Just Like Me

by Dani Hall

  “Not the kind of thing you’re used to, huh?”

  “No.” I took a sip. It was better, so much better than campus coffee. “But this kind of stuff,” I waved my hand around the cabin. “Is this supposed to impress me? Because I like it better when people are nice to me.”

  “You’re right. I think that’s probably why Mr. Jett is so confused by you. Most girls wouldn’t be able to get enough out of the money aspect.”

  “But this is just stuff. It’s not like we can take it with us when we die, anyway.”

  “True.” He uncapped his water bottle and sipped it thoughtfully, watching the host trash another celebrity.

  “Should I be worried that I don’t know a thing about Taylor Jett?”

  “Well, it may be helpful to know a thing or two about the guy. You may get questioned at some point this evening.”

  “Maybe you could help me out there?”

  “Well…he started out when he was ten in the movies. First movie he played a super hero’s son. After that America fell in love. Ever since then he’s been doing movies, every one of them a sensation. Course, those zombie ones have been the recent victories.”

  “What’s he working on now?”

  “I think he just started on this one, they just started filming. He just landed the role as a…murderer or something.”

  “A murderer?”

  “Yea.”

  “Huh, well, should I know about his family or anything?”

  “Well, his parents are divorced. Both of them remarried. Both of them rich. His mama’s rich because of her family wealth. His daddy made his way in the business world.”

  “How’s that?”

  “You know the merchandise that comes out after a movie is released? His daddy’s in charge of that for one corporation.”

  “Wow…so it was probably easy for him to get his son into the movie business.”

  “I’m sure it was. His dad had three more kids with the new wife, his mama never had any more kids.”

  “Is he close with his siblings?”

  “He sees them every now and again, he pretty much keeps to himself these days. He moved out when he was 15.”

  “15?”

  “Well, yea. He had enough money to buy as many houses as he wanted. So he did. Bought a place in California, and he rents houses wherever he’s filming.”

  I shook my head.

  “Sounds like he’s definitely had it rough.” I joked.

  Hector shrugged. He kept glancing at the T.V. like he was waiting for something.

  “You got any idea what the plan is for tonight?” I asked, sipping my coffee.

  “Yea, but I’m not sure I’m supposed to tell you.”

  “I’m not really a big fan of surprises.” Hector half smiled.

  “Well…I know there’s going to be a movie and dinner. I think there’s going to be some pictures taken. I think they’re going to be taking videos and pictures off and on throughout the night.

  “Well, I guess I should be thankful, huh?”

  “You didn’t hear any of that from me.”

  “I’ll put on my best surprised face.”

  He winked at me.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The plane landed at another private airport. I quickly exited with Hector and the other guards by my side. I spotted another black car and the body guards steered me toward it. The driver stayed in place as I ducked inside. Hector and the other body guards went to various other vehicles and followed behind us.

  We were near a beach in South Carolina. It wasn’t hard to miss; I had been there a lot when I was little. Mom would pack me and her up and we would leave, just for the night, and stay in a cheap motel right on the ocean. My dad would never come. The progression of beach shops lined the streets, every single one of them having the same items as another.

  Bright pinks and turquoises and oranges were painted on buildings, people walked around in bathing suits even though it was getting colder.

  The hotel we arrived at was huge. It was one of the ones Mom and I would have looked at and envied when we came. Sometimes we would have done that, drove around looking at the fancy motels. We would dream about one day being able just to look inside one of them.

  And here we were, it seems we were pulling into the granddaddy of them all. I felt guilty, Mom would have loved this.

  They parked right outside the entrance. Apparently someone had already checked me in because body guards were rushing to get me inside and over to an elevator. I felt like the president or something. I spotted Hector.

  “You’re in the president’s suite.” He said, dangling the key he had got from the front desk.

  “President’s suite?” Well, shoot, maybe I could be president.

  “It’s what they call their nicest suites in hotels like this.”

