The Reason (Westlife) //Completed

Chapter 1. My Life: Then And Now

 “Here are your receipt and change, ma’am. Thank you very much!” says the lady receptionist cheerfully with a sweet smile plastered on her face. Her Irish brogue is very evident in her tone making me feel uneasy. It's just so strange to me to hear something like that. I mean, the accent.

As being a polite person as I always have been, I walk past the doorman and just step out of the hotel without a word.

My blonde hair is swept by the wind as I set my feet outside. I glance around my surroundings and slump myself on a bench exasperatedly, not minding the stares I get from the passers-by. Talk about minding their own business.

On my first day in Dublin, a short guy - not to mention his unattractiveness - had approached me, asking for my number like we were old friends. I stared at him mockingly from head to toe and said, "I'm not giving my number to a criminal." It surprised me that he didn't look least offended. In fact, he had told me that he adored my accent.

That's how foreigners are treated when they're out of their turf. Irish people think American accent is cool and for American people, they think Irish accent is yeah, cool.

For me, it's pretty okay but I'm just not really used to hearing other accents even when I used to live in the USA where you can find different diasporas and tourists all huddled in one big of a place.

And now, I'm in Ireland. I've been staying here for 3 days with nothing but 700 bucks on hand I managed to save up before I got my ass out of my lonesome hometown Seattle and bid America goodbye.

It just doesn't feel home there. Me and my family used to be happy but not anymore.

My life when I was still in high school was more than perfect, if that’s even possible and my parents were the supportive type. They believed in me, in my talent, and in what I’m capable of doing.

“We’re very proud of you, our princess!” They would say everytime I won on a singing contest. They’d been with me along my journey to reaching my dreams. I was so happy then, and they also witnessed how I’m really into music.

But I realized that nothing’s perfect. Even the nicest things on earth do wilt. Last year, my parents sent me to Seattle University which I was very glad of, knowing that it’s one of the best universities in the West. Then there was one thing that made my dreams crush down and my inspiration fade away, leaving my life on the brink of disaster. 

“You’re going to study Law, whether you like it or not! We know what’s best for you.”

Those were the words that changed everything in my life. I thought they were just fooling around because they surely don’t want to make their princess cry. Knowing them, they would not joke about something serious, especially about my studies. It means a lot to them but it means a lot more to me.

 “You must understand, Lauren that…there’s no money in singing. We have to be practical, my dear. Only few people who have potentials in singing rise to fame and make a killing. But after that? They will just be forgotten and left behind. That’s what we’re preventing to happen to you.” That was their pathetic explanation.

They’ve caused me a lot of frustration and grudges to the point that I couldn’t bear it anymore. I decided to stand for my dreams even if it meant standing against my parents’ will. To put it into shorter words, I rebelled.

The next things I did were really dastardly. I learnt how to booze, come home late at night, party with some strangers, raise my voice at my parents and stuff I never expected I could. But honestly, I never tried taking drugs for Pete’s sake! They enraged upon knowing what I did but I didn’t care at all; they didn’t care about my feelings either. The feeling was just mutual.

For these reasons, everybody now hates me. All my relatives across the state think that I’m nothing but a disappointment.  They’re all against me as if I did something unforgivable.

So I’m the antagonist in my own story, huh?

That’s the reason why I ended up in here. These grudges I have been bearing brought me to Dublin in hopes that it would be best to escape from them. I’ve had enough of their demands. I can sense that there's plenty of opportunities waiting for me here in Dublin. Next thing you know I’m outdoing Britney Spears and making her go cry like a baby. Oh the ecstasy! Just dreaming, anyway.

But to flourish this plan of mine, I’ll have to need a big help from my uncle. He’s no ordinary man; he’s famous and rich. Any guesses? He’s under the moniker of…

Louis Walsh

He’s a very busy person and he travels a lot so I don’t know where the hell he is. Why would I be surprised, he’s a talent manager handling Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Bellfire, Westlife and many more biggies who all rose to stardom.

He’s the man behind their success.

Only few people know that I’m related to Louis Walsh because our family doesn’t want to shun publicity. We want a normal life. He and my mom are siblings and it takes no genius to realize that I’m also of Irish descent beside from being an American citizen. Basically, only our relatives and my old friends Ashley and Donna know about this.

Speaking of ‘old friends’, the innocent two, Ashley and Donna ditched me because they could no longer take having a scumbag friend like me. I’ve never heard about those bitches ever since our split up. I don’t need them anymore though.

I even left my beloved dog, Rowie because I can’t take him with me. His shaggy fur and his cheerfulness, man, I miss that so much. I just wish that my parents will take good care of my chowchow.

Cutting out the drama inside my head, I grab a folded piece of paper inside my bag in which my uncle’s address here in Dublin is written down. He has a lot of houses and I’ll start from the nearest one. Nothing will happen to me, or worse, I might end up as a bum if I will not put my plans into action. I need to find him.

“I’ll find you very soon, uncle,” I mutter under my breath whilst slinging my bag onto my left shoulder and hail a cab.

>--------------TBC-----------------