Mask of A Legend (10 page)

S
tephen dragged his body toward his hotel room door. He showed tiredness in his motion and, really dramatizing, stressed it out. He dropped his single suitcase and inserted his card key into the slot above the doorknob, while saying out loud, “I can’t believe I actually got lost in a hotel, I’m losing my mind.” Before he could open his door, a woman tapped him on the shoulder, startling him as if he wasn’t used to just anyone touching him. He jumped back and looked at the woman, only to see a smile in his view.

“Hi, I’m sorry for scaring you. I’m the coordinator of the model search, my name is Paula Reader.” She held out her hand and waited for Stephen to shake it. But his temporarily jerky self didn’t.

“Pleased to meet you,” Stephen yawned. He opened up his door halfway with his right hand, and decided to shake her hand with his left.

“Um, I just wanted to hand you these.” She handed him a stack of papers and still kept a smile on her face, like it was surgically embedded, molded and constructed to stay at a perfect slope. “These are a list of the girls’ names who are going to be in the model search, and their ID numbers,” she added. Stephen grabbed the stack of papers and tried avoiding her next question by rushing into his room.

“Thank you.” Stephen then attempted to close his room door, but Paula put her foot in its way.

“One more thing. I know it’s really late, but I wanted to see your father now, so I could discuss some important matters with him.” Stephen gave out a frustrated sigh.

“Listen, my father’s in one of the rooms in this hotel, I don’t know which one.”

Her smile turned into a straight grin. “Oh well, I’ll just talk to him tomorrow. Have a nice sleep.” She pulled her foot away from the door and allowed Stephen to slam it shut. He walked into his room and threw his suitcase on the ground. He had a tiresome look on his face, a glare that seemed like he was climbing up a mountain that was endless, acting like his clothes weighed a thousand pounds and his expensive shoes were made of cement. But his fatigue was interrupted by a cold draft that blew into the palace-like room. It blew on his face, causing him to develop goose bumps on his cheeks.

Anger and rage went through his mind, perceiving the balcony door was open. “The maids can’t even remember to close the door: I’m complaining.” He walked in a rapid motion over to the balcony door and closed it fast. He ran over to the master bedroom and lay down on the bed when suddenly a pounding-like noise came into his ears. He got up from the bed and ran over to the main door. The pounding wasn’t coming from that direction. He turned around to face the balcony window, and saw a shadow that resembled a human being’s silhouette behind the silk, white curtain.

“Angelica, this isn’t funny, open up,” Legend yelled out from the other side of the balcony door. Stephen ran over to the balcony doorway and just stood by it.

He saw the resemblance of a girl who was well-shaped and had long hair. A smile came to his face: he felt that it was a fan who snuck up to his balcony and wanted to meet him, among other things.
Why not?
So, he opened up the balcony door. “Who the hell are you?” Stephen rudely asked. He saw an acne-filled face that resembled a girl. Very forward and rude, his fatigue must have also weighed down his manners.

“Who are you?” Legend asked. She ran past him. “Get out of here now, or else I’m calling security!” Legend grabbed a hold of the phone in the master bedroom. Stephen walked over to the master bedroom and looked at her, his eyes blinking rapidly. “Listen, if you don’t go now, I’m going to call them!”

“Don’t you know who I am? I’m Stephen Drakson.” As arrogant as it was, he stared at a girl who wasn’t beautiful to his eyes and immediately thought, assumed or hoped that she knew who he was.

“Well, Stephan–”

“It’s Stephen, not Stephan!”

“Whatever, leave now.” She started dialing the numbers on the phone and the front desk came on the line.

“Hello, front desk, may I help you?” the hotel worker asked.

“Yes, there is a man standing in my room who has broken in,” Legend replied. Stephen then grabbed the phone away from her.

“Excuse me, ma’am, but I’m Stephen Drakson, and this room was given to me about ten minutes ago by you. There’s a lady who seems to think this room belongs to her.” He couldn’t help but stare at Legend’s nervous, acne-filled face.

I’m a girl, not a lady, jerk.

