CHAPTER 231: ACTS OF SERVICE (1)

It was their off day before filming, and as he was called once again to the PD’s office bright and early in the morning, Ari made himself comfortable in the chair and even helped himself to a bottle of water, much to the amusement and slight irritation of the PD.

After waffling between scolding him and just letting him be, PD Emily got back to the main topic of conversation.

"And you’re sure you don’t want to know anything about the person? Nothing at all, you want to file a police report and press charges?"

"Yeah. Do I just need to give a statement?"

"Since you are the person who was hit, yes."

PD Emily glanced at the young man sitting in front of her with a very vivid purple bruise over his right eye before sighing.

"Can I dissuade you from doing so? It’s terrible press for the show."

"So?" Ari blinked at the PD, wondering what the hell the show’s reputation had to do with him.

They certainly didn’t care about the reputation and feelings of any of the contestants when they edited them however they pleased.

"The higher-ups would prefer that a criminal case not be attached to the show. Especially from a contestant against a fan."

"And I would prefer not having a bottle hit my face, giving me a black eye, and a headache that won’t go away, but here we are. It seems like we both can’t have what we want."

Seeing the stubborn glint in his eyes, PD Emily sighed before grumbling to herself.

Her supervisors failed to realize that this was the one contestant who seemed to care the least about his reputation and really couldn’t be intimidated into doing something he really didn’t want to do.

As seen by his previous actions, he had to be cajoled, or he would make everyone aware of his issues.

"Ariel. You’re pretty smart, so I’ll be frank. Let’s make a deal. The higher-ups would prefer that you not file anything, as it would be a bad look for us and bad for you, too, as a person who’s on the show. It could affect your reputation. How about this, we’ll ensure that the person and anyone associated with them are barred from attending any future events we host. We’ll also issue a strict warning to all fans moving forward and have extra security to prevent an issue like this from happening. In return, you can ask for something reasonable and we’ll do our best to provide it."

Ari didn’t even have to think about what he wanted.

"Okay. Please start giving me a better edit. I don’t need to be the golden boy, but I’m tired of being the face of controversy on the show."

"That’s a bit difficult."

"Then I’ll be filing a police report. To be honest, I don’t care about the show’s reputation. My life is already on the internet, and due to production, my reputation is more volatile than the stock market, and you can tank it anytime you feel like it. At least with this situation, everyone can see that I’m innocent and that this is your fault for not protecting me, no matter how you try to spin it. We’ll continue being in the negative limelight together."

PD Emily: ಠ_ಠ

Ari: ಠ_ಠ

"I told them that you wouldn’t go for it."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing. Fine. Let’s make a deal. I’ll give you a good edit with no drama for 1 episode."

"You must be joking. 10 episodes."

"2 episodes."

"20 episodes."

PD Emily: ಠ_ಠ

"I don’t think you know how negotiations work. You’re supposed to come down, while I go up. Then we meet in the middle. We don’t even have 20 episodes remaining."

Ari gave the PD a bright smile.

"I know how negotiations work. I’m also aware of how pitiful I look with a black eye that I’ll definitely refuse to cover with makeup until it heals. And the last time I had a black eye, it lasted for about a month, and I wore makeup and a mask. I have no plans to do so this time. From now on, every chance I get, I will reference the incident and make it look like my eye hurts and the injury has scarred me for life, especially because the production team didn’t protect me. You know me, I like to complain at every opportunity, and I doubt you’ll be able to shut my microphone off in time, every time."

PD Emily looked him over before letting out a tiny smile.

"Touche. So 4 episodes?"

"Let’s make it an even 6."

"Five, and that’s my final offer."

"Deal."

PD Emily held out her left hand for a handshake, and Ari shook it firmly.

"Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about other things. Firstly, there’s an issue with the passport information you provided, which caused us problems when buying your plane ticket. Supposedly, it’s expired."

"Yes, that’s right."

"What?"

"Yeah, it’s expired," Ari repeated himself, thinking that she didn’t hear him.

"What about the French one? They stay will be under 90 days so no visa needed."

"It’s also expired."

"Is it a recent expiry?"

"No. They’ve been expired for a couple of years."

Instead of saying anything, PD Emily just closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself down.

If not, she felt as if her blood would start boiling and she would explode.

It was always something with this one. And then he would look at her with an innocent expression as if he had done nothing wrong.

"To be fair, the instructions didn’t say to enter a valid passport. It just asked if I had one and to upload my basic information and passport ID, which I did. Due to certain issues, I couldn’t get a renewal, and I haven’t had the time since." Ari tried to explain, but the PD waved him off.

"Please be quiet. I’m thinking."

"Okay."

Ari pretended to zip his mouth as the PD held her head and just breathed deeply.

"We’re going to Korea after the next mission. We’re wrapping up the paperwork now. When did you plan on getting your passport and notifying us that the submitted information had expired?"

"Soon?"

"When is soon? Today? Tomorrow?"

"This week?"

[Ah, we’re back to lying?]

Ari just ignored the message that popped up in front of his vision and tried to look as innocent as possible.

"Are you asking me or telling me? Do you even have an appointment booked?"

"Yes?"