  “Oh.” I said, shrugging, as if this was no big deal at all. But I couldn’t help but feel that this “Just Like Me” competition was a load of hockey. If it was “Just Like Me” we would have stayed in North Carolina, eaten at a cheap restaurant and watched a movie. It would’ve been pushing it to go to one of the few shops in the area.

  The elevator dinged and we all piled out. I followed Hector down the hallway, only a few doors were in the hallway. He put the card key into the door and opened it for me.

  “Myself and the security team will be in the other rooms on the hall. I’ll be in the one closest to you; the others will be staying in the other two on the hall.”

  “You mean no one else is staying on this floor but us?”

  “This whole floor is designated for important people…celebrities and the celebrities’ guards, staff, and etc.”

  I stepped in the room.

  “The makeup team should be waiting on you.”

  He closed the door behind me. I’m glad he did, because I’m pretty sure the look on my face would have been extremely embarrassing. The whole room was a cream and champagne colored theme. To the left was a hallway that looked like it led to several bedrooms. In front was a living room that connected to a kitchen and study area. Off the living room was another hallway, seeming to lead to another bedroom. The couches were cream with champagne trim. A glass table was in the middle. Elegant lamps were in various corners, a unique looking fan and light fixture on the ceiling. The kitchen was bigger than my dorm room. It had several microwaves, several ovens, a huge fridge, an expensive looking coffee maker that looked gold, two sinks. It was divided by a bar from the study looking room. The living room was right beside the study, divided by a few columns running from floor to ceiling.

  I collected myself and remembered that there were supposed to be people in here.

  “Hello?”

  Several ladies appeared out of the bedroom that was off the living room.

  “Hi…umm…ya’ll are doing makeup? Or something?” I sounded like some country hick that had never heard the term ‘makeup’ before this evening.

  They all nodded in unison. They were all different races, all beautiful. Three of them. One of Irish looking decent, one of an Asian culture, and one of an African culture. They were stunning, and I couldn’t help but feel that no matter how much makeup they put on me, I still wouldn’t look like them.

  “Jerry asked us to have you ready by four.” The Asian one stepped forward. Her black hair straightened down her back and almond eyes wide with unwelcome. “You’ll need to take a shower…” She said, looking me up and down. The other two behind her exchanged a look. Wow. “Then we’ll do your hair, then makeup, then clothes. Sound ok?”

  “Yea, I guess.” I dropped my purse in the living room. They all followed it with their eyes to the floor.

  “We also will have a matching bag for you.” The Irish girl chirped, red curly hair framing her face. I bit my tongue.

  “Ok.” I said. I had to be very patient this evening; I might as well start now. Even though the statement pretty much pissed me off, I supposed I better start getting used to it.

  �
��If it’s ok, use the shower through here.” The Asian waved toward the bedroom off of the living room, implying I really didn’t have a choice in the matter.

  “Ok.” I said, shrugging. I passed all of them and paused briefly in the bedroom. It was a gold and white theme. Gold tables, gold bed frame with a white bedspread. Black T.V., gold ceiling fan, white walls with gold frames. I turned back to the girls.

  “I’m Kale, by the way.” I said, turning back to face them. I shook all of their hands; they each in turn gave me their names. But I couldn’t for the life of me remember what they were.

  They followed me back into the bathroom. If they thought they were going to help me shower, they had another thing coming.

  “Soap, razors, different types of shampoos and conditioners are in there. Please use them all.”

  “You mean use one shampoo, one conditioner, and the razors and soap right?”

  “No, use all of the shampoos and conditioners. Please shave your legs five times, use the special cream in there for it. If we don’t find you did it right, we’ll wax them. Pits too. And your other…places. And scrub good. There’s a towel there to dry off, when you’re done…put on the robe. Come get us and we’ll start the whole process. Don’t take too long.”

