When Darren returned home he was carrying two giant shopping bags. He began handing her things out of them like it was Christmas morning. Two sparkly bodysuits, torches you could light on fire, juggling knives, face paint in assorted colors, body glitter by the tub and the latest smartphone. He explained that she would need this in order to keep track of her gigs and be available to him 24/7. She nearly cried imagining the amount of money he must have spent on her, and the pressure to do well was nearly too much to handle. Hopefully a good night of rest would help her feel better tomorrow.
A week later Gwen still felt silly in the new outfits Darren had bought her. They were hot, tight, itchy, and got glitter everywhere. How did professionals perform in these things! She was sticking to her old acrobatics and mime routines until people showed up, then she was supposed to start juggling. She was fairly confident with her clubs, but the swords he forced her to take with her scared the bejesus out of her. Gwen had promised him she would use them though, and she didn't want to waste the money he had spent on her. That night she was supposed to meet the manager of the stage at the park audition for a gig. She was amazed that Darren had helped her get an audition so fast, but honestly she didn't believe she was nearly good enough yet.
Of course she dropped the swords every time she started to gain some speed juggling them; the fear of cutting her hand off was just too real. After apologizing to the crowd that had gathered she stopped performing and had lunch, but then she couldn't get the heart to begin again. She was too embarrassed by her earlier failures. When the sun set she found the proprietor and began to audition, but he told her that she didn't need to bother and to show up tomorrow at seven. How strange!
Darren had gone back to work days ago, so she spent the day at home worrying herself sick over the performance. By the time she showed up she was faint from not eating and tired from not sleeping. She went through her mime act and was juggling her clubs when she could hear the audience. "Swords, Swords, Swords" they were shouting. She could see the stage owner urging them on. Hesitantly she picked up the swords and began to juggle. She was doing quite well when she decided to try a flip under her leg - and dropped them all. Luckily she was un-injured, but she could hear the booing from the crowd. After that she quickly ended the performance and ran home.
Darren was upstairs playing video games again when she got home. She told him all about her failure and the crowds anger and he told her not to worry.
"Take tomorrow to practice at the park, get people to watch you, and you have another performance at the park Sunday. Wear the purple outfit, and don't let me down."
Then he wrapped his arms around her in a sweet hug and she felt better.
Gwen's second show went a bit better than the first - she didn't drop the swords, but she didn't attempt any tricks with them either, so it was a bit boring. Unfortunately no one showed up to see her success.
She dutifully finished the show as though there was a big audience. When it was all over she found the proprietor sitting on a bench nearby, reading a newspaper. Not even he had watched her show! She began to apologize for the lack of audience and he waved her away.
"It's fine, just come back Wednesday and be ready to do it again."
Gwen was stunned. She thought getting a steady gig was going to be much more difficult than this. Apparently she was really naturally talented, just like Darren had told her she was. She was so happy heading home she could kiss him! But she wouldn't because that would be weird...he was her boss.
When she arrived home Darren was waiting for her with a meal prepared.
"Good news! I got you an invitation to a big party on tomorrow night. Use the opportunity to mingle. There is a dress for you on your bed. I expect to hear good things."
Gwen was nervous about the party - she would rather be performing at it than attending it in this lovely dress. She could tell it was expensive and just hoped she didn't spill anything on it. She entered the mansion in the hills and just wandered around a bit, managing to avoid taking to anyone and taking a private tour. She could only imagine living somewhere so big and fancy. Eventually she talked herself into going back ut to the main room. She had promised Darren that she would mingle, so she would.
She met some really nice people, and some really snobby ones. One blonde in particular was really strange around her.
"You are Darren's new girl right? I'm Celeste, I was a singer when he offered to pick me up. I turned him down because I had heard from a friend he was no good. You be careful with him - don't let him overwork you, and don't fall in love with him!"
Gwen finally promised when it became clear Celeste was not going to give up, but secretly she thought the lady was crazy. Darren had never been anything but nice and supportive with her.
Gwen could not stand this party another minute - everyone was giving her strange looks when she told them that Darren was her manager. It was insulting to her and to Darren, and she would not stand for it. She had promised Darren she would be out until at least Midnight but she was sure he couldn't get too mad about leaving a few hours early.
Gwen let herself into the house and immediately heard a female talking upstairs, followed by a shushing noise. She decided to stay downstairs and get some food until she figured out what was going on. Sitting in the shadows downstairs she was unseen by the blond who snuck out the front door.
Neither Gwen nor Darren ever brought it up.
