Defying Fate: The Unstoppable Eileen



The moment Eileen's words hung in the air, the lobby by the elevators fell into an eerie silence.

The people that had been clustered around Renee retreated as if on cue, leaving her lying alone on the floor, a solitary figure in a ten-foot radius of empty space.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

Janice, already terrified, yanked a pack of antibacterial wipes from her backpack and started scrubbing Eileen's hands with the fervor of a woman possessed.

The force was so great Eileen thought her skin might come off.

Eileen was taken aback. If it weren't for the audience of onlookers, she would have burst into laughter.

Janice was being adorably foolish.

Shaking her head, Eileen turned to the others, only to find them mimicking the frantic hand-wiping.

Good grief, didn't anyone know the first thing about how diseases spread?

An old lady, standing a good distance away, cupped her mouth and yelled towards Renee, "Why the heck are you wandering around with AIDS? Did your doctor even give you the all-clear? Does anyone know if this thing is airborne?"

Most folks had scant knowledge about HIV.

Why would you randomly look it up unless you had to?

A couple of guys in the crowd knew that HIV wasn't airborne and that checking one's pulse wasn't exactly a diagnostic tool for it.

But they clammed up, fearing that speaking out would somehow link them to the disease.

Renee was flabbergasted, stammering out a defense, "I...I don't have...I don't have AIDS..."

But no one was listening, and the crowd even backed away further.

It was AIDS, not the common cold - why risk it with a stranger who might be infected?

People scattered, and someone went to call security to have Renee escorted out.

Within minutes, security showed up in full protective gear - face shields, goggles, and surgical masks.

From a safe distance, they asked, "Who here is contagious?"

With a collective point of the finger, all eyes turned to Renee.

Looking pale and distressed, Renee, who was somewhat of a public figure, couldn't let such a smear stand.

Forgetting her feigned stomach pain, she quickly put on her mask, sunglasses, and hat, and dashed through the crowd towards the exit.

Janice had already stopped caring about Renee's departure.

She was too busy attempting to scrub Eileen's skin raw.

Eileen, exasperated, pulled her hand back, "Enough."

But Janice insisted, "No way, we need to get you cleaned! She could be seriously ill!"

Then, turning to the security staff, she pleaded, "Hey, could you hand us some sanitizer? We need to soak our hands!"

Eileen just poked Janice in the forehead, "Silly girl."

"Argh!" Janice clutched her forehead in mock agony. "More sanitizer, more sanitizer, I need to wash my face, I gotta wash my face!"

Eileen was done with Janice. She walked over to the hotel manager, whispered something, then pointed to the surveillance camera in the elevator's

corner.

Back in their room, Eileen explained to Janice that Renee didn't have HIV, and Janice finally snapped out of her daze, muttering, "Oh, she doesn't have it..."

Eileen couldn't help but notice Janice sounded almost disappointed.

Soon after, Eileen's phone buzzed with a video from the hotel manager.

After watching the full footage, she uploaded it to Twitter. Half an hour later, the hashtag #ReneeAIDS scare topped the trending charts.

Renee was having the peak of her life in the worst way, dominating the trends like no other celebrity.

Comments flooded in:

[Haha, she actually believed a pulse check could diagnose AIDS, I'm dying! ]

[I thought Eileen's assistant pushed Renee at first, but the moment they mentioned AIDS, she bolted faster than a cockroach. What happened to the 'agonizing' pain? Can't get up? Miscarriage scare? ]

[The assistant turned white as a sheet, bless her. If Eileen hadn't thought fast, they would've been conned by this trash. ]

[Classic Renee, always ready to play the victim. Is she competing with con artists now? ]

[So tired of seeing Renee, she's like a persistent clown. Don't like her, can she just vanish already? ]

After posting on Twitter, Eileen didn't keep tabs on the online buzz.

She changed and joined Janice for dinner in the hotel restaurant.

From afar, she spotted Carrol and Egbert at a window table.

Carrol waved her over, "Eileen, come join us!"

Eileen pretended not to see or hear, turning away like she'd suddenly gone blind, seating herself as far from them as possible. Carrol sighed, turning to Egbert, "She's still not talking to you?"

Egbert took a sip of water, avoiding the question.

Carrol continued, "She's got a bit of a temper, huh? I heard she got Renee trending again."

Egbert's face darkened slightly, "The first to offend is the least, no injustice in their defeat."

Carrol was shocked, "Mr. Reed, you didn't use to talk like that."

After a moment, Egbert replied quietly, "Guess I'm following the flock."

Confused, Carrol added, "Don't worry, I got your back!"

Egbert shot him a warning look, "Don't mess this up."

Carrol grinned confidently, "Just watch me!"

The next morning, Eileen arrived at the studio bright and early, only to be pulled aside by Carrol almost immediately.

Carrol said, "We've had a change of plans today. We're going to shoot these scenes first."

Eileen glanced at the script and then squinted her eyes, "A love scene?"

Carrol cleared his throat, "Mr. Reed's schedule is tight, so we need to get these scenes done sooner rather than later. We can't afford to run out of time and not have a chance for reshoots."

Eileen kept her gaze fixed on Carrol, her eyes full of suspicion.

Feeling uneasy under her scrutiny, Carrol hurriedly added, "Alright, go get ready. We start shooting in an hour!"

An hour later, Carrol, with a numb expression, watched Eileen who was now busily slicing into a durian.

He sniffed the air, the pungent odor impossible to ignore, and asked with difficulty, "What are you doing?"

Eileen pried open the durian, spooned the flesh into a bowl, and then gestured towards the four bowls on the table, looking back at Egbert, "I want to grab a bite before we start filming to keep my energy up. Mr. Reed, what would you prefer I have? Durian? Blue cheese? Leek? Or maybe garlic?"