Perfidiousness N. Ching

Peridiousness

Excerpt from a longer work by N. Ching, Grade 9

I am Colette, Colette Hart, and I am an A-list actor of FLAG (Female Lead Actress Group). A few years ago, I starred as the main actress of Angel in the Stars, a film about the story of a couple that was parted by death. This opportunity brought my popularity up by a lot and I gained many curious fans. Despite that, there were several haters who targeted me for playing in the movie, and they acted upon their rage by creating nasty rumors and publicly shaming me on social media. The entertainment industry surely isn’t for the faint of heart. In fear that some of the staff members might be behind some of the horrendous posts, my company dismissed everyone and hand-crafted a new team that was considerate and supportive to help me cope with the pressure and constant anxiety of being an actress. I’d say that we had gotten along pretty well and I had placed great trust in them. They were there for me in my darkest times and comforted me when I was at my lowest. They were my life-savers in a sort of way, and I wholeheartedly appreciated them. However, it turned out that their amiability was a complete pretense. “Coco, it is so nice of you to come up here with us,” Brookie, my makeup artist, says. “Isn’t the view up here great?” My agent, Rylee, adds, smiling eerily. Viona, my manager, who led me up to the rooftop of the party, subtly nudged me closer to the short railing and the rest of my team. “Of course,” I reply, offering a smile to each of them, feeling slightly uncomfortable with their suspicious behavior. “Good to hear,” they say, “Let’s take a group photo to celebrate your twenty-first birthday!” Backing closer to the rail to capture the most of the starry night’s beauty, I raise my hand to pose, focusing on the camera. Rylee and Viona take the two spots next to me. Brookie, who was taking the picture, stops and looks concerned. “Coco, there is something in your hair. Let me fix it for you,” she murmured, reaching for my shoulder. I stayed still, waiting patiently for her to remove whatever was stuck. But instead of taking something from my hair, Brookie roughly shoves me, causing me to lose my footing and teeter precariously over the edge. My heel slips and I am sent falling into open air. “Help me!” I yell, desperately reaching for any of my friends’ hands. “I’m sorry, Coco, but I can’t seem to hear you!” Viona shouts, her voice carrying through the wind as she watches my freefall with a smirking Brookie and a laughing Rylee. Flailing pathetically in the air, I scream as I fall fifty stories to the ground, which seemed to be rising up to meet me. I close my eyes, accepting my fate, and as expected…dying hurts. Everything is slowly fading out, my vision becoming progressively blurrier. It takes such an effort to keep my eyes open, it seems that my eyelids are laden with lead. There is a sharp pain in my chest, and I have the sudden urge to cough. My chest weakly heaves and a mouthful of slimy liquid fills my mouth, leaving the taste of iron behind. Every single bone in my body feels like it is broken. In the midst of it all, the blaring sound of an ambulance’s siren pierces through my ears. Muffled voices create a commotion around me, but my brain feels sluggish as if it was swimming through tar. Yet there is one thing that continues to reverberate through my mind. It was their betrayal.