156 Heading to Dinner

I trailed behind the group of five celebrities and followed them down the brightly illuminated hallway with its cool and bright lighting that seemed to wash out the colors within the hallway. Maybe it was also because of the white color of the wall that led to this effect, but luckily, the floor was of a black tile which allowed for a contrast in the color scheme.

Without placing any further interest in my surroundings, I switched my focus over to the group of famous stars that I was going to have an evening meal with. Of course, there's Irina, and walking beside her and chatting with her was Henvle. Due to my position at the very tail end of the group, I was able to see them as they looked over at each other, chuckling a bit due to whatever the topic was of their conversation, and because of this perspective, I was able to see why the Vilhemian public ranked the two as the best and most likely celebrity couples. Their interactions appeared extremely natural, and it appeared like there was a special chemistry between the two, maybe because of the fact that they had cooperated on many shows in the past.

Looking beyond them, I saw the other three celebrities. Of the three, two are regular MC's of the show, leaving the third guy to be a guest as well. I recognize the third person as well since she's a famous actor in the empire that is known for her role in drama series. Despite being only twenty-five years old, this actor has secured herself a reputation in the entertainment field as one of the strongest young actors. If I recall correctly, I believe her name is Lindsy Wendle.

"It'll be cold tonight," one of the regular MC, who was a known singer and dancer named Shol, told Lindsy, "so be prepared."

"It's not my first day in this business, Shol," Lindsy chuckled and ran her left hand through her long brown hair, cleaning up a few loose strands as she did so. Her voice was strong and powerful, yet there was still the feeling of gentleness weaved into it that matched with her pretty face.

"I'm just saying," Shol laughed.

"Don't trust him, Lindsy," the other regular MC pretended to whisper to Lindsy but did so in a loud enough voice that was audible to us others. "Even though he might seem like a nice guy right now, once the show starts, you better be careful."

"Yo Boro!" Shol exclaimed as he looked over at the shorter middle-aged man who was known for his comedic roles in the movie industry. "Don't go around and starting things."

"You see that," Boro continued talking to Lindsy. "He's trying to have you lower your guard so he can take advantage of you during the games."

It was quite refreshing for me to see that celebrities actually acted so normal when they're off screen. It actually surprised me how normal and human they appeared. However, I wasn't sure whether it was because I'm here, but I think I'm just overthinking it. Heck, they might not even see me as important because of the difference in our status.

Without speaking to anyone, I followed the five of them down into the underground parking lot where Boro will be driving us to a restaurant with his car. Boro's vehicle was a luxurious SUV which offered plenty of leg room for all passengers. Is it just me or does most celebrities own SUV's? I guess it must be the idea of extra leg room that's attracting to them, and these SUV's are of the luxurious kind so they are still leagues better than the normal ones that the general public drives. Maybe it's because sports cars are a bit too flashy and would draw attention too easily while in public? I guess that's a major factor.

"Boro," Shol commented when he saw Boro's car. "Can this thing even sit six people?"

It surprised me that Shol actually counted me into the group's numbers as six people was including the five celebrities plus me.

"This car comes with more than five seats you know?" Boro jokingly shook his head in disapproval before gesturing for Shol to get in the car. "You get shotgun."

"I know, I know," Shol responded Boro's joking attitude with an act of his own as he shook his head and pretended to board the vehicle reluctantly.

"So I guess we'll sit in the back then," Henvle looked over at the rest of us as the car doors automatically slid open due to a press of a button by Boro. He stood by the side of the door in a gentleman like manner and allowed the girls to board before before him, and when the two girls that was with us finally boarded, he looked over at me.

"I'll sit in the back," I nodded and said to him as I didn't want to be an awkward presence in the middle of the vehicle.

"I can sit in the back if you don't want to," Henvle said in a genuine manner.

"No," I responded and felt quite awkward inside. "It's fine."

"If you insist," Henvle nodded and then allowed me to board the vehicle before he got on after me.

