Call Me Vi | ONC 2024 Entry | Novel Expansion Pending

Chapter 10

This story will make you the next best thing in all things journalism. The words echoed over and over again in my head.

There seemed to be only one decision. Don't write the article. But I was here. I had the source right in front of me. All that I had learned about Violetta in the last few days...

No, I couldn't. I shouldn't.

Should I?

I flipped over on my stomach and opened up a fresh note on my tablet. Where to even begin?

The blank screen mocked me as the cursor blinked on the page. I took a deep breath and began to type out as many notes as I could muster up based on the two-day whirlwind I'd had with Violetta.

Before I knew it, she was texting me that she was on her way back up to the room if I wanted to go get dinner. I slipped the tablet under my pillow and rolled off the bed as she knocked on the doorframe between our rooms.

Despite the fact that we were using just mine, I appreciated how she respected my privacy and continued to key into her own room first.

"I'm back," she announced.

"How was the rest of the shoot?"

Violetta shrugged. "The usual. But I'm probably going to have to take three showers just to get rid of the hair gel and ax body spray."

I laughed.

"Ah, the things we do for our job, amiright?" she teased with a wink.

My laugh faded into a whimper that I discreetly covered with a cough. If only she knew...no, if she knew, she'd never speak to me again.

"Anyway," she continued, completely oblivious to my pain, "I'm gonna go wash this stuff off and then we can head out to our next adventure. What do you say?"

I grinned. "That would be fantastic."

She walked to her room then came back with a caboodle of makeup products and cleansers. Violetta took out a bottle filled with clear liquid then carefully coated it on a soft cloth before sliding the cloth over her face. I watched, mesmerized, as the layers of porcelain-colored foundation disappeared to reveal creases and blemishes.

Revealing that beneath the surface, she was just like the rest of us. Her flaws made her who she was.

"Let me?" I asked, taking the cloth from her fingers. She closed her eyes, and I brushed her hair back from her face as my hand swiped across her skin, uncovering her natural beauty.

She sighed what I hoped was a happy sigh. We sat there together on the floor until she was fully undone from her full face of makeup.

"You're beautiful," I murmured, heat pinching my cheeks. "I-I'm sorry, that just sort of came out of nowhere."

"No, it's okay." Violetta smiled at me. "Thank you. No one has really said that to me before when I'm not decked out in all my glamor."

"You don't need it." I bit my lip. "The makeup, you're so naturally pretty, and I know that's probably the last thing you need or want to hear right now but—"

"Rea." Violetta pressed a finger to my lips. "It's okay, really. I appreciate the compliment. I have the next idea in mind if you want to continue our day of spontaneity?"

I nodded, keeping my lips clamped shut.

"Good. Follow me." Violetta led me out of the hotel room, but not without first donning a pair of sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat like yesterday.

"Wait, Vi!" I took the sunglasses off of her face. "You don't need those."

She sighed. "But if I don't, people will talk."