Marooned with the Rock Star (A Crazily Sensual Rock Star Romance, with Humor)

by Dawn Steele

  “Can I donate to my own fund?” I ask Jai.

  “Only if you can do it without emailing or calling someone. We wouldn’t want a trace now, would we?” He grins.

  No, I guess not.

  At two p.m., the tally is five million.

  At three, the tally is six million.

  Rebecca and I are on fingernail gnawing tenterhooks.

  “What time is their cut off for the day?” Rebecca asks.

  “Midnight, I guess.”

  “You guess? It could be your little finger they are cutting off.”

  “I know.”

  *

  Meanwhile, the interviews go on.

  REPORTER: So what is the FBI going to do about it?

  FBI SPOKESMAN: Seeing as the incident is taking place in international waters, there is not a lot we can do about it.

  REPORTER: So it’s a job for the CIA then?

  FBI: You could say that.

  REPORTER: So what are the CIA going to do about it?

  CIA SPOKESMAN: We have cordoned off a possible area where Kurt Taylor and Rebecca Hall could be in. But the area is in the radius of several thousands of miles. It’s not an easy place to comb. There are hundreds of islands scattered there. They could be anywhere.

  REPORTER: We are speaking here to Alice Mulwray, the President of Kurt Taylor’s Internet fan club.

  Cut screen to Alice Mulwray, who possibly can be one of the contenders for ‘America’s Fattest People’.

  ALICE: (waving into the camera) Hi, everyone! Hi Mom and Dad!

  REPORTER: Alice, how do Kurt Taylor’s fans feel about his kidnapping?

  ALICE: We are devastated, of course. (Waving again.) Hi, Brenda! Hi, Aunt Jake and Aunt Sim! (Eagerly) We are all crying our eyes out. We have put in our donations, of course. I can’t afford anything much, but I’ve personally put in my entire life’s savings into the Kurt Taylor ransom fund. Which isn’t saying much, but it’s all I’ve got.

  *

  “Oh, Kurt.” Rebecca links her arm through mine. “That is so sweet.”

  I know.

  I can’t stop tearing since two p.m.

  *

  REPORTER: We are speaking now to Rebecca Hall’s mother. Hello, Mrs. Hall.

  Cut scene to Mrs. Hall, who is wearing her best Sunday dress and a hat to match.

  MRS. HALL: (dabbing her eyes) Hello.

  REPORTER: How are you feeling, Mrs. Hall?

  MRS. HALL: Very worried. My baby is out there somewhere, and Lord knows what those animals are doing to her! She could be hurt! She could be . . . be . . .

  (bursts into a bout of crying)

  REPORTER: (offers tissue) There, there, Mrs. Hall.

  MRS. HALL: (blows nose) Thank you.

  REPORTER: Mrs. Hall, do you feel the spotlight has been too much on Kurt Taylor?

  MRS. HALL: (vehemently) That Kurt Taylor. I’ve known him since he was a child. Practically a child! He was always up to no good. I knew he would get into serious trouble one day, and I was right.

  REPORTER: How do you feel about your daughter getting mixed up with Kurt Taylor?

  MRS. HALL: I never knew they were seeing each other! Rebecca had always hated Kurt Taylor, as far as I knew. I’m just so glad my baby is alive after being missing for so many days, but to be with Kurt Taylor . . . that is a terrible fate. A terrible fate indeed. That boy is evil.

  *

  “Oh, Mom.” Rebecca bursts into tears, a gesture extremely reminiscent of her mother’s.

  I put my arm around her shoulders and hold her tightly to me.

  I remark, “I guess this means your mother doesn’t approve of me, huh?”

  Rebecca dabs her eyes, another gesture which has genetic roots, I can tell.

  “We’ll work on proving you’re not such a douchebag as I once made you out to be.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  I take a deep breath.

  What I am about to say I do mean from the bottom of my heart.

  I say in a low voice, “Just in case I don’t get to say it later, because of . . . you know – ”

  Rebecca blinks her pretty green eyes and listens with bated breath.

