Free Eternally North by Tillie Cole

I chose that
vocation, I decided to turn the tables on a certain
socially-challenged superstar. Let’s just say that I was more than
a little intrigued by the guy.
    “So, acting?” I
declared in Tudor’s direction.
    “Yeah. Acting,” was
the enlightening response.
    Undeterred, I pushed
further. “How did all that happen?”
    Tudor shrugged
dismissively. “I kinda fell into it, but I love what I do and seem
to be doing alright.”
    You definitely got the
vibe that he didn’t like to talk about his stardom too much. A
modest actor too? He was full of surprises.
    "Alright? You must
be doing better than that for me to know your name. I'm not into
action films but even I recognised you."
    He just shrugged and
blushed.
    Henry put his elbows on
the table and tilted his head, studying me. "You mean you
haven't seen one of his films? You must be the only person left on
the planet who hasn’t."
    I shook my head. "Nope,
action’s not my thing." I turned to Tudor. "I only hear
good things though."
    He nodded once,
embarrassed as his mother gushed, "Oh he is, he's so talented.
His film has broken lots of records. We’re all so proud."
    Tudor was now beaming
red. I felt I should relieve him from the torture.
    “So if you have just
moved here, where do you all come from?” I noticed Boleyn flinch,
which seemed a bit peculiar.
    “Originally Victoria,
BC, then Vancouver but we like here better. This is home now,”
declared Pamela, hugging Boleyn close. "Tate is from LA,
though."
    Feeling a little
awkward at the reaction to what I deemed an innocent question, I
carried on quizzing Tudor.
    “Do you live in La-La
land then too? Are you just visiting? You can't live in Calgary and
be an actor surely? Are you just taking a break from escorting
Victoria’s Secret models to dine on lettuce leaves and strutting
their angel-winged stuff at the glitzy premieres as your token arm
candy?”
    I gathered I had asked
the wrong question by the total silence and the heads bowed down to
the table.
    Whoops! Foot in mouth
once again. I just couldn’t figure out why.
    After a few moments,
Tudor fixed his gaze on me. “No, I live near the family, just under
the radar from the fame gig. No-one really knows I'm here. I wanted
to live somewhere where people didn’t really care about celebrity.
No annoying photographers, you know?”
    “Yeah. I can’t
imagine how you cope with being followed around all the time. I’d
hate it. I bet by the size of you, you hardly go unnoticed very
often.” Tudor seemed slightly deflated by what I’d said and just
nodded. I was honestly digging my own grave. I couldn’t say
anything right.
    “It’s bad when they
write untrue things about you, but it comes with the job, I guess. In
Calgary though, I can go pretty unnoticed, and these lot have an
alias so people don’t click on,” he explained.
    “Ah. Jones . I
wondered what that was about.”
    “It’s just easier,
especially for Boleyn at school, you know?” professed Pamela. She
shifted on her seat nervously, “I don’t mean to sound out of line
when I say this, but can I ask that you keep all of this to yourself?
Boleyn finds it difficult dealing with Tudor’s fame at school. And
we have a confidentiality agreement with the principal about
anonymity,” she informed me, clearly embarrassed.
    “It’s a given. I
promise,” I assured them all.
    There was a bit of
awkward tension around the table, and so the best option seemed to
navigate the conversation to Tate.
    “So Tate, what’s
your deal?” I smiled at him, eager to find out more about the
incredibly reserved cutie. He was almost a mute.
    “I’m Tudor’s
assistant. Where he goes, I go. It’s my blessing and my curse,”
he playfully nudged Tudor, earning a wink.
    “He’s a godsend. I
am not organised at all, and Tate takes care of everything. I
wouldn't function without him,” Tudor responded, jabbing Tate on
the arm.
    Tate blushed. I
couldn't imagine being that shy.
    It was at that