Naomi Campbell Casts Love Spell in Foreign Land!
UNITED KINGDOM's No.1 alternative rock group Ace of Wands might have rejected a guest role in Woody Allen's newest movie to "stay focused" on their music and to "keep it real", but their members are certainly not shying away from testing out their charms in areas other than their music – ooh, what's that again? – In the game of love and seduction? That's right baby, someone's in the mood for some lovin', we hear.
Frontman of Ace of Wands, Naomi Campbell, has once again proven herself to live up to the band's name. Following the stream of Hollywood's most eligible bachelors that had been rumored to have fallen for the irresistible charms of the star and had their hearts mercilessly broken thereafter (Tom McDowell, Harry Willis, Zac Clayton, just to name a few), the 23-year-old British vocalist and guitarist of Ace of Wands had been caught casting yet another one of her fatal love spells on an unsuspecting victim – this time in the exotic and enigmatic setting of the streets of Bangkok. (See photos below for evidence). Awww, how romantic, we say.
As we dutifully whipped out our cameras to snap a shot of their exotic rendezvous for our beloved readers, we managed to catch a glimpse of the unlucky chap who was waiting to have his poor heart broken ourselves. But hang on – something isn't right. We rubbed our eyes in amazement and concluded that our favorite British rocker babe must be tiring of her buffet spread of famous, glamorous and amorous celebrity hunks, because her most recent unwitting sacrifice is - *gasps!* not a celebrity, and *double gasps*- a lady.
Said damsel looking far from any distress who sported a head of fiery red hair and literally screamed "dyke!" from head to toe was seen cuddling intimately and engaging in heavy petting with our babe in a car, which eventually culminated in a thirty-second long passionate French kiss under our noses. The duo was then seen holding hands down the street while engaging in friendly chatter as they entered a hotel in the red-light district of Bangkok after that, for presumably some sweet lady lovin' that would last the entire night.
We know, we know. We find it hard to accept it as well, that the goddess of our musical fantasies (and other fantasies, if you know what we mean) has jumped on the gay bandwagon and gone over to the dark side. It was truly a sad day in the history of heterosexual mankind.
But you know what they say; the flames of passion rage the wildest in a stranger's land. We don't rule out the possibility that it was only a one-time lesbian escapade for the queen of our hearts - it could have been the cruel needles of loneliness that were pricking while being alone in a foreign country and the redheaded stranger (whom we unfortunately failed to identify) just happened to be around when our babe needed company. It was all too convenient, really.
After all, it isn't all that surprising that our goddess' sexual magnetism should appeal to women as it did to men. The lady is literally sex personified with beauty, brains and talents. Which girl wouldn't turn gay for her? No doubt the Naomi Campbell charm is incredibly potent and more far-reaching than we have expected. We have underestimated you, O Queen Naomi.
As for the question of whether our rocker babe would come back over to the bright side after she's had fun with her redhead, the answer remains to be seen.
For now, start practising your Patronus charm mates; you don't know when our girl wizard is going to point her wand at you and break your heart next. – John Newton, Dave McCollins & Fred Yates
"Fuck this shit," said Naomi as she flung the tabloid paper angrily to the other end of her bedroom floor. Just when she thought the rubbish those deranged reporters wrote couldn't get more ridiculous.
Me and Emily engaging in heavy petting in a fucking car? French-kissing for thirty bloody seconds? Entering a hotel in the red-district to fuck all night? Where the fuck did all that nonsense come from?
So I guess if I'd owned one fucking paper now I could write all the fuck I want and say that hobbits and talking rabbits exist and nobody could say I'm lying huh?
Well, FUCK all of you.
Naomi sat on the edge of her bed, shutting her eyes and inhaling deeply as she massaged her temples with her thumb and fingers. As a rule, she usually avoided reading all these tabloid articles because she had guessed that she would be affected by what they wrote, even though she knew that they were just writing rubbish. But earlier today she had bought one from the newspaper stand near her apartment building just to read it and make sure that Emily was not implicated by her in any way.
Thank goodness the pictures the paparazzi took were mostly shots of their backs while they were running, and they were too shaky for one to identify the people in it. It was only in one of the photos where Naomi's profile could clearly be seen, and that was when she was in the bar with Thomas, though Thomas wasn't caught in the picture. Seriously, you call those photos evidence? Honestly, the reporters could have saved the trouble of chasing after them and just taken a couple of blurred shots of some random people's backs and published them instead. It wouldn't have made a difference.
