Scene selection:
A Little Star
Tomlinson/Deakin residence.
August 18, 2014
9:02 am.
A petite, young woman that goes by the name of Erin Lynn Kowalski, or so as her given badge says, timidly walks up the paved walkway of a relatively modern house.
The residence was beautiful: a long, narrow driveway that was somewhat secluded from the public's curious gaze, a yard big and wide enough to hold a personal or public, competitive soccer match on, an overly large and safe play set that hid itself amongst the shade of the swaying trees, an elegant white picket-fence surrounded the entirety of it, providing a safe enclosure for the family, a four car garage that covered only a small portion of the front's surface, a lovely garden could be seen peeking out from the backyard along with its small greenhouse, a swimming pool that seemed big enough to hold at least twenty-five people comfortably, and a unique storage shed that looked as if it was rarely used. The interviewer was in awe with the place.
She was one of the few who were demanded to record these interviews for 'Project_SIL' by her boss, Mr. Lind, whom runs the sensational 'Pop!' Magazines. Apparently the man has made connections with the Tomlinson/Deakin family and they've finally accepted permission with the simple 'go ahead' routine.
The whole staff at 'Pop!' Enterprises had gone into a total frenzy when they were given the all-clear. Some rumors have been going around that Mr. Lind himself had been pursuing the same story since the hit songwriter, Louis Tomlinson, came to fame. He's been wanting and waiting to interview the family for years; wanting the information for the next magazines that were going to be issued out, as well as hiring a director/producer for a documentary. And now that the Tomlinson family have agreed, everyone was eager and excited for more, critics already paying high prices to review the film once it's ready.
With a polite, hesitant knock on the front door, the woman was beginning to have second doubts. This is her big break and she can't afford to mess it up, not just for herself, but for the whole company. Everyone back at base is counting on her to get these interviews and to protect them with her life. It was that serious.
" 'ello, please, come in, come in!" An overly excited, middle-aged woman greeted her. Johanna Deakin was her name, because Erin easily recognized her from Louis' own distinct features from throughout the years they've met him. They looked so much alike.
"Would you like some tea?"
"If it's not too much of a hassle, may I?" Erin replied, her polite manners not going unnoticed by Jay. The mother of seven smiled, waving the interviewer off. "Of course not, dear!"
While the woman went off, presumably to the kitchen, Erin took her time to inspect the interior of the house. The way its decor fit perfectly with the assigned room was beyond breathtaking. Everything was so clean, neat, and organized that she was highly afraid to touch anything, not wanting to break the expensive decorations. Photographs and picture frames lined the walls and practically any flat surface possible, showcasing each and every family member; and Erin may or may not have snooped at the never-before-seen photos of Louis' young childhood, wanting to know every possible thing about the family that they're creating a documentary on.
"Here you go, dear," Jay welcomed, handing a fresh, warm mug into the awaiting palms of an embarrassed Erin. "Thank you."
"Well, thank you for having me, this is an absolute honor," Erin tentatively took a sip of the warm, sweet tea before putting it down on the provided coffee table in front of the leather couch.
"Oh, it's our pleasure! We knew you've wanted this for awhile, but Lou just recently gave us his permission to do so, otherwise it would've been sooner," Johanna admitted with a small, sheepish smile.
"Of course! We respect all privacy, and if he didn't want to, then we'd be patient. Anyways, do you mind if we start filming?" Erin returned the polite smile, making sure to keep her polite manners at a very high level.
"Oh, not at all!" Jay laughed.
"I think the beginning is a very good place to start, yeah?" Erin asked again, second doubting herself as she hesitated. However, the film crew beside her gave her encouraging nods, for they have filmed Jay throughout the years and have come to know the family quite well.
...
Eri: "What was going through your head at that moment in time?"
Jo: "It was scary... Not knowing if he was even alive. A baby is supposed to cry to show that they're getting air, but he never did. He never cried, and that was the hardest thing to ever go through, the silence."
...
