Contemporary story
On

The Star

When the world started to end, you were ashamed of yourself for weeping bitterly in your bedroom for an entire day. You saw the president crying and begging on TV and it sent you into a panic. You lay in bed with the blankets pulled up to your nose, crying, refusing to answer the door when the maid, your manager, your assistant, and finally your parents begged you to come out.

After twenty-four hours, your father took the door off its hinges and dragged you down the stairs into your sunken living room with the white carpet and leather couches. You kicked and screamed until he had to pick you up and carry you over his shoulder. You called him a motherfucker and threatened to take back the Mercedes you'd purchased for him last Christmas.

Your mother sat solemnly on the couch, her hands clenched into fists on top of the newspaper in her lap. She said it was all over.

You glowered and glared; you asked what the hell is happening, and will you still be on the talk show circuit next month?

The television stations are all color bars and static. Your father says that the talk shows are all gone, and not to worry. He tells you that there are far more important things happening right now. How can you not worry? You were supposed to debut your new fragrance next month to coincide with the release of your latest album.

Your mother tells you that the album isn't going to happen, and she clenches her fists even tighter than before. You can't believe what she's saying. How can she say that? There will always be an album, and there will always be television. You tell your parents they're idiots, and that this will all blow over in a few days, as soon as they replace that pussy of a president.

Your mother says that the world is ending. They dropped bombs, she says darkly.

There are diseases and radiation poisoning spreading all over the country, your father says.

Not in LA you shout defiantly.

Your mother holds up the newspapers one at a time. WAR is on the cover of each one, along with speculations on the doomed fate of the country, including LA. You feel sick, you're dizzy. You want to know what you did to deserve this, and how anyone could possibly do such a thing before you had a chance to accomplish the things that mean so much to you.

*

Two days later, your mother and father are discussing survival, and filling jugs with water from the tap just in case. Your father is worried about the electricity holding out. You sit in the living room wondering why all the servants quit the day before, and if your assistant is ever going to call you back. The only connection to the outside world is the radio, and it's hard to get real information between the crying and praying on almost every channel. On the pop station, the dj says over and over that it's only a matter of time. Your father tells you to switch to the AM band because they have more sense on AM, goddammit.

You hear reports of death and destruction all over the country, and all you can think is that you hope LA is okay. Even after reports of people dead in their cars, you imagine Rodeo Drive the same as it ever was, untouched by nasty things like war, sickness and death. How could a place a beautiful as Hollywood ever be destroyed? No one messes with LA, you say, and your father won't look you in the eye.

When the electricity goes out that night, your eyes fill with frustrated tears, and you light the scented candles you'd been saving for a special occasion. The radio runs on batteries, but they won't last long. Your father tells you to conserve them, and stop leaving the radio on so much. You tell him to shut up, and that you can afford thousands of batteries. The man on the radio says that much of the east coast is destroyed, along with Detroit and Chicago. He says that the radiation is coming west at an alarming rate, and you wish you had a map so you'd know what that meant. Instead of worrying, you get out that limited edition pink nail polish and give yourself a pedicure. It isn't until you spill the bottle, and nail polish gets all over the carpet that you realize you can't stop crying.

In the morning, your dad tells you that your mother is very sick, and he doesn't feel so well himself. You roll your eyes and tell them to take some pepto, but on the inside, you can't deal with the possibility of them dying and leaving you alone, so you go back to your room and sit in front of the window. Your yard looks the same. There is no death and destruction on your property, but you wonder what's changed outside of your front gates.

In the afternoon, you bring your four gold records and three Grammy awards up to your room so you can look at them. Your finger traces your name on the awards over and over, and you can't comprehend how someone who has accomplished so much in such a short time should be allowed to go through something as horrible as this. You're a star, for God's sake, you deserve better than this.

Your father is calling your name in the hall. He sounds sick. His voice breaks repeatedly, and he's gagging between words. You don't want him to throw up on the carpet in the hall, but you keep your mouth shut. If he does, the cleaning woman will take care of it tomorrow. You pull the blankets up to your chin and close your eyes. Your father's voice sounds farther and farther away now as you clutch the Grammy close to your chest and squeeze your eyes shut.

Tomorrow you'll wake up and things will be better. Tomorrow you'll be on the Tonight Show, and be as charming as ever. Tomorrow your agent will apologize for not calling. Tomorrow you'll still be a star.

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Average: 5 (1 vote)

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What will happen tomorrow?

Treasure whatever is valuable,
enjoy every moment of your life,
dont leave any regrets,
course no one knows what will happen tomorrow...

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WOW!!!!

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I picked this story because it was easy reading and very up-to-date appropriate give the fact that fame is seen as an end all be all in todays age. I enjoyed the final words. Basically, in the end, we are ALL we have. And for all their fame and glamour, money as well, nothing can save them from the downfalls of humanity, even something as humdrum as a pimple. We all succumb to the same ending.

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Although narrating in the second person and the future setting was creative, I cant say I enjoyed reading this story. The narrator as a character is flat; at the beginning we see an impossibly self-absorbed star that is delusioned in her stubborn refusal to accept reality. At the end, we see that nothing has changed. This made the ending especially dull as I was expecting something a little more. Or maybe something a little less ridiculous than the star watching her father die and hoping that tomorrow shell be a celebrity.