  I felt like I was in some form of military reform beauty school. They waited for any response from me. I simply nodded as I headed into the bathroom. You’d think I’d never heard of soap before.

  I kept my jaw from dropping as I looked around. A huge tub was in one corner with a mini fountain going into it; you had to use steps just to get in. Tiles covered everything, that champagne theme from the living room back in here. The faucets were gold. A huge sink, with gold handles and marble looking. The shower was a glass box. A towel was on a hook by the shower and a robe hanging up. A fire place sat next to the bathtub. There were towel racks and a window by the tub if you wished to look out. It was the type of tub that looked like it had all those fabulous jets in it.

  Man, can’t I just take a bath?

  “If you want to take a bath, feel free. But if we are to get done, your necessities have to be done in thirty minutes. So…get everything done in thirty minutes. We don’t care how you do it, as long as it’s done right.”

  Geez, you’d think I’d never bathed before.

  “Great, thanks.” I said nodding at the girls. They closed the door behind me. I wondered if it’d be inappropriate to lock the door.

  Chapter Twenty

  As much as I wanted to take a bath, I figured I’d have time after the whole date was over. I was a bundle of nerves as I stepped into the shower. I shaved a lot more than necessary. I thought for sure I’d get razor bumps, but the shaving cream they gave me was weird. It worked like a charm. I wondered if they’d notice if I took it home with me. The shampoos were weird too. The first one seemed to take everything out of my hair. Made it hard and tangling. The second one cleaned it good. The third one cleaned it better. The conditioner softened it and made it shine.

  I dried off and put the robe on. I stood looking at the mirror, wondering what in the world they’d change my reflection into. Would I even recognize myself after it was over? I took my time looking at the angles of my face. My green eyes, my brown hair. Would they curl my hair? Or keep it straight? Would they make my eyes stand out? Would they try to make my face look thinner, would they get rid of the freckles on my nose? I sighed, running a hand through my hair, and then made my way over to the door.

  I peeked my head out, looking around for the girls.

  “Um…” I started talking without exactly knowing what to say. “I’m done?” I finally called.

  I heard footsteps come from the living room; they all came stampeding into the bathroom with numerous bags.

  They brought in a chair (for me I guess) and set it in front of the mirror. The counters went from being bare to being covered in makeup and hair supplies. They began plugging in multiple different appliances that I was sure would burn holes through my hair.

  “Ok, would you mind sitting?” The African girl asked. I nodded, sitting in the black chair in front of the huge mirror with lights surrounding the whole frame.

  They set to work immediately. Several hair dryers hit my hair, brushes and combs went through, my naturally straight hair becoming visible. After it was dry they set to work with a weird looking curling iron and bobby pins. They made my long hair curl, but not the pretty ringlets you see. It was just a little bit of a wave. They put it part way up and out of my face. Just that little bit made a huge difference, I’d never seen hair styles like that except on the T.V.

  They next set to work on makeup. They applied so many different liquids to my face I felt like some sort of soup. Powders, bronzers and eye shadows galore. Layering was their key. There were several kinds of every product that they used.

  I had to close my eyes a lot so they could put stuff on right. I kept trying to picture myself after they finished, but I couldn’t get a clear picture. Pictures of either a good extreme or a bad extreme kept coming up in my mind. I felt like I was wearing clown makeup.

  When they said they were finished I opened my eyes. I had a hard time at first; I kept looking for myself in the mirror, not seeing me. But then I realized I was the one sitting in the chair.

  I looked like one of those Hollywood girls. I was different. Maybe even pretty. I turned my head every way, trying to make a bad angle out of the makeup…but every angle seemed alright. It wasn’t like…ballroom type makeup. It looked like a night out on the town for a celebrity, which I was sure, that was exactly what was going down. It’s not like I was walking the red carpet.

  They pulled me out into the gold and white bedroom and I saw that a blue dress was lying out on the bed.

