One Moment

Chapter 1- The Movie Star

Existence. That's my topic for the Chicago Sun-Times, and it's due by the end of the day. I've been working for a year and a half trying to get my byline, everyone at the office says i'm a great writer but it's hard to imagine my name, Anastasia Brooks on the front page of the newspaper.
      My boss Heather, also assigned me to interview an all time movie star Kipton Mills who is running a blood drive for cancer at St. Joseph's Hospital which i have to be at unless i want to lose my job.
       I head into the hospital and ask the clerk which way is the drive, she directed me to the elevator and said it'll be on the fifth floor. I arrive at the elevator when a tall man pressed the button, i nodded. I waited until the elevator rang and there it opened. The man and I stepped inside the elevator, the door closed and we started ascending. The elevator stopped at the third floor, a little girl in a stretcher awaited there with a woman in scrubs. I moved aside as the woman moved the girl onto the elevator. The girl looked so sick, there were bruises on her arms, a mask over her face and she had lost her hair. The little girl grabbed my hand,
        "it's not polite to stare, i'm just sick not a disease." At first i thought she didn't know what was wrong with her but she spoke again, "It's okay to laugh, i'm getting better! Soon the cancer will be gone!" I chuckled with a tear going down my face. "I will make a bet on that," i smiled, then the elevator door rang and it opened. The little girl and the woman disappeared around the corner headed to the OR.

       The next stop was mine and i needed to prepare for this interview, I scrambled around in my purse for my phone so i could record the conversation and managed to pull out my mascara in the process. I put on some mascara and put it back in my purse before the elevator door opened.

        Damnit, i thought to myself, i look over to see security standing by the drive. Think Ana think. I had a plan, I began striding over to the drive until a guard grabbed my arm and stopped me on my war path.
      "this is a private drive miss, i'm going to need you to show me some identification" he demanded.
      "oh i'm sorry, i just wanted to tell you that Kipton Mills' car is on fire in the hospital parking lot" I say,
   both of the guards frightened, run past me and down the flight of stairs, almost tripping over themselves.
       My sister Brea has the same attitude as me, she's still in high school but that doesn't change the way she lies or talks back, she probably got that from me too. We are like peanut butter and jelly, but since i moved out things have changed between us. Like the bond we had broke the second i moved away to
college. It was hard moving away but i needed to purse my career. Brea said it was harsh but i said that is life.
     After the guards disappeared down the stairs, i snuck into the drive, and past some people waiting in line and there he was, Kipton Mills. I started walking over to him until a lady stops me,
"hi, come take a seat and i'll draw your blood" she implies. I tried to say something but she started walking over to where Kipton was,
     "take a seat," she says. I look over to Kipton as the nurse put down the arm rest. He was on his phone and i didn't want to be rude but that's what reporters do.
         "hello mr. mills?"
     "oh hello...?" I began reaching my hand out when the nurse yanks it so i extended my other hand, "Anastasia Brooks" as he shakes my hand "i'm a journalist at the Chicago Sun- Times"
     "the Times?" he said looking at his phone disturbed. I tried to see what he was doing but he was cautious.
    "yes sir, would you take a couple minutes out of your time for an interview, it would mean a lot to me?" I asked politely.
    He looks at his gold watch, "you've got five minutes." Five minutes is all i need to make a perfect paper. I pulled out my phone and started to record our conversation. Then the nurse  poked the needle into my skin.
     "Thankyou", i said making a face that made Kipton chuckle.  I asked a series of various questions that Heather assigned me to ask but sometimes i need to elaborate and ask my own question if they don't understand. My first interview was the worst, I interviewed a police officer named Hank Mahal and i did exactly what Heather instructed me to do but he was one of those people, where he had no idea what i was talking about. That is one of the worst things a reporter has to tolerate. Luckily, i haven't had a conversation worse than that one. I come down to my last question with Kipton as he starts getting up.
     "Mr. Mills! One more question, what are your plans when you retire your movie career?"
    "Interesting question Ms. Brooks, i would like to spend more time with my family- maybe even travel, that really does make you think when someone asks about retirement, but i do plan on retiring sometime in the next six months, unfortunately my time is up" he says.
    "okay thank you for your time", i reach my hand once more out of courtesy and he took it,
      "no problem." he adds.
I picked up my phone and stopped the recording. I don't think Kipton realized that he gave me an exclusive about when he was going to retire but i'll keep that to myself and the Times.
     The nurse walks over to me and takes the needle out of me covering it with a cotton ball, wrapping it over with tape.
         I watched Kipton walk away, and then i forced myself to stand up from my chair which i've been sitting in which felt like forever only to see a man, my uncle Brian.
           "what the hell are you doing here?"