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December 24th- 1991
Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England
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It was a cold, eventful day -one that is usually celebrated worldwide- as families everywhere were bundled up indoors, enjoying the warmth of their fires as presents were passed around due to a young one's impatience and eagerness. The wind was blowing swiftly among the tree tops, causing a quiet murmur of their sways to-and-fro as the branches creaked under the weight of the glistening, white snow. However, for one particular young woman, she'll be gifted something way better than a mere phone or a fuzzy pair of socks. She was a few days overdue, so it was bound to happen soon, but feeling her first contraction in the middle of shoving small, stocking stuffers into her long-term boyfriend's Christmas stocking was quite not how she planned the day.
It happened so suddenly, and it felt like it lasted forever as the pain and uneasiness washed through her as she slowly waddled over to the worn-out, leather sofa of the pair's living room. With her stomach swollen with her unborn, baby boy - whom apparently couldn't wait any longer - it made it quite difficult to maneuver herself to reach her small, mobile phone that was located in her pajama pant's pocket. Once she finally had it in her small, dainty hands, the woman hesitated on who she'll call. Her boyfriend had went out to work and wasn't expected to be home until five-o-clock in the afternoon, and her best friend was last minute Christmas shopping for her rambunctious and uncontrollable twins, whom had a terrorizing case of the 'terrible twos'.
When another obnoxious, queasy feeling had coursed throughout her entire body, the young woman didn't waste anymore time to quickly jam her finger down on the green, 'call' button. Hopefully her overly friendly neighbors were home. Finally after what felt like decades, to the soon-to-be mother that is, her kind neighbor had picked up on the fifth ring.
" 'ello? Ms. Poulston, it's such a delight to hear from you, dear. How're you?"
"Oh, put a sock in it!" The young woman all but groaned, trying her best to keep herself calm and collected rather than screaming out in horror when her water's just broke. "Could you drive me to work? My son is ready to pop out any second now," she seethed in a desperate way, already knowing that she sounded snippy and rude, but that's just from the unbearable pain she's feeling. Who could blame her?
'Of course, of course! I'm already at your door, love. Is the key where it always is?"
"Yes."
With that one simple word said and the click of the spare key in the front door's doorknob, her neighbor, Mr. Lucas, was crouching down in front of the young woman and helping her up. The man then left the woman leaned against the wall to grab a duffle bag for a spare pair of comfortable clothing.
As they've left the small, two bedroom apartment, getting to the car was quite difficult as the young man had to help the woman down the porch and into the vehicle itself. They didn't even bother with a seatbelt as the young woman's neighbor sped only a few miles over the speed limit to get to the clinic.
Doncaster's walk-in clinic was one of the oldest buildings in the area. Its concrete structure was a few stories tall with huge windows that wrapped around its whole frame. Once inside, the views from those very windows were beautiful, as one could see the whole town and beyond its borders to the mountainsides and hidden valleys. However, the splendid scenery did little to ease the young woman whom immediately started cussing at her neighbor and the few nurses who've come to her aide.
"Hey, Jay, we'll wheel you this way and let the doctor know you're here. We've been expecting your little one," Nurse Sydney Edmonds, one of Jay's coworkers, smiled sweetly as she pulled up a wheelchair for the young woman to use.
The soon mother-to-be only nodded, one of her hands placed delicately on her stomach as she was wheeled into an examination room. Edmonds had stayed with her to help her change into a gown before settling the young woman up onto the bed.
"Can- can you call Troy? Please, call Troy!" Johannah cried as an unsettling feeling twisted within her stomach. Something was wrong, very wrong.
"Of course, dear, Sam's already on it," Sydney reassured as she stepped out to retrieve the doctor.
The young woman had to wait a good twenty minutes before the doctor finally entered the room, her long-term boyfriend following right after. In those twenty plus minutes, that same, gut feeling never went away. In fact, it felt as if her stomach was doing flips in protest as the time ticked on.
"Lee, he's not kicking! Shouldn't he be kicking!?"
The doctor, Lee Young, hesitated for a second, before feeling Jay's stomach to find the baby's location. "He's in the right spot, Jay, but we'll do a quick ultrasound if you'd like."