"Excuse me," I whispered as I kept my head low and slowly made my way in front of Irina and then Lindsy so that I can move to the back seats of the car through the small opened gap on the other side of the car. I really should've thought this through and got on on the other side because now, it's quite awkward that I have to squeeze my way through the vehicle just so that I can reach the back seats.

I let out a sigh as I finally sat down on the comfortable cushioned leather chair of the SUV. I was in the darkness as the rear windows of the vehicle was tinted and the lights from the on car radio controls as well as the touchscreen was unable to illuminate me as the seats before me blocked it all, leaving me in their shadows.

"Off we go!" Boro announced as he backed out of his parking spot and started steering the car towards the exits.

As the car drove, I tried to look out the windows. However, since they were all tinted, it was quite difficult to see what was outside. The only thing that I could see where a blurry mixture of lights that, and that was it. Therefore, I am without my only source of distraction, leaving me in a difficult and awkward spot of having to simply sit there and listen to what the others were talking about.

"Hey." I was surprised when I saw Lindsy turn her head to look at me. "You're Irina's boyfriend?"

"No," I responded.

"W-why would you think that?" Irina blushed as she realized what Lindsy had just asked me.

"Really?" Lindsy looked over at Irina in a teasing manner.

"Yeah," Irina answered. "We're just friends..."

"Friends?" Lindsy raised an eyebrow almost as if she was suspicious of Irina's testimony.

With the faint illumination provided by passing streetlights that shined in and then almost immediately vanished before the cycle repeated once the next set of streetlights were reached, I saw that Irina appeared to be in a difficult spot. She appeared troubled and somewhat flustered as she struggled to come up with anything to say. It perplexed me as to why she had lost that persona of a calm and collected celebrity all of a sudden, but without thinking much further, I decided to intervene so as to help her out.

"We're just friends from school," I averred Irina's statement.

"That's cool," Lindsy nodded. "Normal friend from school that you take to your job?"

"Lindsy," Henvle chimed in. "Stop with all that gossiping."

"I would like to know," Lindsy smiled and peered over at Irina. "The type of people that a young and talented girl like her would associate herself with."

"Hey don't leave us out, you know?" Shol called to the back of the car. "What's the conversation about?"

"We're talking about Irina's friend right now," Henvle responded.

"Right," Shol nodded his head. "Nice to meet you there. I'm Shol. You probably know everybody who's in the car right now, so how bout you introduce yourself?"

With a suppressed sigh, I prepared myself for my self-introduction. It felt quite weird speaking in front of these people who regularly perform before millions, but... since the situation calls for it to be done, then I guess I have no other choice...

"I'm Alevian," I said. "I'm Irina's... friend from school."

"Oh!" Shol exclaimed. "Does Irina act the same way in school and on camera?"

I noticed that all the eyes were on me as they prepared for my answer. Irina, in particular, had a genuinely curious expression on her face. Maybe it was because she will be able to hear from me what I've noticed about her, but... whatever the case may be, the situation was extremely awkward for me, and it made me quite nervous.

"Well..." I started speaking. "Irina does act... different when she's with us."

"You better be glad that there's no reporters with us right now," Boro joked. "Otherwise the headlines tomorrow will be 'Irina, Different Person when Off-Camera!' Something like that."

"It's not in a bad way," I quickly explained. "Even though she's still quite lively and energetic, she's more shy in her private life."

"More shy?" Lindsy chuckled. "She is a young girl after all."

"So you're saying you're old now?" Henvle smiled in a joking manner.

"That'll make the headlines," Boro laughed.

I listened on as the group of acquaintances joked and bonded. It was quite amazing how these people that are simply acquaintances were able to become friendly with each other after a simple talk in a car. However, that doesn't mean that what was developing was true friendship. I understand that these are all professionals on the big stage before the cameras. Therefore, they're able to conceal their true thoughts and feelings better than anyone, but even then, they cannot escape my eye. Just by simply observing, I could tell that there's a genuine good vibe going on, but everyone is keeping themselves distant from the other as a cautionary measure. No one knows what an accidental slip-up of the mouth in front of anyone can lead to. However, what's odd is that among these people, I could sense that Henvle was actually trying to befriend Irina.