Strictly speaking, Naomi should have already grown used to these side-effects of fame after being in the industry for three years now, but she'd thought she might never be able to get used to it, ever.
Sure, it's nice to be appreciated and acknowledged by lots of people for your talent; it's lovely to have fans liking your music so much they'd learn the lyrics to the songs you'd composed and sing along to them in your concerts; it's definitely great to receive international recognition for your work that happened also to be your passion, but all the unwelcomed media attention and relentless probing into Naomi's private life had threatened once and again to suffocate her.
Fact was, all her life she had led an inconspicuous presence, being mostly ignored by people around her and left to her own devices. She knew the names kids back in high school were calling her behind her back; weird, strange, loner, loony. But strangely she was never bothered by these labels. To her, those kids were always insecure of themselves and distrustful of anyone who's different than they were. Friendships with these people who didn't understand her at all would be a pain in the ass and frankly she'd rather not have any friends than to change herself to be accepted by others.
Naomi could still clearly remember her first taste of fame. The time she stepped on stage in front of the 4000-strong crowd during the band's first stop of their world concert tour in New York. She felt like she was on the top of the world when they started playing their first number once the stage lights came on, the screams and cheers from the audience instantly escalating into a wild frenzy. That was one sweet memory that Naomi would remember for the rest of her life.
But as their band rose further in fame, the first scandals also started appearing on the papers - mostly untrue rumors of love affairs between Naomi and male celebrities the band had either got to know at work or at celebrity parties.
Once a tabloid article had even called Naomi an "incorrigible slut" because she was "using her seductive charms on Harry Willis at one time and blatantly flirting with Liam Jackson at another" at one such party. The reporter obviously had a crush on Harry Willis and/or Liam Jackson. Naomi's anger nearly spun out of control when the band's publicity agent confronted her.
"Are you freaking kidding me? I was only trying to meet new people and chat with them like you'd told us to!" Naomi reasoned in an exasperated tone, trying her very best to keep her voice down.
"Well, try to do that AND not look like a slut at the same time," replied their publicity agent unsympathetically.
Naomi paused for a moment and glared at him.
"Fuck you," she snapped as she stomped out of the office.
It was from then on that Naomi realised it wasn't easy at all to survive in this industry and that all that glitz and glamour came at a really high price. Her personal privacy was constantly intruded; she had to watch her words and actions all the time in case reporters happened to be around and interpret those actions in her disfavor; she couldn't hang out in peace with her friends or family because the paparazzi were always lurking around somewhere out there, listening in the conversations for anything that would make the cut for a juicy scandal.
It hit her one day that she had lost her freedom in this crazy world of fame.
Naomi thought the time she had spent with Emily in Bangkok, albeit short, was the first time in a long time that she felt really free. Standing in the rain and feeling those pellets of water gently landing on her face made her feel as though life had become simple yet again. It had felt really good to know that nobody was watching her from behind; that at that moment in time she was not Naomi Campbell, frontman of Ace of Wands – but just Naomi Campbell, herself.
That feeling made her feel young and playful all of a sudden, and the serious no-nonsense look that Emily constantly wore had made it even more tempting for Naomi to try and lure the redhead out of her solemn shell. Naomi was in glee when she succeeded in making Emily chase after her in the rain in the end, though to her surprise Emily turned out to be more mischievous than she'd imagined. No doubt being with Emily made Naomi really happy that night and it had been ages since she smiled like she did.
Naomi bit her lip as she grinned at the memory of her hearing Emily's distinctive husky voice doing the in-flight announcement in the airplane. That was utterly unexpected - the last thing on earth she would have guessed would be that Emily Fitch was a pilot. That petite figure and those adorable features? Honestly, she's far too cute to be one. But all the pieces of the puzzle suddenly fell into place then. Naomi finally understood why Emily had managed to stay ridiculously calm when they were stuck at the floating market with the three men hot on their heels. Compared to all those emergencies and crises they have to deal with in the cockpit, that must have been nothing to Emily.
