Rihan so tired after all the t she had been doily. No one had told her how exhausting the life of a pop star could be, especially when you had to rely oours to sustain the lifestyle. She wasn’t by any means poor, but the amount she had to spend on clothes, makeup, jewelry, fitness, ay treatments was eoo much.

  It didn’t help that the six-album tract Jay-Z made her sign was just shy of being beled predatory, with her getting only barebones as pared to what Jay-Z was earning off of her.

  “You happy to be ba LA, Ri?” Nick, her manager, asked eagerly.

  “As happy as I could be,” she replied evasively. She didn’t really like Nick but was forced t him along because he was the manager her record bel had appoio her. At least until her album’s release, she had to bear with him.

  “It would have been a different matter if we were in Londht now,” Nick said, a knowing grin on his face.

  Rihaned the urge to sm her head against the side of the car she was riding in. She hadn’t told him about her retionship for obvious reasons. No one really knew besides Troy’s family. She could have told her parents if she wao, but she hadn’t because she khey were loudmouths, and sooner or ter, someone would bb. Something like this ing out could be career suicide. If loyal fans started feeling maniputed by a celeb, they might stop following them as religiously as before.

  As far as Troy was ed, she liked him a lot. If things were different, they could have dated for real, too. But it was very difficult to make it work when he was in London, and she was here in LA.

  “And we’re here,” Ninounced after pulling the car in front of Rihanna’s apartment building.

  Without wasting any time, Rihanna got out of the car and said, “Thank you, Nick.”

  “No worries,” he smiled. “Have a great day tomorrow. It’s not every day you turn 18.”

  Rihanna looked at her watch to see it was already midnight; teically, she was 18 now. heless, she didn’t remind her manager of that and simply nodded before turning around.

  As Nick drove away, Rihanna couldn’t help but admire the beautiful yellow Audi vertible parked right behind where Nick had been moments ago. She didn’t know who that car beloo, but it reminded her that she desperately needed a new one. Her old Chevy was too old now, and she was sick of renting a car whenever she had to go to an award show or another promotio for her music. The hing on her list would be a —or maybe even a house—but that would take a few years of work to save for the down payment, let alohe whole thing.

  As Rihanna walked up o of stairs to her floor, she was surprised to see a man in an official suit standing outside her door, while her roommate, Donna, was gring daggers at him.

  “…and I told you this is a terrible time to surprise someone. I won’t let you in just because some hotshot actor sent you.”

  “Listen, miss—” the man began before Rihanna decided to take matters into her own hands.

  “Donna? What’s going on?”

  Donna turo her best friend, and her smile widened. “Thank God you’re here, Ri. This guy says he’s a wyer and that Troy Armitage sent him. He won’t tell me anything else.”

  “I ’t tell anything else legally,” the wyer said desdingly to Donna. “It’s called attorney-t privilege.”

  “I know that!” Donna shot back furiously before turning around. “Whatever. Now that you’re here, Ri, you handle him.”

  The moment Donna was gohe man turo Rihanna and smiled. “Joel Sullivan. It’s o meet you, Ms. Rihanna.”

  “Likewise,” she nodded. “Why are you here?”

  “Steve Kloves sent me,” he said matter-of-factly. “He said you had made him a promise of sorts that you’d sign a tract when you turned 18. Happy birthday, by the way.”

  “Thank you,” Rihanna said reflexively, her mind rag to figure out why Steve might have sent a wyer. It took her only a few moments to realize the reason—it must be about that NDA they wanted her to sign. The weird part was ing to her doorstep the moment she turned 18. “You couldn’t wait until m to get here?”

  “I could,” he agreed. “Steve told me to get this dohis week, not today. But Troy is also my t, and he wao send you your birthday gift—at midnight, no less. I usually don’t do this, but he’s a good t, and he’s paying me a lot to do this, so here we are. And since I’m already here, I thought I’d kill two birds with oone. You are free to dee to sign that dot right now, but I thought I’d mention it heless.”

  She wao do exactly that, but in the end, she didn’t mind signing the NDA. She had no iion of telling anyone about the reality of her retionship, so what did it matter if she sig?

