Tuesday, August 5, 2008 – 2:27pm – The Polo Lounge; Beverly Hills, California
Ana idly thumbed her worn out bracelet as she leaned back with her hands in her lap. While nearly all of her attention was on anything else but what was happening now, the two people across from her continued their conversation as if she wasn't even present. It was how it had been all day, and to be quite honest, she could care less. They were discussing business, her business. She was just glad they were preoccupied enough to let her remain silent throughout their conversation.
"So, have you heard about the Gotham attacks?" the agent suddenly asked, abruptly changing topics.
At the change, Ana paused in her chewing, glancing up from her plate eager to hear her manager's response.
Tam, one of the few highly recommended women managers on the west coast, was the third person at the table, and refuted Roger, the UTA agent. "Who hasn't? The stuff that's going on out there is what movies are made out of. Maybe the whole city is still drugged from that incident last year and is collectively hallucinating about clowns and bats."
Roger snickered. Ana frowned. "I think all of that is real," she quietly intervened.
"And why is that?" Roger asked.
She shrugged, glancing from one to the other. "I don't know. It just seems so ridiculous that is has to be true. I mean, for someone to start circulating stories about a guy who dresses up like a bat and for the stories to actually stick, there was to be some truth to them. Besides, all of the Gotham newspapers wouldn't waste so much print on fiction, especially since it is physically impossible for a toxin to remain in the system for that long," she added pointedly toward Tam.
"They do all the time," Roger explained, only to be added to by Tam.
"A joke's a joke, doll. Besides, your job isn't to worry about current events."
Ana still wasn't catching onto the humor. She wasn't in the mood to put on the mask, and both Roger and Tam knew that she had her moments.
That was the downside about this new life she'd somehow woken up in. One day she was in Hilo, working as a full time paramedic with a masters in medicine and the next she's posing for magazine ads in L.A. and one of six stars on a brand new TV show. Apparently she had saved some rich and famous man's life from a bad car accident who had connections in Hollywood, and he turned out to follow up on his vow to help her get out of this 'no-where town'. Ana still wasn't sure if she had made the right decision. But Hilo had, in fact, grown lonely and almost…boring. She had satisfied her desire to have a quiet and happy life. Deep down, she knew she wanted more. Deep down, she knew that someone had once told her she could have more.
Ana suddenly stilled her hands in her lap and stood. "I'm going to use the restroom," she commented quietly, earning a wave of approval from a distracted Tam as she and Roger had moved on from Gotham City and were now discussing future possibilities. It was always the future with these people.
Striding off in her black heels and business attire, she went in a delayed search for the bathroom, buying some time to look around. Even though at times she had to admit she liked this new life, being who she was most of the time was like being cooped up in a swarm of people and events. Even though she did mentally complain about it, she enjoyed acting. Making the switch from modeling as a pretty face to actually doing something fun was easy enough, especially since she had gotten good enough at acting in reality. Pretending to be someone she wasn't was what got her to where she was. Might as well make a career out of something she was already doing.
Passing a couple of waiters, she exchanged friendly smiles while they carried trays full of lunch or glasses full of guessable liquids. Being careful to stay well out of their way, since she had always been a klutz and both money and fame had yet to cure her of that, she circled the restaurant and, finding nothing of notable interest, headed towards the bathroom.
The women's restroom preceded the men's, though was probably just as lavishly decorated. There were two entirely separate rooms; a lobby of sorts with two sofas and a coffee table filled with magazines while one entire wall was covered with a floor to ceiling mirror, and the next contained large, ornament sinks with flowers galore and each toilet stall was nearly its own room. The entire place smelled like a mixture of expensive perfume and roses. She took one glance in the bathroom area to find it empty before flopping down on one of the deep violet sofas and scooping up a magazine. But as soon as she glanced past the cover of the tabloid, her bright eyes found today's headline of the Gotham Gazette gazing up at her beneath the magazines. Shuffling it out from underneath the other books, she glanced over the front page.
'BATMAN'S RAMPAGE. Masked vigilante conspires with Joker and kills five more in a day of terror.'
Several pictures filled the front page, making this edition of the newspaper one to go down in history with 9/11 and V-Day. But this day wouldn't be remembered in infamy or anything. There wasn't a hush across the nation like on 9/11. It was just Gotham. Bad things always happened in Gotham.
Ana frowned, leaning back in the sofa while she peered at that odd name. Batman. Maybe he was just some urban legend, made up for all the bad things with no answers to be blamed on. Even though it really was so ridiculous that it could be real, it all still seemed a little too ridiculous for real news.
