SCREW 'EM

Prisca was awoken by the sound of her message notification from her phone. She got up slowly, feeling woozy from the late-night tears and drinking.

She picked up her phone and rubbed her eyes with her hand. The message was from SK, asking her to meet him in his office by 12:30 pm.

She looked at the time and saw that it was 11:48 am. She got out of bed sluggishly and found her way to the bathroom. She washed herself up, put on some light clothing, and headed for the SK house.

She already knew what awaited her at SK's office. The closer she got, the more afraid she was.

SK was a man who loved a clean record. He hated anything that would threaten the reputation of his record label, let alone ruin it.

He had discontinued his work with several artists who have been involved in one demeaning act or the other and had warned the rest of the crew to ensure they keep to his standards.

Prisca didn't need anyone to tell her that her life has been screwed hard, so she prayed silently that SK should not kick her out of his record label.

She arrived at the SK house. She got none of those warm receptions she used to get before. She ignored the peering eyes and walked briskly to S.K.'s office with her heart in her hands.

"Good afternoon boss," she greeted as she closed the door behind her.

SK did not reply to her greetings, he just made a gesture for her to take her seat which was a very bad sign for her.

As soon as she sat down, he leaned forward with a stern face and said, "I got a call from Tufiq cosmetics early this morning, they told me that they won't be making any endorsement deals with you anymore."

"About the next one hour, AD&B foods called and said they've reconsidered giving the deal to someone else, that you shouldn't bother. I was very bitter, I had to ask what the reason for the sudden change of decision was."

"They were reluctant at first, but after a little push, they told me they found a very disturbing video of you and they thought they should see for myself. I saw this video and my heart shattered to tiny bits."

Prisca was shaking in her seat, she crossed her fingers and was praying in her heart that this doesn't go sideways for her.

"Why did you let this happen, Prisca? You know how much I love a spotless record, yet you went against my orders. Why Prisca?" SK's anger was increasing at each word he spoke.

Tears were at the rims of Prisca's eyes, she vowed her head and said, "I am very sorry, boss. Someone I trusted so much did this to me."

She had it within her that she was going to kneel, possibly lay flat on the floor, and cry for pardon if SK fired her.

SK heaved a sigh and said, "On my terms, I am supposed to fire you, but I'll pardon you because you are the face of this record label. I know very well that it's not your fault, so I will let this one slide."

Prisca knelt and appreciated SK so much that she started crying again. He asked her to get up and continued, "I know it wasn't your fault and I don't care to know whose fault it was. All I am saying is that you should be careful from now on, you won't be pardoned if this happens next time."

Prisca wiped her tears and nodded. She felt relieved like she was under a cold shower.

SK continued, "You are a nice girl Prisca, don't let any scumbag take advantage of that niceness. Focus on your career, correct your errors and stay far from trouble ok?"

Prisca nodded again.

"It's alright, you may go now, I will be leaving anytime soon," SK said, relaxing back into his chair.

"Thank you very much SK, God bless you, sir," Prisca said as she stood up.

"Yeah, I hope you know you owe your fans an apology?" SK asked.

"Yes sir, I will do just that," Prisca said and shut the door.

She ran through the walkway with joy. If she had nothing to be happy about, the fact that she still had a place at SK records was enough to put a smile on her face.

Just as she was about to leave the exit door, she bumped into someone walking into the building. She looked up to see who it was. It was Clem.

She stood still, glaring at him with rage and hatred. She started to tear up, she began to recall the hurtful words he said to her the night before.

She gathered courage and walked out on him with gusto, entered her car, and sped off.

****

Prisca tried all she could to appease her fans. She made a live video on I*******m, explaining her plight to the public. She tried very hard not to mention Clem's name no matter how tempting it was.

"I gave myself to someone who didn't deserve me. A pathetic lowlife that just wanted me for my body. I was stupid not to see the signs and I did this to myself. I fucked up guys and am very sorry," she apologized.

But to her disappointment, all her efforts were abortive. The situation got even worse after another music artiste fustigated her, increasing the level of mockery and insults she was getting from the media.

