Chapter Six
Hailey
The busy day at work was making me regret drinking the night before. I didn’t have to be in too early since my shift started at lunch, but still, I felt tired. It had been good to get out with Mandy, though. She was able to take my mind off things, at least for a little while.
The fact that I was working as a waitress in a bistro in the mall reminded me, however, that I was not doing what I wanted with my life. It was only a matter of time. I was sure of it. I was young and had the time to focus on my career; I just hated the moments of rejection and uncertainty that came with the industry. I just wished that I had a crystal ball that would tell me whether I was wasting my time trying to seek out this dream of mine.
I had been working at the upscale bistro since I’d arrived in town and it wasn’t a bad job; it defiantly paid the bills, and my co-workers were pretty cool.
“Hey, are you even paying attention to me?”
Startled, I looked over at a woman at a table that I was serving. I had just been there to top off their coffee, and I couldn’t imagine what she was screaming at me about.
“I’m sorry. Did you need something?”
“We have been waiting for the bill to come, and we certainly don’t have all day.”
I thought about how long it had been for me to return to the bar, and I couldn’t have been gone longer than ten or eleven minutes.
“I’m really sorry. I thought you all were enjoying some coffee.”
“We have shopping to do, and you’re over here daydreaming.”
My face went a deep crimson as I held my tongue. I needed the job, and it would do me no good to snap at her and get fired. It’s true I had been daydreaming, but I had also taken very good care of her table. I didn’t deserve her treatment just because I wasn’t hovering over her table every second of my shift. I took a deep breath and said, “I will be right over with your bill, ma’am.”
The woman huffed and walked back to her table. I rolled my eyes wondering how people got so entitled about their lives. Was this what it was really like to be rich? I couldn’t imagine treating a waitress so poorly. I quickly printed out her bill and walked it back to her table.
I waited there while the table paid cash for their meal and walked away without another word. I picked up the cash and realized my inattentiveness had cost me my tip. I shook my head as I made my back up to the bar to complete their order in the system.
When I got back, there was a group of waitresses crowded over a phone and laughing hilariously. Forgetting the bill momentarily, I went over to see what they were looking at.
“Hey, what’s going on over here?”
A girl named Shelley looked up and smiled at me. “Hey, I saw Mrs. Barclay rip you a new one. Don’t let her get to you. She’s always like that.”
“She didn’t even leave me a tip,” I said with a smirk.
“It’s just your punishment until next time. Just be at her beck and call, that’s what she expects.”
“Wow, okay, I’ll remember that for next time. Though, I hope she sits in your section. Who needs that nonsense for a ten-dollar tip?”
Shelley laughed “It’s the price you pay to work here. This isn’t the Kelsey crowd, my dear.”
“No kidding. So, what’s up? Things seem to be more interesting in your section.”
Another girl, Carol, piped up, “Oh, we are just watching another athlete tank his career.”
“What? Who?” I asked.
“Caleb Harris; he’s one of the pro golfers going to the majors this year. He just made an ass out of himself at a bar last night, and someone taped it and threw it on YouTube. He literally stripped down to his underwear, which happens to be from the company that sponsors him. It’s hilarious.”
Shelley handed me the phone, and I watched as the golfer took off his clothes and danced around with a bunch of girls. The video was shocking and really embarrassing. I couldn’t imagine what would make him behave like a total idiot right in front of a camera. Was he too drunk to realize that it would be posted on the internet immediately? It was sure to be the most shared video on social media sites everywhere. I felt a burn of embarrassment, and it wasn’t even my life.
I could imagine it, though; I was well acquainted with the celebrity world because that was the world I was trying to enter into. It could be very unforgiving. Caleb seemed completely out of control.
I didn’t find anything funny about the video at all, in fact, it was actually really sad. He definitely did screw up with his sponsors, and for all anyone knew, they would drop him today. His career could be over, and everyone was laughing about it. I handed the phone back to them and shrugged. I didn’t have much to say.
“Crazy, right?” Shelley said.
“That’s not really funny, guys. That’s no different than the time Britney Spears shaved her head. There is so much pressure in their lives that they just snap. That’s obviously what happened to this guy. I don’t think he makes a habit of stripping down in a nightclub. Being a celebrity is a hard life – you are watched all the time, expected always to be on your best behavior, and that’s just not human nature.”
Carol’s mouth dropped open. “You can’t honestly be defending this guy.”
“We don’t even know him, and that’s half the problem with celebrity life. We judge these people, and for all we know, they could be having a mental breakdown. I just think that there is more to this story. I feel bad for the guy. Imagine the pressure he’s under all the damn time. How would you guys like to be publicly humiliated like that?”
The girls laughed. “No, you have it all wrong, Hailey. You’re a good girl; this guy is not. He’s a playboy dick who is known for banging one chick after another without a care in the world. The only problems he has is that he has too much time and money on his hands. Videos like this just show that rich boys think they can do whatever they want and with no consequences. He’s probably laughing his ass off with his friends over the video, letting his rich daddy buy him out of trouble.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, maybe.” I left the girls to their giggling over the video and went to complete the bill from the table. I added the money to the till, still bitter that four people had not thought to leave me a tip after the excellent service I had provided them. I worked really hard at my job. I wasn’t one to slack off or to ignore customers. I thought it was odd that it seemed the people with the most money were the ones that didn’t want to let go of it at all costs.
I couldn’t get the video out of my head throughout the rest of my shift. I didn’t know why I felt so terrible for the guy. Maybe he was just some jerk womanizer who didn’t care about anyone else. But maybe there was more to the story. We’ve all done stupid things when we were drunk, just not all of us have cameras on us all the time. He must have woken up that morning with some serious regrets. Imagine how bad his day must have been?
I just didn’t believe that someone would behave in that manner unless they were struggling with something. Just look at the celebrity world – some actors went through whole careers as shining examples, while other ruined their careers with drugs and alcohol, some having to go to treatment facilities. The Hollywood lifestyle took its toll on a person’s mental and physical well-being, even their marriages suffered from it. You especially saw it with the younger generations; fame can just be too much for some people.
I had to wonder how fame would affect my life if I did make it to the big leagues. Would I be able to handle it with grace like Reese Witherspoon or Julia Roberts, or would I be another Lindsay Lohan? You just never knew what that kind of pressure would do to you. I could only hope that I would be able to handle all the expectations to be perfect, thin, and wonderful all the time
I went from table to table with a smile on my face, greeting customers and bringing them what they wanted. I was in a daze, though, as I thought about my future and what sacrifices I was going to have to make in order to have the dream I wanted.
Considering the price Caleb Harris was certainly paying for his celebrity status, I had to wonder if he thought it was all worth it in the end. Was this the kind of life he saw for himself when he went pro? I was starting to wonder if I really wanted to live a life in the spotlight. I had to wonder whether the price for fame was worth the risk. I couldn’t imagine people laughing at videos of me while I made public mistakes. The fact that the video was out there for the entire world to see was beyond my understanding. His mistake would always be out there, a public disgrace that could be thrown in his face for years to come.