from one professional to another

In front of a live studio audience, underneath the baking spotlight, you'd think a show host like Florencia would melt under the heat of the moment.

Literally, actually.

But of course, she was as she always presented herself on the camera- calm, cool, and collected. Yet, the vivaciousness of her demeanor still presented herself as she energetically moved herself from one segment to another. She was, after all, the first face many on the island would see each and every morning. And if she assured it would be a good morning, then there was hope that it would be a great day for anyone tuning in. As such, she took her job seriously. It didn't mean she couldn't have fun with it, though.

"Well, that's all for today. I hope you all enjoy this gorgeous, clear sunny day, and be sure to check out that carnival downtown! Thank you all for watching. As always, this has been Florencia Goomez, and I'll see you all bright and early tomorrow morning, here on Good Morning Manta Carlos!"

"And we're clear!"

The sound of a bell rung. The camera crew relaxed and all congratulated each other. Flo smiled at the producer who had passed by her, giving her a thumbs up before looking back to his clipboard. "Good job as always, Miss Goomez."
Flo stepped down from the lacquered beechwood platform she previously stood on, from the direct center of the talk show stage she performed from. The flatscreen monitors behind her turned off, and the outside crowd viewable from the large window behind her began to disperse. Another day, another job well done. Or at least, that's what she was convinced.

"What's the viewership for today?" She asked, as she leaned over his clipboard to stare at the numbers. It.. Wasn't good. Ratings were declining these past few weeks, which put a clear weight on her shoulders. She sighed, but only had the chance to look down for a second before her producer patted her on her viscous bare shoulder.

"Don't worry about it Flo. Ever since we started putting the details of the show on our app less people have been tuning in. You've still got a core fanbase though. Don't take it personally."

He patted her once more, and though his words were somewhat comforting, she couldn't help but to wonder about the future of her show. Maybe they needed something new? Maybe they needed new guests? It was difficult though, considering that they had a very limited pool of personalities given the confinement to the island. If only...

Just as he left, another person was left in his wake. Though the bright lights had hindered her vision, from her stage she could make out the silhouette of a new individual. It seemed that in their arms was a bouquet of roses. And close by on his wardrobe was a heart that signified the trademark of only one individual she knew. Could it be...?

"Cecil Lovette..?" The name graced a whisper, as she stepped down once more to hear the clack of her heels echo the room. No. Way. On her embossed features appeared a grin, as she approached the celebrity in both flattery and admiration. She took the bouquet gently, and extended her translucent minty-aqua hand in a formal, yet eager shake. Hoping to god that she wouldn't embarrass herself and leave a trail of cool goop in his wake. Luckily, that wasn't the case "Oh goodness, thank you!" She gratified clearly, in attempts to guise her astonishment. "The feeling's mutual, Mr. Lovette. I've gotta say, I'm a big fan of your work. As is pretty much everyone here on staff." That certainly wasn't a lie. Even in her free time, she savored the original media the island produced. Her producer was stunned as well it seemed, as he gawked from the side exit he was about to leave. "What brings you to the studio, sir?"
​

Despite being made entirely of slime, Florencia felt like her metaphorical heart was soaring. She was so ecstatic to have such an encounter following some not-so-great news. She hoped he didn’t hear that her show was steadily failing. That would be a horrible first impression!

But luckily, he was unphased. His charm and charisma had swept her up, to the point that the sting of decline had begun to faded, replacing itself with pride. Such a star like himself actually watched her show? After all these years? Despite lacking concrete features, her composition managed to give out how she felt thanks to the translucent aqua on her face slowly becoming a light shade of pink. ”You mean that? Well, I’m flattered!” Feeling the rising heat to her face, she placed her cool hand to her cheek to try to calm herself down, the pinkness ceasing its slow spread. ”Hmhm, you’re even more charming in person… Though, in all seriousness, it really means a lot that a star such as yourself takes time to watch the news and weather. I’m glad you like it!” She was even more so impressed at how long he’s been watching. God, she was getting old… But thankfully she still had it.

At least, Cecil still thought so. Sure, she wasn’t the conventional news anchorwoman- and for that she struggled a lot to get the job in the first place- but thankfully, times have changed since then. Now she was fulfilling her dream, and today would prove to be something else she could cross off on her bucket list. ”Oh gosh, stop~” She teased a bit at his way at making her feel elated. But this friendly flirtation seemed to have a point. Their meeting was beyond a simple hello. Lunch with a local celebrity? It took her back a bit, but she finally regained herself after a moment. ”Y-yes! I’d love that!” She agreed, looking down at his arm before placing her squishy hand delicately on it. ”I don’t have to be back here until six, anyway. Thank you so much!”
​

It had taken her some courage to admit it. After all, show business had a tendency to craft ego as a defense mechanism. Though Flo wasn’t necessarily full of herself, she hated to see her role in the spotlight diminish. It was what she loved, and it was pretty much the only thing she knew at this point. Telling him her struggles was a bit too sudden, so hopefully the rest of the afternoon spent together would help to erase what she relayed. Her failure wasn’t something she wanted to be remembered by.

And even then, she didn’t want to bog herself down by clouding up her dream with some workplace drama. She was here with the Cecil Lovette, and she was going to enjoy his company. After all, the charisma and confidence he was exuding had begun to rub off on her. She felt his warm hand over the cool goo of her own. It was rare that anyone even wanted to touch her, let alone someone as important as him.

