1 Million Dollar Baby

"Good morning, kitties!"

Kat Topacio, wearing the patented 'woke up like this' look that took her months to perfect, waved to the camera planted in front of the bed.

She's lying on her stomach with the legs up, chin rested on the left hand, while posing glamorously for her fans whom she'd like to refer to as "kitties".

Slowly getting off the bed, she picked up the camera from the tripod and panned it across the room to offer a peek of the place she's currently staying in.

Kat is a relatively well-known model and social media personality. She has done commercials with leading local and international brands, and posed for numerous magazine covers. Her modeling career started after being discovered by a talent scout. Back then,she was working part-time as a waitress at a globally-recognized fast food restaurant, which she is now a brand ambassador of.

Her popularity came with perks, like the one she's now enjoying — an all-expense paid accommodation to a 5-star hotel in the heart of The Fort — in exchange for good publicity.

Kat swung the camera back to her face, blessing the unworthy masses with a close-up of its delicate features. The woman was beautiful in every sense of the word and she knew it, wielded it without ostentation. Her eyes were pitch-black, yet they glimmered brighter than a moonlit night. Between those eyes was a straight-edged nose and a pair of thin lips that had more softness than the words that came out of it. Even with bed hair, she looked better than those two-dimensional heavily photoshopped models seen on magazines.

"We'll do a quick tour of my hotel room today. You guys should come visit sometime. Who knows? Maybe you'll run into me? When you do, don't forget to use my code LOVE4KAT to get a 10% discount!"

She flashed a quick smile to the camera, showing her pearly white teeth, and began to present every corner of the room. Kat was given the most expensive type which offered a panoramic skyline of the city's business district. Its interior was bathed in the brown of earth which brought a sense of natural comfort to the room. In front of the bed was a 70-inch LED television playing a movie starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. To its left was a full-size executive desk, and a brown mid-century modern couch garnished with a glass table sat to the right.

Once the tour was done, Kat jumped straight to bed and started browsing on her phone. She went back and forth between Instagram and her email. Unlike most celebrities or influencers, Kat didn't pay attention to how much traffic goes to her social media pages. In fact, she only checks them to see what people close to her were up to. Sam, her manager and best friend, was the one in charge of responding to fan comments and answering collaboration proposals. She adores her fans, yes, but she didn't want a part of the toxicity spilling over social media.

Tired of looking at her Instagram feed, she checked her email one more time and lied in wait. She stared at her phone purposefully, unblinking, like doing so would magically bring the good news she wanted.

Kat had been anticipating the invitation to audition for a role in an upcoming soap opera. While being a model put her in the spotlight, she felt like it also put her in a standstill. She wanted to do more. Be more.

Acting never truly crossed her mind until she saw the film "The Truman Show". She thought Jim Carrey's performance was so utterly human, it felt relatable even though her life wasn't an elaborate reality show.

It was at that moment when Kat wanted to explore the full range of human emotions and let others feel it. She went to several acting workshops, stage plays, and studied everything that could help her move a step closer to the goal.

Her resume and demo reel found their way to the hands of every casting director in the industry but, unfortunately, none had gotten back to her.

Kat threw her phone out of frustration, bouncing twice on the bed before falling to the floor. Grabbing the nearest pillow her hand got a hold on, she buried her face underneath it. She couldn't bear the thought that she wasn't good enough.

Her eyes started to glimmer with watery tears, followed by desolate sobbing that came from a person who lost all hope. Kat could hear the sound of her heart breaking through every sob.

Just when she was about to fall deeper into a pit of despair, she heard the sound of an opening door.

"What's up with you?"

Sam, clad in a silver highneck one-piece swimsuit, stumbles upon a sobbing Kat. Using the towel dangling around her neck, she grabbed a section of her hair and gently squeezed it.

"Why am I not getting a single callback?" asked a complaining Kat. She rolled over to lie flat in her stomach, face still buried in the pillow.

"Is that why you're upset?"

Sam bent over to place the towel over the back of her head. Her shoulder-length hair hung straight down. In one swift one motion, she brought the sides of the towel at her forehead and started twisting it in one direction.

"For someone who doesn't cry in public, you sure cry a lot when you're alone." she quipped, followed by "I guess those acting classes really paid off!"

As much as Kat wanted to join the banter, she felt so worthless, disposable even, at the moment.

Sam couldn't bear seeing her best friend and client in tears. She sat beside Kat and leaned close to her friend's ear. Cupping her right hand around her mouth, she utters the words Kat has been longing to hear.

"You got an audition, you million dollar baby."