Original Work: You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home, Chapter 7, Part 1

thefinalgirl (62)in #story • 7 years ago

Chapter 7, Part 1

Despite the early hour, I ended up drifting off during a rerun of my favorite crime-solving drama and somehow managed not to wake up again until the following morning, when Linda bustled into the living room clapping her hands in a very cheerful manner. “Up and at ‘em, Scout, we’ve got a busy day ahead of us.”

Blinking, groggy, I sat up, trying to reorient myself. It took me a minute to remember that I was in a house thousands of miles away from my own and in the living room of said house. Someone had draped a blanket across me at some point and when I sat up, it dropped to the floor. “What?” I looked at Linda, trying to process what she was talking about.

“Schapelle should be here any minute.” Linda continued, picking up the blanket and tossing it onto the nearby love seat. “So you need to be made-up and ready to go. She’s bringing you something to wear, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

Finally, everything clicked back into place. “Where are we going? What time is it?” I glanced around, looking for a clock. The one on the cable box said it was just shy of eight thirty. Lovely. What on Earth could possible require our attention so early?

Linda nudged me off the couch and into a standing position. “You’re going to do a radio interview at nine thirty, you’re shooting a commercial after that-”

“Wait, what?” I interrupted, looking at my mother. “A radio interview? A commercial?” Obviously I hadn’t been filled in on the itinerary.

Giving me a sympathetic and understanding smile Linda said, “I know it’s a lot to process, but don’t worry, Schapelle and I will be there every step of the way.” She pushed me toward the staircase. “So don’t worry but you need to hurry.” Another nudge let me know that she was serious.

Yawning, I headed up the stairs, still trying to process what Linda had just said. An interview I could handle, it probably wouldn’t be much different from the press conference. But a commercial? I’d never been on camera before, I was I horrible actress…how could I endorse a product and make thousands of people actually want to buy it? And why wasn’t I getting any sort of say in this?

When I passed Emilia’s room I noticed that her door had been left slightly ajar and I couldn’t help but peek in on my sister, who was still sound asleep, snoozing peacefully and looking incredibly comfortable in her big, cozy bed. I was sure that for all her complaining, she wasn’t missing these early mornings.

I slept-walked through my morning routine, feeling like a zombie as I brushed my teeth and threw on sweat pants and a tank top. I managed to wake up a little bit more to put on my make-up, figuring full concentration was important in this area of the morning routine.

By the time I made it back downstairs Schapelle had arrived and was sitting in the kitchen, having coffee with Linda and Garth, all three of them looking more awake than I was certain I could ever feel this early in the morning. Schapelle looked up at me and smiled, holding up a newspaper for me to see. “You made the front page of the entertainment section. Good news this time.” She held out the paper and I took it on auto-pilot. “Nothing but good things to say about you, even if the tone was a little skeptical.”

I glanced down at the picture and saw an image of myself kneeling in front of the little girl in the Plaza, smiling as I signed my sister’s name on a sheet of paper. There was another picture of me standing up at the podium, looking a little bewildered and, if I was being completely honest, under the influence of something. Of course, the something I was being influenced by was blind fear, but that was the last thing people would attribute my expression to. The headline that flashed above the pictures questioned whether I was undergoing a serious change of heart or was the victim of a mind control experience. So those weren’t the exact words, but that was the jist of the headline and I was sure that, while skimming the article, I even noticed the words A Clockwork Orange thrown in there somewhere.

Handing the paper back to Schapelle, I mustered a tired smile. “That’s good news.” I sat down at the table and Garth pointed to the coffee pot, a silent question as to whether I wanted my own cup. I grimaced; I’d never acquired the taste.

Schapelle smiled. “Very good news. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical when Linda mentioned this idea, I really didn’t think it was going to work. But now, I stand corrected, I think we actually have a chance.” She winked. “Thanks to you, of course.” I couldn’t help but notice the fact that Schapelle seemed to have become more genuine overnight, which definitely worked in my favor.

“So, I get the interviews and stuff, we’re still trying to show everyone that Emilia’s reformed her ways blah blah blah.” I consented. “But a commercial?” I looked at Linda. “Isn’t that a little much?” I thought I was supposed to be repairing Emilia’s image by being the nice and polite person Emilia never could be, not doing my sister’s dirty work. But I guess if Emilia was on house arrest, it was up to me to make sure that appearances were kept up. What had I gotten myself into?

Linda gave me a sympathetic smile. “I know it sounds like a little much,” she agreed, “and it’s not something we talked about before but so many companies have come to Emilia, wanting her to endorse their products and she refused, never really could come up with a good reason but it’s not like we could physically force her.” No, but they could force me, in a way that made it seem like I was doing them a favor and was actually the good guy, but in the end I was getting talked, yet again, into doing something I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to do. It all seemed very confusing.

“Okay…” The grogginess I was still combating was making me feel a little reluctant. “If you say so.” Not that that was the best way to get them to admit whether they were thinking in my best interest. Linda and Schapelle had all ready made up their minds about the commercial, so they certainly did say so.

Schapelle smiled and handed me a garment bag, which was definitely what I needed to wake me up. “Go get changed, we’ve got an interview to do.” She made it sound fun and exciting, when really it was a like a different version of the same evil I’d experienced yesterday. Only I would have a little bit more anonymity because only my voice would be on display and not my appearance.

I went to change into the outfit that Schapelle had picked out; unfortunately, it wasn’t the pink dress I’d been admiring in Madison’s but a smoky grey halter top unlike anything I’d ever worn before and a pair of comfortably tight hip-hugging jeans. Everything fit perfectly and I had the feeling she picked out clothes for Emilia quite often.