She was no longer free to move about. In every public place she went, people made disgusting comments and jokes about her.

She eventually became depressed. She felt like the world was against her. No one wanted to hear or understand her side of the story. No one even wanted to associate with her, save Amanda who managed to call her once in a very long while.

Days and weeks passed, and all she did was practice a dilapidating routine: wake up, eat little, cry, drink whiskey, cry again, get drunk, sleep, wake up and get drunk again.

She wanted her day to pass too quickly without her knowing it. The social space was no longer comfortable for her as it seemed like her troubles grew worse every day.

So, she came up with a decision, to lock herself from the outside world and get rid of her sorrows. She needed to find happiness and love in herself since her fan base wasn't willing to give her that.

She planned to release a single she titled "Screw 'em", after which she would dissociate herself from every social space.

She got a call one evening from her immediate younger sister, Nancy. She smiled hard as she picked up the call. None of her family members had called her since her shit started, save her elder sister who lived in the UK and she sounded way more brutal than her parents.

"Hello sis," Nancy said,

"Hello Nancy, how are you?" Prisca asked, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I am okay sis, I was very worried about you. He had asked me not to call you else he would seize my phone, I just couldn't bear it sis, I had to hide to make this one," Nancy said.

"Thank you very much, Nancy," Prisca said, crying loud.

"You'll be fine sis, all these would pass. Just know that you are not the first celebrity to have her nudes leaked. They've gone through this and they made it out alive. I know you will, just don't do anything dangerous ok?"

"Yes, dear,"

"I've got to go now. I think someone is coming. I will call you whenever I find the chance,"

"Okay, Nancy,"

"Bye sis,"

"Bye," Prisca said and the line went dead. She fell to her bed and cried her eyes out, wishing everything could end so soon.

****

On the day she was to record her song, she walked into the studio dressed like a bereaved lover. She wore a black hoodie, loose-fitted black trousers, a pair of white sneakers, and a pair of dark shades.

Though she wore one of the finest perfumes, she still had the acrid stench of depression oozing all around her.

She turned round to see if Clem was with the studio crew working on the mixers but he wasn't there. She was very grateful for his absence, caring very little for what the reason may be.

She noticed that some guys from the studio crew were making glances at her and whispering something to themselves. She simply ignored it and waited for a go-ahead.

It was a live recording just as she had wanted it to be. She sat on a stool with the mic positioned in front of her. The pianist sat by the grand piano playing dirge music.

She started singing. Her ever melodious voice bore some degree of sadness in it. She sang with excessive bitterness which caused her to start crying in a matter of minutes.

Towards the end of the song, she sang:

You thought they'd understand

You thought they'd take your side

But they just mocked and laughed

Girl, screw 'em

I will always be there for you

I will always understand

Just promise me you'll stay happy

And be your very own bitch.

After the recording, she was about to leave the studio when a guy from the studio crew called her.

"Please wait," he said, walking briskly towards her. When he finally caught up with her, he smiled and said, "Hi! It's nice meeting you."

"You too," she said, feeling very reluctant to speak with him.

"I just wanted to know if you will be free later this evening," he asked, stroking his beard.

"Yes, why?" She asked.

"I would like to, you know, treat you to dinner, spend some time with you, and…"

He had barely finished talking when she made an obscene gesture with her finger and said, "Screw you," and walked out, leaving the poor man filled with disdain.

****

Diri seemed to have gotten worse since he listened to Prisca's new song. The first time he saw the video, he felt bad seeing his idol crying as she sang.

Since then, not a single day passed without him listening to it. He felt pity for Prisca, knowing that she must have been through a lot these past few days.

He then decided to leave a message of comfort for Prisca every day on her I*******m handle. It didn't matter to him that she might not reply to him, he just wanted her to know that not all her fans had turned their backs on her.

He continued the next week, sending texts and voice messages. He even tried to call her but she didn't answer. Little did he know that Prisca had decided to stay off the media for a long while and embark on a pursuit of happiness.