Suddenly the door swung open and three debutants strolled in, each giggling so obnoxiously that Ana instantly got the urge to leave. She tossed aside the newspaper and stood, causing each of the Gotham elites to cast one long glance towards her. It lasted only a couple of seconds as Ana made her way towards the door they had just strolled in, but it gave them plenty of time for each of them to run their eyes up and down her form at least twice. Was she close enough to their league to be spoken to? Was she dressed appropriately enough? At least it was good to know she wasn't as well recognized as Angelina Jolie.
Not wanting to stay in any enclosed space with three extraordinarily stuck up and judgmental woman, Ana pushed through the restroom door just as one of the debutants who couldn't stop staring decided to speak up. "Wait, do I know you?"
Pretending like she didn't hear, Ana continued out into the open space of the small hall, allowing the door to shut behind her. Taking a deep breath as she leaned against the wall, she concluded that she had to call it a day. Something wasn't right. Her gut had been twisted in knots since she woke up, and though she couldn't remember it, her dream last night helped her unwarranted anxiety. At first, she had figured it was just the sudden wakeup call to audition on the spot without any preparation for this new movie this morning. And once that was over with, she had figured it was just hunger pains.
But now she was out of excuses. Something was wrong.
"Tam, Roger," Ana interrupted when she returned to the table, finally earning both of their full attentions. "I'm gonna run. I've got some errands to run that I was planning to do today before my morning was hijacked."
Tam nodded with an amused smile, clueless as to the real reason why Ana was dashing off. "Of course, Ana. Good job today. I'll call you when I know the results."
Roger also gave her a short farewell, but they were both back to talking within seconds, leaving Ana to gladly sneak off.
Tuesday, August 8, 2008 – 3:37pm – Pavillions; Malibu, California
She hadn't been entirely lying to Tam about running errands. She had yet to stock her new kitchen with more than just left-overs and health bars, and though she had been putting off doing it for as long as possible, she was starting to lose too much energy, a symptom of malnourishment and one she knew all too well. Going into a new movie and a new season of Buddies, she had to keep her energy up or else she'd start forgetting lines, losing too much weight, or getting too moody to function properly.
And if the abrupt phone call from Tam this morning hadn't woke her up, she would've tried to sleep it until at least ten; spent a couple of hours lounging in the pool, reading one of the many books she owned; taken a nice, long, and hot shower; and gotten all dolled up, simply just because she felt like it, to go to the store.
Unfortunately, things hadn't gone as planned.
Abandoning her audition clothes in the car in favor of a more comfortable outfit, with her nifty Dodgercap that always kept her errand running on the "down low" included, she strolled into the grocery store, attached to a shopping cart, to begin her aisle to aisle hunt for food.
It took her about an hour, but finally she was eyeing her half full shopping cart, debating if she needed more, while slowly approaching the checkouts. She could always come back—it wasn't like she was going to be stranded by some nuclear winter in her home.
The three available lines were evenly long, the sudden rush of Malibu stay-at-home mothers completing their shopping after picking up—or dropping off—their children at daycare, or the modest group of the rich and elderly finishing some last minute shopping before the rush hour rush hit the small store. Ana opted for the checkout with her lucky number and pushed her cart to a stop a small distance behind the debutant mom in front of her.
As per usual, her eyes immediately went for the tabloids. Even though she held no tolerance for them, and she trusted them even less, it was hard to resist seeing familiar faces staring back at her. It was like looking at personal photographs, and it got especially weird on the seldom occasion that her face stared back at her. This week's were the usual: Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo, Miley Cyrus' latest scandal, and continently her own face splattered across the fake headline claiming her new single pride stance. Truthfully, she had no idea where they came up with the ridiculous ideas. Her dating life was about as exciting and action packed as the movie Gerry, and being single was nothing new to her.
Unfortunately, being the covers of Star and People was also nothing new to her.
The Enquirer, however, drifted from the other faces towards a wrecked Lamborghini splashed on its cover. It was hard to miss the bolded letters over the wreckage: Bruce Wayne.
Jesus Christ. She snatched the paper and desperately tore to the article, the sudden movements surprising the woman in front of her. Eagerly she skimmed the words in search for the details that managed to slow her racing heart rate. He wasn't dead—hadn't even gone to the hospital.
Feeling the mom's curious eyes on her, she glanced up shyly before quickly folding back up the trash paper and setting it back where it belonged, slightly embarrassed by her own sudden reaction. He was just another guy, another celebrity who got caught on the bad end of a camera and a gossip story. She knew that story all too well. She really shouldn't put much thought into it. At all.
She was still trying to convince herself of that fact even after she finished loading her groceries in her car and began her drive home.