CHAPTER 2

I woke up to the sound of music blasting from the speaker outside. How long had I slept for? I checked my phone. I had been sleeping for two hours! What was wrong with me? I had missed calls from Perry and my Landlord. I washed my face in the bathroom inside the room and reapplied my makeup. I came out of the room to see a lot of people. I guess they were here for the party. Where was Alexander? Did he not need me for his makeup and hair styling? I could see Alexander by the bar talking with some of his friends while some took pictures with him. He was wearing the suit I made but he appeared to have gotten an hair stylist because his hair look well kept and shiny. I had to go apologise for sleeping off. Perry appeared before me as I was on my way to meet Alexander. He grabbed my upper arm and pulled me into a room. It looked like a storage room. He let go of my hands and paced for a while before talking to me.

"Why did you not pick my calls? I was worried about you. And what are you doing here?" He put his hands on his waist as he talked.

"I was sleeping Perry and I came to deliver a suit." I said smiling sheepishly but he wasn't buying it.

"So how come I saw you coming out of his room?" Perry was protective of his friends.

"I just told you I slept off. Why do you care so much? I'm fine." He came over and hugged me.

"I'm glad you're doing okay.😁" He released me and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Will you stop that Perry?" Why did he kiss my forehead? I was just his friend. I heard someone cough from the door. I looked up to see Alexander. He walked over to us with folded arms.

"She is your girlfriend?" Of course not! I only had eyes for him. Perry put his arm on my shoulder and pulled me close.

"No..." I was cut short by Perry.

"Yeah." I looked at Perry with disgust in my eyes.

"And you guys couldn't keep it in your pants till after everyone was gone?" I did not want Alexander getting the wrong idea so I removed Perry's hands from my shoulder.

"We are just friends. Nothing more." I glared at Perry.

"Whatever. I thought I'd call you to eat some cake before it's all gone. Anna made it for me." Why did he tell him that?

"Really? I love cake. Let's go."

Back at the party as James cut the cake, I saw Alexander glancing at me. Why was he? Perry tried feeding me some cake with Alexander beside us so I pinched him and stuffed the cake in his mouth. I saw some of Alexander lady friends talking with him and he seemed to laugh at their jokes. So this was what he looked like while smiling off camera. I went to the Kitchen to get some water. I was wearing sandals so I could not get to the freezer. I needed chilled water. I felt a presence behind me and I saw a hand stretch to take a table water. I turned around to see Alexander. As he handed the water to me, he looked me in the eye. Was there something on my face?

"Is there something on my face?" He nodded his head.

"Thanks for this and I am so sorry for sleeping off the other time." He sat on one of the chair in the kitchen as I talked. He didn't reply to what I said so I opened the water and drank to my fill. I was about to go when I heard him ask a question again.

"Are you sure you and Perry are just friends?"

"Yes. Did someone tell you otherwise?"

He did not reply but just walked out. He lacked certain manners. But he was my Celebrity Crush so he was forgiven.

I was able to take some time off sewing after Alexander's birthday because Perry left for a shoot in another country. He would be gone for two weeks. Most of my work came from Perry. Alexander did not even send for me after his birthday party. Did I offend him? Since Perry left,I only had makeup gigs to do for upcoming actresses. I needed cash so bad. I had used all I had to pay this month's rent, electricity bill, phone bill and the like. My Landlord was a pervert. I didn't want a situation that would enable him come knocking on my door. I had tried getting another apartment but it was so expensive. Whatever little money I made went into paying bills, the Orphanage, buying groceries and food stuffs. I missed seeing Alexander's face. Watching his films or constantly checking if he uploaded a new post didn't seem to satisfy me these days. My phone rang the moment I was sulking back home from one of my gigs. It was James. He used a harsh tone talking to me.

"Come over to the house." That was all he said as he ended the call. I was so happy. I didn't have enough cash to order an Uber. The pay from the gig would only last me a week. I boarded a bus so it took me an hour thirty minutes to get there. I entered the house to complete silence. Where was everybody? I could hear a girl giggling. Who was that? I saw Alexander running after a lady dressed in shorts and a singlet. She looked so beautiful with her long black hair.

"Oh you are here. Meet Sophie my..."

"Nice to meet you..." She was stretching her hands to me.

"I'm Anna Ma'am." I said as I shook her hands. I let go of her hand and she placed a kiss on Alexander's cheek before going upstairs.

"I need you to take our measurements. I want you to sew a dress for her and a tuxedo for me. Wait in the Living room while we get dressed." You should have thought about that before you came in dressed in only shorts. And who the heck was she? I was no match for her. Perry would probably be laughing at me now. I paced around as I waited for them. I'd have to ask Perry who she was if I wanted to fully understand how I'd defeat her. I heard footsteps so I quickly sat on the couch. It was Sophie. She wore a crop top with leggings. I could see her flat tummy and I doubted she wore panties because her buttocks moved so much as she walked. She headed to the fridge to take some water before she came to the Living room. How was she comfortable with what she wore? Alexander came to the Living room to see me taking Sophie's measurements. He sat on the armchair watching us. Sophie was talking non stop and I saw Alexander smile. Why was he smiling? I took his measurements avoiding his eyes. I could see his relationship with Sophie was more than I could see. My phone rang as Sophie was describing the kind of gown she would love. I was hardly listening. I was caught up with stealing glances at Alexander who seemed like a different person with Sophie around him. My phone rang the second time and I saw that it was Perry. What did he want?"

