In the Life of a Rose

December 5, 2022

In the Life of a Rose...

Lilith had forgotten to mention the main point of my travel to LA: I had an interview with WIRED where I answer the internet's questions. I assumed it was because people wanted to know what I do for my movie critiquing job and on the Academy Awards Committee. For the latter, I knew I could give too much information.

For the meeting, I wore a sky blue suit that had a cropped top inside the top that was shaped like a corset. I liked the way the suit jacket overlapped and had four buttons across my abdomen. With that, I wore white heels and did my hair in a sleek back low ponytail; my makeup was done lightly.

I pulled up to the studio warehouse and checked in. Security led me to the back where the director and other people shook my hand and I greeted them in numerously different ways. People with makeup brushes were about to touch me up but they saw that I was fine.

After the ten minutes of introduction, I was in a white chair. The backdrop was white too. Someone gave me a cardboard sign with Google on top and they explained that I was supposed to remove the search bar stickers.

"Ready, set, action," the director called.

"Hi, I'm Thea Davis answering the web's most searched questions," I introduced myself. Pulling off the sticker, I said, "'What does Thea Davis do for a living?' Wow, that's a broad question. Uhm... I watch movies and write reviews on them. However, some of the reviews could be a bit mean but I call it constructive criticism."

The next one was: 'what is Thea Davis?'

"I tell most folks I'm a human being but secretly, I'm an alien."

'Who is Thea Davis dating?'

"I'm dating no one actually," I said to the camera.

'Did Chris Evans and Thea Davis date?'

"Yes, but not anymore," I lightly chuckled. "The internet has some interesting questions."

'What is Thea Davis' favorite color?'

"I'm actually wearing it right now: blue. I like all of the shades. After that, I really like green, especially emerald green."

'Has Thea Davis won an Oscar?'

"I don't win Oscars, I give them out," I stated.

'What is Thea Davis' astrological symbol?'

"I am a Leo."

'Does Thea Davis act?'

"A teeny-tiny bit, but not as a constant thing," I said. "I direct some, produce and write others. But criticizing is the best part."

'Where was Thea Davis born?'

"Here in LA."

'Where does Thea Davis live?'

"I grew up in LA, but since then, I've lived in Boston, New York, Houston, but I think LA is a place I'll always come back to." I tossed the cardboard and waited for another but they signed me I was done. "Thanks WIRED for having me answer a million questions people search up on the web."

"Cut!" the director yelled. I got out of my seat and shook his hand. "You did well, Thea."

"Thank you. And thank you for having me," I replied.

"We're done for the day and you'll be able to watch your interview on our page and YouTube."

"Alright," I nodded. "Bye."

I found my way out of the studio and the sun beamed on me so I dug in my bag to find my sunglasses. Getting into my car, I drove out of the parking lot and down the street to get gas.

I was on my way home. I had moved out of Lilith's place and found a new house that was close by that she recommended. Walking through the door, the kitchen was right on the left in front of me and the couches in the living room were on the right. Down through the hallway, there were two rooms, two full bathrooms, and closets. Further back, there was a huge pool and backyard which Cerberus loved.

When I walked in, Cerberus was all over me as usual and it meant he was glad that I was home. I fed him and petted him as I ate too.

"Why don't we go to the park?" I asked and he lifted his head from the bowl. "Yeah, we can go on a run, and then when I'm holding on for dear life, I can through you a frisbee."

He barked an agreement and I got up to go to a room to change into an athletic outfit. I then packed Cerberus' backpack with tons of water, snacks, and his frisbee. I would've packed a volleyball but I'd have to teach him how to play.

"Let's go," I said, moving for him to slide out of the door so I could lock it. The park wasn't too far so we decided to walk. Most people stared and wondered why he wasn't on a leash but I didn't feel the need to put him on one since he was well-trained. At least he had a tag on.

Once we reached the city of green, I did some stretching which he joined me in before we started on a light jog. We went around the perimeter, keeping a simple pace but he was a little bit ahead of me. Sometimes, he looked back to see if I was still with him.

When I slowed down to stop I said, "Go on boy. Go take a sprint." He broke off into a flight around the perimeter, his legs kicking each time to pick up more speed. I watched as he ran and as he was on his way back to me, he leaped over a copper and white, fluffy dog, before kicking his brakes and sliding in front of me.

"Good boy!" I exclaimed, ruffling his head. "I know you want some water." He drank gratefully, splashing water in the midst of it. I pulled out the foldable and soft frisbee and he immediately pulled his head from the tank. I flung the toy in the air and he went directly for it, calculating its trajectory, before catching it.

As a retriever, he came back with the toy, hanging from his mouth and I clasped it to throw it again. And again, he went for it. We did this a few times until he didn't feel like getting the frisbee so I had to jog and get it. Going back to him, I found him laying down on his belly, waiting for me. To make him excited, I gave him a bone to chew on and he bit on that.

I sat down and laid my head on his body which he didn't mind, and stared at the tree branches that covered the blue sky. A gush of wind came through from the cold weather and I sat up, ready to go. Instead of seeing people and dogs playing in the park, I saw Lily laying on the grass, eating ice cream. In front of her, was the back of a man's head. He was also eating ice cream but I could tell he wasn't wearing a mask or something that would hide his face because I knew that he was the host. He was the only person Lily was talking to at the moment and it had to be him.

I glanced around and saw the copper and white dog trotting towards them and my heart sank. I knew that dog. It was Dodger. There was a one percent chance that I could've been wrong but I was ninety-nine percent right. With this epiphany, it could only mean that the host was Chris.

"Come on, Cerberus, let's go," I said, standing. I grabbed his backpack and everything it had to put in and he stood, following me. "I think I'm gonna be sick."