The devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me
“Mama, are you listening?” the six-year old boy said as he looked at his mother through the rear-view mirror. “I had to sit in the middle of the row so that both of them could sit beside me!”
Car rides from preschool back to their condo were typical for Agatha Harkness and her son, Nicky. Currently, he was telling her about two of his friends who were fighting over who could sit beside him during lunch. As much as she believed his story, she giggled at the fact that her son did not know how famous her mom was outside of the car.
“Huh?” Agatha replied in reflex to the sound of her son calling her. “Sorry, baby. Just a little distracted.”
Even though the pair are based in the suburbs of Los Angeles, Agatha still found the city roads not worth glancing at. Every corner she looks at, people are taking pictures of buildings, street signs, themselves, or someone else. The latter was what bothered her the most.
Aside from Nicky, the most important thing in Agatha’s life is balance. She has been the host of a popular web series, ‘Chicken Shop Date.’ Each episode of the show has a different person that sits with Agatha as they get to know each other, similar to a first date. Alice, her best friend and manager, did not know that the web series would get big as it did. The producers of the show wanted someone that lived in LA who knew the scene. With experience being a journalist in the media, Agatha was well qualified for the job and Alice knew that as one of the producers of the series.
As big as Chicken Shop Date is, Agatha was only the host. She did not expect to receive anything from it, but she has been praised by multiple fan groups for treating her interviewees well and asking the right questions that their fans want to know. Ever since she became the host 3 years ago, she has gained a massive following for herself. She has a wide range of fans from all ages, but most of her fans are in their early 20s and predominantly female.
Agatha wanted to stay out of the spotlight, hence why she decided to be a journalist in the beginning. She wasn’t complaining about her job right now but she knew she had to be extra careful as she wanted to protect Nicky, herself, and their life right now. Even if it means occasionally finding the roads she takes home boring and uninteresting.
“Should you be driving if you’re distracted?” Nicky questioned his mother, tilting his head.
She snorted at what her son said, “Okay. Touche.”
Agatha adopted Nicky when he was a newborn baby. She did not have anyone that she could raise him with, but Agatha also thought she didn’t need anyone else. Agatha adored kids and she didn’t know why she would wait until she was with someone. If anything, it would only complicate things if that person she found did not feel the same way. Ever since he’s come into her life, anyone else wanting to be important to her is fighting for second. He is the centre of her life and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Since she got the job to host the popular web series, she became worried about how it would affect Nicky and their life together. Agatha had no plan of raising him in the spotlight as it can be damaging to his childhood and his safety. Despite all her fears about being semi-famous, Agatha handles it well and does the most she can to protect her and Nicky from being in tabloids. In hindsight, it made her a better mother to him and to make sure he was never deprived of her attention.
“Seriously, mama. I felt like Wanda during lunch,” Nicky bragged.
Agatha sighed. Wanda. She wondered how her ex-wife was doing. Not that she didn’t know. Wanda seems to be on the front page of all the news outlets. Add it to one more reason why Agatha can’t pass by main LA streets with all the billboards plastered with her ex-wife’s face and her Marvel show. Not that anyone knew, anyways. Wanda was still a rising star while no one knew Agatha during their relationship. It was only after the divorce that Wanda had started getting big roles.
Agatha felt partially guilty that their relationship was the one that held Wanda back from taking projects by well-known production companies although she never asked her to. Wanda knew how much Agatha valued her and Nicky’s privacy so she adjusted her schedule to keep the two as comfortable as possible. That was until she was receiving offers that were too important to pass up.
It’s not that Wanda chose her career over Agatha, but because she did not want to force Agatha into the spotlight that she knew would only get brighter, so Wanda says. Deep down, Agatha knew that they separated for the best. However, a part of her wonders when she sees Wanda’s face on a billboard, what could the two of them have done to make it all work out? None of that mattered anyways, With the contentment Agatha had with her family’s safety as of now, she could never risk it like she did with Wanda.
Seeing how everyone Wanda has dated after her has ended up on the front page of everything, Agatha Harkness swore to herself that she would never date someone in the public eye ever again.
“Nicky, do you still remember her?” Agatha asked, remembering her son’s comment.
“Yeah. I see her videos that play on YouTube before my iPad time.”
Agatha should really lessen how much Nicky is on screens. She can’t imagine her son having a hyperfixation worse than those ‘Skibidi toilets.’ “Speaking of, no more devices on weekdays.”
“Why not?!” Nicky protested.
“Won’t you be too distracted to hang out with me after school?” Agatha looked back at her son as she stopped for a red light, pouting playfully.
Nicky shook his head, “I always want to hang out with you, mama.”
Agatha smiles at her son as she turns her body to anticipate green lights, wishing her son stays the same.
-
“So you’ll be on a couple late night talk shows for the next 3 days, SNL, Chicken Shop Date with Agatha Harkness, the album listening party, and then Vogue 73 questions will be the last one you’ll have to do for this promotional tour,” Jen read off the calendar on her phone. “Rio? Are you even listening?”
“Hm? Yes, I am,” Rio answered without peeling her eyes off her own device.
Rio Vidal has just finished her 8th studio album, ‘folklore.’ As the release date approaches, she and her publicist, Jen, are trying to create a schedule that works for Rio.
“Repeat everything I just said then.”
Rio looked up at Jen who had her eyebrows raised. “You said talk shows, listening party, and the tour for the album,” Rio said, smirking at Jen proudly while her manager sat opposite of her, unimpressed.
“You know what,” Jen pauses in thought, “I have your calendar logged on my laptop anyways, I’ll just input the events and dates for you.”
“Perfect!” Rio put her hands together, “Are we done? I really want to head back to the studio to work on the deluxe portion of the album.”
