For The Camera

Three

Eli

It's been almost a month since I have applied for the position of Nathan Lowe's fake partner and two weeks since I got a call from his manager, Ross Murphy. By the time he called I hadn't honestly been hoping for a reply anymore, which is why I was all the more surprised to find out I had been picked.

By now the initial feeling of giddy amazement has faded and made room for barely suppressed nervousness. What I've agreed to do is a risk, and I'm aware of that. But it's also an opportunity, one that I'm not going to pass up on.

I have cleared my desk in the office yesterday, under the curious eyes of my unknowing colleagues. They don't know where exactly I will be for the upcoming weeks; it's necessary to keep the circle of people knowing about this as small as possible.

I haven't even told my parents, not because of the same reason, but because I know they would be against it. Spying on a person and passing information to a magazine isn't exactly what they would call morally right, and they probably wouldn't even accept the money I'm going to make off it. All that they know is that I'm going to go to L.A. for business reasons and that I received a raise.

I know that my parents rarely watch TV or read magazines, so the chances of them finding out are relatively small. Same goes for my siblings: Layla and Alissa can't read too well yet and only watch kid's shows and Mila and Levi couldn't care less about celebrities. Even if any of them did see something about it, they probably wouldn't know what to make of it. They know I'm bisexual, so they would likely just think I somehow ended up dating Nathan Lowe without even suspecting this is nothing but a way for me to make money.

After calling them, every concern I had vanished. They sounded so relieved when I told them I'd be making more money. Proud. Even my dad, who is usually a rather quiet guy, told me how happy my success makes him and that he's always known that I would make it far in life. It reassured me in my belief that this is the right thing to do.

The only one who didn't seem all that enthusiastic was Levi. At the age of fourteen he's the oldest of my siblings, and the only boy beside me. He's a bit clingy and I know how much he looks up to me. Living in Reno, I can drive to my family home within an hour and usually visit every other weekend. That won't be possible once I'm in Los Angeles, which bothers him. I don't like the thought either, but I promised to call him every week, which consoled him at least a little bit.

Someone nudging my knee rips me out of my thoughts and I look up to see Liz and Kara grinning at me from the opposite side of the table.

We're sitting in one of the little coffee shops at the airport right now, waiting until boarding begins. It's relatively crowded, a group of Japanese tourists trying to order coffee from the over-worked barista, jet-lagged businessmen in wrinkled suits hacking away on their laptops with dull eyes, a couple fighting quietly –I told you to pack a charger! Jesus Christ, how are we supposed to contact the owner of the apartment when your phone runs out of battery? I knew something like this would happen, there's really no relying on you... No, you listen to me, this is all your fault!- , bleary-eyed parents with crying children.

"Sorry," I mutter, directing my attention back to them. "What did you say?"

"I asked if you were tired, but you staring into your espresso like an actual zombie answered that," Liz laughs.

I shrug. "It's eight in the morning and I've been awake for three hours. The question should be why you have so much energy. And also why Lowe's management couldn't book a flight that doesn't require getting up at an ungodly time."

"Stop whining, ungrateful brat," Liz chuckles. "We're flying first class!"

Well yeah. I have nothing to complain about that.