- Chapter 7 -
QUEEN BEE INTERVIEWED BY PEOPLE MAGAZINE
Celebomatic
11/28 2:24AM
Gracing the cover of this week’s People magazine is Queen Bee, the American pop megastar whom ironically, Americans have only recently caught onto. Bee, who found her fame overseas, addresses her new American following in a phone interview with People and gets down and dirty with rumors tying her to heartthrob Tyler Chase. Here’s a snippet from the issue, which hits newsstands on Monday!
PM: You have a very devoted fanbase throughout the world, especially in Europe and Asia. How does it feel to finally tap into the U.S, where you’re from?
QB: It feels incredible. I do live in the states, and to go out eating or shopping and hear my own music – it’s so rewarding.
PM: How many people know your real name?
QB: I’d say less than ten.
PM: Is it difficult for you to keep such a big secret under wraps?
QB: I do get moments where I just want to tell my friends, but I really treasure the privacy I have in my life outside of Queen Bee. I’m at a place right now where I need the time to get to know my life off stage.
PM: Your name has been in the news a great deal lately, especially with Tyler Chase’s tweet about his crush on you. Is it difficult to continue keeping such a big secret?
QB: It’s certainly work, but it’s not too bad. I have some very dedicated and amazing team members who help keep everything under wraps. They’re everything to me.
PM: Getting back to Tyler Chase’s tweet. Had you two met before the Barcelona concert?
QB: No, I’d never met Tyler before the Barcelona concert or the tweet. I’ve actually never met him at all! But he’s a great musician and I’m flattered that he’s a fan of my work.
PM: Have you experienced any harassment from Tyler’s fans at all? You know they call themselves the Tyler Chasers.
QB: [Laughs] I haven’t gotten any death threats or anything. Well, not that I know of. I actually have so many things going on in my life outside of Queen Bee that it’s sometimes hard to keep up with what everyone is saying about her.
PM: And that’s a good thing, isn’t it?
QB: [Laughs] For the most part.
Between Madison’s college applications and Gemma’s midterms, the two had few interactions after the Turkey Bowl. What little conversation they shared only furthered Gemma’s confusion. Madison was cordial – friendly, but not necessarily as casual as she once was. But before she could even question it, Madison simply told all the girls that she had been stressed with applications and just wanted to be as relaxed as possible for her auditions.
Gemma wasn’t sure what to believe. She wanted to think that she had imagined the awkward incident at the Turkey Bowl, but Damian confirmed the story for her. Since that day, their relationship faded from courtship to friendship. Gemma was grateful for that. She had the comfort of talking openly to him since he was the one person who not only knew her feelings for Lucas, but also noticed Madison’s odd behavior. She tried not to take advantage of Damian’s admiration, though it was so soothing to vent about Lucas while reclining in his arms. She reasoned that Damian knew what the situation was and allowed it anyway. They enjoyed each other’s company and she needed the guise of a relationship to throw Madison off her trail.
Winter break was fast approaching and with Christmas around the corner, Gemma was desperate to come up with a perfect gift to show her appreciation for Damian’s friendship and support. While lounging at his house one day, she noticed a peculiar poster hanging above his couch in the family room. It was a ‘70s-looking black and white photo of a man dressed like Zorro, holding a basketball.
“What’s that?” she asked. Damian switched on the television and looked up at the poster.
“Oh,” he smiled “That’s Walt ‘Clyde’ Frazier. He’s my dad’s all-time favorite Knick. He forced me to watch old videos of his games when I was a kid, which is what inspired me to be a point guard, really. Plus, the man’s got an insane sense of style.”
“Like dressing up as Zorro on the court,” Gemma laughed.
“Well he’s not wearing a cape here,” Damian examined the poster. “Not that I’d put it past him. He just does what he wants without worrying about what other people say. Which is pretty admirable, I’d say.”
Gemma cocked her head at the poster. She didn’t know a thing about basketball but at that moment, she decided she liked the guy too.
~
“I’ve met Walt many times! That man is everywhere,” Mira said, nonchalantly. “He’s omnipresent. So autographed basketball, no problem. Maybe I can get him to give up an old fedora or something too.”
Within a week-and-a-half, Mira came through with her promise. By the last day of school before break, an autographed basketball and two game tickets (for Damian and his father) were gift-wrapped and nestled under the grand Christmas tree that Mira had decorated herself.
“You didn’t. Did you? Is this – wait a second. Gemma!” To say that Damian was impressed and excited was an understatement. He ran around practice showing his teammates the autographed basketball. Gemma was slightly disappointed that the rest of the team showed no interest for anything but the second game ticket, though ultimately she was just pleased by Damian’s pure joy.
