Testimony of a Rock Star: Fame Chapter 1

Testimony of a Rock Star: Fame Preface & Chapter 1

preface

The spotlight was bright as it blocked my vision beyond the arena of people whose eyes were frozen on me, waiting. All my life I had captivated audiences, sure they weren’t always in an arena like this, but ever since I had taken to being the center of attention I had never thought twice about it. I was born for it, I had always thought. The flashing lights, the glitter, the fame, but everything I had been so sure about all of a sudden didn’t seem so promising. The stage had been my home for the past year, but now it didn’t seem so welcoming. I looked down at the guy who was smiling up at me with his brown eyes and careless hair. I gulped.

So this is the way the story ends. That’s what I’ve been told, anyways. Lots of girls dream of this very moment, their fairy tale come true. A prince charming sent to rescue them, or maybe a frog they could kiss and turn into the prince they’ve always wanted. The problem was I had already had my fairy tale. My prince charming had rode off on his white horse a long time ago. And the many frogs that followed in which I had attempted to turn into princes never actually made the transformation. Yet in my wildest dreams or happily ever after stories, I had never imagined this picture perfect ending; me, the rock star, and him, the overly talented super star, riding off into the sunset together.

I looked back into the crowd, camera’s flashing, whispers fluttering. Still everything seemed frozen, like I had all the time in the world to speak. As everyone stares back at me, and the faces of my past fade in and out of the crowd. It was like everyone would wait forever, until I spoke again. This was the moment they had all been waiting for, the moment I had been waiting for, yet none of this felt exactly right. Not perfect, like I had thought it would feel. 

But nothing is perfect in life. I understood that more than most.

That’s when the reality set in. I turned to look at the gorgeous creature who was supposed to play the part of my so called prince in this display of a Hollywood fairy tale. I tried to look deep into his eyes, but they were like mirrors, and all I could see was the reflection of a person that I no longer recognized.

The crowd’s roars became full circle as they echoed around me, and waited for my answer. I knew the answer they all wanted to hear, but I couldn’t honestly say that it was the answer that I wanted to give. Yet, I knew that this was my life, and in all actuality I didn’t truly get a choice. The fairy tale would have to play out like everyone expected it to. The choice had already been made.

Jaci Belmont, NC Spring ‘98

                       1. Popular

 High school was a little tough. I think anyone would agree to that...

     Trying to fit in was hard and unforgiving. Trying to live up to the standards of what was perceived as beautiful or what was considered popular was merciless. I recognized the difference of the two defined groups.

     The “beautiful” were, of course, beautiful and automatically bestowed the gift of popularity, naturally. The “popular” may not be blessed with natural beauty, but they were adored by many. Liked for their wittiness or maybe for what they had to offer. This group had an art form of their own.

     The two groups mingled amongst each other. Although they knew their place on the gruesome hierarchy chain of high school. It was hard to keep up with it all, so confusing. So where did I fit into this devouring chain? Was I just a semi-popular girl that wasn’t beautiful? Yea, I guess that was me.

***

The sun beat down on me hard. It was hot and I was sticky, sticky from the sweat and the dirt. I squinted to try to find the fly ball as it flew up in the air. After my experience with an aluminum baseball bat and my head, I hardly liked baseball. Finally I spotted the ball or rather heard it as it bounced off the bleachers to the right.