Rio didn’t know why she had to promote her album like small artists do. She’s breaking her own records, has the most listeners than any active musician right now, and is the talk of the entire world. She tries hard to remain humble about all of this, but she can’t help but be sensitised to how it’s been for her for years. Her work ethic is as strong as it has ever been but so has her commitment to resting and her boundaries.
Every song she has put out has reached her fans differently. Some try to put it in the perspective of their own life and some pry and try to decipher what caused Rio to write such heartbreaking songs. Although it bothered her in the beginning, one of the sacrifices of putting personal art out into the world is, well… Personal art is out into the world.
“Rio, no,” Jen put her foot down. “You have to put effort into promoting the album as much as making it.”
Rio groaned in frustration. “I put effort into promoting my work.”
“You didn’t even listen to your schedule for the promotional tour!”
“Promotional tour?” Rio said, confused.
Jen pinches the bridge of her nose, “and you just proved my point.”
“Why is this a big deal anyways? My fans consume my music whether I promote it or not. They’re loyal,” Rio argued.
“The promotion is not intended for your fans. They are for the general public. The record label wants to widen the crowd that listens to your music. If your numbers stay constant with no improvement, they can drop you.”
Rio stares at Jen with a knowing face.
Jen sighs, “I’m serious, Rio. I’m not trying to scare you but as your publicist and close friend, promotional tours can do wonders for the success of your album no matter how many fans you already have that are tuned in. You are the biggest artist in the world right now. There has never been as many eyes on you as there are right now. The label wants to take advantage of that.”
“What else do I need to do? I’ve done everything you’ve said at least once before,” Rio protested.
“Not Chicken Shop Date,” Jen stated.
“What the fuck is that?” Rio grimaced.
“You don’t know who Agatha Harkness is?”
“Am I supposed to?”
“Research her.” Jen orders.
Rio scoffs, “you’re kidding, right? You actually want me to prepare for an interview? I’m the one getting interviewed!”
Jen stands up and gathers her stuff, “do it or don’t do it. It’s up to you, Rio. I have done what I can. Research her.”
“Jen-”
“Nope. I am putting my airpods in and I am walking out the door. The next time I see you will be at the set of the interview with Agatha,” Jen says. “I really hope you’re prepared.”
Rio sat in silence as the door closed.
Who is Agatha Harkness?
-
After tucking in Nicky to bed, Agatha’s bedtime routine consists of looking at her emails for 30 minutes as well as her calendar before going to bed. She’s the type of person that likes to be organised by the hour.
As she scrolls down, she notices a new email Jennifer Kale.
From: jkale@hotmail
Hello Agatha,
My name is Jennifer Kale and I am Rio Vidal’s publicist. As you may have heard, Rio is releasing a new album later this month and I have scheduled her for an interview in your web series. Although you will get an official confirmation email from your producers about your new interviewee, I wanted to let you know personally. Rio is a very talented and outgoing artist and she can’t wait to meet and talk to you.
Let me know if you have any specific questions about her.
Jennifer Kale
She looks at her inbox for the confirmation email from the producer but has not seen anything yet. Usually, the only email she'd get about the show's new feature were from the show managers. This was the first time that an artist's manager reached out to her at all. She'd never heard of Rio Vidal before but the host find familiarity in the name's phonetics. Agatha reached to every corner of her mind but nothing came up.
Replying to: jkale@hotmail
Hi Jennifer,
Thank you for reaching out. I have not seen any type of email from my producers so this is the first time I am hearing about my date/interview with Rio. If you or Rio need to reach me at all regarding the interview, please don’t hesitate to email or text me at the number attached at the end of my email.
Looking forward to meeting you two.
Agatha Harkness
Agatha shuts off her laptop and tucks herself into bed. She usually does her research on who she is interviewing a couple hours before the filming occurs, however, Agatha couldn't sleep without at least knowing who this person is. She grabs her phone on top of her night stand before typing ‘Rio Vidal’ into Google search. Before the host has a chance to press ‘enter,’ her eyes shut as she falls unconscious.
-
As Rio stays at the studio for another late recording session, she finds herself engrossed in the Chicken Shop Date series. Since Jen had talked to her about being prepared, Rio got curious as to what she needed to be prepared for. Now she knows why.
Agatha Harkness.
Even though the show had a different person coming in to have a date with Agatha Harkness, there was no denying that she was the star of the show. The way she asks the person opposite of her questions and makes the conversation feel like a real date, the person watching the episodes can’t help but feel like a third wheel. Agatha’s body language and the way she listened attentively to everyone opposite of her had Rio excited to be at the hot seat.
Rio went through a rabbit hole during her breaks from recording. After watching interview after interview, Rio couldn't get sick of it. The way Agatha's wavy hair complimented the frame of her face made Rio wonder what it would feel like to run her hands through it. Her lips and how it curves to form a perfect smile. Hell, even for a whole video, the only thing Rio paid attention to was the interviewer's nose. She longed to map out Agatha's light freckles just like the stars that Rio talks about in her songs. She applauded whoever got the idea for the genius concept of the show, but all the success should be accredited to Agatha for making all the episodes worth watching no matter who she was 'dating' for each one.
Out of all the features that made the show and Agatha successful, looking at the comments confirmed the singer's suspicions. Multiple fans praised Agatha for her words and compliments towards the other person but most of the comments focused on how well she hits it off with whomever it was on the chair. The clear fluster that Agatha caused upon her guests made Rio's heart race. She wonders if she’ll be the first guest to leave the date feeling the need to ask Agatha, “what are we?”
That night, Rio got the idea for a new song, ‘gold rush.’