Though, he did pose a question once they were out of her studio that did catch her attention. Being liable to the cooperation, her response was immediate.
”Oh, yes! I’ve been here for almost two decades… They’ve treated me well all this time.” She said aloud. Although… She couldn’t help but to lower her voice when they came through the quietest part of the hallway. No one was here, except for themselves. ”But just between you and me, things have changed a lot around here over the years. I can hardly keep up with it. Maybe I’m just getting old!” She joked lightly, and resumed her normal tone once she got out into the sunlight, her vinyl pumps clicking lightly against . The beaming incandescence showed through her minty-aqua persona, casting a translucent shadow on the ground. On days like this, she was glad she had the afternoon off. And with his hand now firmly around hers, she was elated at how the day’s events had finally unfolded.

”Seafood sounds wonderful, Cecil. I can pretty much eat anything anyway.” She said lightly, a bright smile on her face. ”I hope you don’t mind if my er, eating habits throw you off.” It may have been something odd to bring up, but she’s had that complaint before in lunch meetings. She really just didn’t want to mess this up.
​

Despite it being somewhat early in the day, it seemed the streets were a bit quiet in comparison to how they usually were. She figured that whoever had needed to commute already was where they needed to be, so at least the two could enjoy the company of each other in peace. Besides, she had just swept under her embarrassing photos of getting slime over another journalist on accident. She didn't need another tabloid blowing something else out of proportion.

And though Felix was newer to the field in comparison to herself, it seemed he was already quite familiar to the way his career worked. She nodded after his statement, agreeing completely. ”Mhm. It's sad too, how talent could be extinguished in its prime. Maybe it's because some try too much to be the flavor of the moment instead of an icon for a generation, or in special cases, generations to come. I guess that's why I had posted of Charlie Chaplin and Audrey Hepburn hanging up in my room when I was younger. I wanted to be immortal, somehow.”

Even if she was to be crushed by a business that saw her methods as archaic, she could enjoy the moments she had as they came to be. This was on her bucket list anyway. She stayed close to Cecil, looking around at the crowd of the restaurant. By the looks of it, this place was fancy. He certainly had good tastes. When the host was yelled at, Florencia had to stifle a giggle with the placement of her hand over her lips. My, she hadn't felt this important in awhile!

She followed the group to the balcony and promptly took a seat. The basket of muffins was calling her name, though she couldn't turn down a chance at exotic booze. In her seat, she held out her fluke, smirking a bit. ”But of course. I need a little something to get me through my agent’s ramblings and what not.” She chuckled a bit. Granted, they had good intentions, but some of their ideas were a bit too far fetched for her choice.

Speaking of far fetched…

”An… actress?” She looked up at him as he sat across from her. Her eyes seemed to sparkle a bit, and the goo around her cheeks slowly began to flush. ”Goodness, goodness, you really are the charmer.” But he was serious. She grasped the Chardonnay delicately into her hand. ”I have, actually. Growing up I was used to be the center of attention, for better or for worse. It happens when a kid created you as a science experiment! So yeah, I grew to love entertaining. I did try acting a few years ago. It was a slimy-pun intended- studio though. Told me I'd make a great villainess in a movie they were shooting. They didn't inform me though that it for ‘The Blob that Ate Everyone’.” She laughed, but it trailed off as she gave a long sip to the alcohol. It was a humiliating memory, to say the least.

”I guess since then I've been turned off from the prospect of putting myself in new opportunities. But watching you makes me inspired. You really have a wonderful presence on the island, you know that?” She looked back up to him after she put her drink down. ”So… what's it like being you? We may be in the same industry, but it feels we may come from two separate worlds.”
​

She had to admit, it was nice to finally talk to someone who held empathy rather than sympathy. She didn’t mean to dump all of her problems on him, but at least he understood exactly what she was going through. She was inches away from being a washed up has been while the man across from her was only getting started. She had longer time in the field, but perhaps he may even be wiser than her in some respects.
It didn’t help though that he was singing her praises. It felt good not to only be appreciated, but buttered up. Still, she could appreciate the sentiments he held for himself. He had every right to be proud.

”Well, I wasn’t created be a quitter, hon.” She joked lightly, though was flattered to know that someone else recognized her resilience. Following this compliment, Cecil proceeded to list the pros of being such a well-off celebrity. In a sense, it was awe-inspiring. He really was perched in the lap of luxury, just for being Cecil Lovette. His name was a brand around here, much more so than hers. But instead of that being a source of rivalry for her, she found within it a spark of motivation.

”Wow… Look at you. You really are the poster child of success.”
Of course, all of this had a very clear point, which was soon revealed to her. Phase one was the compliments and empathy, phase two was the temptation of prosperity, and finally phase three revealed itself- the pitch.

Here she was granted the opportunity of a lifetime. She was awestruck for a moment, her ‘eyes’ wide with contemplation and excitement. Though mistakes were made in the past, she saw that Cecil could be trusted. He was a star, and he was genuine. But this was all a risk. What if it were a trap? What if she would abandon her studio for his, only for her to end up the creek without a paddle? ”You really want me to work for you? Well, I’d be honored!”

But…

”Just.. I dunno. There’s something that keeps me coming back to my own station. I am passionate about what I do there but… They’re not as passionate about me. I know times are changing. An old maid like me clinging to a crumbling news station is occupational suicide, now that I think of it.” She looks pensive. Her cheek had her hand pressing onto it so much that they had started to meld together. She looked at him with her imprinted brow raised, and an almost daring smirk on her lips. ”How exactly do you see me working over there?”
​