Note: this is a story, which means none of it ever happened.
chapter one: it was enchanting to meet you.
Sunday, 10 pm
"But Kat, you have to come. Honestly, I think you'd love working with me, and I'm sure that if Braxley sees you there then he'll want to hire you!"
"It's not that simple Mel, you know it isn't, don't you remember when you first applied for the job? You had to go to like a billion interviews. And also, just because I'm unemployed it doesn't mean I have nothing to do, I hav-"
"Yeah but that's just because I didn't know anyone on the inside. Come on Kat, even if Braxley doesn't hire you or anything, at least it will be fun! And I'll just ignore your little comment about being too busy or whatever it is you were about to say. Please, you know I can't do this without you. It will be the first time I ever interview anyone and it will be a pretty big thing, I'm really nervous about it and I need my best friend there with me okay so can you please just do this big sacrifice and come with me ?"
The problem with best friends: they always know how to make you feel guilty and end up doing what they want you to.
Tuesday, 9 am, at the house where the interview would take place
"WHERE THE HELL IS THAT GIRL? I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT SHE WOULD BE SO IRRESPONSIBLE–"
"BRAXLEY CALL DOWN. She's probably just caught up in traffic, it can happen to anyone. And besides, all this yelling won't help with anything, on the contrary."
"Hey, is everything alright?"
"Oh, yes, of course Mr. Payne, we're just having some technical troubles…but they will be fixed soon, don't worry."
I was sat in a corner. I have been sat in a corner for the past 30 minutes. I was going to kill Mel. She said "Be there by eight thirty! Don't be late!" and then look at the irony. She's late. I swear I love that girl like a sister but sometimes it annoys me how she's always late for everything. And how she never picks up her phone! I mean, seriously, what's the point of having a phone if you don't use it!
But, anyways, there I was, pretending to have a really interesting thing to do on my Blackberry, when in fact I was just eavesdropping on the conversation, checking twitter and fake-texting. Oh god I'm so lame. The conversation was pretty interesting though. Braxley, which is Mel's boss, was flipping out because she was late, Maxine, his assistant and only person in the world who seemed to put up with him, was trying to calm down his little fit, and lovely Liam Payne from One Direction was being sweet and asking if everything was okay and if they needed any help.
Yeah… Mel's interview was with One Direction. I guess that explains why she was so nervous on the first place… she's got the biggest crush on Zayn Malik, which is the tall dark and handsome one. Well, if you think about it, they are all handsome, but still. I did think it was funny how Mel had posters of them up her wall. Me? Oh well, I am a girl after all, and of course I thought they were extremely attractive, but their music was not my style, so I didn't pay much attention to them… that is, until now.
I had nothing better to do so I just sat there, examining them (I did it very discreetly, I swear!). They were sitting on the sofa, eating. First there was Niall, the blond Irish one, I remember seeing him in one of their music videos, his voice was my favorite. His accent was lovely too, but, as an American girl living in the UK, all accents were lovely to me (you'd think I'd be used to it by now, but the truth is, accents never fail to make me swoon). Anyways, he seemed really easy-going, laughing at everything, it honestly seemed like all he needed was food and some good company and he would be the happiest man in the world. I liked him already.
Then there was Harry Styles, oh I knew his type. The attention seeker one. Okay, so perhaps I was being a bit judgmental, but there was a reason my walls were up so high, and that reason was boys like him. He just sat there, eating his bag of chips, being cheeky while talking to another guy, Louis I believe? The two kept flirting in such an obvious way I felt almost like an intruder, but I knew it was probably just to be funny and attract attention, so I turned my attention to Zayn instead.
Now, I and Mel were lucky that our taste in men was completely different, because we never fought over a guy ever. But I could see why she liked him. He was the mysterious, quiet one, though he seemed almost vulnerable…the kind of guy that could capture your heart, and make you wet, with a single look.
Finally there was Liam. I could examine him better because I could actually hear him speak. He was talking to Maxine again, wondering what was wrong and offering his help, it was quite cute really, but it reminded me of Mel and of how late she was…
Tuesday, 9 am, somewhere in the middle of traffic
"Daddy, daddy, what is wrong ? Why did you stop?"
