Uncovering Kaitlyn (12 page)

“You were in
the paper the other day, you could use that, but you have to sign it for me
first.” Ryan went running outside and brought a paper from the nearest shop. I
made polite conversation with the salesman until he came back. He ran back in
and held the paper up to my face.

“That’s him.
That’s actually him.” Ryan started shouting and screaming. When people looked
he pointed at me.

“Let me see
that.” I snatched the paper from his hand and started to read the article. “Oh
my God. I’m in the paper. Why? They’re watching me, always watching me. Are
they here? Did you tell them I’m here?” I clung to the salesman.

“Sir, if you
would like to calm down. We can go into the office.” He went to guide me in the
direction of the office.

“You’re one
of them. Help, Help he’s going to kill me. It’s the aliens, they’ve gotten to
him.”

The man
jumped back and shook his head, muttering and several people stared.

“You have to
save me.” I fell to my knees and begged Ryan.

“Sure man.”
He pulled me up and we walked to the door as if nothing happened. We sat in the
car Graham organised earlier and went on to another garage.

“Did you
like the cars?”

“They
weren’t that great. You realise someone took a photo of me holding a picture up
to your face?”

“You realise
that the receptionist filmed the whole thing? It’s already on Youtube.” I
handed Ryan my phone and he laughed at the screen.

“Hey, Foxy
just sent you a message. I had a great time this morning. I love the clothes,
they’re sexy as hell. What the hell man. You’re project is some girl you’re
screwing?”

“Bastard.” I
grabbed my phone back and put it in my pocket.

“So you’re
dating?”

“No. I make
a habit of giving people sexy clothes for breakfast. Graham says it helps with
my fan base.”

“So who’s
Foxy?”

“A model I
met at some show a while back. She’s in town for the day. Could we drop it?”

I played the
video all the way through and looked at the comments.

“What’s up?
You don’t stay quiet about stuff like this.”

“I’m not going
to talk about it ok? We’re not women; we don’t need to talk about our feelings
all the time.”

Ryan gave me
a funny look then started to read the comments on his own phone. Occasionally
he would read one out (Poor Jamie, he’s sick. I’ll make him better etc.) or
laugh. He always liked to read the comments about him, so I pointed out some
where he featured. At the next garage I brought a Red Lamborghini Aventador,
which would be ready in a few weeks. It was way over what I’d ever spent on a
car before but I treated it as an investment. I figured if I wasn’t allowed to
drive that often then I may as well treat myself when I could.

Foxy
Jones- So, I’m a bit concerned. I was just checking that the aliens hadn’t
gotten to you earlier.

Me- You
saw that, huh? Am I as good as everyone says ;-)

Foxy
Jones- I think you might be better, but to spare your ever growing ego I’ll
keep that between us.

Me- Good,
good. Does this mean Jake doesn’t like me again now?

Foxy
Jones- What do you mean again? I’m not sure if ever liked you before :P

Me-
That’s just mean. I’m in trouble with Graham now, being mad makes his job
harder. Speak to you later

Graham
wasn’t amused by my behaviour. Apparently being a nutcase was bad for your
image, so after the three hour lecture about why I shouldn’t have done it, he
arranged for me to give an interview to a magazine and made me write up an
official apology with my PR man from England. I had to be on set for the next
eight days, which meant I had to be up at five to give the interview the next
day as it was the only time that I could fit it into my schedule. The reporter
came to the set and we sat in an office being supervised by Graham. He glared
at me if he thought I was about to say anything inappropriate. At first the
woman asked about my current projects and the film, which I happily spoke
about. I loved acting and I could easily bore anyone willing to listen. But
then she started to ask about the petrol station. If I didn’t need her to
explain my actions yesterday I would have thrown her out. Why were people so
insensitive? If something serious had happened then I would almost understand
it. A woman was still sick, and a baby still had a mother who didn’t quite
acknowledge her, how would printing about it help anyone? I can honestly say
that journalists are the one thing I consider a necessary evil. I need them to
help promote my films, which in turn promotes me to other directors and casting
agents, but apart from that I’d lock them up and throw away the key. On a good
day I’d throw them some scraps, but otherwise I’d happily let them rot. It’s
harsh but sometimes they drive me crazy.

“I’m not
going to talk about the petrol station. That matter is sensitive and private.
Next question.” I demanded very rudely. The woman seemed shocked but bounced
back quickly when she realised she only had ten minutes left in the time Graham
had allocated her.

“What about
the video circulating of you seeming, for want of a better word, mad.”

“Ryan, my
oldest friend went with me to buy a new car. I understand it was immature of us
but we decided to play a prank on the unsuspecting salesman. When I felt I was
being treated unfairly I decided to take it further. It was a joke, that’s all.
I did it once in a store in London when people first started to recognise me,
but the response wasn’t as far. I apologise for my behaviour yesterday, as does
Ryan.” That was pushing it far. Ryan loved playing these pranks with me. He
posted the video to his Facebook and was texting me the latest quotes as often
as he found them. This was his perk of putting up with the crap it cost to be
my friend.

Chapter Seven

Kaitlyn

Heading back
to the studio felt strange. It was weird knowing that people there knew of my
scars. Only Jamie, Jake and Dad knew how I got them but still more people there
knew about it than anywhere in the world. The producer told Aaron that all the
staff had to sign privacy and confidentiality agreements as part of their
contract so if word got out then it would be easier to fix. But nothing could
fix the damage it would do to me personally or my reputation. People never
treated me the same when they found out, it was as if I was going to break at
any moment. I was still shaken up even after three years, but the scars were a
lot worse than any damage inside. It’s what really gave me the confidence to
start playing my music in front of people. Originally my hope was to perform
for a living once my confidence had boosted a bit, but since the song went
viral I had the chance of a lifetime and I wasn’t going to throw it away.