  “Give it to me,” she said impatiently.

  He ha to her but asked, “Shouldn’t we go inside for this part?”

  “No,” she said decisively. “I’m tired after a long flight from New York. Just get this over with so I rest.”

  “Very well,” Joel agreed, letting Rihanna skim through the dot. As expected, it was a standard NDA about their retionship status. After borrowing a pen from him, she quickly sig and hahe signed copy back.

  “Thank you,” he said after cheg the dot. “As for yift, here it is.”

  He took out a small box from his pocket, ed in intricately designed gift paper. A beautiful red bow was tied on top. Rihanna had half a mind to open the gift ter—most likely, it was jewelry she could examine properly tomorrow. Yet, curiosity got the better of her, and she ope heless.

  She was more than a little fused to see a small bck box inside. She wouldn’t have guessed what it was until her eyes nded on the four interected circles, revealing the brand that key beloo. “R8” was written boldly on top.

  “Happy birthday,” Joel said again. “It’s the test Audi R8, just released in the market. You might have seen the yelloarked outside. Don’t worry, you won’t be taxed for this gift—that has been taken care of, or rather, it will be by Troy’s atant during tax season.”

  Rihanna could only stare at the key in shock, uo say anything. That beauty was now hers? When she saw the wyer earlier, she had been damn sure the car beloo him.

  “My work here is done,” Joel announced. “Have a good night.” He turned away, leaving a still-stunned Rihanna behind.

  As soon as the wyer was gone, Donna peeked her head outside. “So what was it? Are you in trouble or something?”

  Rihanna could only shake her head silently, pulling the key from the box. “Troy sent me a birthday gift.”

  “Oh yes!” Donna said excitedly. “I almost fot. Happy birthday! What did he send?”

  “An Audi R8.”

  “Oh,” Donna said dismissively for a moment before the realization hit her. “Did you say R8?”

  The twrinned in unison before running outside to check out Rihanna’s new car, all their fatigue fotten in the excitement of the new vehicle.

  In that moment, Rihanna couldn't help but love Troy more and more for being so siderate. When they had go for their first drive in a Lambo, Rihanna had told him how much she liked vertibles. And now here she was with a vertible of her own. And not just any vertible, ohat costed nearly 150k. Sure, it probably didn't mean anything to Troy, but it meant a great deal to her.

  (Break)

  “You didn’t have to e here, Roger.”

  Roger Ebert looked up at his wife, Chaz, who had been adamant about him not ing to Berlin in his dition.

  “I’ll be fine, hon,” he said with a smile. “At least let me do this o time before I won’t be able to speak month.”

  Chaz nodded relutly. They both khat now they were here, it didn’t matter what she said—he would attend the premiere for which he had received special VIP tickets. The reason he had agreed to e to Berlin was simple: the one who had invited him was her than his favorite actor, Troy Armitage.

  Roger had seen tless films over the years. He had watched superstars rise and fall like tides, but there was no one quite like Troy Armitage. Troy had e to the world’s attention in 1998, and within two years, he was widely regarded as the greatest child actor in history. Every performance of his was nothing short of perfe. He put so much heart and effort into his roles that even his critics couldn’t call him a bad actor.

  From [Sex Education] to [Harry Potter], Troy ruled the ematic world with his craft. But nothing sted forever, and there were bound to be bumps in the road. Roger Ebert, like everyone else, thought Troy’s magic would eventually fade. Children’s charm only sted so long, after all, and then they grew up. Roger could t on one hand the number of actors who had mao transition successfully from child stardom to adult careers.

  But Troy made the smartest move of his career—he took trol of his future. By founding his own produ pany, he released not o three films in quick succession, ea a different ge all universally appealing: a mystery thriller, a ing-of-age drama, and a romantic musical. All three films were masterfully crafted, refleg a deep itment to quality storytelling.