  I go on, “I lo—”

  “No, don’t say it.” She quickly puts her fingers on my lips. “I’m afraid you’ll jinx us.”

  I am surprised, because I thought she was waiting for me to say it.

  “I won’t jinx us,” I say in a lame voice.

  “Oh yes, you will. That’s what the hero always says to the heroine before something awful happens.”

  “Yeah, but the hero always manages to get the heroine out of that something awful before it happens.”

  “I still don’t want to jinx us.” Her eyes are large and solemn as she says this.

  I nod and lean down to seal my mouth over hers in a long, lingering kiss. She smiles up at me gratefully.

  “Later,” she whispers. “We’ll both get to say it later.”

  “Later,” I promise.

  *

  At ten p.m., the tally is $8.9 million.

  I am nervous and fidgety, with good reason. I keep rubbing my left little finger, which is twitching inconsolably for some reason.

  “When are Tyler and the rest of the band coming up with the money?” Rebecca asks. She is just as anxious as I am. For some reason, she keeps rubbing my little finger too.

  “Tomorrow, I hope. What they come up with will tide us over for another few days, at least.”

  I hope.

  I’m like that with money and tracks that hit the Billboard Top 100. I won’t believe anything will happen until I actually see it happening.

  The door to our room swings open. Two men with Joker masks come in. Uh oh. It’s Showtime.

  They set the camera up again. Then they tie both me and Rebecca up in our two chairs, with our hands bound behind our backs.

  The show begins.

  “Speak,” says one of the men.

  I recite my well-rehearsed notes.

  “It’s now ten thirty p.m. on the first day,” I say in a strangled voice to the faceless camera. “Please . . . the first day tally now stands at $9 million. I need one more million to go. Please . . . ”

  One of the Jokers stands behind me. He now ensnares my neck in the crook of his elbow. His grip is very tight and he is compressing my throat so that I almost cannot speak.

  “Sing for them,” he says in a doctored voice. Obviously he has stuffed cotton wool down his throat or something.

  My trachea is squeezed. Rebecca looks stricken.

  “Please,” she says, “don’t hurt him.”

  “If you’d let me go a little,” I manage to wheeze.

  My captor’s grip loosens, and I go into a spurt of coughing.

  “Sing,” the Joker insists.

  I begin to sing, but it’s not one of my usual songs. It’s an old, old one by Charlie Chaplin, and I doubt most of my fans would know it. But it’s the song that is most apt for what we’re going through now, and I can’t get it out of my head.

  “Smile, though your heart is aching

  Smile even though it’s breaking

  When there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by

  If you smile through your fear and sorrow

  Smile and maybe tomorrow

  You’ll see the sun come shining through for you

  Light up your face with gladness

  Hide every trace of sadness

  Although a tear may be ever so near

  That’s the time you must keep on trying

  Smile, what’s the use of crying

  You’ll find that life is still worthwhile

  If you just smile.”

  I don’t do much acapella, but I am surprised to hear my own voice ring true and strong, like an opera tenor. I guess all those singing lessons must have paid off.

  When I look over to Rebecca, tears are falling unashamedly down her cheeks. I feel choked up myself. It was a beautif
ul song.

  From then until midnight, the donations to our cause keep pouring in. And by the magical stroke of twelve, the website tally goes ka-ching to $10.5 million.

  We are saved.

  For the day.

  REBECCA

  The next day, the megabucks pour in from Kurt’s band members and the Band Aid formed by the megastars, as I would like to call it. The tally shoots up to forty million, a sum that almost has me reeling with dizziness.

  This will tide us over for three more days.

  Meanwhile, to keep our audience of hundreds of millions interested, Kurt goes on camera periodically to remind people why they should keep both of us alive.

  He sings songs. He tells people about his life so that they will see him as a real person, not a larger-than-life caricature.

