I didn't know I had fans *blushes* My best advice is: don't do drugs, and love your parents while you still have them. Because just like that, *snaps fingers* they can disappear from your life, forever. Trust me, I would know a little something about that. *smiles at the interviewer* Thanks for having me tonight! It was an awesome experience, and I hope we get to work together again sometime in the future. Bye! *waves*

Zara DeRealis from Deadly Secrets by @a-dora-ble