No Stone Unturned (10 page)

It seems that unwittingly, Bee has risen to the role of Hollywood’s Best Role Model – and a humble one at that.

Gemma dropped her bags in the front foyer and immediately threw herself face first onto her living room couch.  She sighed into her overstuffed throw pillow, relieved that she had no makeup on to smudge.  The absence of being poked at by brushes and pins was relieving.  The silence was music to her ears.  And as much of a treat as it had been to spend so much time with Tyler, Zoe and Damian, Gemma was even relieved to be free of their company.  They had seen enough of each other in the span of one week.  It wasn’t as if she weren’t already incredibly close to each one of them.

What Gemma had really wanted was to get closer to Nicki.  She hadn’t realized how much worth she had put in the idea of a double date – it felt like something that every girl should experience at least once as part of teenaged normalcy.  Unfortunately, it appeared that if anyone, Nicki had latched onto Elizabeth.  Gemma had seen them start to walk and sit next to each other towards the end of the tour, which probably counted as big steps for someone as shy as Nicki.  As disappointed as Gemma was, she understood that they
were
the only truly “normal” teenagers among the group.  It only made sense that they would find the most in common with each other.  But with Zoe becoming increasingly busy, it disappointed Gemma that she wouldn’t gain another girlfriend in Nicki.

Enough
, she told herself.  Her thoughts were tiring, and she had promised herself some quality rest upon arriving home.  However, only a couple minutes of silence went by before Gemma began to feel antsy again.  The quiet of her house was somehow more distracting than it was soothing, and as groggy as she was, she couldn’t seem to doze off.

She grabbed the remote and switched on the television.  It wasn’t quite late enough for the slew of infomercials that she enjoyed falling asleep to back in high school, but she figured something similar would be on at such a late hour.  To her surprise and dismay, the first image that popped up was of Desiree Silver’s face.  She was giving an impromptu interview while walking on the street with a couple cameramen from Pop Dinner’s late night program.  Desiree appeared happy and obviously intoxicated.  Gemma turned up the volume.

“Who are you dating these days? Tell me you upgraded from Tyler Chase,” one cameraman said as he shoved a mic in Desiree’s face.  She smiled and looked off-screen before stopping completely.

“Why does everyone keep hoping I ‘upgraded?”” she said with a smirk.  “I don’t know many men who could live up to his level of
passion
if you know what I mean.”  She giggled with the cameramen and tossed her hair over her perfectly sculpted shoulders.

“Does it bother you that Queen Bee’s shacked up with him now? And touring with him on his charity? And what about the fact that she’s stealing your D Network buddies from you?” the man with the mic was pushing his luck.  It was rare that celebrities actually stopped to talk to Pop Dinner’s intrusive ambushes, but this interviewer seemed sure he could make Desiree talk.  Desiree’s smirk contorted into a slight scowl.

“Queen Bee is nothing,” she said, rolling her eyes.  “If I wanted Tyler back, I could make that happen in a heartbeat.  Her Royal Famewhore has nothing on me.”  The cameramen whooped and cheered along with members of Desiree’s entourage.  Her smirk returned.

“So,
do
you want Tyler Chase back?”

“For the record, I never lost him,” Desiree whispered into the mic in a play tone of exaggerated seduction.

Gemma sat with her mouth agape, in complete disbelief.  She had figured that Desiree’s atrocious behavior at Smythe had been a one-time thing – the embarrassing result of too much drinking.  She had even assumed that Desiree would never make such a mistake again, especially not
for the record
. 
Okay, this is crazy.  I need to tell someone
, Gemma thought eagerly, quickly dialing Zoe’s number and waiting as the phone rang.  Her stomach was flipping.  She couldn’t believe her timing.  Had she turned on the television just a couple minutes later, she would have missed the stupid interview entirely.

When Zoe didn’t pick up she began to dial Damian’s number but stopped herself.  It would probably seem inappropriate if Nicki were to see her calling so late at night.  Before Gemma could consider calling Tyler to talk about it, Pop Dinner returned form commercial break.  A picture of what appeared to be Queen Bee downing shots with two strange men at a bar showed up with a slate that read “Famewhore Indeed: All The Queen’s Men.”