  He brings me into the picture, describing me as ‘his girlfriend’. And for the first time, I hear what Kurt Taylor has gone through growing up. In many ways, it is a catharsis for both of us, and we are both more able to understand why we are made to be the way we are.

  KURT: I grew up in a trailer. My Mom was a single mother, trying to make ends meet. There were five of us, and we were always poor, though never hungry. People around us in the trailer park fed us lots. In fact, I think my older brother was obese. He certainly sat on us a lot to make us behave when we were growing up.

  Growing up on food stamps and with my Mom periodically unemployed, I was determined to make a better life for myself. All of us were. We all started off with the best of intentions. My eldest sister got pregnant and ran away from home when she was fourteen. We never saw her again. My brother, Tom, the obese one, shed a lot of weight on his way to become a gym trainer. My two younger sisters are still in school, and one is going to college now because I now have the money to put her up for it.

  Then there was me. I didn’t quite know what I wanted to be when I was growing up. I knew I wasn’t smart enough to go to college without a sports scholarship, and yet I wasn’t good enough to get a basketball scholarship. All I knew was I didn’t want to be in a trailer park all my life, watching TV and drinking beer and getting a beer belly.

  And so when I went for the American Rock Star audition, I didn’t think I would ultimately win it. And I didn’t. I got second place. All I wanted to do was get some exposure and experience and get a few gigs singing in bars and lounges and stuff. I thought that maybe having gone for an audition, even if it was a failed one, would get me noticed by the bar and lounge owners.

  I never dreamt it would go so far.

  But then I never dreamt I would be kidnapped and held for ransom either.

  *

  KURT: I’m just kind of like a normal guy, like the rest of you. I’m on my smartphone . . . a lot. During my downtime, I play Candy Crush. I’m at Level 342, and quite proud of myself for getting there. I will admit I bought a lot of boosters and Facebook credits to help me along the way.

  I like to chill out with some music when I’m not working. I like to fiddle on my guitar and compose a tune. Hey, wait, hang on. That’s work for me now. It’s so great to finally be able to do what I love.

  (Laughs.)

  I’m a real simple guy. I like to lounge around in my T-shirt and jeans most of the time. I’m not huge on the party scene. It isn’t sex, drugs and rock-and-roll for us. At least, not for me. I don’t even do drugs. I’m working hard, keeping my nose clean. I work sixteen hour days sometimes, and at the end of the day, I just want to collapse into bed. But it’s all worth it. Because part of me is always convinced I’m in a dream and I would wake up and it would all disappear.

  I don’t want it to ever disappear, because it means I wouldn’t have left the trailer park then. Not really, no matter where I am.

  *

  KURT: This is my girlfriend, Rebecca.

  (pulls Rebecca into the picture.)

  REBECCA: (nervously) Hi, Mom. Hi, everyone.

  KURT: I have known Rebecca since she was in high school. But we didn’t get together as a couple until, uh, recently on the island.

  REBECCA: That’s true.

  KURT: (looks at Rebecca lovingly) Rebecca is so great to be with. She’s so funny and caring and real. She always tells you like it is. You can always expect the truth from Rebecca, even if it’s not what you want to hear. Because most of the time, it’s what you need to hear.

  REBECCA: (gushing) I’m not very good at public speaking, but since I can’t see all of you right now and I’m just talking into the videocam, I’m not as nervous as I should be. But I just want you all to know that if it weren’t for this man here beside me, I would not be alive today.

  You see, the reason why Kurt is here with me is because he jumped in when I was swept off the ship during a freak storm. And get this . . . I have recently found out that Kurt jumped in to get me . . . even though he can’t swim. I mean, what sort of guy does that?

  (Kurt blushes)

  KURT: Uh, it was the only thing I could do under the circumstances. And when I fell off a cliff into the sea recently, it was Rebecca who dived in to pull me out. So I wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for her either.

  (They both look at each other lovingly.)

  REBECCA: (with heartfelt meaning) Thank you.

  KURT: (seeming to forget the camera for a moment) No . . . thank you.

  *

  Meanwhile, the press coverage goes on.