As Ari avoided eye contact, PD Emily took another deep breath before responding, "Whatever. All I know is that you need to submit a valid American passport within the next couple of days, and I don’t care if you have to fly to Alaska or Hawaii to get one, just get it done. Otherwise, you’ll be kicked out. Understand?"

"Okay. Then if I need to leave..."

"Tell one of the writers. You’re close with Kate, right? Let her know. Don’t bother me about it."

"Can I borrow a makeup artist to cover this bruise and get my passport photo taken and printed here or..."

"Ariel. Normally, I entertain you, I occasionally find you funny, but you are really pushing my buttons today. There are serious issues going on."

Sensing that the PD was actually frustrated instead of being her usual cold self, Ari stopped messing around.

"Got it. Then I’ll let you be and get that valid passport to you as soon as possible. In fact, instead of resting, I’ll use my free day and get it done today! Have a good rest of your day, PD."

As Ari got up to leave, PD Emily stopped him.

"Wait, do you plan on going to your high school graduation? We will be back in the US by then."

At the seemingly random question, Ari looked at her suspiciously.

"Why?"

"To film it, of course. It’s great footage and it would be stupid to miss it. We don’t need your permission; that’s been secured from your school, but apparently, attendance isn’t mandatory even though you’re supposed to give a speech. Will you be attending?"

"Isn’t this an invasion of my privacy?"

"What privacy? Welcome to the entertainment business, where privacy is a luxury that doesn’t exist. There are already groups being formed online for people planning to attend, and your principal has informed me that they’ve had to secure a bigger venue and get additional security because people have been calling and acting strangely. Will you be going?"

Completely weirded out at the thought, Ari could only rub his arms as they got filled with goosebumps.

"No, I don’t think I’ll attend it. I’ll just collect my diploma later."

"Fine. Let me know if you change your mind. And get that passport. Now get out. And for the love of god, please. I don’t want to see you here again. I’m tired."

"Got it."

Giving the PD a sloppy salute, Ari left her office and immediately went to the computer room to book an appointment.

The last time he checked, there were plenty of remaining time slots available. If he picked a later time, he could visit a makeup shop to cover up his bruise, then get a passport photo taken before heading to the appointment.

Unfortunately, when he checked the Los Angeles Passport website.

There were no appointments available for a month.

When he checked neighboring cities and states, they had no available appointment time slots either.

Thinking it wasn’t that serious, Ari also checked Hawaii and Alaska, but they were fully booked as well.

[Uh oh?]

[Weren’t you super confident previously?]

[I believe that you said that it’s fine, there are lots of appointments.]

[What’s this then?]

"No, no, it’s fine, she said, the French passport would work too. I’ll just check the French consulate."

Ari quickly checked the French consulate’s appointment times, but they were all gone as well, with the closest date being months away.

"No! Why? What’s happened all of a sudden?"

What the heck had happened within the last two weeks?

[When was the last time you checked this?]

"Two weeks ago?"

[Right, right.]

[Time flies when you’re having fun, and the world doesn’t stop on your schedule.]

[Schools are almost out, and people are going to travel for vacation.]

[And what do you need to travel when going on a vacation?]

"A passport?"

[Ding! Ding! Ding!]

[Wow! So smart!]

[The education system is not a total failure!]

Ari: ಠ_ಠ

Since I was the one who was overconfident, I’ll let it slide this once, but this still sucks.

"But what am I supposed to do? I can’t wait 6 weeks for the traditional method. Can I be fake deported to France and then come back? But that’s a long trip. Is there anyone I can bribe at the passport office?"

[Sigh.]

[Ever since I saw your lackadaisical attitude toward the mission, I suspected that this would occur and prepared for it.]

[Be grateful.]

[Ding!]

[Surprise Mission: Do good things and hopefully, it circles back around.]

[A wise man once said that procrastination makes easy things hard, hard things harder! And your life seems very hard. But thankfully, life is all about the people you know, and no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.]

[Due to your underdeveloped cranial front lobe and general lack of urgency, all the passport appointments you thought were available no longer exist. By completing acts of service to help others around the city of Los Angeles and getting to know people, you will also help someone in your time of need.]

[Time Limit: End of Day]

[Task 1/4: Volunteer at a soup kitchen at Skid Row]

[Reward: Passport Appointment (American) & Camouflage Healing Bandaid (Temporary).]

[Failure: You will not get a passport and, as a result, get kicked out of the popstar academy program, letting William win.]

[Cannot be refused.]

[Are you ready to work hard for that passport appointment?]

"Can I at least get Jamie to give me a ride to complete these tasks?"

[No.]

[But don’t worry, I will get you where you need to go on time through my new handy, dandy map feature.]

"But-"

[No buts!]

[Right now, you have a bus to catch in about....12 minutes. And the stop is over a mile away. Since your card and cash are already in your shoes, I suggest you notify a staff member that you’re leaving and start running.]

"Can I at least get my phone from the staff?"

[Sure.]

[If you’re confident in running a sub-8-minute mile?]

[Time remaining: 10 min 30 seconds.]

"....."

With a resigned sigh, Ari pulled his hood up and began running.