  This focus on excellence became Troy’s hallmark. None of his films to date had been “bad.” Sure, [A.I. Artificial Intelligenbsp;had been divisive at the time, but over the years, audiences had e to appreciate it. Subtly but powerfully, Troy cultivated a reputation: if he was in a film, it would be excellent. Roger, like so many others, had internalized that belief—and it was what had brought him to Berlin. Even if, by some miracle, the new film turned out to be disappointing, Roger khat watg Troy perform before anyone else would make the trip worthwhile.

  As Roger and Chaz walked toward the theater, he noticed how much Troy’s fanbase had grown sihe release of the musical. Hordes of fans stood outside with posters, DVDs, records, and other Troy-themed merdise in hand. And it wasn’t Harry Potter-themed merdise, as one might expect from the face of the biggest franchise in the world—it was Troy-themed, a testament to the actor’s ability to transd his iic role.

  Without waiting long, the old critid his wife walked inside, where someone quickly ushered them forward after cheg their tickets. A few people reized Roger, as often happened, but no one approached him. Moments ter, it became clear why.

  Troy Armitage ehe venue, and every versation ceased as heads turo take in the young star. From young to old, male to female, everyone was captivated by the teenager who atention effortlessly. Following closely behind him was the cast of [Little Miss Sunshine].

  “He’s…” Chaz began, searg for the right word. “…something.”

  “He sure is,” Rreed. “He has this aura around him. I’ve never met him in private to know what he’s like when alone, but he’s mastered how to navigate public attention. That’s what separates superstars from normal folks like us.”

  As Roger observed, Troy greeted numerous attendees, shaking hands and engaging in small talk. Slowly but surely, the young aade his way toward the VIP seating area—right where Roger was standing.

  When Troy’s eyes met Roger’s, his face lit up instantly. “Roger!” the teenager called out warmly before embrag the older man in a hug. “How are you?”

  “Meh, as good as I be, givehing,” Roger replied evasively.

  “Just say the word, and I’ll arrahe best doctors in the world for you,” Troy said with utmost siy. Then, turning to Chaz, he added, “I owe so muy career to this man. I was just a little kid back then and didn’t fully grasp how much of a difference a positive review—especially one from Mr. Ebert—could make for a film. I still remember what he said about my performan [The Sixth Sense] word for word. He was the first person to suggest I could win an Oscar someday, so I think I owe your husband a great deal for my success.”

  “You don’t owe me anything,” Roger insisted. “I was just doing my job. And I’ve already sulted the best doctors out there—some things are simply beyond our trol. This will be the st film I review before I lose my voipletely. I only hope I’ll have the strength left to write down any future reviews.”

  Troy pced a reassuring hand er’s shoulder. “Whatever you need, just say the word.”

  Although Troy was only 17, Roger felt as though someone much older and more experieood before him. In that moment, Roger truly believed that Troy would help him with anything.

  “Thank you,” Roger said with heartfelt gratitude.

  “Don’t worry about it,” the young man smiled warmly. “e now, we have a film to watch. I’m sure you’ll love it, because I sure do.”

  Troy led Roger and his wife to their seats before settling into the row in front of them. Shortly after, Troy’s family and co-stars joihem in the VIP se and the movie began.

  The film opened with a se of a young girl with an overly padded belly watg a beauty pageant on TV, mimig the mannerisms of the winners.

  Greg Kinnear’s character appeared , delivering a lecture on winners and losers to a ckluster audience, barely keeping their attention. The following se showed Troy perf a bench press, skipping rope, doing push-ups, and engaging in various other exercises, all set against the backdrop of a portrait of Friedriietzsche.

  Meanwhile, An Arkin’s character was sn drugs, and Toni Collette’s character was shown pig up her brother from the hospital, pyed by Steve Carell. Carell’s character sat in a hospital chair with bandaged wrists, a subtle but clear indication that he had attempted to end his life.

  As the on-s dave Toni Collette’s character advi how to support her brother, Roger Ebert was already captivated. This was some of the fi dire he had seen in years. The film masterfully introduced its characters, giving eae a distinct yet equally pelling prese was clear that no single character would overshadow the others; each had their moment in the spotlight.

  ___________________________________

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