Naomi was all smiles as her mind drifted to the day she went up to Emily at the airport after landing in Bristol. She used to sincerely believe that it was physically impossible for one to look adorable and gorgeous at the same time - that was until she saw 1st Officer Emily Fitch in her pilot uniform. Naomi's heart literally did a flip-flop as she walked over to Emily at the arrival hall, her eyes relishing it all: the redhead dressed smartly in her fitting dark blue blazer lined with silver buttons and pilot's badge, long dark blue pants and black loafers with her pilot's cap tucked between her waist and left arm. It was all a little too much to take.
If Naomi had thought that Emily and that thoughtful expression of hers she always wore were sexy enough to reduce her to a pile on the floor usually, then Emily with that expression and in her pilot uniform could have vaporized her in an instant. It took all that she had, and I really mean all, to restrain herself from pushing Emily up against the wall and kiss her senseless right there and then. It was a good thing she had those shades on when she was walking over really, those eyes would have given her not-so-honorable thoughts away.
Naomi sighed as she laid her head back on the pillow and stared at the ceiling, her feet hanging off the edge of her bed. It had been a week since she last saw Emily and she swore her heart ached a little from missing her. She had written "call me" together with her number on the back of the concert tickets she'd given Emily, and the whole of this week she had been constantly checking her phone waiting for a message or a call from the redhead, but neither came. One week and no news at all from Emily. That was enough to let loose all those thoughts in her head that would drive herself nuts.
Did she write her own number correctly? Maybe she missed out a digit in the number. Fuck, that was highly probable given that it's her.
But no, she remembered checking five times to make sure she hadn't given the wrong number.
Maybe Emily just didn't think of looking at the back of the ticket. Or maybe she had to fly somewhere during the week. Maybe she's busy with some personal matters.
God, she hoped Emily wasn't scared off by what she did at the airport. She knew it. She knew that the kiss was a bad idea, which is why she pulled away at the last minute.
To be honest, her mind wasn't functioning at that time! That damned pilot uniform on Emily had gone and taken all logic in her head and flung them out of the window.
Which reminded her; what kind of a dumb comment is "this uniform suits you"? That was so cringe-worthily awkward and lame. Damnit, Campbell, why did she have to go and say that?
Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Why! Why did she say it! And why didn't she think to ask for Emily's number? Gosh, she's so fucking stupid. Now it makes perfect sense that she didn't go to college.
…
God, Emily Fitch, would you just call me already.
Naomi squeezed her eyes shut in agony as she lay on the bed. She was kind of angry at Emily for doing this to her, even though she knew that her anger was baseless, even more so ridiculous.
Who did she think she was to Emily anyway? It's not as if the redhead owed her a call or an explanation. It's not like Emily's her girlfriend.
…
Fuck. What did I just think?
…
Oh my god oh my god oh my god no.
I'm not in love with Emily Fitch.
I'm not. I'M NOT!
Damn it I'm STRAIGHT. I'M FUCKING STRAIGHT.
…
I LOVE COCKS. I adore them. Pussies, no no - not for me.
Right.
…
Then what was this thing with wanting to push Emily up against a wall and kiss her senseless? Her cheeks set aflame whenever Emily looked at her? Her stupid crazily pounding heart the first time they kissed? And the fluttering in her stomach each time Emily said her name in that deep, husky, & fucking sexy voice of hers?
This was insane. No one else had ever made her feel that way before.
Naomi rolled over and buried her face in her pillow, muffled screams filling the air in the room as she pummeled the bed with her fists and legs.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
After a good long twenty seconds, she finally stopped screaming and lifted her head up from the pillow, her hair in a slight mess as she tried to catch her breath.
Fine, let's just say I'm not gay. I just have a little crush on Emily Fitch right now. Okay, a huge one. Maybe like a major whoppingly huge gigantic one that even the ants crawling by on my bedroom floor would notice.
…Okay, I think I might be a little gay. Just a little.
Or maybe just Emily-gay.
…
Does she like me too?
Naomi couldn't help thinking that there was a possibility that her feelings for Emily were actually mutual. She'd seen the way Emily looked and smiled at her. She'd heard the way the redhead's breath hitched when she leaned in for a kiss at the airport. Her heart had leaped in joy when she saw how Emily's eyes lit up when they spotted her.
She had the feeling that Emily felt the same way too.
Or she could be imagining it.
Fuck, this is going nowhere.
