“Then, according to Entertainment Tonight, Martin Michaels was seen with Destiny Dawn, the new star in the daytime soap opera Surviving the Lies, in the local motel, doing all kinds of nasty things. I’m telling ya, Ari, this man is always with a new woman every night. The paparazzi can’t get enough of him. Of course, he comes from Hollywood royalty. His family is always on the news. His sister, Zella Lane, was just cast in a new movie that is supposed to be big.”
“What is paparazzi?”
“Oh, those are people who follow movie stars around, taking pictures for money.”
Okay, now I had more questions.
“What is a movie star?”
“Huh?” Remi asked cocking her head in confusion.
“I don’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
“What you are saying,” I replied, looking down at my hands.
Remi reached across and placed her hands on mine. “Hey, it’s okay. Don’t get upset. What didn’t you understand?”
“Everything.”
“Ari, have you ever seen a movie?”
I lightly shook my head. I hadn’t. I didn’t know what a movie was. I felt useless, uneducated. Remi knew so many things, and I only knew the bible.
“Ari, did you ever go to school?”
“Yes. I went to the school at our church. I learned the bible.”
“What about math, science, history?”
“I know the history of the bible, but I’ve never heard of those other things. What are they?”
“Oh wow,” Remi sighed, sitting back in her chair. “Okay, let me ask you this. What was the last book you read?”
“The Bible?”
“Have you read any other book?”
“No.”
“Dr. Suess? Harry Potter? The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?”
I shook my head no.
“Okay,” Remi grinned, clapped her hands together, and smiled. “Alright, time to educate you then. We will start off easy. I’ll be right back!”
With that, she ran from the room, leaving me alone. Only I wasn’t alone. Her shadow, a man, named Shamrock chuckled over in the corner as he used a knife to clean his fingernails. “Now, you’ve done it.”
When I met Shamrock, I didn’t know what to think. He was very tall and covered in tattoos like Balthazar. His head was shaved on both sides. He had a tight intricate braid that went down the middle of his head, falling to his waist. He rarely said anything, letting Remi do most of the talking. Yet, he never left her side. He was always with her.
“Did what?”
“Remi loves projects. You should see her when she gets in the mood to clean. That woman is hell on wheels.”
“I was taught to clean.”
“No one likes to clean.”