5

After a series of rants, we left the house after I finished making myself presentable. The whole thirty minutes was full of Roberto’s rants and preach. I remember that I made a joke to him about his preaching, and he totally hated me because of that. I wasn’t even sure if I went too far or what. I’d only said that being a preacher suits him and he should change his profession. How lovely his face is when I started joking it to him. It serves as my pill… a happy pill when I am down.

"JODY PRUNEISIS MARVAL! I AM TELLING YOU ABOUT THE PHOTOSHOOT AND YOU’RE NOT EVEN INTERESTED! MAY I TELL YOU THAT THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE?!" I put my hands on my ears when he started shouting.

"I am not deaf, Roberto. You don’t need to shout, Oh God! I think you’ve damaged my eardrums because of that. Are you wearing a megaphone right now?" I said, scowling at him.

I felt the car stop and I thought that it was because of the traffic light. I was busy finding my lip gloss inside my bag and didn’t mind the stares of Gaylene/Roberto. I looked up when a lot of minutes had passed, and the car wasn’t moving at all.

"Lene, you should—" I was stopped from saying anything more when I saw his frightening expression. Oh, oh! I smell trouble.

"Hey, hey, relax. Okay, relax, Lene. I mean no harm. Come on," I muttered with my hands in place at the defense position.

"We’ve known each other for a long time now, Jody. I loathe it when people are not attentive to the person who they happen to converse with." I straightened my back when I realized that he was serious.

"I know, just. Let’s just go, Lene. We’re going to be late. I promise I’ll listen. Hmm?" I unbuckled my seatbelt and tried to calm him using my charm. Well, that’s one of my strengths, I know I’m attractive and cute. And I am well aware of their applications.

Like magic, Gaylene’s mood has brightened, and it looks like nothing happened between us two. This is what I like about him; he’s easy to be with; less of his irritating mouth; he’s the best friend that I ever had. It’s just that I only have two and one of them has caused me great pain.

We talked about the conditions and the context of the photoshoot. As expected, it will be done by pairs, and that jerk will be my partner. I couldn’t wait for this to end.

We arrived at the agency and proceeded to the room where the photoshoot would be held. Just like that, my whole afternoon is ruined. My eyes saw something that I didn’t like. Oh God, I thought I could be in the room with this guy, but I realize that I couldn’t. This photoshoot would surely be a mess.

The first thing that welcomed us was the arrogant face of that jerk, Stefan. Even his name sounds awful and smells like poop. Alright, it didn’t have a connection, but who cares?

I was on the verge of rolling my eyes at him when I felt the fingers of Gaylene on my back. I thought he would put it just like that, but he didn’t. I squeaked when a pinch happened. I looked at him madly and he just let his eyes grow bigger, as if telling me that I should get my act straight or I would lose the opportunity to redeem myself.

Calming yourself in amidst of great anger would never be easy, but by just thinking that I’m doing this for my mom and I, all the bad things that I will experience will automatically be fine with me, even if it means that I will suffer along the way.

I tried to show him that I was fine with his presence by forming my lips into a smile, and I think I succeeded because the jerk smiled back. I thought he would stay where he was, yet I started to panic when I saw him walking towards me. It’s not about the panic that you feel when your crush is near you. It’s a hideous feeling to hurt someone that you hate.

"I didn’t expect that you'd show up, Mau. I thought you’d decline it for the second time. Actually, I was shocked when my manager called me, saying that you agreed to do it. I mean, I didn’t believe it and thought that it was the agency that did the ruling. What have you done this time?"

My smile faded and was replaced by irritation. His annoying expression says it all. He approached me to see how I would react. He still hadn’t changed. He wanted to be above it all the time, the one that people looked up to.

I bit my lip and sucked my tongue. It’s a habit that I can’t stop. I just naturally do it when I am annoyed, agitated, or infuriated.

"You know what, Aregolli, you should stop calling me Mau. I’m not your screen partner anymore. I don’t see any reason for you to continue calling me that way. And I was umbrage because they brought it all the time."

Mau is the name of my character in our first film. And yes, we made a lot. For a year of being an on-screen partner, we rose to fame as people loved to see our tandem. To be honest, I nearly puked when I saw the edits of the fan, misjudging the situation.

"I see. The director is looking for you, Gaylene. Leina said that she wanted to talk to you first before the shoot. She’s in the waiting room. I think you can find your way, right?"

"Yes, thank you for informing me, Stefan," Gaylene said, and he looked at me before he started walking.

I didn’t bother to excuse myself and left Stefan alone there. I don’t want to act like we’re okay or what. He made me look dirty and needy a couple of months ago. He couldn’t accept his defeat and... Gosh, my blood is starting to boil again.