Naomi jumped out of bed as her mobile rang, rudely jerking her out of her daydream. She glanced briefly at the name flashing on the screen before answering it. Not Emily.
"Hey, Seth," answered Naomi, disappointment apparent in her voice.
"Hey, Naoms. How's it going?" asked a low male voice at the other end of the line.
"Well, not too great, actually," Naomi replied, pouting as images of Emily floated around in her mind.
"Someone's been reading the tabloids huh," said the voice, knowing and concerned.
"You've seen it too?" asked Naomi as she raised her brows in surprise as she glanced at the newspapers that were crumpled into a mess on the other end of her bedroom.
"Nope, Dan told me. His sister follows the tabloids and all," the voice said.
"Seth, I didn't…" began Naomi.
"No worries, Naoms. I know you didn't," the voice said reassuringly. "Those bastards write the most fucked-up shit there is. Someday I'm gonna jab my tuning pegs into their balls at the first chance I have," replied the voice in a straight tone.
Naomi giggled at the image that sprang up in her head: Seth whacking his bass guitar into the crotches of the paparazzi reporters, all the while still managing to play his solo.
"Glad to hear that you're still laughing," the voice said.
"Don't worry about me, Seth, I'm in top form today," said Naomi as she lay back onto her bed, smiling as she held the phone to her ear with one hand and made random shapes with her fingers on the other hand outstretched above her.
"Sounds like some people are gonna rock the house tonight," replied the voice, the caller apparently smiling. Naomi heard the sound of guitars tuning penetrating the air on the other end of the line.
"Hey listen," said the voice suddenly. I gotta go help Dan and Erik with one of the parts we couldn't get right the last time. Sound check's at 6; we'll come by to pick you at, say, 5:30? Try not to be late and spend too much time dolling up yeah."
"That, you've got to tell Effy," said Naomi with a laugh.
The voice groaned. "Damn, you're right. I'll call her later. Oh, and remember the honey. Bye."
"Thanks, Seth. Later," said Naomi, exhaling deeply as she placed the phone beside her on the bed.
It had been five years now, but Naomi thought Seth had never once failed to call each of the members up every time before they had a major performance just to check up on them and see if they were doing okay. Dan had often laughed at Seth for behaving like their nanny, but Naomi was secretly grateful for the band leader's simple gesture. Fact was, even after having performed on stage for more than hundreds of times now, she still felt the jitters before every one of their shows, and she knew the rest of the band members still did as well, even Seth himself, though they never showed it. For some reason, Seth's routine calls and the casual words of concern delivered in his steady, calm voice always soothed her greatly.
The shrill sound of Naomi's mobile ringtone roused her from her thoughts and her right hand fumbled blindly beside her on the bed to pick it up.
"Hello", said Naomi, without looking at the caller's name.
"Naomi darling, it's me," said a chirpy female voice over on the other end.
"Hey, mom. What's up?" Naomi said with a smile as she recognised the voice.
"I just wanted to say have a great concert tonight and I love you," the voice replied in a warm tone.
"Thanks mom. That was random. But I love you too," Naomi replied with a grin on her face.
"Oh, and since I couldn't go tonight, I gave the tickets you gave me to your dad. But he had called to say that he didn't feel well today and won't be…"
"Mom," Naomi interrupted with a voice suddenly turned icy. "I don't care whether he goes or not. It doesn't matter to me. To me, he's already dead."
"But Naoms, …" continued the voice.
"I'll talk to ya tonight. I've gotta go," Naomi lied. She was afraid that she would lose her temper if the conversation continued any further.
Naomi pressed the little red button on her phone and flung it on her bed as she exhaled deeply. Just as the phone hit the bed, an SMS alert sounded. She hesitated for a while before leaning over the bed to reach for the phone.
Wild lesbian escapade in an unknown land huh, Naomi baby? Never saw that coming, I'd say, seeing how much you loved my cock back then when we were fucking each other day and night. Those were good times. How about a little threesome with your redhead lover tonight? xoxo McDowell
Naomi cursed. It's been a while since she last heard from that jerk, and she honestly thought she had worn out his interest and had finally got him off her back after several months, but no. Apparently he was still keeping track of Naomi's news in the papers. Naomi winced and rubbed her temples as a headache crept into her head.
Seriously, what the fuck was she thinking when she dated him last time?
