Not Dead Yet

57

A smart man in his early thirties, flanked by two equally smart women, stood behind The Grand Hotel’s wooden reception desk. He smiled warmly as Anna approached.

‘I’ve come to see Gaia Lafayette,’ she said.

His demeanour changed, very subtly, from warm to defensive, and he studied this rather strange-looking woman more closely. She looked weird enough, certainly, to be a friend of the star. ‘Is she expecting you, madam?’ He had a slight foreign accent, perhaps French, Anna thought.

‘Yes, she is,’ she said, the vodka giving her a lot of confidence and a calm, assured manner. Actually she gave me the signal on Top Gear, she nearly added, so confident was she feeling, but she held that nugget back.

‘May I have your name, please?’

‘My name?’ For an instant, Anna was thrown. ‘She will of course know it’s me!’

His smile faded. ‘Yes, but I will need your name, please.’

‘Right!’ She nodded assertively. ‘Tell her Anna. Anna is here.’

‘Anna?’ he waited patiently.

‘Anna.’

‘Your last name?’

‘My last name?’

She didn’t like the way he was looking at her. Last name. Maybe she shouldn’t have had that vodka. The haze was returning. She had to blink hard to bring him back into focus. ‘Just tell her that Anna is here,’ she said, impatient now.

He put his hand on the phone receiver. ‘I will need your last name,’ he said. ‘For Security.’ He glanced down. ‘I have a list and don’t see your name, Anna, on it. Perhaps your last name?’

‘Galicia,’ she replied.

‘Galicia?’

‘Yes.’

She could feel herself perspiring. Her armpits were damp. She hoped she had applied enough Gaia Nocturne Roll-On.

He looked down at the list and shook his head. Then he dialled a number, and after a few moments said, ‘I have Anna Galicia in reception to see Ms Lafayette.’

While he waited for the reply, Anna took the opportunity to try to read the names on his list, upside down. She saw Daily Mail.

The receptionist turned back to her after some moments, and said, ‘I’m sorry, you are not on their list.’

She reddened. ‘Um, yes, well, that’s probably because I’m a freelancer on the Daily Mail, not on staff, but I’m here from the Mail – to do a feature on Gaia.’ She fumbled inside her handbag and produced the false press card she’d made herself some years ago; it was useful for getting into the VIP areas of Gaia concerts.

That made sense to him; she looked a little kooky, the way some female journalists did; he’d seen plenty of journalists interviewing stars in here, and in the Lanesborough, where he worked previously, in London.

He took the card and read it, then said, ‘They’re expecting someone with a different name.’

Anna shrugged as if butter would not melt in her mouth. ‘I was asked to substitute at the last minute.’

‘Please go up to the first floor.’

As she turned away, knowing this had all been pre-planned by Gaia – just a little test for her! – she saw a group of people, three women and two gay guys she knew, fellow serious Gaia collectors, seated on a pair of sofas, all clutching record sleeves and CD booklets.

‘Anna, come and have a drink!’ one of the guys, Ricky – whose eBay identity was Gaia Slave - called out to her.

‘Thank you, but I’m actually on my way to meet Gaia,’ she replied, very smugly.

‘Never!’ said the youngest of the group, a girl in her early twenties. Her name was Kira Ashington, and she had purple streaks in her hair. Kira had a dog-grooming business and, to Anna’s fury, frequently outbid her in online auctions for Gaia memorabilia. It was delicious now to be able to take such sweet revenge.

‘I actually have a personal invitation from Gaia,’ Anna said, trying to look nonchalant.

‘How – how – how did you get that?’ Ricky was so chewed up with envy he could barely get the words out.

‘Because I’m her number one fan! She recognizes that.’

‘God, you are so lucky! Couldn’t her number two fan come with you?’ Kira asked.

‘Not tonight, Josephine.’ Anna blew her a kiss.

‘Have a wicked time!’ Ricky said.

‘Thank you.’ With her head held very high, Anna walked towards the lifts. She had never felt so proud in all her life.

Some moments later, as the lift doors opened, Anna stepped out on to the carpeted corridor. Two hulks, each wearing an earpiece attached to a cord, stood either side of a door, backs to the wall. They gave Anna a hostile look, like she was a herpes virus.

Walking up to them, feeling decidedly unstable on her heels now, thanks to that vodka, she announced herself and produced her press pass.

‘You ain’t expected, lady,’ the one on the left said, his lips barely moving.

‘Oh yes, I am expected. I’m Anna Galicia. Gaia’s expecting me.’

He looked down at her with big eyes, as expressionless as barren planets. ‘Not tonight, lady, she ain’t. She ain’t taking no more interviews.’

‘She is expecting me, she most definitely is!’

The giant on the right stared at her morosely. The one on the left said, ‘The boss is tired, she’s just flown the Atlantic. She’s done with interviews tonight. You want to make an appointment to interview her, call her in the morning.’

