The Luster of Stars in Moscow
⁇ 56
With the remnants of his zeal and courage—more precisely anger and hatred, Cheri walked down the corridors of the Tsar Dramy theater, grasping the scrolls of newspapers he had brought from the MoscovArt Theatre, sighing heavily, straightened his body and raised his jaw slightly, bracing himself to meet the theater's leader.
The girl barged into the room of the director she hated the most without knocking on the door first.
The man turned his chair, which was facing the window, back to the table. He linked his fingers in front of his face with both elbows resting on the arm of the chair. The man did not rebuke him at all. Instead, he smiled wryly as if the girl's sassness was a good sign.
Not knocking on the door before entering, for Vladimir it felt like he did not think of him as someone else.
Cheri tightened his jaw as he threw the newspaper in his hand at Vladimir's desk.
Vladimir glanced at the newspaper at a glance, and looked back at Cheri.
"What is this article?" cheri asked half growled.
The man pulled his body up from the chair and slipped out. Then walked around his desk, then stopped on the other side of the table not far in front of Cheri.
Cheri closed his mouth. Her beautiful eyes were round looking at the man with a searing intensity of gaze.
But the man remained level-headed. "I prepared the story material" she half-smiled. "Then ask Moskovskij Komsomolets to load the article."
Cheri tightened his jaw again.
"So that 'JOAN' becomes the topic of conversation." Vladimir developed his palm on his side. "You got it?"
"Topic talk?" repeat Cheri with the eyebrows linked. "You're making this article just so 'JOAN' is the topic of conversation?"
Vladimir took a step forward towards Cheri, then placed his hand on the girl's shoulder. Then bow while whispering. "Today there's also a reporter in the training room."
Cheri gulped with difficulty, then pressed his shoulders and inched away from Vladimir.
"Go there and show as much as possible a familiar training atmosphere" Vladimir ordered half-sizzled. Sounds more like a threat than a command.
And before Cheri was able to resist him, the man had already grabbed his waist and dragged him out of the room, urging him gently but with great emphasis, leading the girl towards the training room.
"So" Cheri hissed, glancing cynically at the man. "Do you really want to sell this drama until people like it or hate it?"
Vladimir kept smiling.
"Aren't you ashamed to sell your drama with scandal?" Cheri added.
"Not really," replied Vladimir without the slightest burden. "Just the opposite." Then suddenly and without warning, the man stopped his steps and turned to Cheri. "I can beat Rafael."
Cheri's heart exploded. Anger exploded in his head.
Vladimir tightened his embrace and prevented him from walking again.
Cheri is completely helpless.
"A work, if it does not attract the public, no matter how brilliant it is, still makes no difference to the garbage. But some selfish bastard who considers himself an idealist like the Fucking Writer is unaware of it" Vladimir's cerocos quipped the Author.
"You speak like that because you envy the talent that Rafael has," grumbled Cheri, defending the Author.
"Indeed!" Vladimir turns out not to be the kind of hypocritical guy who cares about imaging—The author likes Lo style!
He's the kind of guy he is, though he sucks. Very confident. That's the dream man of women. Unfortunately, he has an antagonist role.
Cheri clenched his mouth, already out of sense, let alone words.
Vladimir stopped their steps at the bottom of the stairs, in front of the door of the practice room, in the basement of the theater building.
In the next instant, Vladimir slammed the door and the training room suddenly turned rowdy. All eyes in the room simultaneously stared at the door with a flash of blitz from the camera directed at them, followed by a very lively applause.
Cheri hoped that the earth would split and swallow him right then and there. More hopeful, the earth will split and swallow everyone in Tsar Dramy except him.
"So this is the girl you mean," a journalist about twenty-five years old approached and greeted them enthusiastically. "The new golden son of Mr. Vallensky" he said, smiling meaningfully as the man greeted Cheri.
"Sorry," a photographer interrupted from behind the reporter. Another handsome man. He looked two or three years younger than the journalist and was more handsome. "We're going to photograph you a few more times" he said, smiling and secretly winking one eye at Cheri.
Meanwhile, the theater members were here and there staring at Cheri from around the room. Some stared at him unblinkingly, some were awestruck, some were staring cynically. But of course the cynics are more numerous than the fascinated ones.
It's tradition!
In any part of the world, even in cyberspace, you will not be spared the cynical views of all those who hate you for no reason. More cruel when they are envious.
Caring for the devil with all that!
"Let's smile!" vladimir orders Cheri among his fake smiles.
"No way!" geram Cheri without notice. I will not cooperate in this scandal, his determination, his stubbornness.
The handsome photographer in front of him smiled uneasily as he looked at Cheri's expression. "Miss," he reprimanded in a dazzling style. "Can you pose like you did during practice?"
Cheri kept on frowning.
Vladimir smiled widely. "Calm down" he said confidently. "I'll prove to all of you, fellow journalists, that on the day of the performance I've successfully tamed it."
Cheri remained unmoved.
The man glanced at Cheri and pulled him closer, closing their bodies and whispering, "Through my drama, I will make you, Rafael's doll blossom like a flower. I'll prove to you that I can develop your talent, more than Rafael can."
"Ah, come closer!" The photographer exclaimed happily.
Vladimir pulled Cheri to his chest and raised the girl's chin with his knuckle, then looked into Cheri's eyes. "What's so interesting about Rafael's work?"
"What a good pose!" The photographer took a picture.
"If this article falls into the hands of Rafael in hiding, his blood will surely boil" Vladimir whispered as he blinked one eye at Cheri.
"So you've taken everything into account until the photo that Rafael will see?" Cheri stuttered with a face t o l o l.
"Don't I tell you I'm going to make him admit that I'm superior?"
Cheri could hardly help but cry right then and there. He turned his face in any direction and jerked himself from Vladimir's embrace.
"Don't try to run," the man threatened his ears as he recaptured Cheri's waist and hugged her again. Then raised his other hand, putting his palm on the back of Cheri's head. "You don't expect me to divulge Rafael's secret, do you?"
Cheri spontaneously froze. Terrible, he thought bitterly. The longer I got, the more I got into Vladimir's clutches.
"Journalists, fellow" Vladimir said with a grin. "Please take as many photos of us as you like and create the most sensational article."