Everyone held their breaths and looked at Clarissa. She’s actually confronting Shermaine?
At that moment, Jamie was pulling at Clarissa’s fingers to stop her. Her eyes were red.
Nonetheless, Clarissa showed no signs of backing down. She even wore a grin on her face in front of Shermaine.
“Ms. Smallwood, what’s your opinion about what I just said? They are just my suggestions but I hope you can adopt them.”
After all, someone did accuse Clarissa of ignorantly explaining a scene to Shermaine, so Clarissa decided to make that a reality and actually do it.
“Sure! What do you think, Mr. Brown?” Shermaine responded with a smile.
Despite being unhappy about it, the director nodded. “No problem. We’re done with this part then. Everyone ready up for the next scene!”
Immediately, the entire crew started scurrying around with their work while an assistant held an umbrella over Shermaine’s head. Jamie’s assistant also rushed over to check on Jamie, concerned about her artiste.
On the other hand, right as Clarissa turned to leave after Jamie, Shermaine approached her out of the blue.
Shermaine still had a smile on her face as she spoke, “Ms. Quigley, you and Jamie seem close, I’m jealous.”
“I treat her the way I treat any other artiste,” Clarissa said plainly.
“Haha… Ms. Quigley, is it true that you’re leaving tomorrow? Why so soon? If you’re not here, who’s going to go through the script so passionately with me?”
“The director. He’s actually far more thorough than me. Sometimes, what’s written and what’s acted out are quite different. I’m new after all, and there are so many things I’m lacking in. So, go look for the director, he’s better than me.”
Shermaine gave Clarissa a thoughtful look before bidding her farewell. “Alright, Ms. Quigley. I wish you all the best. Hope we meet again someday.”
“Thank you.”
As Shermaine walked proudly past Jamie, Jamie gave her the death stare as her rage and dissatisfaction burned from within.
“Stop staring, you need a facial right now. Do you have any more scenes for today?”
The few of them sat in the lounge when Jamie sent her assistant away. While she did her own facial, Jamie looked at Clarissa. She mainly felt touched and also slightly apologetic by Clarissa’s actions.
“Ms. Quigley, thank you so much.”
“What’s there to thank me for?”
“No. To me, this is important, very important. If you hadn’t said anything, god knows how long Shermaine was going to torture me like that. I knew I was going to get bullied one day, but I’ve never been through such cruelty in my entire life.”
While talking, Jamie tried her best to hold in her tears. The changes she was going through after such a traumatic experience was not something Clarissa could clearly comprehend.
At the moment, the only thing Clarissa could do was comfort her. “Jamie. To be honest, this type of situation happens in every field and there are bad people everywhere. However, as long as we stay true to ourselves and work hard, there will come a day when we can finally shine. By then, maybe you’ll look back to this incident and shrug it off. You know, what I’m trying to say is, you shouldn’t go on living with a vengeance in mind because of what happened today. Your dreams and your goals are far more important.”
Ellie had always said that Clarissa had a big heart. Truth be told, her heart was just normal-sized, but she did have an open mind.
“I understand, Ms. Quigley.”
Nevertheless, Jamie’s answers were just words. It was still uncertain whether she could really overcome this mental hurdle and let go of her grudge.
That being said, due to the fact that Clarissa was leaving the next morning, Jamie invited her out for a meal as a sign of gratitude.
Outside the film studio, there was a restaurant where all sorts of artistes mingled. The famous, the unknowns, the extras, and such, all gathered there.
In there, it was as though all that glamour became ordinary.
While Clarissa and Jamie were dining, Ryler appeared and approached the two.
“Jamie, is your face better now? I’m so sorry. I wasn’t there this afternoon and I didn’t know what happened.”
Hearing Ryler’s concern made Jamie flush as she shyly shook her head.
“Mr. Cooper, it’s okay. I’m fine now. See, it’s not swollen anymore.”
The way Jamie looked at Ryler was like a little girl looking at her childhood hero, her eyes filled with affection and admiration. Even Clarissa at the side felt like laughing.
“Jamie, didn’t you say you were a big fan of Mr. Cooper? Why don’t you tell him?”
Clarissa’s words made Jamie turn bright pink as she stared at her. Even so, Jamie still mustered up some courage and confessed timidly to Ryler.
“Mr. Cooper, I’ve liked you ever since your debut and watched every production with you in it, multiple times. Oh, and your singing is really superb! I’m even a member of your fan club. I… “
“Thank you, Jamie.”
Ryler thanked her with a smile but did not seem too enthusiastic about it.
Noticing the situation, Clarissa butted in. “You have such an awesome fan here, Mr. Cooper. You really ought to take care of her. After I’m gone, please help her out if someone’s bullying her.”
“Definitely! I dare not go against Ms. Quigley’s request.”
Jamie looked at both of them and noticed how familiar they were with each other.
Clarissa did not keep her out of the loop and told Jamie that she and Ryler were from the same city and knew each other since a long time ago. “But he’s famous now, so I obviously have to put some distance between us to avoid the media taking photos and spreading rumors.”