Gemma jumped to her feet as they played a series of photos of Queen Bee in various bars and clubs across the country – all coinciding with the cities she visited for the media tour.  Most of the pictures and grainy videos showed Queen Bee drinking recklessly and flirting overtly with random men.  Other videos showed her spurning fans asking for autographs, shoving past crowds to jump into a towncar.

“What is going
on
?” Gemma asked herself, purposely aloud to confirm that she was awake and not dreaming.  Her hands shook as she watched in silence.  She recognized many of the outfits to be outfits she had worn for some of the media appearances, but she didn’t recognize any of the locations in which the photographs were taken.  To anyone else but Gemma, the pictures appeared as if Queen Bee was cavorting about town and engaging in all kinds of questionable behavior. 
How is this possible?
Gemma grabbed her phone again, struggling to make her shaking hands dial Mira’s number.  It was almost 3am in New York.  She didn’t pick up.  Gemma dialed Perrin’s number.  Straight to voicemail.  She dialed Zoe’s number again.  Straight to voicemail.  Even Tyler and Penelope’s phones went straight to voicemail.  In desperation, she dialed Damian’s number.  No answer. 

“Someone pick up!” she yelled in frustration, her voice echoing in the emptiness of the room.  She collapsed back onto her couch, taking a deep breath for air. 
I’m just overworked.  All I need is a break,
she told herself.  She tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling.  The roof of her mouth was throbbing.  Her muscles felt sore and her legs were heavy. 
I’m just exhausted, this isn’t even a big deal. 
She didn’t want to be alone anymore but she wasn’t sure she could make the drive to Tyler’s house, especially in her current state of mind. 
You’re overreacting,
she convinced herself.
  Just calm down and go to sleep.

FLAWLESS QUEEN IS FLAWLESS

Celebstan

Posted by Justin, the Bee Chasing Alien

December 2

 So, did anyone else call in sick to work yesterday so they could listen to Queen Bee’s radio interview with Bryan Waterbury? Yes? Oh, okay.  Did anyone else get fired because they had already called out of work twelve times in the past five weeks? No? Well, whatever, I regret nothing.  That interview was beyond flawless, and in case you’re not a newsreader, Queen Bee is now being hailed across the board as pretty much the next Mother Teresa of our time.  Isn’t that such a compliment?! To Mother Teresa?! I think so.

Anyway, QB ended the program with a little ode to her BFF and my princess, Zoe Mercury.  It was the sweetest thing ever, and it brought tears to my eyes because it just makes me wish that I were Queen Bee’s best friend instead (LOL JK Zoe, ilusfm).  But in all seriousness, I did weep over our Queen’s graciousness (and then bottle my tears to gift wrap and send to her – not too weird, right?), because I’m just so grateful that a huge superstar is shedding her mysterious image to do good genuinely, and not just tack her name onto some charity without really caring.  And I’m glad that the rest of the world is starting to see and appreciate it too.  I hope now you’re all really understanding what a truly good person Queen Bee is, and why I stan for her, and that haters are all just pressed and unattractive.

- Chapter 6 -

A ROYAL PAIN

Pop Dinner

December 14
^th

It’s what everyone is thinking but won’t dare to say:  Queen Bee is becoming, quite honestly, a royal pain.  Yes, she is doing good and yes, her charity has raised a huge amount of money to fund projects against bullying – but why do we have to hear
that
much about her
that
damned often? We’re aware of the fact that she has done a complete one-eighty since last year, but to be entirely truthful, we’d prefer news of horrendous misdeeds at this point instead of the constant headlines of incessant and repetitive praise.  It gets old, and honestly, there are three other interesting celebrities involved in her charity.  Why don’t we talk about them?