Emily Fitch stood outside the florist, fidgeting nervously as she glanced inside the shop every once in a while. Finally, after several times of walking to the door and then turning away at the last minute, she pushed the door open and walked in.
…
N: Well, to be honest, Valentine's Day isn't a big deal to me at all. What matters more are the little things that you do for each other every day. Though I wouldn't complain if I were to receive a box of chocolates on Valentine's – I mean, who would? (laughs)
I: What about roses then?
N: Nah, I'm not really the roses kind of girl.
I: Really? I'd thought every girl in this world would go weak in their knees over a bouquet of roses.
N: Well, not me… I'm more of a "one-stalk daisy" kind of person.
I: One-stalk daisy? Now that's new. Why daisies? And why just one stalk?
N: Frankly, I'm not sure either. (laughs). I guess I just like how daisies are simple and unassuming and all. And I've always thought every flower, like every person, is unique and beautiful. If you're gonna put them all in a bouquet it will spoil the uniqueness they have and it's such a waste. Plus I think if you have something good and beautiful, having one of it will suffice.
I: And that applies to lovers too.
N: (laughs) Yeah, that's right.
Naomi walked out from behind the backstage curtain onto the stage that was pitch dark, marching towards the spot that she had memorised for so many previous performances. Downstage the audience was plunged in darkness as well, and the chatter and noise of the crowd was filling up the entire hall. Naomi spotted numerous glow sticks that were of different colors, and saw that some fans had made a board with the glow-in-the-dark words, NA-O-MI-GOD, and another board somewhere at the back with the words, "ACE OF WANDS, KING OF BANDS".
Upstage the sounds of Seth and Effy tuning their guitars could be heard from beside her; Erik adjusted the volume on the keyboards, while Dan tested out the kick on the bass drum behind. After a while, there was complete silence. Naomi gripped the microphone from the stand and exhaled deeply. That was the signal from the rest of the band that they were ready.
Naomi tapped on the microphone to see if it was working.
"How you doin'," said Naomi in a deliberately low, sexy, gruffy voice addressing the audience, laughing adorably into the microphone after she did so.
The crowds downstage instantaneously burst into an uproar at the voice of their idol despite it being still dark on stage. The Friends reference was seemingly resonating well with the audience as cheers, screaming, wolf-whistling threatened to drown up Naomi's voice.
"It's great to be home, it really is," continued Naomi in her normal voice, as the cheering from the crowds became louder.
"The first song we're going to play is the very first song our band played together after being formed, and it means a lot to us to be playing it in the town our band was born," said Naomi sincerely with a smile.
"This one goes out to all you fans out there."
The distinctive rhythm of the bass guitar that started to play evoked a wild frenzy amongst the audience who immediately recognised the song. Even though it was totally dark, Naomi thought she could sense Effy, Dan, Erik and Seth all smiling as the different instrumental parts joined the bass guitar. It was as if they were all thinking of the same scene when they played it together for the first time.
Naomi held the microphone close to her mouth as she bobbed her head gently along to the music. The spotlights came on a split second before she started singing the first words of the song that she knew so well.
During the break, Naomi walked inside the changing room, biting her lip to stop the grin from escaping her face.
She saw her. Standing in the left side of the crowd next to Freddie; wearing a simple black dress that looked absolutely gorgeous on her. And in her hand – Naomi couldn't be sure – was that a daisy?
God, she read that interview in that Starry Week magazine.
Naomi couldn't help feeling excited at the revelation that Emily had tried to find out more about her via the magazines. Now she was almost sure that Emily liked her too.
"Naomi," a voice cut into Naomi's thoughts abruptly, and she turned to see her manager walking towards her.
"We've got three surprise guest stars later in the concert. You know, like a gimmick kinda thing. You gotta introduce them to the audience when they come on stage," he said.
"What? But who are the guests? And why weren't we informed of this arrangement earlier?" questioned Naomi with a frown.
"I just said they were surprise guests. You don't have to know who they are now. Just say their names when they appear on stage. They are all famous people. And yes, this was a last minute decision made by the company, so we didn't have time to inform you," said the manager stoicly.
"But…" Naomi started.
"Just do it, Campbell," the manager remarked sharply as he turned to walk away.
Naomi furrowed her brows as she watched the manager slip away into the backstage.
