Chapter 1

Francis Bacon: Life is a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you can spend it only once.

Tyler

Tyler Vincent Cormac.

I hate that name. Thankfully no one calls me my full name expect my mother.

To my friends it is Tyler Cormac.

To the public it is Vince Cormac.

And when you hear people speaking and screaming your name over and over and over again, you tend to hate it too.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love what I do and I’m grateful to the public for giving me the chance to act. It is just that I do not find the need for them to impose in my daily life. It seems as though every time I step outside the walls of my home that I am bombarded by the paparazzi. Who cares if I decide to go out of my house in sweats rather than looking the part of celeb? Why does it matter if I comb my hair or not? And furthermore, I would rather that the press would not analysis my style to try to find a pattern between the shoes I wear and my hair. It seems crazy but Teen Eyes Magazine actually did a centerfold on it. Some people really need to get a life. Like I would really put that much effort into my appearance! I know I can’t go out looking like a bum but geez….where and when does the madness end?

I guess that I shouldn’t be bashing this lifestyle that I live. I love acting and playing roles that are challenging and will help me to grow. I had to work very hard to get into this business. It wasn’t one of those “Hey you! Wanna be in a movie? You will be famous!” It was a lot of hard work, lots of embarrassing jobs, but every step along the way as been worth it.

I guess it all started when I was a child. I wanted nothing more than to be in front of the camera and pretend to be something I wasn’t; A king, a knight, or anyone who would come in to save the day. I always played the hero who would drive all the monsters away. In my defense, I was only a small child at that point. I also used to make my older brother play with me, usually giving him the villain roles where we would battle to the death. Let’s just say we were quite a handful for my mom.

My brother and I are close. Even though Shane is three years older than me, he always is willing to hang out with his little brother, and never gets embarrassed by me, which considering some of the things I did when I was little, it is a pretty big deal. It probably has something to do with the fact that we have no real father so he feels that he has to take the role. Our father left our family when I was three so I do not remember him. From what Shane tells me, he was a jerk and isn’t worth remembering. He cheated on my mom multiple times and was always yelling at her. One day he just packed up and left without saying a word. The next day, my mom threw a big party. Interesting huh? He used to send child support but the money stopped as soon as I became a legal adult. That was the last we heard from him but as I see it, it is no big lost.

To this day, my brother remains my best friend. I guess you can say that it is sort of cliché that my brother is my best friend but it’s true. In the world that I live in, people want to be your friend for the association and power. My brother is family. He knew me before my fame and will know me long after it, let’s just hope that this time won’t come soon. He isn’t afraid to tell me when I’m being a jerk or my head is getting too big. For some people, it might seem annoying, but for me I love it. I hate people treating me like I’m different. I’m just a regular guy who happens to love acting. Why can’t they just see that?

That point brings me back to the paparazzi. I have come to the conclusion that they are destroying my life.

For some odd reason, according to many sources, I am one of the hottest people under twenty-one in the world. They must be high or something because after seeing myself in the mirror every morning, I honestly cannot see why. Granted I don’t consider myself ugly, but there is no way.

Shaking my head in disbelief, I cross my room, sit at my desk, and turn my computer on, fearing the amount of email that has probably flooded my box overnight. And it is not even from my fans. This is my private email account on which my agent sends me an email practically every few minutes. On top of that, I get a lot of emails from “my friends” not just dropping in to say hi but actually trying to monitor my every move and somehow get a role in my next picture. Sometimes I don’t know why I bother checking at all.

“You know, we could simply get you a secretary to deal with your emails,” Shane announces after barging into my room without bothering to knock.

“You know, there is something called privacy, as in, leave me alone,” I groan upon seeing that I had thirty-five new emails. As much as we get along, I’m not a morning person and thus do not like to be bothered in the morning.

“Well then, maybe you should just move out of the house then. It’s not like you are hurting for money,” he counters, sitting down on my couch and turning my TV on at a rather loud volume.

“Hold on a minute. You are twenty-two years old and you still live at home with your mother and brother. I think that you should be the one leaving.”

“Au contraire brother, I am the man of the house and must protect my baby brother when he has nightmares about killer sheep attacking him while he is swimming in the Mississippi River,” Shane says with a grin.

Without looking at him, I grab the football off my desk and throw it over my shoulder. After I hear a quiet and muffled ouch, I know that I didn’t missed him.

“First of all, that was when I was seven and I haven’t had it since. Second of all, as much as I’m enjoying your company this summer, when do I get to get rid of you?” I reply hastily.

Shane is going to be a senior at Carson University in the fall. He decided to take two years off before going to college to, as he called it, “find himself.” And I’m sorry to report that the search hasn’t stopped since. He has changed his major about five times before finally deciding on marketing and I have no idea how he has enough credits to graduate in the spring.

“Two more weeks then I’m out of here to the nice warm shores of Milson, New Jersey!” he exclaims.

“Isn’t Milson in the middle of New Jersey?”

“So what’s your point? When are you coming to visit me baby brother?”

Charlie:

“I’m finally home” are the first words that cross my mind as I step out of my dad’s Honda onto the green grass. I wasn’t pulling up to a two story house filled with family or even an apartment, but rather stepping onto the lawn of Carson University, my true home. As much as I love living with my family back in Connecticut, there is something about this campus that I cannot put my finger on. Maybe it’s because all my friends are here or because I love being independent and living under my own rules. I tend to thrive when I’m in complete control.

