Chapter 01

I thought I had everything I wanted in life. A thriving career, designers waiting for me to wear their newest and most fashionable clothes, being invited to all the Hollywood parties, landing a top spot on every award show. Most importantly, I scored well in the box office and had millions of loyal fans all around the world. I mean, who wouldn't want to be me?

That was what I thought until this very moment. Now I am stuck in this leather seat, stuck here playing a game on my phone while the meal in front of me was getting cold.

I could feel my ears popping every now and then from the change in air pressure—one of the many things I hated about flying. You would think someone like me would be used to that by now. I flew almost once a month. From one movie to another, one appearance to another, and one award show to another. Flying could very well be my most frequented hobby.

I usually didn't mind flying, I would drink a little hot chocolate, and take a sleeping pill and knock myself out until I arrived to my destination. But this time I could feel my insides boiling up every few seconds thinking about my life the moment this private jet touches the ground again.

My manager, Kelsi Nielson, is the reason why I hate my life right now and also the reason why I loved my life ninety-nine percent of the time other than this very moment.

"Gabriella Montez, the next Lindsay Lohan?" Kelsi read out loud while she looked through her phone. "Gabriella Montez refuses to drink anything other than Fiji water during world hunger fundraiser. Gabriella Montez throws two-thousand dollar Louboutins at waitress."

"Since when did we care about my hate mail?"

"Gabriella, these are magazine article headlines." She shook her head at me while her lips let out a sigh of frustration. "Wait till I get to your hashtag and mentions on Twitter."

Bullshit. I didn't do any of that crap mentioned in these articles. Lindsay Lohan went to rehab and had a DUI, my record was as pure as a virgin, as clean as a bar of soap. I would never settle for Fiji water, all my water had to be Voss and in the glass bottle. And there was a huge difference between a hostess and a waitress.

"As your manager, this little exile is actually a huge loss. I could be getting potential new projects for you and signing contracts for endorsement deals. But instead I am here, on a private jet flying into Albuquerque and dropping you off for the next few months." Kelsi sat down in the seat next to mine while flipping through the pages of various gossip magazines, most likely searching for any mentions of my name. "But as your best friend," She set down the magazine before turning her head to face me directly. "I think it's best you take some time off away from Hollywood. I mean, do you even remember the last time you walked outside of the confines of your own home without the pressure of being photographed?"

"I don't need time off. What I need is to be back in LA, at the gym, and driving my Audi."

"Lord please bring the Gabriella I met in middle school back to life." Kelsi picked up the magazine once again and back into her so-done-with-your-shit attitude.

Kelsi and I weren't always like this. We were best friends in middle school and high school and the only person in my life right now who actually had the misfortune of having memories of me as a teenager. She was never the top of her class, never the girl that got the answers correct. But when it came to the streets, she was the smartest and quickest person I ever knew. Kelsi didn't let anyone step over her and was always determined to defend herself.

Do people actually sit here and reminisce about high school? I always thought of high school as a past life. I always thought Albuquerque was my past life. I could barely remember what my neighborhood looked like since the day I left. The only thing I could remember about my high school was the smelly gym where I could never make a single basketball hoop.

But Troy could, he always made all the hoops.

The other things, I tried not to think about too much. I didn't think about my high school friends. I tried my hardest to focus on my career and all the good things around me. Every time I thought about myself and my childhood in Albuquerque, I could feel a roadblock. A mental roadblock of who I really was.

After the short plane ride, I finally stepped my foot onto land once again. The dry land of Albuquerque made me realize how much I hated this place. No wonder I left and never came back.

I could barely remember any of the stores as we drove past them from the airport. When we drove into Maryville, the only place I recognized was Dory's Diner, the place where my friends hung out after school. There was a small town outside of Albuquerque where all the most boring but seemingly exciting things happened. I was born in a small town about forty-five minutes out of Albuquerque. A town called Maryville and a town with a population too small, a small population where everyone seemed to know everyone.

As I got out of the taxi, I spotted my mother waiting outside on the porch. Her smile grew the moment she saw the taxi stop in front of a place I once called home. Our house wasn't big, but it was sufficient for the two of us. The window panels were a cute light blue and the rest of the house had pastel vinyl paint. Since the last time I was here, nothing much has changed. The same tree just with a couple inches longer of a branch.

In fact, the house next to my mother's looked exactly the same. There were a few more trees, and a bush by the front door. And suddenly, I remembered one of the best memories of my childhood, my neighbor—Troy Bolton.

"Mija…" But before I could let my thoughts roam into outer space, my mother came up to hug me in open arms. My mother's scent was always comforting to me yet foreign now that I am twenty-five years old. She had the scent of a cheap body spray mixed in with hand sanitizer.

"How've you been, mama?" I placed a kiss on my mother's forehead. I was shorter than average at a whopping height of five foot two. But I towered over my mother and was always the taller Montez.

My mother mumbled some words in Spanish that I once understood all too well. She was happy, happy to see me, happy to know I was living with her again. I could hear her voice muffled in the locks of my hair as she kissed my cheek over and over again.

When my mother was done attacking my face with kisses and rubbing off my foundation, we finally got inside of the house. Sweet scent of apple cinnamon candles filled the air. I didn't remember it being this strong when I was younger. So strong I could almost taste the coupons she used to buy these generic branded candles from Walmart.

Pictures after pictures were hung up and placed on the mantel. All of them were of myself. My unsuccessful and freeloading childhood self. There wasn't a single picture of me in the present which is a more beautiful and refined me. The only me I can remember at this moment in time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Kelsi walking in from the door, her face wincing at the strong cinnamon candle smell but a smile on her face nonetheless. "Maria, I have to get back home to LA. My husband and kids can't survive a day without me unfortunately and neither can my management company. So I'm going to leave Gabs here with you."

My mom left my side and walked towards Kelsi to give her a kiss on the forehead. "Gracias, mi otra hija." My mother loved Kelsi and never minded it when she stayed for supper or had one of our extended sleepovers.

This was it, I was going to be stuck here. If I dared to go back, dared to be photographed by a paparazzi in LA without notifying Kelsi, I could already feel her glare ripping my skin apart. For the sake of my already lined up project, I needed some time to myself. I needed to reenergize myself for my next role. That's what I tell myself every moment I'm stuck in this small suburb town outside of Albuquerque. I'm doing this for the sake of my career.

"I'll be back for you, Gabs. And in the mean time don't you think about coming back to LA. I don't need an article about you shaving your hair off and smashing an umbrella into a car window." Her gaze was firm on me every step she made out the front door. She was going to use my private jet to fly back while sitting in my leather seat and walking down the streets of LA while I was stuck here getting a new lung disease from inhaling too much candle scent and being stuck in my ugly childhood room.

What kind of best friend does that?

The kind that's your manager I suppose.

Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter! New chapter will be coming out soon! I am a college student so I am very busy with things but I will try my hardest to update this story as much as I can. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought of this chapter!