Jamie was a little surprised but could understand.
She would not pry nor gossip about it, but seeing Clarissa entrusting her with such a piece of sensitive information made Jamie feel moved.
After the meal, the three of them headed out with their respective assistants following behind them. Jamie was the first to leave as her assistant brought the car over whereas Clarissa and Ryler just stood at the door.
“I was serious. It’s not easy for a little girl like Jamie. If it’s possible, take care of her for me.”
“You really like her, huh?”
“Yes. She’s quite candid and doesn’t scheme around behind people’s backs. We get along quite well.”
“Alright then, I’ll do what I can. But you did just make an enemy of Shermaine. Aren’t you afraid? If she really was the petty kind, she’ll certainly do something about what you did today.”
“Not really. I have nothing to hide and am leaving tomorrow. What can she do? Alright now. You should go. Don’t you see even your manager’s rolling his eyes at me now?”
Ryler’s ride was parked not far in front of them with the manager staring at them from the inside.
Ryler smiled awkwardly as Clarissa gave his arm a shove.
“Alright, I’ll be leaving then. Send me a message when you reach the hotel. Don’t go running around, got it?”
“I’m just going to wait for the car here, not going anywhere.”
With that in mind, Ryler got in the car and left. Clarissa smiled as she took out her phone and called a cab.
The restaurant and the hotel were quite near each other, roughly around a ten-minute drive. Having said that, after getting on the cab, Clarissa was slightly nauseated by the smell of alcohol that filled up the interior of the vehicle.
The driver seemed to have noticed her reaction and quickly explained that the last passenger was really drunk and caused the smelly situation.
After that, Clarissa soon found out that he was a talkative type as the driver asked a bunch of questions.
It was fine in the beginning as the questions were more general, like what was Clarissa’s job or why was she not an actress with how beautiful she was.
Nevertheless, the questions quickly spiraled out of control, asking about her personal life, like whether she had a boyfriend. There were even some unsavory comments mixed into his questions.
“I know there are a lot of actresses here that would sleep with anyone. Even the screenwriters do it too. Where would they get funding from if they didn’t? How would they get a role? You have a pretty face too, young lassie. How many men have you slept with? Haha… By the way, I’m not actually a full-time driver. This is just a side gig for me after work to make some extras and meet new friends. My cousin is a director. Do you want a big role? I can help you with that!”
“No!”
Clarissa refused the driver’s offer with a stern look on her face. She was immediately on high alert as she took out her phone. Looking outside, she could see that they were arriving at the hotel. I’m calling the police if this driver does anything suspicious.
Meanwhile, the driver took a glimpse of Clarissa as his perverted intentions sipped out of those bloodshot eyes.
Clarissa took notice and quickly dialed the number on her phone.
All of a sudden, the car took a sharp turn and caused Clarissa to slam into the door, dropping her phone in the process. As the car was moving at a really high speed and kept shifting around, she could not actually pick up her phone. So Clarissa shouted.
“Stop the car! Stop the car right now! You can’t run! My friend knows I’m on this car and I just sent him my position!”
The driver started to panic when he heard that, and at that instance, Clarissa’s phone rang.
However, the phone had fallen under the front seat and Clarissa could not retrieve it. Unable to think of anything else, she grabbed the driver’s neck at the spur of the moment, threatening him to stop.
The cab almost crashed into another car as that happened, barely grazing past it. The driver was likely more afraid of dying, so he floored the break. As soon as the car stopped, Clarissa immediately unlocked the door and ran out of the cab.
…
Jamie walked out of the police station with Clarissa and got in a car.
“Thank you, Jamie. I’m so sorry to bother you at a time like this.”
“You’re treating me like a stranger, Ms. Quigley. I’ll get mad if you say that again!” Jamie responded.
After they got back to the hotel, Jamie stayed with Clarissa for a while before finally heading back to her room.
Clarissa was left alone in her room, still shaken by what had happened.
That night, she would drift off into a slumber and then get woken up by nightmares, over and over again until she eventually fell sound asleep at dawn.
Nevertheless, Clarissa’s rest was cut short as the phone in the room suddenly rang.
“Clare! I’m so sorry! I was in a shoot last night and Toby told me you’ve reached the hotel. I didn’t know he would lie to me. I’m sorry, Clare. Are you okay now?”
It was Ryler.
“I’m fine. It’s over now,” Clarissa said as she sat up, her voice was a little hoarse.
Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.
There was a rap on the door that startled Clarissa. “One second, there’s someone at the door… “ She said before Ryler could say anything.
“Clare, don’t open the door… “ Ryler was anxious, but Clarissa did not hear him.
She got off the bed and went to open the door. To her surprise, the moment a gap formed between the door and the frame, someone immediately forced the door open.
There were flashes of lights, microphones everywhere as more people piled in and surrounded Clarissa. She was forced to back up until she stumbled to the floor, no one cared though. Everyone there was ruthlessly aiming their equipment at the woman sitting on the floor. Snapping photo after photo, firing questions after questions.
