Dirty Diana • Michael Jackson & Tatiana Thumbtzen

2 | Dirty Diana

"So how did you get Michael to notice you? Did you audition to sing for him?"

"Let me finish. I haven't gotten to that part yet. But to answer your question, yes I did audition to sing for him," I smiled.

"Really? Didn't know that you could sing. So did you win? What happened?"

"Thomas please, you're rushing the story."

He rolled his eyes. "My name is Tom, not Thomas. I thought we went over this?" he asked while glaring at me.

"You do know that Tom is short for Thomas right? Therefore, I'm going to call you Thomas. It's classy and professional."

"Well call me Tom. No one calls me Thomas."

"Okay well I do. Thomas," I chuckled. I crossed my legs and made sure my voice was loud and clear for the audio recorder. "Now can I finish the story? Because I'm just starting. I haven't even gotten to the good part yet."

"Yeah we can finish once you get my name right," he spat.

"Do you want me to finish the story or not?"

"Continue," he said with an attitude.

"Okay. So I decided to audition to sing for Michael. Now I'm not an American idol but I do have a strong voice. Since the club I worked at had a Burlesque theme, I had to sing and dance Burlesque style."

"Sorry to interrupt but what made you decide to audition for the Michael Jackson? The King of Pop. I mean this isn't the mail man or the average Bob, this is Michael Jackson."

"I auditioned because I had a motive. I told you why he called me Dirty Diana." I sighed while looking down. "I just wanted fame and fortune. And like I said earlier, I was a groupie. A very successful groupie."

"And you're proud of that? Seriously? So what, you fangirl over every rockstar that comes to town. Then try to seduce them in order to gain fame and riches?"

"Look I don't appreciate you judging me. I paid you to interview me in order to get my story out there, not judge and look down on me."

"I'm not judging you. I'm just being honest. It's women like you, and I'm calling you a woman just to be nice, that makes real women look bad."

"Can we change the subject?"

"It doesn't matter what we talk about. It doesn't change the fact that you were and probably still is a golddigger. Having sex with multiple rockstars. Oh but I give you props for going after the King. But you paid me sweetie, so you're gonna have to speak up."

I let out a sigh of relief. "I almost had him. But he saw right through me."

"What do you mean he saw right through you? You mean you couldn't win him over with your good looks? Or your smooth words?"

"Yes that's exactly what I'm saying. I literally had every rockstar, every musician you could think of. After I seduced Prince, I gave myself a pat on the back. But not Michael. I thought, was there something wrong with me? Why can't I seduce this man?"

"Continue," he said.

"Well after my audition, I thought I won him over."

|1987|

"So Diana are you ready for your audition?" Christine asked while prepping my hair and makeup.

"Yeah. But I'm a nervous wreck. I'm going to mess up Christine, I know it."

"Stop panicking," she said while applying blush to my cheeks "you're going to do just fine. I've heard you sing and trust me D, you're amazing. Just remember to smile and have fun."

"But this is Michael Jackson. The King of Pop, so you know I can't mess this up."

I overheard the Superman Lover introducing the first act of the night. Stiff competition. There'll be a lot of talent on this stage tonight. But as long as I find myself in Michael's presence backstage, I'll be okay.

"So how do I look?" I asked while glancing in the mirror.

"Like dogshit," she giggled "I'm playing. You look great D. But just do something different with your hair. This is Burlesque so think Burlesque."

"What do you mean?"

"Try cutting your hair. Wear a short, cute hairstyle. I think it'll suit you."

"No. I'm not cutting my hair."

"You don't have to literally cut it silly. You can wear a short wig. It's sexy. Just try it out. You'll love it trust me."

"Okay but don't make me look ugly."

After trying on three different wigs, I finally made a decision.

"You're on deck Diana! Good luck girl!" she yelled before running out of the dressing room.

I made my way to the front and felt someone grab my arm. "Excuse me miss? Sorry to scare you but I think you look just fine," he smiled.

I smirked and continued to wait for my turn. The girl that's correctly singing is good but she's not that good.

"Show a little more. Show a little less. Add a little smoke, welcome to Burlesque. Everything you can dream of but never can possess. Nothing's what it seems. Welcome to Burlesque."

After she finished, the crowd gave her a round of applause. Okay, I'm next. After I was introduced, I crossed my fingers and made my way to the stage.

I looked out in the audience and found Michael staring at me. The music began to play and I took a deep breathe.

"The dress is Chanel, the shoes YSL. The bag is Dior, Agent Provacteaur. My address today, LA by the way. Above Sunset Strip, the hills all the way. My rings are by Webster, they make their heads twirl. They all say 'darling what did you do for those pearls?' What?! I am a good girl."

In the middle of singing, I found myself dancing. Just randomly dancing out of the blue. And to say that I'm having a great time would be an understatement.

The crowd is snapping and clapping along to the music. I think I even see Michael smiling.

Yep, I think I got him.