The front desk worker looked up the information on the computer and then admitted with a nervous stutter,” Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Drakson, but we made a mistake with your room. The room that you are in now was given to Miss Conaway earlier on today for the model search that she’s currently registered in. I don’t know how we made that mistake, but we did.”

“She’s in the model search?” Stephen stared at Legend’s dreadful image and Legend turned away from him immediately, feeling hurt and empty, feeling profoundly alienated by the question he asked. He first referred to her youth as ‘lady’ and now he was questioning her credibility to be in a model search; his manners must still be tired. “Well, either get her the hell out of here, or else find me another room. I’m sorry to be so rude, but I’m tired and jet-lagged!”

“I am sorry, sir, but all the rooms are filled up because of the model search,” the woman explained. Legend walked out of the room and Stephen kept on asking her if there’s any other way she could find another room for him, but the front desk worker kept on saying the same answer, “no.” He hung up the phone, headed out of the master bedroom and his eyes came across Legend’s face standing in the center of the room.

“Well, Miss Conaway, it seems like we’re going to have to share this room.”

Legend smiled. “The hell we are,” said Legend. She grabbed onto his luggage and walked toward the main door. “You’re just going to have to find another room.” She opened up the door and tossed his suitcase out into the hallway with all of her might. “Because this ‘lady’ isn’t sharing with a boy.”

“Listen, the front desk told me that all the rooms are filled up. Maybe we could both…” Stephen tried to suggest. Legend walked up to him in a fast motion and cut his words off.

“No, we both are not going to share this room. I guess you’re sleeping outside. What makes you think that I want to spend the night with a total stranger? I know, you feel because of your good looks that an ugly girl like me would jump at the offer without giving it a thought. Well, I’m not that type of girl!”

“I don’t think you’re ugly. Listen to me, Miss Conaway, I’m not leaving this room.” Stephen raced outside into the hallway and grabbed onto his suitcase.

“You just did,” Legend smirked. She slammed the door in his face. He pounded on it and she, for reasons due to her being a good and fragile person, felt bad for what she’d just done. A sucker, or just following her instincts. She opened it up again and he pressed against the doorway. He flew into the room when it opened and hit her in the chest, causing Legend to fall to the ground.

“Are you alright?” Stephen asked. He helped her up from the ground.

“No, I’m not alright, I just got knocked to the ground by you!” She ran into the master bedroom and grabbed her backpack. “If you’re not leaving, then I am.” Legend walked past him and entered the hallway of the hotel with anger in her mind, a rage that only someone who’s been disrespected by a stranger could feel. “You know, a real gentleman would give up his room for a ‘lady’!”

“Listen, I’m sorry, alright? I didn’t know this was going to happen,” said Stephen. He watched Legend knock on another hotel room door that was right next to his. A fatal mistake: Legend caught Stephen’s eyes gaping at her face, enraging her already delicate self to that of massive rage.

“You’re not sorry, you’re a jerk! You want to get a good look?” Angelica answered the door and Legend raced up to Stephen. “There, see? It’s acne, old chickenpox scratches, some medical rash my mother doesn’t have the heart or the sanity to explain to me, all mixed in!”

“I wasn’t looking at–”

“Yes, you were.”

Legend then ran into Angelica’s room and explained the story that happened to her, cried some, and ground her teeth the rest of the time. “So, now I have no place to stay. Could I stay here, Angelica?”

“Sure you can, but wouldn’t you rather stay with a supermodel?” Angelica asked, grinning.

“What do you mean? That Stephen guy is a supermodel?” Legend sat on a couch that resembled a leather snake, still tired and dizzy from the anger. “Is he?”

“Yeah, you said his name was ‘Stephen Drakson’. He’s a big-time supermodel, and his father owns the biggest modeling agency in the world. Haven’t you ever heard of Drakson Enterprises?” Angelica inquired. Legend’s blue eyes were slowly being covered by her lids. She just didn’t care. Too hurt, too tired, all Legend really sought was a fluffy pillow.

“No, I haven’t. . . . You know, if I was beautiful, I’m sure he would have given up the room for me. But the key word is ‘if’. I can’t wait till this event is over with.” Legend fell into a deep sleep on the snake-couch and Angelica got up from the couch and just stared at Legend.

