Something We Miss

Chapter 9

"Now, one, two, three..." said the photographer, smoothing his mustache with one finger. "And one, two, three...Good." His words slurred into each other, like he was drunk. He wasn't drunk, Artemisia realized. Just dramatic.

They'd probably taken a million pictures of her, with each photographer getting his or her turn. All their pictures were emblazoned with "The Little Senator" in a hundred different fonts. Someone drew up a magazine cover right in front of her, her face across the cover, all of her freckles in sharp contrast. She could've sworn they made her eyes bluer and they definitely removed the spot of eczema on her neck.

"The camera, please, McCourt," said the photographer.

She turned to the lens and set her face. No smiles, that certainly wasn't her.

"And...done," he said, and stepped away.

Artemisia stood up and stretched her legs, watching them put away their equipment. One of the photographer's assistants watched her as he zipped up a bag. "I liked your last article, Miss McCourt," he said.

She looked down at him. "Which one? There were three."

"The one about Venusian legislation," he said. "You write a lot. What is that? Fifteen articles now?"

"Five weeks," she said. "Three a week, you're correct."

He stood and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you. Your name is everywhere now, and I've been excited to meet you in person."

He walked away and her mouth fell open a little. Captain Seele kept telling her how many people were reading her articles. He had told her she was in every newspaper. Coming from an outsider, it was somehow bigger. He, the unnamed he, knew her name. Just like she thought was possible.

She left and hurried down the hallway towards the dorms, ready to be out of the spotlight. The photographers and reporters said she would on the television in a matter of hours. She needed time to prepare for her name to blow up. That's what they all said would happen.

Her heart skipped a beat as she rounded the corner and nearly ran into two boys. She stumbled backwards and put a hand on her chest, "Sorry, I didn't see you."

"It's alright," the taller said, and Artemisia's mouth fell open in spite of herself, again. Prince Current Atlantic, and the shorter, Prince Koi Animalia.

"C'est la fille qui ne s'occupe pas de ses oignons."said Prince Koi.

"Hi," said Prince Current, throwing a disapproving glance at Koi.

She couldn't speak. And she was...just standing there.

"You're that Little Senator, aren't you?"Prince Koi said. "We were just reading your stuff."

"Your articles," said Prince Current. "They're amazing- you're a great writer."

She was still dumbfounded. Hadn't she just wrote articles about...them? Their parents?

"Thank you," she said, taking a step to the side. "Nice to meet you both."

"It's Miss McCourt, right?" asked Prince Current.

"Yes," she said, starting to walk away.

"It was nice to meet you," he said, smiling. Was he...being nice to her? Being...forgiving? Or was this how royalty was? Were they all as hollow as Daisy Edelweiss? She had called them out on corruption and indecency and dishonesty.

"Yes," she said. "The same to you." She sped away, heart beating quickly.

She slammed the button for the elevator and leaned against the wall inside, breathing a sigh of relief.