Fame Isn't My Game

*Author’s note: Hi everyone! Thanks for reading my story! I just thought I would say that Ophelia is my absolute favorite name. This story is sort of what I want my future to look like. What I mean is, if I am not an author when I am older I would love to have my own talk show or be a sports broadcaster. Once again thanks for reading this!*

I had just had my first child, Ophelia. Not the best timing though. I was a sports broadcaster and I went into a shooting pain during the show. I had to leave early and get to the hospital to have my baby. My co-host (Emily) had to do everything by herself. To top it all off the ratings were better than we had ever had. Everyone loved her. She had only been working here for a month and she was already more likable than me. 

I had arrived home at my apartment with Ophelia and got a call from the station. I answered it quickly. They told me they were going to turn the broadcasting station into a talk show. They told me it was just a show about Emily. I was fired. I had no job and a baby in my hands.

My fiance was rarely home. His job needed him to travel often. He didn’t get paid as much as I thought he should.

The baby was asleep, that was my cue to start looking for a new job. A couple of years ago my boss had told me I had a good talking voice. He said I was perfect for the job. I looked for something that had to do with talking or something of that nature. 

I looked up numerous jobs and talk shows, nothing came up. I lied on my bed angry with myself. I almost started crying when an idea popped into my head. I could start my talk show. It could be entirely true and about my life. Ophelia could be on it, the fans would love it. Hopefully.

---

I needed a camera crew and someplace to film first. I called Mike (my fiance) first. He answered after two rings. 

“Hey, Zenita! I have great news! I’m coming home today! I can’t wait to see you and Ophelia!”

“Yay! I can’t wait either! I also have some great news… I think I’m gonna start my own talk show. You could be on it and so could--”

“Woah, Woah! Your own talk show? Start from scratch? That’s a lot of work! But if that’s what you want, I’m up for it! This could be fun! We can get into the details when I get home! I gotta catch my plane. I’ll be home in about six hours!”

“Okay, Love you!” I said before he hung up.

---

Mike was on board. Now all I needed to do was a bunch of research. And of course, to take care of Ophelia. 

I didn’t exactly know what I was doing, but I knew she was awake. I heard her crying right away. I got her bottle out of the fridge and softly put it in her mouth. The crying stopped almost immediately. 

Now that she was asleep once again, I went online and looked for a camera crew. I looked up multiple things and finally found the perfect site. I hired over a dozen new workers and started planning the show. 

I decided to do different segments. For example, one could be about Mike, one could be about Ophelia, maybe one could even be about my old job. 

I planned everything out on notecards. I wrote a script and tried different techniques. Shortly after I finished the script I fell into a deep sleep. 

---

I woke up to the sound of a deep singing voice coming from where Ophelia was sleeping. I got up and ran to where she was. Next to her crib was Mike singing her a lullaby. I was so touched that I came over and started singing along with them. Mike smiled at me and hugged me.

“I came home to her crying while you were asleep. I didn’t want to wake you,” He said in a hushed voice.

I pulled him into the other room and showed him my script. He read it and smiled. “Now who is this amazing Mike character? He seems like a great guy!” We both laughed quietly, being careful not to wake the baby. 

“I know it’s not perfect but with your help, I think we can make it a big hit!” I explained everything to him. I told him about all the different things we could try. I also told him about getting fired from my dream job. He just nodded at that one, he didn’t seem to mind.

After we had hired all the crew members and bought all the cameras and supplies, we moved onto where we would put the show on. 

We both decided that we had a big enough space in the living room to fit the cameras. If the show got big, one day we could maybe afford a studio. We had a fancy couch that would look perfect on the show.

We had planned everything from top to bottom, except for one tiny detail. What was it going to be called? Mike came up with several clever names, but none of them were clicking for me. Then I got it. ‘Ophelia and me’. It was the perfect way to showcase my new baby. If people knew it was about a newborn baby, maybe they would want to watch it even more. Mike loved it too. 

We started setting up the ‘stage’. Mike re-painted the wall with a light white color. Then I positioned the couch a little more to the right. I also set up some fancy pillows to make it look more professional. 

In blue paint on the wall behind me, Mike wrote ‘Ophelia and Me’. It looked like a real station. We decided we would air our first show in a couple of days. We both wanted to go for it. We thought our viewers would like to see something real and action-packed. 

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It was a Thursday afternoon, the day before our first show. Yesterday we had a rehearsal with all our crew members. The cameras had been set up. We were ready. Today was the last rehearsal before the show. All of our crew members were nice. 

Mike had memorized his part and I told him he could make it up as we went along. At the beginning of the show, Ophelia and I would be sitting on the couch. I would introduce the show and tell a little bit about myself. Later in the show, Mike would come in and tell a little about himself. 

The rehearsal went great. We all had a great time and we were all ready. We had also bought some new lights to make the set look prettier. 

Mike and I decided to go to bed early so we could be wide awake for the show. Ophelia went right to bed as well. She woke up a couple of times in the night but fell asleep right after.

It was finally the day of shooting. The crew was here at seven a.m. I had on my nicest dress. It wasn’t too fancy, but it was fancy. Mike had a collared shirt and black pants with a belt. We dressed Ophelia in a little pink dress and a yellow headband. 

I sat on the couch with Ophelia on my lap. The crew counted down and everything went as planned.

***

Mike and I were both happy with the show. It aired right away. We had asked some stations if we could play our show on their channel. Only one agreed, but at least it was something. 

The next day was the most stressful. We woke up to banging on the door and dings of the doorbell. We both got up to see what the ruckus was. We opened the door and in front of us were at least a dozen cameras flashing in our faces. Luckily Mike and I had put on formal clothing before opening the door. 

A bunch of reporters with microphones were waving their hands at our faces. Screaming questions at us. I finally tuned in and listened. Mike walked back inside and grabbed Ophelia. “How does it feel to be famous?” One of the reporters asked. I didn’t answer that one.

“Zenita! Your show was a huge hit last night! We are dying to know, did you do it all for the money? Fame?” I didn’t want people to think I made a talk show, for this reason, so I decided to answer that question. 

“Fame isn’t my game. I just want to make people smile. Money? I already had a great job that paid well, I don’t need much more. I like to make people happy, I like to make myself happy. That’s the real reason.” I was proud of my answer.

When all the reporters left we turned on the television. It was me! They were showing what I told the reporters. The world was talking about our show. Later the sports station called me telling me they wanted me back. 

I guess they all want you once you’re famous….