Fans and Fanatics
"And nothing is ever the same
Because I lost it all
When I played the game"
"But I know that you know that our love can still be
If you'd only smile like you used to
When you look at me"
"When you look at me"
The two young girls had been dancing around their living room singing along but as the music died down they stopped suddenly and joined the sporadic clapping that was echoing out of the small wooden box in front of them. Their cheeks were flushed and their breathing rapid, the song had been a fast melody and the girls had tried their hardest to keep up. They stood listening intently as the announcer started talking.
"Karmy Mavis ladies and gentleman! You just heard her new single "Eye's Lit Up" off of her latest memento "Life's Lasting Lesson." Fabulous! So what can we expect from you next?"
"Well I am still touring. I have a few shows in Europe and then I am back here and in South America for the last leg of my tour. I'll be getting back in the sound stage pretty soon to start work on my next memento."
"I am sure your fans will be glad to hear it, as will the rest of the world. Thank you so much for stopping by..."
"Thanks for having me."
"And we hope to see you back for the release of your sophomore memento."
"You will thanks"
"This has been "Fanatic's Corner" I'm Galeena Smilt. Join us next week when we welcome..."
The girl with the short brown hair pointed her wand at the box and said "Emshi" and the voice was cut off. She was smiling at her friend who was standing holding a small piece of parchment in her hand. The words "Admit One" were printed in bold letters across the top. She walked over to a desk in the corner of the room were a huge calendar was illuminated on the wall. There was a day that had a bright circle drawn around it and several other's with "X's" across them. Taking her wand she drew an "X" on one of the days.
"Only three days left," she said excitedly. She looked up at her wall were the smiling face of Karmy Mavis was looking down at her. She was waving at the two girls, her violet eyes sparkling.
Karmina Mavis tried to raise herself from the armchair she was sitting in but found that she was stuck. The large, megaphone looking machine, which she had been speaking into, was still in front of her so she couldn't stand up. Noticing her struggle, a young wizard immediately rushed over and took the machine from in front of her. He stood there watching as Karmina got to her feet and when she did she stood a good five inches above him. He was twisting his hat frantically in his hands and looking up at her with a silly smirk on his face that she found all too familiar. It was obvious that he was star struck, and having Karmina's violet eyes staring directly at him didn't help the situation at all. Fortunately, Karmina knew just how to handle him.
"That was a great show don't you think..." she spoke to the boy, who, as soon as she opened her mouth, traded his smile for a look of shock."I'm sorry but I didn't catch your name?" She was still looking at him trying to ease his nerves by smiling.
"Um, uh, my name is, it's uh, J-Joxten, Joxten Bretner," he stuttered. His hat had turned into a dark wad of cloth in between his clenching hands.
"Well, Joxten Bretner, I thought it was an awesome show. Didn't you?" she asked watching his expression. He was smiling again but this time he seemed much more at ease.
"Yes it was," he agreed.
Karmina laughed as he was finally able to speak without stuttering. It was a language all on its own, stuttering. And she found herself becoming quite fluent in it. It hadn't always been like that. Back when she was just starting out, her fans had been able to talk to her normally. Mostly they would compliment her on a performance or ask her to sign a random object. But as her fame increased, people's ability to converse with her normally decreased, and she was forced to learn the new language of her fans. She was about to ask Joxten where she could get some water when Divo, her assistant, came by. A glistening water goblet in his hand.
"Ah, thank goodness for legilimecy," she said as she took a sip of the cool water. Noticing the lingering teen, Divo took it upon himself to lead him away to a table where posters had been set up. Karmina silently thanked her assistant again; he certainly knew how to handle the fans
She looked around the room. It was bustling with people. Leena was over at her desk looking over some forms with Karmina's manager. There were several other people setting up for the next show. And then there was Divo, who was getting everything prepared for her autograph session. It had been part of the deal; the Network was willing to pay the amount requested for her appearance if she was willing to spend thirty minutes signing photographs. Karmina had immediately agreed she would do anything for her fans. Divo had just gathered a pack of photos and was headed her direction, Joxten was only a couple of steps behind him with a few permanent quills in his hands.
"Are you ready, Jay?" Divo asked. He was the only one in her entourage who was allowed to call her by her middle name and there was good reason for it. Divo had been the first friend she had made at Salem he had also played the base rim in her former band. She had met him on the subway the day her mother had dropped her off at Pasaje station, she had been carrying her cat "Wagner" in one arm and dragging her trunk with the other. Divo had offered her help. She had been intimidated at first; he wasn't exactly like anyone she had ever seen. He was tall for his age with several silver hoops in his ears and a green mohawk sticking straight out of his head. He offered her a seat in his compartment and they had started talking about music, Divo had even demonstrated a few of his bebop talents. After that, they were inseparable. Even when she and the "Inflated Ego's" had parted ways, he had stayed on as her personal assistant. He had earned his right to be informal with her.
"You know it, come Joxten, let's blow the roof off of this popsicle stand," she grabbed a quill and stuck it behind her ear, the water goblet still in her hand.
A few minutes later they were making their way downstairs to the entrance of AWWN where a table was to be set up for the session. Marvin, Karmina's manager, had told her that they were only expecting a few people to show up. He insisted that Galeena had not made any public announcements about her appearance until a couple of days before she was scheduled. Karmina had believed it, but when she turned the corner and came into the main area she saw that the line was well beyond the glass doors to the building. As far as she could tell, the line made its way down the street as well.
"This is a little more than we expected," said Divo with a reluctant voice. He was clearly a little unnerved by the large turnout but he restored himself quickly and began setting up the table. Karmina made her way over to a large chair in the middle of the table. With the two stacks of photos near her and a permanent quill in her hand she nodded to Divo to signal she was ready. Divo quickly walked over to one of the overseer's and whispered in his ear, a few seconds later a man with a silver robe opened the doors.
"I love you Karmy!" squealed one girl.
"Thanks," Karmina barely heard her. The droves of people were making quite the racket. Karmina had to ask them to repeat themselves. "And who should I make this out to?" she asked the young girl with bubble gum pink hair.
"Delilah Sworskar," she beamed.
"Well here you go Delilah, keep on rockin," Karmina added. The girl with the bubble gum pink air was still smiling and gave her an enthusiastic wave as she walked away.