"I have to take this call." I went to the kitchen to receive the call. Perry wanted to check up on me as he had just finished shooting. I told him I was doing okay and he expressed how much he missed me.

"You monkey! Go get some sleep or something. I have to go." He was not happy I did not want to talk more. I told him I was busy at the moment and that I'd call him later. He finally ended the call after twenty minutes.

I came back into the Living room to see Sophie winking at me.

"Who is the Lucky guy?" Was she asking about Perry?

"It's just a friend." Alexander was in the Kitchen. His chef had just made Sandwiches.

"Maybe to you. He clearly loves you. It's so obvious." What the hell was she saying with Alexander around? Stupid fool!

"Sophie come eat some sandwiches. I made Maria make your favourite." Was she the only one here? What about me?

"You can also have some Anna." His tone was not friendly. Why was he grumpy?

"Tell me about him Anna. He deserves a chance." I wished I could shut her up.

"It's really just a friend Ma'am. I'll be on my way now Mr Ross." James was already in. He was eating a sandwich as he transferred half of the money for the cloth. I whispered a 'thank you' to him as I walked out the door.

I got home feeling confused. I googled Sophie's name and it turned out she was Alexander's best friend. A model and an actress. There was even a speculation that they dated for a while. Oh great! I could not even compete with her. She was a white lady with glowing skin and beauty. I buried myself in work and I was able to save some money. I was saving to buy a house. I was not comfortable with where I was living. I wanted to provide a place for some of us in the Orphanage to live at. I had imagined giving a few of them room and board while some would work in the shop I would set up in the building. The money I sent to the Orphanage was just my bit to help the nuns who took me in. My father had abandoned me when Mother went missing. I had faint memories of them. I would sometimes cry whenever people discovered I was an Orphan. Was I really an Orphan? I did not even know if Mom and Dad were still alive. The nuns at the Orphanage made sure we all didn't feel resentment towards our parents(for those who were abandoned by their parents) They implored us to move on in life. They would always say:

"No matter what your parents did, they are still your parents."

They made all of us learn skills as they could not teach us much. It took me three weeks to sew both Perry, Alexander and Sophie's cloth. Finding the right fabrics for what they wanted took most of my time. I also had makeup gigs and hair to make.

Perry called me over to his house for lunch and I went there with his suit. I wore a white T shirt and jeans with sneakers. My hair was packed in a bun. Perry's house was huge. His success as an Actor was evident. I got into his house and Perry was making something in the kitchen. He came over to where I sat and kissed me on the cheek.

"Stop that you flirt." He laughed as he ushered me to the dining table. There was rice and Stew with meat and fish in the plate.

"Come on Sit." I sat down and he served me a plate.

"Won't you eat Perry?" He nodded his head.

"This is all for you and besides I'm on a diet." I smiled as I got to eating. It tasted so sweet. Perry told me all about his trip. He had come across Sophie. Apparently he was not on good terms with her and she was his Co star. He saw her as someone that was proud because she was Alexander's friend. He did not even understand why Lex and Sophie were so close. He doubted they were friends. As I soon as I finished eating, I washed the plates and returned them.

"This was so delicious Perry. I loved it! Thanks." I went to hug him. He was grinning.

"Why are u smiling?" I sat down beside him as I released him from the hug.

"I'm just happy you liked the food. So what's up? Any potential 'boyfriend'?" I glared at him as he asked that.

"Are you for real Perry? You know I only have eyes for Alexander. Besides I should be asking you if you have anyone special in your life. You get to meet a lot of beautiful ladies!" He scoffed.

"I do have someone special."

"Really? Who is she? I'm curious."

"Let's just say I'm afraid she'd reject me so let's just wait till she accepts then I'll let you know."

"I don't think anyone could ever reject you Perry. You are a great guy." I gave him a pat on the back. He came so close to me as he bit my ear.

"Perry! You monkey!" He ran around the living room as I chased him. After failing to catch Perry for ten minutes, I went to sit on the couch panting.

"Have some water." As he stretched the water to me, I punched him in the stomach. He groaned and the water poured on my shirt. My bra was evident. I put my hands over my chest.

"Ugh! Perry..."

"I'm so sorry Anna. There should be some shirt you can change into in the guest room."

I headed to the guest room. There was a lot of shirts in the wardrobe. They were all different brands. I picked a white shirt. It looked smaller than the remaining shirts in the wardrobe. I changed into it and it still looked big on me. I would have to do with it. I got to the Living room to see Alexander and Perry talking. I exchanged pleasantries with Alexander who seemed oblivious. Perry told me to wait a while while he talked business with Alexander. I took my bag from the couch and then Perry wouldn't give me my phone. I stepped on his feet and as he writhed in pain I collected it. James was laughing.

An hour later I was in the the other living room half asleep on the Couch. I was woken up by Perry. He gave me a knock on my head when I was fully awake.

"What did you do that for?" I rubbed my head.

"I've told you to stop sleeping just anywhere. You like sleeping too much!" He folded his arms. I tried hitting him at the back of his head but he waved it.

"Why did you wave it? You deserve it! Besides I'm so tired these days." He was laughing. Why was he laughing? I was straightening my cloth while glaring at him.

"You should go get some sleep at home. I can't take you home Anna but Lex offered to." Wow. Alexander was going to take me home? Yippie!

"I don't hear a thank you." I was beaming from ear to ear.

"Thank you Perry. Good night." He hugged me as I was about to go. I pinched his cheek before I left.

I entered Alexander's car and sat down at the back seat. It was already dark outside. Alexander didn't even look my way.