A Cinderella Christmas by Holly Kingston.



When I imagine living the social life of someone like Charmaine, it's all Champagne parties, Michelin restaurants and five-star hotels. The reality is somewhat more pedestrian.

Superficial. Talentless. These are the super egos who can manipulate the individual. Like Charmaine they are territorial and highly competitive. They may have an enviable lifestyle but behind all the glitz and glamour we have superficial characters, without real friends or genuine happiness. They trade off their good looks and media image, over-hyped, of course, pandering to the whims of their management teams and their bank balances and floating on the cloud of ambition at any price. Then there's Ryan, every girls' dream of male perfection and desire. He might be play-acting as Prince Charming, physically toned to make every girl squirm and squeal with delight and lust but is he true to his name? Of course not. He uses Lucy, who swoons whenever she sees him as a way to make Cinderella jealous.

Lucy's naivety and innocence is responsible for being star-struck by Charmaine Lewis, star of the pantomime with two singles in the top twenty, a cameo part in Doctor Who and engaged to premiership footballer Liam Phillips. And if that doesn't impress you she also brags about having 700,000 followers on her Twitter account!

She treats Lucy as her skivvy and Lucy seems to be perfectly happy being used as a doormat and a dog-walker because she is intoxicated with the feeling of stardom and fame. Lucy is completely bowled over by the most glamorous celebrity that she had ever met. She was infatuated by her swishy magnificence and grateful for Charmaine's help in being given a comedy part in Cinderella as the back end of Daisy the Cow! Lucy Tilley's claim to fame, after six years in the theatre was to have her name printed in the programme. She wears a hideous costume, air tight and claustrophobic. The exact opposite of glamour you might say.

Her fame is like a lovely, shiny, contagious bug.

Ryan had had seven top five UK singles, with a cameo appearance in Emmerdale as the hunky farmer boy. He was the man that Lucy admitted to being truly, madly, deeply infatuated with. After all, he was the most eligible bachelor in the UK. But what a jerk and eventually, after a bout of humiliation, Lucy's bubble bursts and she sees through this thin coating of stardom and fame. Her disillusionment awakens her true understanding of celebrities and she becomes wiser and more confident.

Ben is Lucy's bovine partner, the front bit. He gloats that Lucy gets to look at his ass! She sees plenty of that during performances. He has talent and has been working on writing a play which he also directs. His ambition takes him along a completely different route from Charmaine and Ryan. He is true to himself and modest even though he is very talented.

I consider the reality of living Charmaine's life. With her fake boyfriend, fake tan, fake hair, fake boobs and a noticeable lack of sincere friends.

Living in the real world must be hard for these glamorous celebrities. Lucy has always felt that this celebrity bubble floats permanently on cloud 9 being pandered to and pampered. Botox, liposuction, silicone boobs are an integral part of being seductively desirable. It sums up Charmaine.

She is fifty per cent silicone and one spritz of hairspray from being a serious fire risk.

So, there you have it! Celebrity status. And what's in it for Lucy? It's a bit like being friends with a Jackie Collins novel. She makes my life feel more glamorous. Before you cringe, remember what I said about her naivety? She eventually sees through this act of pretence. I'm starting to get the feeling that Charmaine is full of crap as well as silicone and filler. Well done Lucy. Finally. Disillusionment kills her infatuation and brush with the world of glamour. Back to reality. A showdown with Charmaine, accused of playing the pathetic card to manipulate men becomes a moment of self-realisation for Lucy. Charmaine has been jealous of Lucy's natural beauty and goodness and wanted to eliminate any opposition. Her awe turns to feeling that she is a bit sad and lonely, her life as hollow as it could be.

She musters up the courage to take central stage and to make something of her acting instead of hiding behind a costume or her tap-dancing shoes. Perhaps there is a real Prince Charming waiting for her in the wings? Not a Ryan or Liam but a sensitive and kind man? That would make a perfect ending wouldn't it?

Publisher: Novelicious.com (digital publisher)  Available from Amazon.

Copyright 2013. Permission must be obtained from the author before reproduction of any part of this article.


A Cinderella Christmas

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