“You can wait,” Angelica said. She turned away from Legend and walked into the master bedroom.

Meanwhile, Stephen lay in his bed and thought about the words Legend said to him. He looked to the left of him and noticed an astronomy book lying on the ground. He reached over and grabbed it, knowing it belonged to the girl who called him a ‘jerk’ and was somehow, in a mysterious way, baffled by Legend. “I never had any girl turn down a chance to spend a night in the same room as me before.” Stephen flipped through the pages of the book, then placed it on the nightstand to the right of him, and turned off the light on the stand. He lay there, wondering what her first name was. Before he fell into dream land, he whispered, “I wonder what her full name is. . . .” And that wonder, though curious and mind-boggling to him, would soon be answered.

L
egend gaped in the mirror, fixated on every angle of her reflection, trying to figure out how she could make beauty come to her image.

Who am I kidding?

She cried, “Tomorrow’s Sunday, and I still don’t look any different!” She sat down on the edge of the bathtub that resembled a spa, and crunched her head in her hands. Angelica entered the bathroom. Legend asked, “So, um, how was it?”

“Well, it was long, very long. It hasn’t even ended yet.” She noticed stress on Legend’s face.

“It’s already 9:00 p.m., you mean to tell me they’re still making you practice walking up and down the catwalk?”

“Yep, I just came up here for a break, I have to go down to the ballroom again in about five minutes. As a matter of fact, I better leave right now,” Angelica replied, walking out of the bathroom.

Legend ran up to Angelica before she exited the hotel room. “Angelica, remember you were talking to me about wishes yesterday?”

“Yeah.”

Legend stared at her, knowing her mind was confused with how she could make herself beautiful within twenty-four hours. She was at the point of no return, and her face showed it as she stared at Angelica with desperation written on her acne. She didn’t know what else to do for her face, the face of cruel ugliness, at least to her. She didn’t yearn to go to the extremes that her mother went to, building her face up with plastic and make-up that acted as the glue that bound the whole mold together. So, she went to the end of her rope and asked a question that never exited her mind, never came out of her mouth. “Well, hypothetically, if I were to make a wish, how could I be sure it will be granted?” Legend stressed out her words, worrying about the silence that followed. Angelica walked out of the room and stood in the hallway.

“You can’t. . . . You see, Legend, it’s all up to the angel who is the granter of a wish. Once that angel feels that a person, such as yourself, is ready for the wish to become real, then she’ll grant it. There’s no special method for a wish to be heard, wishes are heard all the time. The only special method is what the angel only knows, after all, she’s going to be the granter. . . . Um, listen, I really have to go now, but we’ll talk more about this when I return.” Angelica proceeded to walk down the hallway. After Legend closed the door, Angelica turned around and walked back to the room. She opened the hotel room door very slowly as Legend entered the bathroom again.

Pain and trauma went through Legend’s thoughts when she stared at her reflection once again. She tried to put acne cream on her face, but some feeling of hopelessness allowed her to throw the bottle of cream at her reflection, causing the mirror to break, shattering down to her naked feet. Angelica saw the broken mirror, and Legend’s tears falling to the shattered pieces, as well as the sink. Angelica, mysterious as ever, started to cry herself, like she felt sorry for Legend. Pity perhaps. Angelica hid in another room after she noticed Legend getting ready to exit the bathroom, while her tears ceased. Legend’s tear-filled cheeks walked out of it and proceeded to walk toward the balcony, and Angelica crept behind her. Legend entered the balcony and looked up at the sky when suddenly rain fell on her face.

“I think it’s time,” Angelica said to herself, watching Legend’s face being covered with the cold November raindrops.
Dang
.

“I wish my wish was answered,” Legend cried out toward the sky. Her tears seemed to fall as fast as the rain, and her breath tried to catch up with her screams that shook the glass on the balcony door. “I wish I was beautiful, I wish the whole world could see the beauty that I wish for!”