‘You don’t understand!’ Anna said. ‘I’m not interviewing her – we – we’re having a drink together! She invited me!’

‘You Anna Galicia?’

‘Yes I am!’

‘Your name ain’t on the list, lady.’

Anna felt frustration building inside her. ‘Fuck the list!’ she said.

He shrugged. ‘You wanna see the boss, you have to be on the list.’

‘There’s been a mistake! Really, a mistake. Please, ask her! Tell her Anna is here! Anna Galicia! She will know me! She’s expecting me. She’ll be mad at you if you don’t let me in, I promise you!’

He spoke quietly into his mouthpiece. Anna lip-read what he was saying. He was asking for confirmation. Her chest was heaving with frustration. Gaia was in there! The other side of that door. She was just feet away from her number one fan. For God’s sake, just feet away! Gaia wanted to meet her, she’d made that very plain, and now these morons were stopping her!

‘Sorry, lady, they’re telling me they don’t know who you are.’

Anna began drawing shorter and shorter breaths as her anger surged. ‘I’m not just another reporter, I’m her number one fan!’ she said. ‘Her number one fucking fan! If it wasn’t for me she’d probably be turning tricks in a seedy massage parlour – and you’d be totally somewhere else! She wants to see me. Now!’

The two guards exchanged a glance. Then the one she was talking to said, ‘I’m sorry, lady, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.’

‘Over my dead body,’ Anna said.

Then, to her astonishment, she saw a door open along the corridor and a woman, wearing a baseball cap, dark glasses, a crimson jogging suit and fancy trainers, emerged.

It was her!

‘Gaia!’ she called out, and began stumbling towards her. ‘Gaia, it’s Anna!’

Moments later both her arms were seized, gently but firmly, and her idol was engulfed by a platoon of bodyguards also in jogging suits and baseball caps, who swarmed out of the door.

‘Let me go!’ Anna shrieked at the two hulks restraining her.

The lift pinged and she saw the entourage enter.

Anna wriggled furiously. One of her shoes came off. ‘You have no right to do this. Let me go!’ she yelled.

The lift doors closed, and then they released her. Anna’s brain was racing. There must be an exit! Doors! Fire doors! Staircase! She saw it down to her right. A green FIRE EXIT sign. She knelt and grabbed her shoe, but without wasting time putting it back on, she broke into a hobbling run, holding the shoe in one hand, along the corridor, through the fire exit door and down the concrete stairs.

LOBBY LEVEL, she read, in small letters, and pushed open the door. She was in an unfamiliar part of the ground floor, with a sweeping staircase right behind her leading up to what looked like a conference level. Where was the lift she’d gone up in?

Then she saw the entourage stepping out across the hall. The cluster of jogging bodyguards, and in their midst she caught a glimpse of Gaia. She ran forward, still holding her shoe, calling out, ‘Gaia! Gaia! It’s Anna! Wait!’

She dodged past a small group of Japanese men, each towing a wheeled suitcase, and caught up with the entourage yards from the revolving door. ‘Gaia! It’s me, Anna!’ she called out again, racing to reach the door ahead of them, but two of the guards elbowed her aside.

‘Hey!’ she said indignantly, and pushed back, almost getting past them, and suddenly Gaia was right in front of her! Her face inches from her own. So close she could smell Gaia’s perfume, and was a little surprised it was not her idol’s own brand. ‘Gaia! It’s Anna! Hi-’

For a fleeting instant, Gaia raised her sunglasses, gave her a hard, blank, icy stare, then turned away and was gone, through the revolving door.

‘Secret fox!’ Anna called out desperately. ‘Gaia, it’s me, Anna! Anna! Secret fox!’ She lunged towards the door, but two of the tracksuited guards grabbed her arms, holding her back.

‘Let go of me!’ she yelled.

They continued holding her, so hard they were hurting her arms. She dropped her shoe. She wriggled like a wildcat, broke free, lost her balance and fell backwards to the floor, right on top of her fallen shoe which dug painfully into the small of her back.

She looked up, dazed and confused for an instant, and saw the five fellow Gaia collectors all looking at her. Ricky – Gaia Slave – came over to help her, but a hotel porter reached her first, knelt and asked if she was all right, then gently held her arm as she got back to her feet. Everything was spinning inside her head. Somehow she got her shoe back on. She saw the five collectors staring at her.

‘We thought you were her number one fan, Anna!’ Kira, the girl with the purple streaked hair, said mockingly.

All five of them laughed.

Anna walked out through the revolving doors and stood on the pavement. She was breathing in short, hard, angry bursts. The paparazzi, she could see, were running across the road, chasing after the pack of joggers that was heading away along the promenade.

‘Can I get you a taxi, madam?’ the doorman asked.

‘I don’t want a fucking taxi,’ she said, smarting with humiliation and shaking with rage, struggling to open the clasp of her handbag. Then she rummaged inside it and pulled out her mobile phone. ‘I’ve been assaulted, I want the police.’