Today I was
performing as Missy Jones, but I was allowed to bring Oliver and as long as the
music sounded good, and I looked the part I could change the lyrics as much as
I wanted. I was told today would be a long day so Aaron and Jake were coming
this morning and Dad was swapping with Jake later this afternoon.

TJ Smith-
Are you prepared to light the stage on fire with your music?

Me- I’m
always prepared when it comes to my music. I even have Oliver sitting next to
me.

 TJ
Smith- Where’s everyone else?

Me- I made Aaron sit up front. Jake is sitting the other side
of Oliver. Aaron looks jealous.

TJ Smith- I don’t blame him. Poor Guy

Me- Think of Oliver, Aaron wanted to shove him in the boot!

TJ Smith- You’re in LA, Aaron wanted to shove him in the
trunk.

TJ Smith- Have dinner with me tomorrow?

Me- Where are you taking me?

TJ Smith- Nowhere, You are coming to mine. I hope you like
poison.

Me- Sounds like our perfect date Romeo

Jake gave me strange glances while I was texting but I didn’t
pay any attention. I knew at some point he would go all big brother on me and
force the details but I wasn’t going to spill just yet. Jamie had discovered
the real me, scars included, and he still wanted to see me. He didn’t treat me
like I was fragile and weak. I felt normal with him.

We pulled into the studio and I was immediately surrounded by
the crew to prepare me. I was early but before I could think about getting
breakfast I had to go onto stage and walk around so they had an idea about
camera angles and lighting. I was still feeling sick but knowing I was singing
and not acting today made me feel like I was a little bit more in my comfort
zone. It was gone nine o’clock before I was able to leave for a break. There
had been a lot of waiting around but I hadn’t been able to leave in case I was
needed. I was given around half an hour to get breakfast and chill before I had
to spend a further three to four hours in make-up while they did my hair, nails
and caked me in a reasonable centimetre or two of foundation and other make-up.
I found Jake who was sat with Jamie and his friend Ryan and plonked myself onto
his lap.

“Being a girl sucks.”

“Do I even want to know?” Jake smiled.

“Men, like him” I pointed at Jamie “get to spend five minutes
getting ready. I have been scheduled in make-up for three hours, then in
wardrobe for another hour. Why? Because they’re sexist.”

“They’re probably worried you’re going to throw another fit”
Jamie laughed.

“They’ve allowed a maximum of thirty minutes for that at the
end. She actually had that written down. I mean, I’m not the one who shouts out
the aliens are here, in a public place.”

“You saw that.” Ryan looked pleased with himself.

“Who didn’t see that? You’re off your rocker” Jake said to
them seriously.

I was halfway through my sandwich when I got called over to
see Mindy. I told Jake to stay where he was because he’d only get bored with me
and walked to Mindy’s trailer.

“I’ve modified your outfit already. You’ve got a scarf to
match and a mid-length top. It’ll show some of your stomach, so I need you to
try it on.”

“Thanks.” I put on the tight black top and held my arms up
and moved to see how much the top shifted while she inspected and adjusted the
top.

“So you’re singing today? I can’t wait. I googled you when I
found out they had a Brit and I just love your music. You’re awesome. My friend
Lucy wanted to watch but I didn’t know if they’d let her in. I told her I’d get
your autograph. Is that ok?”

“Bring her in tomorrow and I’ll get Aaron to get her a pass
for an hour or so as long as she doesn’t come in here.”

“Really? Thank you so much!” She gave me a hug and I
flinched. I couldn’t believe I was being hugged while half dressed in the
trailer at a studio in Hollywood. If I was asked three months ago what I
thought being a recognised artist would mean, this would never have been on my
list. Jamie must have found this strange since he was only sixteen when he
started.

During my second hour in hair and make-up I decided to text
Jamie. He was doing a few smaller scenes this morning but mostly they were
shooting the extras this morning while they set up the stage.

Me- At what point does Hollywood become strange?

TJ Smith- The point when the airplane lands.

I couldn’t reply because they started the full on plastering
of my face with heavy make-up. I always wore a bit, but only ever a light touch
of neutral colours. Today I was being given a full rock star look with dark
eyes and lips with a pale face.

The stage was small but usable and I was sent to practice for
my allocated half hour ‘fit’ time. Jake handed me Oliver and I warmed up with a
few favourites of my own and some more well-known songs the crew requested
while they set up. I ran through the lyrics of the songs they’d given me a
couple of times then began to change them while I sang. It took me a while to
realise that every single person in the room had stopped to watch me. I glanced
at Jake and he gave me a reassuring nod.

“Quick question.”

“What?” The director answered.

“Do you stare at models when they take their clothes off?”

“No” The man blushed bright red.

“You guys are creeping me out, I feel naked up here.”

I saw Jamie at the back of the room choke on his drink and I
waved at him as he spluttered his coffee down his shirt.

***

I went to
Jamie’s for dinner after another long day on set. I had been singing various
songs all day and my throat positively killed me. I had to work with a band
today as well which I rarely did, so everything had been twice the effort. It
was so easy to think that they knew what needed changing each time when they
had no clue. The song would be edited and fine-tuned by some professionals but
my music was important to me and I couldn’t stand anything less than perfect.
Unfortunately my version of perfect differed to everybody else’s. I was
surprised when there were no paparazzi outside Jamie’s house. I’d come up with
a plan just in case and even had gone as far as putting a script in my bag
along with the extra scarf I used to take around. Jamie opened the door before
I chance to knock and grabbed my hand to pull me inside.