A New Host //
They called her up on Saturday.
Saturday had been a particularly hard day for her. It was the day before her period and she was feeling bloated and ugly. It was getting to the point that she couldn’t focus on the homework that she was supposed to be doing. So when they called her up, she was thankful to be given a distraction. Until she heard what the distraction entailed.
“Well, yes, I do need work experience…” She said. “I mean, who doesn’t want to be on TV?” (her).
“Excellent, we’ll be looking forward to seeing you on Monday after school.” The voice on the other end said.
She wanted to ask about Jason and what he thought about all of this, but they hung up before she could. She looked at the phone in her hands, wondering if she had just made a huge mistake agreeing to this. In the short amount of time that she had known Jason, she could tell that he enjoyed his solo screen time.
So when Monday rolled around, Ash was just a bundle of nerves wrapped up in a human body. She was sure that she had straightened her jacket a hundred times just from the moment that she walked into the door. She waited patiently outside of the office while Jason yelled at the owner. When he was finished, Ash stood up to say hello but she was just greeted with a cold shoulder and a stern look.
Was it too late to back out?
In makeup, he didn’t even acknowledge her. The makeup artist was complimenting her for her skin and hair and freckles, something which she hated more than anything else. She was given her own things to talk about, something which she had been practicing from the moment she received the email.
The makeup team left the trailer to go and get the wardrobe people and to mic them up. The silence in the air between them was deafening and she couldn’t stand it anymore.
“I’m sorry, okay?” She blurted out. “I’m sorry that I agreed to this. You’ve made it clear; you hate me and you hate the fact that they’re splitting your spotlight time with someone else. So I’m sorry.”
It was too late to back out, and that’s what made Jason so pissed off. He sat beside her as she did her hair and make-up, but he didn’t dare say a word. The team seemed to get that he was in a foul mood, so instead of doing the usual flirty banter that they always did, they turned to Ashley and talked about how pretty she was, how perfect the camera was going to shine on her. His eyes were already green, but the jealousy that raged through him brought it to a whole new level. Jason didn’t want to share. He didn’t want to share his segment, his interviews, or his goddamn hairdressers and make-up artists.
He smirked as Ashley finally said something. Well, she wasn’t stupid, he could say that much. Jason looked at her and didn’t respond for a moment. “If you want to play a grown-up today, here’s a lesson for you: ‘sorry’ means nothing out here,” Jason said, “I worked to get this, and you say a few words about a puppy. I don’t care if you’re sorry. Just do your job and stay out of my way.”
Was he harsh? Maybe. But it wasn’t like it should surprise her. Jason had a reputation, and it wasn’t that he was a sweet fellow. He was selfish and he was going to say what was on his mind.