Johannah shook her head in protest. "No, something's not right, I can feel it! P-please, get him out now," she begged.
Lee glanced to the other nurses in the room before nodding. "Sure, we can do that. Sir, may you please step back out to the waiting room?" He excused Troy out, wanting more room for the professionals to do their jobs.
"Syd, can you go get me a Vacc. 12? Sam, we'll need the emergency c-section kit. And Bates, stand by," the doctor ordered.
The young woman tried to control her breathing at this point, knowing that any stress could possibly harm her unborn son even more. As soon as Edmonds returned with the syringe to numb the young woman's entire bottom half, the medical staff immediately went to work.
Due to policy, nurse Sam had to pull the curtain over Jay's stomach to prevent the mother-to-be from seeing what's going on. "Okay, J, can you feel me tapping here?" Lee called out to her as he pressed his hand on her stomach. Once the young woman shook her head, she knew that they've already started because her colleagues got extremely quiet as they concentrated.
"Sam, scissors please."
"Bates, I'll need extra towels."
"Would someone call Troy back in here!?"
The young woman was sweating with nerves as she heard the door open and close. It was chaotic in the small, stuffy room as a new nurse brought in the I.V to attach to her arm while another hurried out with a bundle in their arms.
"Bates, careful now," Lee called out again for the last time as the nurse finished the last stitch. "And, we're done. Great work guys," the doctor congratulated his nurses as they've started packing up.
"Y-you're done? Where is he, where's my baby?" The young woman questioned as her boyfriend entered the room, a small bundle of blankets in his arms.
"Babe, he's beautiful," Troy gushed as he glanced fondly at the bundle in his arms. The young man had waited outside the room when he saw a nurse rush out with their son in her arms, he knew something was wrong when he clearly saw the baby cry but no sound came out.
"Jay, whatever you felt was wrong, it saved your son's life. When we went in, he was in the right placement, but the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. If we would've waited, his chance of survival would be very slim," Lee commented as he finished packing his tools.
"I sense a but coming," Troy frowned as he took a seat next to his girlfriend, allowing her to see her son for the very first time.
The doctor nodded his head slowly. "There is. Since the cord was wrapped around his neck, some of the muscles constricted. We have a feeling that his larynx took the most damage, which is why you couldn't hear him cry," Lee explained, however as soon as he saw Jay's frightful expression, he clearly reassured. "Now, it could be temporarily or permanent, we'll just have to wait it out and see. If it's still an issue later on, then there's nothing we can do but hope that it'll heal on its own, or through surgery. But for now, I don't want you breastfeeding... He'll be on a strict force-fed diet and to do that, I want to insert a tube and make sure there's no more damage than from what the eye can see."
Jay nodded in understanding, wanting nothing more than to hold her son right now. Troy must've sensed so, because he carefully placed him in her awaiting arms, watching as his girlfriend snuggled their son with a bright, but tired smile on her face.
Doctor Young smiled at the pair, as he shook their hands and congratulated them. Before the man left, he wrote down the time, date, year, baby's information such as weight and length, and the names of the new parents on a certificate- their first official birth certificate. "Have you thought of a name?" He questioned as his pen hovered above the blank line provided for the baby's name.
Johanna shared a quick look with her boyfriend before smiling down at her sleeping son. "Louis," she paused as her son wriggled in her arms to get more comfortable before repeating the name, testing it out. "Louis Troy Austin."
•••
Here it is, the prologue that went under a total of five different directions before I finally got a grip and put it all in one go.
I know that it has taken me forever to update this, and I'm extremely sorry for that.
(I have a total of twenty + stories that I'm currently working on and my two published collab stories for an overall total of twenty-two +)
I practically get mentally exhausted every time I update something.
R.i.p.
Your patience and encouragement mean everything to me, and before you point it out, yes, the last half of the chappie seemed really rushed. Hopefully it'll get into a steady flow once it gets moving along.
Anyways, I've hoped you enjoyed!
•••
2,539 words
Edited
~A