She tried to keep her distance from Lucas. Since the Turkey Bowl, they hadn’t talked once and she had barely even seen him in the halls. Since Madison had stopped rounding everyone up for nights out on the town, she never saw Lucas outside of school either.
But now it was basketball season, and being Damian’s “girlfriend” and Gavin’s sister meant that she would be at almost every game. Coach even let her stick around for practice sometimes, simply because she had impressed him with Damian’s Christmas gift.
Gemma sometimes stole glances at Lucas during practice. He sat away from the team, lacing his sneakers on the bleachers while the rest of them gathered around Coach. Something was wrong and even Gavin noticed.
“Do you know if he and Madison are doing okay?” he asked one night, sitting up on the living room couch as he and Gemma watched television. “He’s just quiet lately – I mean, even more than usual.” Gemma simply shrugged the questions off, citing stress and schoolwork as probable causes of Lucas’s stress.
“I mean, it is junior year. Not everyone is you, Gavin,” she said. “Some people actually care about doing well in class.”
“Hold on,” Gavin rubbed his chin. “The pop star that didn’t actually go to a real school for the past two years is lecturing me?”
Gemma smiled. Poking fun at Gavin was usually the best way to distract him from a conversation that she didn’t want to have. Gemma needed to do all she could to keep the subject of Madison and Lucas out of her home.
~
The morning of Christmas finally arrived and to the surprise of Gemma, Gavin and Mira, there was a heavy knock at the door.
“Malcolm!” Gemma heard Mira shriek from downstairs. Gemma jumped out of bed and threw on her sweatshirt and slippers, practically shoving Gavin out of the way as they charged through the hall and all but tumbled down the stairs. The four embraced and laughed as they helped Malcolm carry in suitcases and boxes full of gifts. He had managed to find a roundtrip flight at the very last minute.
“Your mother wanted to stay with your grandma,” Malcolm explained to Gemma and Gavin. “They felt terrible so they had me bring quite a bit of food and presents. Look here, Grandma’s been well enough lately to bake cookies.”
Gemma helped unpack neatly tied boxes of chocolate chip cookies, peppermint bark, peanut brittle, and fudge. She and Mira took apart the rest of the boxes, pulling out treat after treat. Gavin retreated to the tufted leather chair by the fireplace and sat in silence, popping caramels in his mouth from the box that sat on his lap.
Gemma wasn’t sure how they’d be spending Christmas this year without her family altogether. Mira was unaccustomed to organizing family events. She rarely even attended them since she was always “obligated” to attend her friends’ lavish soirees. Her only plans for this year with Gemma and Gavin were to open gifts and perhaps go ice-skating later in the day. She considered inviting Hudson Gunn just so he could cook a worthy meal for their holiday dinner but decided that it was cruel to do to a man with kids of his own. “We don’t need a crazy feast, silly,” Gemma had said to ease Mira’s pressure the night before. All Gemma really needed was her family near her and A Christmas Story on television. Having her father there was just the icing on the cake.
“Well, since you’re back Malcolm,” Mira said as she spread some strawberry preserves and clotted cream on half a scone. “I know there’s something you wanted to talk about with Gemma.” Malcolm put down his coffee and nodded.
“I had a whole long speech prepared, but I’ll spare you. It boils down to the fact that I am just so proud of you for how well you’ve adjusted to this new life. I want you to keep maintaining this balance,” Malcolm said, putting his hand over Gemma’s. “And I’m sure you’ve been tempted to tell someone about your secret, but you have to understand that you cannot. Especially since you’re gaining attention in the states. Your life as Gemma would completely change, and in a terrible way.”
Gemma snapped a piece of peanut brittle, sending a shard flying through the air. She popped one of the halves into her mouth and chewed. Malcolm and Mira exchanged looks. She thought about Madison. And Lucas. “My life’s not the greatest right now anyway. I honestly can’t wait to be Queen Bee again.”
There was a long silence as her family stared at her.
“Your life is fine, drama queen,” Gavin finally said through a mouth full of caramel.
“You know what, let’s just have some fun right now. It’s Christmas,” Malcolm said, smiling genuinely. Gemma managed some sort of smile back. She had missed him. She hadn’t seen him since Barcelona. Being near him made her feel close to Barcelona again, close to Queen Bee and the whole experience of the tour. She bit down on the other half of brittle dejectedly. If only, she thought to herself.