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Is this a satire? It seems the author is trying to convey the spoiled narcicism of some celebrities/people... especially those with weatlh, fame and power. I have no sympathy for the main character, "the star", who behaves like a snotty six year old. Its a shame that she even gets to last as long as she does and that her familys last days with her were suffered by her indifference.

Nicely written.

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I really enjoyed reading this story. In todays celebrity-crazed society I found it very appropriate. The way "the star" uses denial to solve her problems is something people seem to be doing more and more nowadays.
Very well written, good job!

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very good

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Id like to disagree with a couple of the above commenters and say I liked it very much. For me it well illustrates our societys obsession with consumerism and the blind worship we have for capitilism and celebrity. When the world ends how much of our lives will we have wasted on these things?

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VERY VERY BUT VERY ?!?!?CONFUSING?!?!?!

IT HAS NOT GOOD DETAILS

AND WHY DOES THE WORLD "END"

THE GIRL IN THIS STORY IS SOOO CONCIDED!!!
WELL SHES "LOCO FOR HOT COCO"

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I dont think the bad words are necessarily "needless". They give more insight into the main character.

What sentence has more impact?

"You called him a motherfucker and threatened to take back the Mercedes youd purchased for him last Christmas."

OR

"You called him names and threatened to take back the Mercedes youd purchased for him last Christmas."

Personally, it adds something, something that I feel is needed. It makes the star seem way more spoiled and nasty.

The writers on this website dont write lessons. They write stories that they want to write. We read the ones we want to read. If you feel something is innapropriate, dont share it with your class. Choose something else, instead. I think its disrespectful to the writers to expect them to censor everything and dumb things down just so someone can read it to their students. Maybe you could just give them a sample to read (one containing no curse words), or censor it yourself so they can still read the whole thing (but make sure you tell them you replaced some of the bad words with more appropriate ones so theyre not ingorant of this womans true literary work.)

And if were talking high school kids, then its really no big deal. They talk worse than that all the time, and the fowl language might even help them to connect to the story better, its something they can relate to. (And theyll probably respect the teacher more for not treating them like litle kids who cant handle that kinda thing.)

Anyway, sorry for the diatribe. I commented before, but Ill say it again, well-done!

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Wow, i must say that this is a very powerful story. I love that you touched on something that is on the mind of many teens. Fame and fortune,but we find out that even that cant keep you safe, and that in the end you "the star" are just like everyone else.You cry, you laugh, you love...and than you die. Not all the money in the world can change you from being human, so just learn to deal with it!
Wonderfully done =)

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rather than complain about the presence of bad words, wouldnt it be more useful to talk to your students about why theyre there? You surely dont think theyve never heard these words before?

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Its a good work work by the authore. In India the youth always face the hurdle from family. its a nice attempt in the progress of youth. i feel if you write more in this issue problem can be sort out and they can be star of future.

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amazing

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It is good. The way its put in second person, saying you all the time, is trying to make you feel the same way the star does but because its lack of descriptive words and the way it is actually written, the story would have sounded a lot better in first person because then you could actually believe that it was the star saying it. The ending i must say was very good, it does tie in very well with the personality of it all. The star hoping its all a dream and hoping she will wake up and everything is ok while everything is dying around her, is brilliant, i think it shows who the girl actually is. Good story, but needs some work

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An entertaining and thoroughly relevant read in this day and age of WMDs and SSDs (Stars of Self-Destruction).

I love the use of Second Person! It brings a vehemence to the narrator. Harsh but fair.

Despite others suggestions here, this story would be far less interesting written in first person. Its strength lies in its narrators tone.

And for what its worth, I agree with the positive comments on the choice of language. The "bad words" help create the character and are effective in obtaining the writer;s aims. If you are showing this stuff to pupils, most of them will have heard far worse from their peers. If not, you probably shouldnt be using this stuff with a Year 7 class :)

Excellent prose. Keep on writing!

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the tune of narrator was so simple(realistic though) and the stars sayings are so vivid that i feel as if they are not living in the same world, narrator is a kind of ghost around her or may be a inner voice or an angel etc. star is like a deaf and also selfish and i think that makes the story even successful and interesting

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Cool but suggesting maby a destructive future for us is not cool. At first i felt the second person was weird but dicovered that it flowed as it went along. Good read but not to entertaining just kind of a scary representaion of stars. It would of been cool to try and go mind of that star through second person. Now thats a challenge!

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I find this very interesting story I leave a great enseñansa: that the values of the family has to be based on respect, the union, solidarity, and many drivers do not make an effort to know thats happening to our loved ones.natiszea.blogspot.com

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Well, I guess I flip-flopped a bit here, because after thinking about it (after I argued--somewhat arrogantly--that the curse words were somehow relevant to the story), I have to admit that what the others say is true. While the writers here shouldnt particularly focus on writing for the classroom, they should think about who their intended audience is and how they can most effectively connect with them through their writing.

The profanity is not only unnecessary, it devalues the story. This story, in my opinion, works better for youths--the starry-eyed, celebrity-obsessed generation who grew up with celebrities who were celebrated and respected for their mistakes and bad behavior. This story is for them and them in particular, since its really sort of a juvenile topic. The curse words imply that this is a story intended for adults or young-adults, but the content just wouldnt be satisfactory for most people in that age-range.

With the profanity left in, the story sucks because it doesnt speak to its readers on their level, and it basically neglects the only age group that would find it relevent.

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