Golden Days

Chapter 02: Angels with Dirty Faces

Despite all of those flashbacks happening in his mind and several turbulent feelings happening in his chest, when Arthur's face is revealed to us and we get to see what Alfred is seeing, it doesn't have a single drop of emotion on it. Arthur James Kirkland is, after all, a great actor.

He just looks the same as he would look like if he was waiting in the reception for a dentist's appointment.

"Sorry, I don't remember you," he tells Mr. Jones, flatly. Arthur Kirkland can lie effortlessly. "That was a long time ago."

Mr. Jones looks a little sheepish and visibly disappointed now. Arthur does his best to ignore the pang of guilt he feels at this sight. It's not his fault. He's just taking care of his own well-being. Also, honestly, what real impact would make on a young and attractive rising actor if an old beta actor didn't remember him? That boy could handle a disappointment or two in his life. It would even be good for character development.

"You don't remember?" Alfred asks plaintively "The premiere of Romeo and Juliet. You were..."

He seems to want to make Arthur remember and, oh heavens, now Arthur will have to pretend that he completely forgot every detail about that night. Mr. Jones will probably think he's suffering from old people memory loss, even though Arthur is only thirty-one, and it will be humiliating and awkward but better than saying something that would make Mr. Jones approach him further and talk about the past.

Arthur is prepared for the worst. Fortunately for him, at this exact moment, they are interrupted by someone who knocks on the door and says:

"Mr. Kirkland? Are you finished with your hair? I have to do your makeup!"

Arthur never had problems with multitasking. He would be perfectly able to get his makeup done and talk to other people at the same time. However, pretending he couldn't do that was the perfect excuse to escape this terrible social situation and, therefore, it's exactly what he does.

"Mr. Jones, as you see, I find myself busy at the moment. Could you leave now?" he asks the alpha actor, in a tone that leaves no room for discussion on the subject.

Alfred seems a little taken aback by this dismissal, but as expected from a star, he doesn't lose his charisma because of it.

"U-Uh... Oh, yeah! Sure! We'll talk later, then!"Alfred says, waving excitedly, as he walks to the dressing room door.

The makeup artist is already waiting there and she seems surprised to see Mr. Jones coming out of Arthur's dressing room. She blushes a little and exclaims, "Oh, Alfred Jones! I didn't know you...!" but then she receives a wink from Alfred as he passes her, which renders her unable to continue talking.

Arthur can at least admit to himself that the bloke is pretty charming.

With Mr. Jones out of sight, the makeup artist practically marches towards Arthur's chair, in a stiff position that suggests she's screaming internally and proceeds to dumps all the contents of her makeup bag on his desk.

"What was Mr. Jones doing here?" she groans, probably to herself, beginning to separate the scattered items from the table into more ordered piles. "I should have put on a better dress! I was completely taken aback! He's not even recording today!"

Meanwhile, Arthur merely sighs, partly because he is relieved by Mr. Jones exiting the place, partly because he is already resigned to the fact that the two will likely receive completely different treatments from their crew.

At hearing Arthur sighing, the makeup artist stops what she is doing, takes a good look in the mirror, seeming to analyze Arthur's reflection on it and then makes the fatal remark: