LOL (Lover Of Life)

Chapter 1

When I crossed my eyes to the young man in front of me, I turned my nose up because I was sure that no one on earth would be allowed to act like the king of the stage set. And I have a lot of friends very famous, yet none of them behaved in that way so cheeky. Well.. maybe Jackson. Maybe.

And it was while we were being taken promotional photos for My Messy Family alongside that Anne – my mother – had arrived at my side, beaming.

"I need to talk to you, dear. I have fantastic news."

I rolled my eyes, since we started shooting the show my mother had told me at least twenty times. I glanced at the sheet in the folder and stared.

 "Are you kidding me, right?"

"I'm very serious, however, you have the same age, it won’t be so hard to pretend..." she asserted alluding to something that I had not understood.

"I do not want to be the girlfriend of Mr. I am perfect and you are my servants" I said crossing my arms. If this was a way to make me angry it was all managing well.

And for some time I hoped very much that it was all a joke, that Sam and Jack would have appeared out hiding out somewhere to resume my shocked face at the time of the news.

But nothing had happened, and removing the rat face that were allowed to be ironic about the fact that we were engaged in the show, no one had yelled "surprise!".

And I was eventually resigned to this choice and did not say another thing about, indeed even pretended to be excited about filming the next day and that I was looking forward to shoot with Ryan.

I was pretty sure that Kevin had looked at me critical, just because I tried to make things easier for our mother, and more disgusting for myself, but it was used for me.

I had always put my family first of all, and the happiness of my mother, now was it.

“Lola, darling, I want you to act in my new TV series.” my mother said looking at me smiling.

That morning I was doing breakfast really slow, putting first the milk in the cup, and then the corn flakes with fruit and chocolate. I’d never imagined that she could tell me a thing like this.

 She often ask to my brother about being an actor, but I think that she gave up when he started studying Literature at Uni.

I envied him. I had quit college to help my family and still live under a roof and instead he had hard done-by us and he began to study at Uni saying that he wanted to be a writer. Considering that he has never been the genius of the family I saw it difficult.

“Mom I can’t, ask someone else. I could maybe ask Zoe if she want to parte–”

“But honey, I want you! Not Kevin, not Zoe. Just you. Please, promise me you will think about it.”

My mom was going through a deep state of depression after the divorce, my father never gave a fuck and however he carry on forgetting about us, living with his new girlfriend and their Chihuahuas in Los Angeles. What an idiot.

I never understand why my mother didn’t ask divorcing first. I mean, she knew everything but she nerve said nothing. My father is a manager and he had an office in London, when he still lived here.

He had an amazing secretary, she was about my age at the moment and she was really clever. My father fall down like a rabbit – what a strange metaphor – and so, she starting gave us family problems. My mom started being a drug addicted and it was a bad time for me and my brother Kevin.

So… I left university and I started searching for a work. Some weeks later I knew my brother sold weed and my mother often tried to stole him his plants.

I was about to going crazy, when I met the guy who I unofficial call my angel. Daniel Howell was studying in the same university as me and he had a friend who was working on the radio.

“You’re a lucky girl, Lola. They need someone for a new rubric talking about actuality. I’ll talk to Phil.”

And then I was working in the BBC Radio 1 with the most important YouTubers of London. I was a YouTuber, too, but I was more like a second-rate girl who wanted to make money in some way.

Anyway I just helped like I could my mother, sending her in a private clinic and trying to carry on and making things goes good in my messy life.

Messy like the family in which I would have part.

“Mom, this is our family story. It is so awkward.” I say to my mother looking worried at the script.

“Lol, it will be awesome, trust me. My Messy Family would be the new Prince of Bel Air!” she said throwing her arms in the air. I put an hand on my face.

“What about no? At least you have changed the names. Who the hell is Jacob?” she looked at me upset.

“Your best friend ever Jackson! At half season you two would make a couple, isn’t beautiful?”

I was shocked. I already couldn’t stand the fact that our problems were flat-spotted on TV under false names, plus I also had to pretend to have a relationship with a guy who in reality would have been Jackson Frayn Harries.

I think I have to explain. Our mothers are both television producers, and very often we have spent so much time together, me, him, my brother, his sister and his brother while they were working on a new project to send to the TV.

I sighed bored and I surrendered to the antics of my mother.

"You won. I've finished."

"Lol, stop being the first lady!"

I raised my hands in surrender.

"Excuse me, then, you're better!"

I went mad at the back door and ended up against someone. I looked up and then lower it immediately embarrassed.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled running quickly. I heard that the guy just said "It does not matter. Anyway, I'm Ryan."

I raised my hand and waved and then turn the corner.

"Mom, just know that if you really want me to have to do this... I want a huge box of disinfectant, I don’t won’t have any spoiled Ryan Palvin’s sprout."

She waved her hand theatrically, without even looking at me, saw that it was too busy to revise the script.