Angelica walked up closer to the balcony door, and listened as Legend’s pleas ran through her entire existence. She saw a beautiful girl who was beautiful and sad on the inside, a face showing ugliness, a type of mask that sheltered her true, virtuous image. It wasn’t fair. Angelica formed tears in her eyes, it was like Legend’s tears were hers. She felt the sad structure of Legend’s face in her mind and thoughts, and suddenly Angelica stepped out onto the balcony and stood behind Legend. Her shield of tears broke. “Do you really mean that?” Angelica asked, scaring Legend.

“What are you doing here? You scared me.” Legend smiled, but Angelica held a straight face to her.

“Do really mean that wish?”

It was a unique, precious, and stargazing moment, one in which all Legend could do was look up at the sky. No words yet. She wanted her wish so much that the desire flowed through her views, tingling at her eyes and ears, just forcing a smile to appear on her face out of nowhere. Legend thirsted for the fairy tale. Beauty and glamour, flashes from cameras and expensive gowns and caviar dinners, she wanted the tale that was only told to the beautiful, was only played by the beautiful. “Well, yeah, of course I do.”

Angelica grabbed onto her hand, rubbed it as if she was her mother, coming to her in times of need. Angelica took a deep breath of the November air, and let it out in a whistling fashion. “Then look up at the sky, and say the wish again.”

“Come on, Angelica, you’re joking, right?”

“If you want the wish of having the whole world see that you possess beauty, then follow my directions without asking questions. . . . Look up at the sky, and say your wish, for the rain will wash away your so-called ugly image, and wash on beauty,” Angelica replied. Legend displayed even more confusion on her face. “Legend, you said you knew a lot about the names of the stars that are visible to us. Well, I want to know if you know the name of that star?” Angelica pointed up toward the clouds and they started to vanish with the stars coming into view, but the rain still fell. And the air was suddenly moist with humidity.

Legend hesitated from looking up at the sky, but then she realized she didn’t have anything to lose, at least that’s what she thought. She looked up and said, “Wait a second, what’s that?” Legend came across a bright star, or planet, she didn’t know what it was exactly. She ran out from the balcony and went over to her backpack that was in the master bedroom. She looked through her backpack in a speedy fashion as Angelica came up to her.

“What are you looking for?” Angelica asked.

“My astronomy book, I want to see if that star’s in it. I’m almost positive that star doesn’t exist, or whatever it is.” Legend dumped out everything from her backpack onto the ground. “Shoot, I can’t find my book.”

Angelica walked over to Legend and grabbed her right hand. “Legend, come on.” Angelica guided Legend to the balcony. They both stood on it, while Legend looked in amazement as the star shined even brighter. “Legend, the star that you see is not a star that exists often. It only shows itself once to a single person, and grants the wisher a wish. That star is a star that has been wished upon many times. . . . You see, many people wish upon the wrong star. But the star that you see now is the star that has the power to make wishes real. It is the star told from tales, legends, Legend.”

“What is it?” Legend asked.

“I can’t tell you now, but one day I will explain that star to you.” Legend started to walk away from her with fear in her eyes.

“Who are you?” Legend asked. “Are you some kind of devil worshipper, or something? A witch? I knew it, you’re a witch, aren’t you?”

“Legend, close your eyes, and wish upon that star, for the rain will wash away the ugly mask you wear, and wash on beauty,” Angelica said. Legend hesitated on looking at the star again.

“I don’t understand what’s happening. I see a star before me that I haven’t seen before. Angelica, that star is in the center of the Big Dipper, no star exists in the middle of that constellation that’s visible to the naked eye. What’s going on?”

Angelica gave out a smile. “Close your eyes, and make the wish.” Legend looked away from her and faced toward the sky. The rain still fell to her face, but no clouds were over her anymore. That allowed her mind to be startled even more. She felt the rain with her hands, and began rubbing it to see if it was real. Then she closed her eyes and faced toward the star. Angelica saw that Legend’s eyes were closed, so she said, “Now, make the wish.” Legend recited the wish in her mind, and that caused her to smile a familiar smile. She felt the wind blowing harder as she finished saying the wish in her mind, when suddenly she felt a numbing sensation come over her image, a numbing tingling as the cold rain fell onto it.

