Mr. iPod

Star Struck

Andrew Huang 10J

Michael Smith didn’t have many friends. But he was happy. Well, happy as you could be while being teased every day and having but two friends.

That brings us to why Michael was teased, which is also the reason for his happiness. Michael was teased not so much for what he looked like (as he was quite handsome), but his friends and what he did in his spare time – acting. His friends, however, fully supported his acting. Samuel Anderson thought that Michael’s acting was fantastic and that he would make it far. Robert Sandini thought that Michael’s acting was emotionally charged and said that it brought tears to his eyes. However, a particularly malevolent bully, named Jack, who loathed Michael and his acting, seemed to exert all his energy and spend all his spare time humiliating Michael. Just earlier that day Michael had been subjected to Jack’s techniques of humiliation. It was now playing over and over again in his mind, like a scene out of a dark, edgy movie.

It was a beautiful morning. Michael thought that nothing could go wrong, as they had double sport first up and they would be under constant teacher supervision. He was wrong. Fifteen minutes into the soccer game, Jack had a shot at ‘goal’. Michael’s head had ‘coincidentally’ been in the way. As he collapsed with a shout of pain, he had heard a distinct snicker come out of Jack’s mouth. When the teacher came over, Jack was feigning care.

“Are you all right?” he had asked in what would have been a concerned voice. Michael couldn’t answer. His jaw was too sore to move. As soon as the teacher had his back to him, Jack leered at him.

During recess, Michael, with Robert and Samuel beside him, confronted Jack, who seemed to be alone.

“Why the hell did you kick the ball at me?” he said angrily.

“Your head was in the way,” Jack replied, sneering. Michael noticed that Jack’s gang was slowly gathering behind him.

“That’s a lie.” He was starting to get scared.

“Prove it.” Jack’s gang was moving in closer now.

“Let’s go,” Samuel said in a trembling whisper. Before they could move, however, a member of Jack’s crew pulled Michael back by the neck roughly.

“What are you going to do now?” Jack taunted. “Act your way out?” Michael was gasping for breath. After what seemed like minutes, he was dropped unceremoniously onto the ground.

“Go tell a teacher,” Jack said, with his gang laughing. He knew that he wouldn’t. Michael and his friends ran as fast as they could.

However, Michael only dwelt on this horrible memory because he knew he would never have to face something of its like again. Something wonderful had happened. After auditioning for a part in a Hollywood movie after school, Michael had been informed that he had gotten the part and would be jetting off to Hollywood the next morning. Upon arriving at his house, Michael told his mum the great news and made hasty phone calls to Samuel and Robert, saying he would talk to them later.

The next morning, Michael boarded the plane. His first thought was that he would not have to return to school and be teased. However, he then thought about the friends that he was leaving behind. I’ll talk to them later, Michael thought as the plane took off.

Ten years on, Michael was being lauded as being ‘one of the best actors to ever arrive at Hollywood’. He had starred in a string of blockbusters and was now commanding millions of dollars for every movie that he acted in, on top of the fortune that he had already made. This was the reason for his invitation to a dinner party organised by his actor friend, John Fenton.

Michael strolled around, shaking the hands of famous directors and avoiding people who were milling around with drinks. After a while, Michael met up with John again. John smiled warmly.

“Michael, this Shannon Shearer,” he said enthusiastically, motioning towards a young woman who was obviously an actor. “We met on the set of my latest movie. I’ll leave you two to talk.” With that, John seemed to magically mingle back into the crowd. Michael, however, was entranced by Shannon.

“Hi Michael,” said Shannon, smiling, “It’s an honour to meet you. I’ve heard from John and practically everyone in Hollywood what a great actor you are.” And one of the richest, she thought.

“I’ve heard that you’re not so bad yourself,” Michael replied. And so it went on. He even ignored the phone call from Samuel, as he had taken to doing recently. Their conversation ended hours later, when the party had ended, with the words “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

A week later, Michael and Shannon were touted as being ‘the hottest new couple’. They seemed inseparable. However, their relationship came to a grinding halt when Michael suddenly lost all his scripts because he was ‘uncommitted.’ His accountants claimed that at his current expenditure every year, he would be bankrupt in two years. After hearing this, Shannon disappeared without even a goodbye. John wouldn’t answer his phone. I’ll survive, thought Michael.

He was wrong again. A company that he had invested a big part of his fortune in had gone bankrupt. There were also a series of lawsuits filed against him. He was sure these were being used to scar his name and destroy any chance of him returning to fame. Michael’s wealth was rapidly diminishing. None of his friends would talk to him. I need to find a job, he thought in desperation.

And so Michael started working at a restaurant back in his home town. While he was there, he met a lady named Nicole Daniels, who was struggling to pay her rent. They immediately felt attracted to each other, as they both had many things in common. After a strong, steady relationship of three years, they decided to marry and spend the rest of their lives together. Michael Smith didn’t have many friends. But he was happy.

Wow, my short story is gangsta.

I got called iPod by one (or both) of Sam's chick friends today. I feel like they've taken away my basic human rights.