When I’m home, everything is different. Being an only child, my parents are constantly on my back. They always need to know where I am at every given moment and refuse to let me go out of the house unless they know who I am going to be with. There comes a point where they just need to let go, enough is enough. Since I’ve been here, they had lightened up a bit, but sometimes I can’t stand it. I know they are only doing it because they love me and want to protect me, but there comes a time where I need to learn how to protect myself and make my own choices.

This is the start of my sophomore year, and although I have only been here a year, it feels like home, just don’t tell my parents.

I scan the crowd in front of Basin Hall looking for familiar faces. A few seconds later, I hear my dad clear his throat next to me.

“Honey, you have all semester to look at your building. We need to unpack the car and settle you in before rush hour starts,” says Dad.

Typical Dad. If it were up to him, everything would be planned around rush hour.

After letting out a sigh, I follow my dad to the back of the car and grab a few bags. This is not going to be a fun process.

As I reach my door to my dorm, after walking up four flights of stairs, Lucy head pops out. Let me take a minute to explain. Lucy is my best friend and one of my roommates. Her real name is Luciana but if you ever call her that she will punch you in the stomach. Trust me on this, I’ve seen it done. The only exceptions are teachers and adults, but even then she will scowl for at least twenty minutes at you. She may seem a little tough and competitive on the outside, but she is the sweetest person. She had to grow up with five older brothers so she quickly learned how to handle herself. She will not take crap from anyone and I give her lots of credit for it. Also, being her best friend, she protects and defends me when I am at a lost for words. I hate getting put on the spot…luckily, Lucy turns the spotlight in a different direction.

My other two roommates are Anna and Jules. We live in a double so Lucy and I share one room and Anna and Jules get the other. Anna is the party girl out of all four of us. She would rather dance the night away then do work. We often yell at her for coming in at the wee hours in the morning, fearing she is going to flunk out of college, but somehow she manages to have at least a B- in all her classes, even though I have never seen her doing homework. Another thing that is important to know about Anna is that she is in love with boys and these boys love her just as much. At this point in her life, she isn’t looking for everything serious so she practically goes after every cute guy. Sometimes I’m a little bit jealous of her boldness towards the opposite sex, but other times I’m in shock of some of the things she says. Anna even looks the part, she has long blond hair and dazzling blue eyes. She has a model’s body which, lucky for her, does almost nothing to maintain it.

Jules is more like me but it kind of funny how she gets along better with Anna. Jules would rather spend the night at home, curled up in a good book. She is majoring in occupational therapy so is constantly studying. She is your classic bookworm, shy, quiet, and only reveals herself to a few small number of people that she has taken the time to trust. Although she is quiet, she is the best person to go to for advice and will honestly tell you the truth when you ask for it, even when it hurts your feelings. People are most surprised by the fact the Jules has a jock boyfriend. He is the star soccer player at Carson, is very outgoing, and parties often. But surprisingly, these two just seem to fit. When they are together, Jules becomes more playful and Eddy becomes a genuine guy. Eddy is a senior at Carson and the pair have been dating for three years as they went to the same high school.

So how do I fit into the mix? I guess you could say that I’m somewhere between Lucy and Jules. I love have fun and meeting new people, but I hate being the center of attention and I have my moments where I am shy and reserve.

So how did we all meet? Actually, we were put together randomly by residential life. In the beginning, I thought that we would never get along since our personalities were different but some how it did. I love these girls to death and see them like sisters.

Yup. Sophomore year is going to rock.

“Charlie!! Where have you been?” screamed Lucy, barging out of the room engulfing me in a hug, “I’ve been waiting for you all day. It is soooo boring with no one here.”

Lucy and I got jobs as servers at our campus restaurant. I know it is somewhat weird for a college to have a restaurant, but it’s true. We serve lunch and dinner and while the food is more expensive than the café, it is a lot better. It can serve up to about two hundred people at a time. Since Lucy and I are new to the whole waitressing thing, they wanted us to come early for training. Plus, orientation for all the freshman are all this week and next and this is where they eat their meals. The café is undergoing some type of renovation and isn’t quite down yet.

Therefore, besides work-study students and freshman, the campus is bare.

“So how are you?” Lucy exclaims, releasing her grip of me, “How was the ride? See any cute guys on your way in that are worth mentioning? Oh, hi Mr. Christos! How is everything” she adds after noticing my dad standing behind me.

“I’m good. Life has been treating our family well,” my dad replies, shifting his weight so he could get a better grip on the box he is carrying.

“Listen, Lucy, as much as I would love to hear about everything, these bags are getting heavy.”

“Yes, we should finish moving Charlie in so I can get home before rush hour.”

“Oh, of course!” Lucy jumps aside, opening the door wide so my dad and I could put down our boxes. “So how much more do you have left?”

“Tons. Charlie’s mom and I tried talking her out of bring so much stuff but it didn’t work,” my dad chuckles, making his way back to the door.

“Hey!” I counter, following him out to the door “I bet Lucy has a lot more stuff than I do!”

“Probably,” she says with a laugh, catching my eye and grinning. A few seconds later, Lucy steps out into the hallway and closes the door behind her. As we start walking towards the door, I suddenly stop and turn around as thought dawns on me.

“Lucy? I have a question”

“Shoot”

“Did you happen to grab the key to our room before you closed the door?” Upon seeing the look on her face, I realize that she hadn’t.

This is certainly going to be an interesting year.