"I'm not sure honey, just, stay in the car, I'll be right back"
"What are you doing Walter, we're in the middle of traffic…"
"I have a bad feeling about this, why is that car not moving? I can see a girl's head from the window…"
A few seconds later
"Oh no, Veronica! Call an ambulance! There's a girl here and she's passed out!"
Tuesday, 9:30 am, back at the house
"Maxine, I need to talk to you. She is not here yet, we just got an exclusive interview for our special edition which will be 100% about One Direction and our interviewer. Is. Not. Here. Do you know what this means? I am screwed, we are ALL SCREWED. DO YOU THINK I WILL BE ABLE TO GET ANOTHER DATE WITH THEM? DO YOU? BECAUSE I WON'T, THIS WAS THE ONLY ONE AVAILABLE, I BOOKED THE ENTIRE DAY FOR THIS AND MELISSA IS NOT HERE. SO NOW YOU'LL NEED TO FIX THIS. FIND SOMEONE. ANYONE. I NEED THIS INTERVIEW DONE BY NOON."
"AREN'T YOU IN THE LEAST BIT WORRIED ABOUT MELISSA AT ALL? SHE IS NOT THE BEST AT BEING ON TIME BUT SHE WOULD NEVER MISS THIS. SOMETHING HAPPENED BRAXLEY, AND YELLING AT ME WILL NOT HELP. I CAN'T JUST CONJURE A PERSON OUT OF NOWHERE YOU KNOW? I AM GREAT AT WHAT I DO BUT THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE! THER-"
"I DO NOT CARE! FIND A WAY! THAT'S WHY YOU'RE-"
"BRAXLEY, STOP! I just had an idea…"
9:45, prep room
Why did I get myself into this? Why? WHY?
That was honestly the only thing that was going through my mind as the make-up artist passed yet another layer of blush, and the stylist (at least that's what I assumed she was) went through her huge suitcase to try and find some stilettos or whatever, and 3 other women blow-dried my hair.
I was there, being all sweet and innocent, hoping no one would start to yell at me for being there and cluttering the room, and then Braxley snaps at me and tells me to go get ready because I was substituting for Mel. All I got was a "You're her friend, aren't you? So let's hope you can pull this off that way she won't lose her job and then who knows? You might even get one" and that was it. At least Maxine gave me a notebook with the questions I would ask the boys, god knows I would NOT have been able to improvise, and explained to me how things would work, but I still couldn't wrap my head around it.
I was going to be on TV. And on a magazine. And I was going to spend my whole day being friendly and having a "chat" with one of the most famous boy bands in the UK.
When the prep team decided I was ready (and I might sound like I'm complaining, but, in fact, I looked in the mirror and saw a very pretty girl staring back at me, so really I was thankful for them), I went back into the living area and caught Maxine explaining the whole situation to the boys:
"So, we weren't able to reach Melissa, but her friend happened to be here, her name is Katherine, and she's filling in for her. Kat is a good girl but she might be a bit lost, it's going to be her first interview, so please understand if anything goes wrong, and, again, I'm really sorry for the delay…"
"But is Melissa okay?" – Harry Styles asked, and surprised me; I wouldn't think he'd pay attention to Maxine, let alone worry for Mel. Feeling a bit ashamed of myself, I walked over to where they were, while I gathered up my courage. I would have to say "hi" to 5 of the most famous boys in the kingdom in a few seconds and I really REALLY hoped my voice wouldn't fail me right now.
They noticed me before I reached them. Louis yelled an excited "HELLO" and I couldn't help but smile at the childish but sweet greeting, saying hi back to him. My voice didn't crack but it was extremely low, making me seem like a shy high-schooler. Ugh. Just when I needed to seem cool.
And then Harry Styles, the guy 90% of the female population would kill to be with, gives me a one million dollar smile and says "Hi, my name is Harry, it is enchanting to meet you."
