Grace

Chapter 3

This is the chapter I talked bout last time. I just wanted us to have a glimpse into Grace's world(pls take note,this is not how the Real Nollywood is like) and discover new characters. Enjoy!
*GRACE*

CHAPTER 3

People cheered loudly as the DJ played another familiar pop song, dancing wildly to the beat emanating from the loud speakers in the massive club. The place was a cacophony of sounds -loud music, laughter, talking and a few angry brawls here and there. Luckily the bouncers were always ready to defuse any fight before it got out of hand.

The barman passed a glass of scotch to her and Grace smiled politely. He knew her well enough to have mastered her taste - scotch on weekends, classic Martini on special occasions (like after the release of a new movie she featured in). The barman- fondly called "Baldie" because of his hairless head- was very efficient. Most people thought so.

Grace sipped her drink, watching the spectacle before her. People were dancing themselves to a frenzy. Most of them were dead drunk, and she grimaced as a girl threw up all over her partner. The boy stared, wide eyed,as the girl giggled and took another swig of her drink. He looked at her in disgust before walking away, obviously displeased.

"That girl isn't gonna get far, drinking like that," Baldie said. He was busy fixing a drink for another customer. "She comes here all the time, that girl- Sade or so. Calls herself 'Shady', whatever that means," he continued, gesturing with his free hand dramatically. Grace listened,amused at his mannerism. The guy could gossip.

"She hasn't landed herself a good role in months. It's telling on her." Grace looked back at the girl. Sade was hunched in a corner, staring into nothingness as she took generous swigs of her drink. She looked like a girl trying to drown her sorrows with alcohol,as young as she was. She appeared to not be more than twenty two,three years younger than Grace.

Grace pitied her. She'd been like that too- young and unhappy, unsure of where life was taking her, angry at the sort of life she'd been given. She hadn't liked her family, had detested their demeaning words and actions. She'd hated it when she'd flunked in school and her teachers had said she'd never amount to anything. See me now, Mr. Ogunniyi, she thought, referring to one of her teachers. I'm now a Nollywood star. How's that for someone that could supposedly never amount to anything?

Grace wished she could see all of them and gloat. But she couldn't. Ever since she'd stepped into the world of film, she'd never looked back. She hadn't seen any member of her family in five years, but she derived some satisfaction knowing that they'd seen her; on TV, in movies. She hoped they regretted all the horrible things they'd said to her while she was still young and naïve. She wasn't anymore.

Grace looked away from Sade and gulped down the rest of her scotch. She signalled Baldie for another.

"Another glass, Grace?" He asked, eyebrow raised in question. She nodded. She didn't care about her two-glass limit right now. Thinking of her past always upset her.

"Here you go," he said, refilling her glass.

"Thanks."

Grace watched absentmindedly at the unfolding events in the club. There were people in dark corners, some sitting on bar stools, like her, sipping their drinks contentedly -or at least they appeared to. It was hard to tell. How many people actually came to a club-albeit a celebrity club- without the purpose of getting temporary relief from their problems?