  REPORTER: (standing in front of a Billboard chart) Sales of Red Velvet’s latest album, Aggression, have shot through the roof. In the last four days, the album has sold four million copies. It is currently the most downloaded album on iTunes. There has been talk about a Red Velvet concert movie. Providing Kurt Taylor gets back safely, of course.

  NEWS ANCHOR: We wouldn’t want to see a Red Velvet movie without Kurt Taylor now, do we, Amy?

  REPORTER: Certainly not. Red Velvet has certainly been through a lot of crises with their lead singers. But it has certainly kept them exciting.

  NEWS ANCHOR: And now we go to Odessa, Texas, for an interview with Adeline Frost.

  Cut screen to Adeline Frost in her home, nicely tucked in an armchair.

  REPORTER: Adeline Frost, how are you today?

  ADELINE: I’m fine. I’m surviving.

  REPORTER: You have been paralyzed from the neck down since your high school graduation, haven’t you?

  ADELINE: (her eyes shining as she gazes into the camera) That is correct.

  REPORTER: Was Kurt Taylor your high school sweetheart?

  ADELINE: (pauses) Yes.

  REPORTER: Are you still together?

  ADELINE: No, we broke up.

  REPORTER: When was this?

  ADELINE: Soon right after my accident.

  REPORTER: (shocked) He left you because you were paralyzed?

  ADELINE: Oh no. It wasn’t like that. We were going different paths anyway. It wouldn’t have worked out.

  REPORTER: How do you feel about him getting on with Rebecca Hall? She was your best friend in high school, was she not?

  ADELINE: Yes, she was. I’m totally fine with it.

  (She looks into the camera. Tears visibly spool from her eyes.)

  I just wish . . . I wish things could have different. I wish I wasn’t involved in that accident. Then who knows what different paths we may have taken? Kurt might not ever have gone for the audition and he would never have been a rock star today.

  REPORTER: Do you harbor resentment towards Kurt Taylor and Rebecca Hall? I mean . . . it’s obvious they are young and rich and in love and whole.

  ADELINE: (looks away) Please . . . I don’t want to talk anymore. I don’t resent the two of them being together. They have gotten on with their lives and I obviously . . . am finding it more difficult to get on with mine.

  (holds up hand to ward off the camera)

  I don’t want to do this anymore.

  *

  NEWSCASTER: There has been some public backlash against Kurt Taylor after Adeline Frost’s interview. Some people
have taken to Twitter to call for a boycott of donations to Kurt Taylor’s ransom fund.

  Cut scene to a student protesting outside Times Square, New York. He is holding up a sign that says: ‘DIE, KURT TAYLOR, DIE!’ With him are other young people holding up placards with ‘KURT TAYLOR IS NO SAINT’ and ‘KURT TAYLOR HATES CRIPPLES!’ sentiments.

  REPORTER: We are speaking here to Finnick Corrigan. Finnick, you are a fan of Red Velvet, are you not?

  FINNICK: Correction: I was a fan of Red Velvet when Atticus Ford was lead singer. They had to replace who was irreplaceable with that upstart, no-good, no-talent wannabe.

  (bares teeth into camera)

  Kurt Taylor, are you listening? I’m not going to give one red cent to your ransom fee. You should get your fingers chopped off one by one, you no-good son of a bitch. I always knew you were no good, and now your ex-girlfriend just confirmed it. You left her, a cripple, when she needed you most. What sort of man does that, huh?

  REPORTER: (speaking to the camera) There are also anti-Kurt Taylor fan clubs spreading all over the Internet, including factions who don’t think we should be pandering to the demands of kidnappers, lest it should set a precedent. What do you think of those, Finnick? I understand you are the webhost of one such online club.

  FINNICK: You bet I am. I have always been against Kurt Taylor. I ‘hated’ on all his YouTube videos. I left ‘hate’ comments all over his official websites. And you know what? I was right all along. Kurt Taylor deserves not our pity, but our contempt.