" The newbie is absent today ," said Myra as she fixed a jewel on my hair.
I could not really answer her for this . By now , everyone in the team knew that Jewel had come from my connection. I was just glad that they did not seem to hold grudges at me for including someone from the backdoor.
" Let me know if she keeps being absent ," I tried to be nonchalant about it ," It's not a child's playroom . If she keeps doing it , kick her off the team."
" Actually....she really does her job well ," Myra mumbled ," You know how irritated I am when I am working , and I know that they me demon boss behind my back !," we both laughed at her comment," But she never complains ! And that makes me more irritated and I might have bullied her too much . I was wondering if she left because she couldn't take my temper anymore."
I turned to look at her , in surprise .For years, Jewel had never let anyone talk over her , not even her own mother . Even yesterday, she was arguing back after clearly being the one at fault ( well , that goes for me too , I also argued after getting Jewel into danger like that ).
This was new. Jewel Anderson , the spoiled princess of Sunshine corporation - she let someone like Myra toe her around ,never complained .
I had heard other rookies quitting because of how hard it was to work with Myra .
Myra was a perfectionist after all. She never let go of a single tiny fault even when it's coming from a rookie .
She was the reason that people actually looked at me during my debut on the stage .
There are many talented people who get washed away in the industry. You need a definite ' face ' to keep on floating .
Myra always did that for me .
It broke my heart to see how sad my hairstylist looked about if she had bullied Jewel too much .
Myra was a stern teacher . She knew that we need to have bones of steel to survive in the industry.
Maybe that's why she was hard on Jewel. Since my sister-in-law did not have any degree , Myra might have considered the fact that Jewel could be easily eliminated if the things were slightly out of her reach.
" Don't worry , Myra , it's not you ," I told her ," It's probably her family."
" Huh ?"
" You know ....," I gave in ," Her parents are not exactly excited about her trying to be a makeup artist."
" Oh , I see where this is going ," she chuckled ," It happened for me too . I used to be bullied in high school, you see because of my skin colour. Back then , they said that darker skin looked so ugly ."
I went to grab her hand to console her but she shook me off.
" Don't do that ! I am working on your hair ," typical of Myra , she did not really like people touching her hand .
" I am sorry ....but are you okay ?"
"Will you let me finish my story ?," Myra sounded annoyed at me but from the corner of my eyes I could see her lips were twisted into a smile ," Anyway , then oneday I went to look for a part-time job in this salon and then I met this beautiful drag queen . My makeup and hairstyling lesson started from him. I was mesmerized by how bold and colourful a person can be . Obviously, my family did not agree , they wanted me to be a doctor so I ran away from home and they caught me. But I ran away from home again. I did it again and again until they gave up . My parents ....they still don't talk to me ."
I was realising how privileged my life had been . My mother used to be a famous singer and my father never cared for it . I was allowed to do whatever I wanted since I was born . Even now , after marriage, I never had strict rules or regulations from my in-law family . Only thing they had ever asked for me was not not make any trouble .
Still I had managed to disappoint them again and again.
" Well, I am glad you never listened to you parents ," I told her ," Cause without you , there will be no me ."
" Autumn , you don't understand the presence you have on people...or on stage ," she paused for a while and then started ," I already knew that you came from an esteemed family and had a good backup . I thought that you would eventually switch to foreign hairstylist. But you never gave up on me.
Even after you won 'Global Sensation,' I had a feeling that you would try a better make-up team but you never left us ."
" That doesn't mean anything," I laughed out ," Why would I leave you guys behind when you were the one to put me on top ? You guys are like my hands and legs . I can't imagine even walking out on a stage without you ."
" I hope oneday you get to see ," Myra gently brushed my hair ," My beautiful your soul is ."
Confused , I stared at the mirror before me.
There was nothing imperfect on my reflection, but that was because that's how they made it .
I saw nothing about my soul . Even if I thought about it , inside all that glamour , I was still the selfish woman doing evwkerything she can.
" How about you let me talk to her parents?," Myra asked ," I may have been unable to convince my own parents but I could do better for hers."
Sure , that would be so much fun .