Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION - They’re all harpies
S.H – 16 years old
The smell of tobacco and other illicit substances filled the house. The entire living room was packed with art school students. Many were already established actors; others were simply there to have a good time. And in the middle of all that revelry was Sarah, who had arrived with her friends and was now pinned against the wall, being devoured by a boy she didn’t even know. The effects of alcohol often aroused a libido in her that, if it hadn’t been for them, under other circumstances, she might not have even looked at him.
Yet there she was, wrapping her long legs around the boy, trying not to fall since he had decided to press his hands to her breasts and wouldn’t move away. His clumsy tongue made their kiss more intense, and the excess saliva brought her back to reality. He wasn’t an expert at this, nor was he trying to be; he just wanted to come and forget about her.
She could tell that the boy didn’t know her at all. She lowered her legs, placing her feet on the floor, and sighed heavily. She could find someone better if she waited, but she believed the boy’s beauty was enough to warm her heart. She took his hand and led him to one of the upstairs bedrooms.
“I’ve been waiting for this for so long.”
He said between kisses. She roughly pushed him down to climb on top of his already aroused erection, pulled down his pants, separating from his mouth, and also his underwear, and she moved her panties aside, lifting her dress to penetrate herself with his phallus.
She didn’t know him, she didn’t know who he was. And neither did he; she was sure he’d already said those words to someone else before her, so she paid him no attention. When a man was having sex, he said the stupidest things in his life, and just to get her into bed, he’d say anything he thought she wanted to hear. But no, she didn’t want to hear him talk, nor did she want to give him pleasure; she just wanted to have an orgasm and go home so she wouldn’t feel like that night had been a waste of time.
She started jumping on top of him, the boy moaning openly calling her name, which surprised her, and grabbing her butt while moving his own hips to help her.
For being so clumsy at touching her, he surprised her with how long it lasted; he penetrated her quickly and without pause, and yet he still managed to make her tremble from top to bottom, reaching her long-awaited orgasm. He came seconds later.
“God, I’m sorry. I forgot to put on a condom.”
He spoke with heavy breathing, holding her arms and looking at her with those sympathetic, regretful eyes. They left her a little unsettled, since she wasn’t used to being looked at like that after sex.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take the pill.”
That was true, however, he should have been careful about rare diseases. At least the boy’s clumsiness told him he hadn’t been with many women, which reassured him.
She stood up, straightening her dress and panties, didn’t look at him, and didn’t expect anything from him.
“Why don’t we stay here for a while? Frank won’t mind.”
She didn’t know who that person was, and she didn’t care. She just wanted to go home so she could sleep and forget the heavy feeling that had settled in her chest.
“Sorry, kid. I’m going home. You can stay.”
She didn’t wait for an answer, opened the door, and left the party. She didn’t wait for her friends, nor did she want to. She always did everything because of the pressure of going to one of those parties, hoping to meet someone important, someone famous who would give her life a boost, and her sex life a boost. And yet, she always ended up with boys.
S. H – 18 years old
Finally, she could be free of that school; that chapter of her life was over, and she could go out and find a job. It wasn’t easy to make a living as an actress, but if there was one thing her adoptive father had left her, besides those marks on her body, it was prestige. Her adoptive family’s name carried weight in that world, and she had already received calls to start her career. Sarah Housfan would follow in her family’s footsteps.
“Girl, you’d better not trust anyone, they’re all harpies.”
Her grandmother was with her at the graduation; she was the only family she had left, and she was also her manager. Her grandmother had decided that before she could pursue this career, she needed a professional qualification. According to her, it was to avoid rumors that she would only get jobs because of her name. Everyone knew it was true, but her grandmother wanted to promote her talent as an entry point into the industry rather than relying on her name, which could drag her into the seedy underbelly of the business.
“But there are so many agents here, and so many producers, and so many famous actors. Look at that one, isn’t he the star of Hellworld?”
She tried to raise her hand to point, but the woman stopped her by shaking her head.
“He’s nobody, just another guy, and you should act as if you’re just as important as him. By downplaying his importance, you’ll get his attention.”
“He’ll only see me as a child.”
She received a blow with a cane in response, her grandmother grabbed her arm and pulled her away.
“There are no girls, no men, no grandmothers here. This is a business like any other, and whoever succeeds does so because they have more connections, always remember that.”
She kept it in mind; her grandmother never let her forget it. Talent, age, and gender were secondary matters when what mattered was being close to someone important.
“Oh, Katrine. You get younger every day.”
A middle-aged man approached them, greeting his grandmother.
“You, however, lie worse every day.”
They both laughed, and she forced a smile. She didn’t know how to intrude on their conversation; when he spoke, it was only because her grandmother had asked him something. And then she saw that man in the corner. He seemed to want to hide from everyone, but her eyes found him. She knew his name; she knew who he was. He was Tom Ravis, the famous television actor. He had several prominent roles in various hit series, such as *Your Dad’s Just Another Guy*, *Where Are They?*, and the most famous, *Neutral Country*. All comedy series, but undeniably successful.
She apologized to her grandmother and to the man who hadn’t heard her name, and approached him, who had his back to her and hadn’t seen her coming.
“Are we hiding from someone?”
The man turned around abruptly, startling her, then sighed with relief and raised his hands.
“Sorry, I was just trying to avoid someone.”
“Wouldn’t it be me?”
“If I knew your name, perhaps it would be you.”
He went along with her joke.
“My name is Sarah Housfan.”
Something in the man’s gaze changed.
“You are Richard’s daughter.”
“Everyone knows him, right?”
She smiled falsely.
“How could I not know him?”
“Well, you’re Tom Ravis. You’re well-known too.”
“I’m nowhere near your father’s level of fame.”
“I think that having neither too much nor too little fame is success in our profession, isn’t it?”
The last thing she wanted to talk about was work, not with him, but it would be too forward to just approach him like that there in the middle of the school hallway with people leaving the auditorium.
“I think we always want something more, especially when we are pigeonholed into a role.”
“But it’s good that it happened, it means you did it perfectly.”
A woman coughing behind him caught his attention, and both of theirs, as he turned around and saw a forced smile on her face.
“I thought I’d lost you, Tom.”
She grabbed his arm and he didn’t try to let go, he just turned back to her.
“We had a good chat, maybe we can talk more another time.”
She wanted to reply, she wanted to ask her to stay and talk with her a little longer, she wanted to tell her that she didn’t know where that was going to happen again since she didn’t know where she lived, but the ceremony was about to start and her grandmother also arrived to interrupt and take her to her seat.