She'd never liked surprises.
Naomi took the microphone from the stand as she smiled to an audience who was roaring "encore!" repeatedly now.
"Well, we do have a little present for you tonight," said Naomi in a cheeky tone. "I've just been informed that there are THREE mystery guest stars in the house right now," she continued, to which the audience responded warmly with cheers.
"The first guest who would like to say hello to all our fans is," said Naomi as she glanced to the curtain to the backstage where her manager was standing. A purple-haired girl in a gothic dress-up appeared from behind the curtain and swaggered to where Naomi was, waving to an audience that was cheering loudly for her.
"Our very young and talented Cristina Ambers!" announced Naomi as she recognised her as the teenage girl who was the rising star of the gothic rock band Slashbacks.
The girl waved to the audience and did a world peace handsign before walking over to Seth to talk to him.
"The next guest we have, is…" said Naomi as Dan deliberately did a drum-roll behind her that made some in the audience giggle.
"Deejay Whacko!" Naomi announced in a dramatic fashion as a dark-skinned plump guy in a sport jersey and baggy pants lumbered from behind the curtain.
"Yo whassup," said Deejay Whacko as the crowd cheered for him.
"And the last but not least, our third mystery guest is…" Naomi said as her head was turned towards the backstage, waiting for the guest to show himself.
The crowd was in ecstasy as soon as he appeared. He was dressed smart and casual in a blazer with denim jeans, smiling charmingly as he sauntered confidently up to the front of the stage, opening his arms wide as if to embrace the crowd and to say, "that's right, I'm here."
Naomi was gaping and still in a state of shock as he gently took the microphone from her hands.
"Oh dear," he said into the microphone jokingly, "Our lovely lady here is so stunned by my presence she didn't even introduce me." The audience roared in laughter.
"Good evening, everybody," he said as he turned back to address the audience who were still going wild at his feet.
"I'm Tom McDowell and I'm honored to be here tonight at an Ace of Wands gig," he said with a smirk.
"What the fuck do you think you are doing here?" Naomi yelled angrily behind the curtains as she glared angrily at the guy standing in front of her.
"Chill, man. What's the big deal? This is business," replied the guy coolly.
"Don't give me that, Tom. I know you and I know it's not that simple. What is it that you want from me?" Naomi's voice was trembling with anger.
"What is it that you can give me?" asked Tom with a smirk as he leaned in closer towards Naomi.
"Fuck you, Tom," cursed Naomi as she tried to push him away, but his hands had grabbed her tightly at the sides.
"One kiss," said Tom as he stared into Naomi's blue eyes mixed with rage and indignation.
"What?" Naomi asked, her eyes confused at the request.
"Please, Naomi. I'm only doing all these stupid stuffs because I've missed you so much for the past few months. Do it for me. Take it as a goodbye kiss. You will never hear from me again," said Tom, his voice sorrowful and dejected all of a sudden.
Naomi's eyes softened a little at Tom's emotional confession. She didn't know that Tom did what he did because he still loved her. She hesitated a little looking at the forlorn guy in front of her.
Just as she was mulling over whether to lean in and peck Tom on the cheek, she felt hands suddenly cupping her cheeks as rough, chapped lips were violently pressed onto her own and a tongue sought entry into her mouth.
Naomi stood stunned for a moment and tried in vain to push the aggressor away, who was much too strong for her.
"OW!" he yelled suddenly as Naomi bit his lip in fury and pulled away.
"Someone likes playing it rough, huh," McDowell's wince turned into a smirk as he eyed Naomi suggestively.
"You fucking liar," shouted Naomi as she wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her top.
"Oh come on, Naomi. I love you too much to say goodbye. And I know you feel the same too from the way you kissed me just now," McDowell taunted further.
"I'm done with you. Go fuck yourself," cried Naomi as she turned to walk away, but McDowell had grabbed her arm with his hand.
"Nuh-uh. Not yet, Naomi baby. Your secret is still safe with me, don't you forget," said McDowell as he let go of Naomi's arm again and laughed loudly to himself as she stomped off.
As she strode off, Naomi glanced around the backstage area and was thankful to see that no one else was there to overhear the conversation between her and Tom McDowell.
Somewhere nearby in the darkness of the backstage hallway, however, a stalk of daisy lay on the floor, broken in two.