“What’s happening?” Legend asked. She opened her panicked eyes and saw the bright star beginning to move. The star got bigger, as if it was coming straight for her. The shooting and undefined star came nearer to Legend, she felt the heat pulsate from it. “Oh my God!” The shooting star, that was now the size of three football fields, came toward her and shot out light from it. The rain glowed and it hit Legend’s face, making her even more terrified. Legend screamed again, when the star shot out more light from it, causing her eyes to close once more. Legend feared the star because it seemed like it was hurting her, but in actuality it was creating her.

Suddenly, Legend’s face felt like it was burning, as if the rain was acid. She was so afraid to open her eyes. She saw the bright light through her closed eyes, and knew it would blind her if she opened them. But then she opened them, and found that star vanished from sight, and the rain turned to snow. She looked over at Angelica and asked with fear, “Who are you?”

“The question is…who are you…now?” asked Angelica, looking at Legend’s face. Beauty, scrumptious lips, long, perfectly blonde hair and perfect cheekbones lay on Legend’s image. The acne disappeared and so did the ugliness that she withheld. “Your wish has been granted!”

Legend felt her face and saw that it was smooth. She didn’t feel the craters, pumps or crevices that her acne once allowed her to feel. She began smiling, and ran back into the hotel room and entered the bathroom. She hesitated on looking at the mirror, only because she feared her ugly mask would still be there. But she faced the mirror, while closing her eyes, and slowly started to open them. Once her eyes were fully opened, she came across her reflection, it was a reflection of ugliness. It was the face she had before. Her acne, stringy blonde hair and plain out ugliness were still present in her reflection as she stared in the broken mirror. “I must be crazy, this whole thing is crazy. . . . My wish hasn’t been granted. Angelica, I just saw a shooting star before me, what the hell is going on here?”

Angelica entered the bathroom immediately. “Legend, you wished for the whole world to see your beauty, and now it has been granted. The only reason why you can’t see it, is because it isn’t real, and you know it. The image of beauty that I see before me is nothing more than a mask. But the image that you see in the mirror is the image that is real.” Angelica pointed toward Legend’s reflection in the broken mirror. Legend’s mouth dropped: seeing Angelica’s reflection, it was a reflection of beauty.

“Oh my God, you’re beautiful, Angelica, who are you?”

Angelica turned away from her reflection. “You weren’t supposed to see that . . . at least not yet,” Angelica said. She turned to Legend and stared at her. “Listen to me, you have one year to decide if you want to take back your wish or not. Once you decide to take it back, you have to figure out how to make it vanish. You can’t wish it away,” Angelica nervously explained.

“If I am beautiful like you said, then why would I want to take the wish back? I mean, that’s extremely ironic for a person to wish away beauty.”

“You’ll see, Legend, it may seem like a great wish now, but great wishes can be nightmares for some. . . . Listen to me, I will explain everything to you one year from now. That’s when I’ll come to you and ask if you want the wish to go away, and hopefully you will figure out how to make it vanish. But until then, enjoy your gift,” Angelica explained. Legend still kept on looking at her dreadful reflection in the mirror.

“Who are you anyway? I’m ugly, I see my ugliness in the mirror. How could it be possible that I’m beautiful to others, but not to myself?” Angelica touched her on the head and her hand gave out a bright light that knocked Legend unconscious.

“You ask too many questions,” Angelica smirked. She dragged Legend out of the bathroom and placed her beautiful figure, attached to a beautiful face, onto a bed in the master bedroom. She turned off the lights. “I must go now, Legend.” She walked up to Legend’s sleeping body and gave her a kiss on the beautiful forehead she possessed now. “You’re going to have the time of your life, Legend. Tomorrow you shall begin your adventure as a beautiful girl, and through that, the people will see the beauty that you now possess on the inside, as well as on the out.” Angelica walked out of the bedroom and proceeded toward the main door. She walked out of the hotel room and found herself in the hallway where a bright light appeared directly in front of her. “Good luck, my dear, beautiful Legend,” Angelica then walked into the bright light and vanished with it.