Because wherever Queen Bee goes, she requires attention.  Copious amounts of it.  In fact, since Queen Bee has risen to the scene, stars like her boyfriend Tyler Chase have seen somewhat of a decline in popularity.  Chase, now strapped down with a girlfriend, has forfeited his untarnished teen icon status to be in a relationship with a fellow singer who seems to be sucking the fame from his career to rejuvenate her own.  After exhausting both him and his fans last year with her constant troublemaking, she has bounced back only to claim every ounce of spotlight in her Kick Bullying media tour – completely overshadowing the likes of Chase and Zoe Mercury, whose massive role as the latest Bond girl is going literally unspoken of because of Bee.  Not only that, Bee seemed to have slyly used Mercury for some of her own good publicity during their interview with Bryan Waterbury by showcasing her exaggerated modesty and kindness when praising her friend.  Is it any surprise that despite the words she had for Mercury,
Bee
was the one who emerged from the interview looking more saintly?

While the majority of the world will continue to be charmed by every step the young popstar takes, we at Pop Dinner have to excuse ourselves from this insufferable shrine of worship.  Personally, we need a break from Queen Bee, and it’s okay for you to admit that you do too.

BLOG WARS: THE FALL OF “HER ROYAL SECRECY”

Celeb-o-Matic

December 20
^th

It appears that the ups and downs of Queen Bee’s career also determine the rise and fall of the gossip blogs that follow her.  For anyone who cares to remember, the alleged photos of a disguise-less Queen Bee were released by blogger and professional hater, “Her Royal Secrecy,” who has since gone MIA – much like Queen Bee did when her career was in shambles last year.  Now that she’s back on the rise with smash successes in albums and charities, “Her Royal Secrecy” is nowhere to be found, with subscribers plummeting to almost half her original number. 

However, “Tara,” the writer behind the failed blog claims to be taking just a temporary sabbatical while gathering further proof that she does know of Queen Bee’s secret identity, along with other information.  But now that it has been months and months without any word (and no findings from internet communities who sought to unveil
her
true identity), it seems safe to say that “Tara” has either given up or has always been a royal hoax (not to mention a royal pain). 

In the meantime, we at Celeb-o-Matic are guiltily enjoying the musings of Justin, the “Bee Chasing Alien who carries a Gunn” and his obsession with defending Queen Bee and her posse, seemingly till the death.  Though he can get his snark on pretty often, Celebstan in one super fan that we can get behind.

“In short, what happens is we issue a statement that you’re ‘honored that so many of your fans are expressing their support by dressing in such impressive Queen Bee ensembles’ and call it a day.  It’s not worth looking into any more than that,” Perrin said, exasperated with Gemma’s prying questions.  Gemma chewed on her bottom lip, avoiding eye contact.  “And look, I understand why you’re upset, but this kind of crazy news is what keeps you relevant, sweetheart.”

“But how is it beneficial for us when this person’s running around making me look so
bad
? It’s not like she’s out there doing something good or doing even nothing – she’s out there making me look like some horrible, cheating bitch who hates her fans.”

“And that’s why we’re telling people it’s not you,” Perrin said slowly, arching her eyebrows.  Gemma looked up, squinting at Perrin’s expression.

“Hold on a second… you know it’s not actually me doing all that crazy stuff, right?”

“I don’t care if it’s you or not, sweetheart.”

Gemma felt her jaw drop.  “Oh my God, you think it’s me then?”

“
No
, sweetie.  Listen to me.  Mira painted a clear picture of the type of girl you are and I trust that woman, so do understand that I don’t actually think it’s you.  I’m just saying, I don’t care in this particular case because it’s not even that damaging – just as long as we release our statement.  And honestly, Pop Dinner is pure trash.  Can’t you find it in yourself to laugh at them?”

“Not really.”

“Well.  Then I don’t know,” Perrin said distractedly as she gazed at her phone.  Gemma rolled her eyes as Perrin eventually excused herself to take a call.  She walked out of her open glass office with her cell, smiling and laughing as she made small talk on the phone.  Gemma couldn’t understand why she didn’t seem worried.  There was a clear threat at hand, and she didn’t seem even slightly miffed.  It made her wonder if she was overreacting, if it really was a harmless case of an overzealous fan.  With her eyes still fixed on Perrin, she picked up without looking at who it was.