  A dress? Oh no. I hate dresses. I don’t wear dresses. I wear jeans. And t-shirts. And sometimes a nice shirt. Or pair of shoes. But a dress?

  They allowed me to quickly snap on undergarment necessities, which was very uncomfortable. Little, lacy, frilly things that I’d never worn in my life. I felt my face burn. Why did I have to wear these? It’s not like Taylor Jett would be seeing this side of me. But, I guess they didn’t know that.

  They slipped the blue dress on and zipped me up. It was then I noticed the heels.

  “Heels?” I asked, glancing nervously at the white stiletto looking things. A dress is one thing, heels are another.

  “Of course, what else would you wear?”

  “I never wear heels; I won’t be able to walk in them.” I protested.

  They slipped them on me regardless; I wobbled a little, but finally made it to a mirror.

  They put a pearl necklace around me with matching earrings.

  “Just in time. It’s almost four o’clock.” One said.

  I glanced back and thanked them as genuinely as I could, but I felt my thankfulness came off more like a child faking an apology to a sibling. They didn’t seem to care. They all filed quickly out of the hotel room, quick goodbyes tracing their high-heels.

  I stood awkwardly in the hallway, champagne tiles under my heels that made click sounds as I walked. I practiced walking up and down the hallway a couple times, until I got used to the heels. Maybe they’re called ‘heels’ for a reason. The word is really close to ‘hell’. I could already feel the blisters surfacing on my feet; pain awaited me at every step.

  I looked over at the blue and white purse they had left, all of my stuff already transferred into it. I glanced at the clock on the wall above the kitchen. It was four o’clock. Was somebody meeting me up here? Was I supposed to walk down to the lobby?

  I was struggling with the question when the doorbell rang. Doorbell…hotel rooms have doorbells? I made my way to the door and took a deep breath.

  Mr. Nolan stood there on the other side of the door, on his cell phone. He had a suit on and was glancing at his watch.

  “Yea, yea hold on a second.” He said into his phone. He took a second to look me up and down. “They did a good job. No
, not you Harry. They did well with Kale. Yea…” He motioned me outside. I quickly snatched my purse and he led me to the elevator. “The guards are already down stairs, they’ll be near you throughout the evening to protect both you and Mr. Jett.” He whispered. As we made our way to the hotel lobby, I went over the things I had in my purse, trying to remember if I forgot anything. Hotel card key, phone, money, pepper spray. I made a conscious decision that if there was some unforeseen event and I had to keep one item…I’d probably choose the pepper spray.

  We were out in the hotel lobby, I could see through the glass doors that the limo was waiting outside with a flurry of black guard cars around and behind it. Mr. Nolan led me through the doors and opened the limo door for me. I already saw flashes of cameras as I got in, they blinded me as I stumbled forward. I thanked Mr. Nolan as he slammed the door behind me. I sighed, taking a chance to glance around the interior.

  I almost jumped out of my skin as I recognized Taylor Jett sitting not far from where I had just clambered in, observing me with a look of amusement.

  “You really are jumpy, aren’t you?”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Well, this is kind of our ‘date’ unless you forgot, Ms. Delaney. My presence is somewhat required.”

  “Are you going to be calling me that all night? Mr. Jett?”

  “I guess I’d better call you Kale, for publicity purposes.”

  “Really? I think it’d be better if I jumped out in front of a bus instead. You know. For publicity purposes.”

  He tisked with his teeth.

  “Well, I can say this will certainly be a fun evening.”

  The limo started moving. I paid attention to the actual interior of the limo. Black seats, there was a T.V., a phone, and a fridge. Pretty neat.

  “Where are we going?” I asked, when I went to flip on the T.V. his hand caught mine, keeping me from hitting the power button. I gave him a look.

  “A place.” He said simply, releasing my hand, casually. I looked at the T.V.

  “And I’m not allowed to touch anything in your precious limo? I guess I wouldn’t want to dirty it.”