Unwanted Encounters

We drove all the way to Long Beach. Normally, it would take me and hour and a half to drive there, but it took her forty five minutes. I have no clue how we got there without being hit or pulled over. She looked so happy while driving. I heard somewhere that there is no such thing as multitasking. It originated with computer being able to do processes so quickly that they just considered it doing several things at once. They’re wrong. She was talking while stepping on the clutch. Her hand changed gears while the other moved the wheel. My mind raced between admiring her and thinking about death. I would say that my life flashed before me but I was so preoccupied by the cars flashing past me that I didn’t have time to think about it.

“Hey, so do you have a dinner reservation or do you like to play around with Death this often?” I asked.

“Oh you big baby, you have to live a little. Besides, I am trying to outrun ‘them’. Those damned bastards always know where to find us,” she calmly replied as we swerved in and out of traffic.

“Uh, who is this ‘them’ and ‘us’ you speak of?”

“The paparazzi are ‘them’ and ‘us’ refers to celebrities” she said.

As she said this, I could tell that she had a deep hatred for “them”. There was a small glimmer of discomfort as we spoke of this so I decided to drop the subject. Something must have happened in the past, I thought. Maybe she will tell me one day.
We arrived in Long Beach at around 6:15. I thought we were going to go to some fancy restaurant that all the starts go to, but yet again she surprised me. We went to an In N’ Out.

“I absolutely love this place!” she exclaimed as we pulled into the parking lot.

“I haven’t been to one of these places in forever,” I replied.

“You are missing out. I hope my agent doesn’t know I came here. He said that I should really start eating healthy, but how can one live that way? This food is so delicious,” she said as we were walking through the parking lot.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I saw some type of flash. I turned my head but when I looked, nothing was there. It must have been the car reflecting of a passing car.

“What’s wrong?” Miss C asked.

“Nothing, I just thought I saw something,” I replied.

“Oh all right, well let us go in and eat. I’ve had major cravings for one of these burgers and if I have to wait any longer, I will go berserk!” she said.
We walked in and ordered. She has an appetite! She ordered a double-double with animal style fries. I myself could barely finish a single burger. Once our orders were ready we sat down at a table that overlooked the sunset and beach. It was a bit awkward having everybody look at us, well her, but either way it was still odd. I only took a bite in my sandwich and there was a little girl who walked up to us.

“Excuse me Miss C, may I get your autograph?” the little girl asked.

“Oh, sure thing,” she said with a bit of sauce on her lip.

“Hey, you have a lil’ something on your lip there,” I told her.

“Thanks, mother. Do you have a pen?” she said. I gave her a pen and a napkin.

“To my little fan. Love, Miss C” she narrated.

“Thank you!” the little girl said ecstatically. She ran back to her parents overjoyed by her encounter.

“Does that bother you?” I asked.

“Not really, as long as I can finish this before it gets cold I am fine.”

I saw another flash, this time I saw where it came from. There was a car parked outside and behind the windows I could see a bald, middle-aged man with a camera.

“Hey, I think there is someone taking pictures of you,” I discretely told her.
I grabbed a napkin and a pen. I drew an arrow and pointed it in the direction of the car. She looked over with her eyes and her mood instantly changed.

“Damn it. Let’s get out of here. There will be tons of them soon. I can see the headlines now ‘Miss C’s New Diet’ and the picture will be of me with sauce on my lip.”

“All right, you have a battle plan?”

“Guns blazing,” she said with a smile.

“So, would you like a bag?”

“No, I just lost my appetite,” she said with a sad look on her face.

We quickly got up and threw away our food. Everybody just stared at us. When we first stepped out I saw three more flashes. They were multiplying. We were only halfway to the car and we were swarmed by cameras, clipboards, and people.

“Miss C, who is your new love toy?” one of them said.

“Miss C, how is this diet working out for you?” another yelled.

“Why are you with this average guy? Are you too good for the other celebrities?” a voice cut through.

We pushed all through all of them and got into her car. She gave out a huge sigh and started the car. She slowly backed up trying not to hit one of the jackals outside. I am sure that she would have stepped on the gas pedal if she wasn’t afraid of having handcuffs slapped on her for murder. They slowly parted as if the car was Moses and they were the Red Sea. Once we were clear she sped out of the parking lot.

“Why are you driving so fast?” I asked.

“Because, they have a fleet of vehicles getting ready to follow me,” she replied.

Now I know where she learned how to drive. After several years of being famous, she picked up on another talent other than singing and acting; driving. We sped in between the traffic. I couldn’t see anyone following us. It must take a trained eye to find out which cars were the paparazzi cars. Once we got onto the freeway she began to slow down. There was a black SUV following us. The windows were tinted and it was getting closer to us. It pulled up beside us and one of the back windows began to roll down. Out popped a camera lens and a flash soon followed.

“Shit, I told you they would follow us. I have an idea, don’t freak out too much. Okay?” she said.

“Uh, okay,” I replied.

As I finished she stepped on the pedal. My head was pushed back against the headrest. She cut off a truck and went straight onto an exit ramp. My heart was racing and my palms began to sweat. I wondered if anyone was hurt. By looking in her eyes, I couldn’t tell if she was thinking about anyone else other than those jackals following us. At the end of the ramp was a stop light. I was so relieved that she actually stopped. For a second there I believed I was in an actual movie and we were about run the red light and miraculously live to tell about it. I looked back. She evaded them. Damn, she has some crazy adventures.

“Well, that was fun. Uh, I have a favor to ask of you,” she calmly said as if
nothing ever happened.

“Sure, as long as we are not going on anymore of your insane driving adventures,” I replied.

“Oh, that was nothing. If I get to know you well enough I will tell you about my craziest one,” she said with a smile.

“Let’s just hope that there is still enough time in my life for you to do that. I think you just shaved off a good remainder of my life.”

“You really need to live your life to the fullest; it’s no fun always living in the center.”

“Yeah, I bet. So what was your favor?”

“Oh yeah, do you mind if I lay low at your place for a few hours? They know where I live and they will be expecting me. I don’t feel like being an offensive lineman today.”

“Sure, as long as you promise that I will be driving from now on.”

“Deal, I hate being the driver anyway.”