Page 1 of Stars and Scars

1

CHARLOTTE

Most people shut off their alarm and shuffle into the bathroom to begin their daily grooming in private. I’m not most people.

With a jaw-crackingly huge yawn, I swing my legs over the side of the bed. The sun has yet to kiss the LA basin, and won’t for a couple of hours yet. I’ve lived in Los Angeles my entire life, but I used to rise with the sun. Now, my day begins at 4:30 AM, just like every day.

I answer the call of nature and then hit play on my Megan Trainer wakeup playlist. Before I start filming content, I have to make myself somewhat presentable. I use a cold compress to take swelling down in my face, then pull my unruly black hair back into a tight bun.

Nobody on the internet can smell my breath, but I go ahead and brush my teeth anyway. The minty tingle helps me feel more like a human. After that I tie a knot at the waist of my tank top to make it sleek and tight. Only when I’m done with all of my preparations do I turn on the ring light and begin filming.

“Hello beautiful people of Charlottesville! It’s a little past 4:30, so my brain’s still a little foggy. That’s why I’m glad that Globaline’s new cosmetics line is so easy to use. I’m going to start with a basic foundation…”

I smooth the beige powder over my cheeks, then use a brush to blend it.

“As you can see, those blemishes are going bye-bye. I plan on getting more sun this summer, so I’ll have to update my shade. But don’t worry, Globaline makes it easy with their skin-tone matching app.”

As I finish my pre-workout skincare routine, I glance at the checklist on the pink sticky note hanging from my mirror. I have to make sure I hit all of my endorsements for the day. Thank goodness most of my 2.3 million followers understand the hustle. Sponsored endorsements saved my family.

Everybody wants to be an influencer. Money for nothing! Never have to work a day in your life! That’s not exactly true. Still, I feel incredibly lucky that it’s worked out for me, so far.

“Ok, that’s it for now, see you next time in Charlottesville!”

After my skincare routine, it’s time for a workout. I grab my strawberry lemonade energy drink and head down the hall, flanked by a view of the pre-dawn cityscape. I wonder how many other points of light belong to people starting their work day, just like me.

At the end of the hall, I hang a left and enter my home gym. Thanks to product placement deals, I have all of the latest, highest tech equipment. My exercise bike has more computing power than the rocket ship the first astronauts took to the moon. My scale will tell me everything from my weight to my ambient skin temperature and cholesterol levels.

The fitness regime is crucial. Everyone knows the internet is without mercy or pity. But even more than that, it helps me stay healthy, and my followers say it helps them too.

I flip on the lights, check my image on the monitor, and mount the elliptical machine. Once I start recording, my smile comes back like magic.

“Hey, what up my peeps? It’s exercise time in Charlottesville. Thanks to my XFitt 2500 elliptical machine, I don't have to sacrifice comfort for results. The gyroscopic balancing and extra-responsive controls mean I’m always in charge of my workout.”

I set the elliptical to about seventy percent of my max output. I still need to be able to talk, after all.

“You can easily adjust the settings with a flick of a switch, or by voice, like this: Xfitt, increase angle by 4 percent.”

The arms adjust with a mechanical whirr and I beam at the camera.

“It really is that easy. Oh, and I almost forgot, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who voted for me in the LA’s Points of Brightness awards. You’re the best! I’m super stoked to be a recipient for my work with the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. Thanks so much for your support!”

A sheen of sweat glistens on my forehead, but it’s not creating too much of a glare. I check my filters and make sure everything looks good. Unlike my skincare routine, I’m livestreaming the workout so everything has to be perfect.

So far, so good. I roll through a couple more endorsements, then find I have about ten minutes of blank space to fill. The hearts and likes keep on coming as I switch gears to something more personal.

“Now I’d like to shout out to my favorite people in the world… Hey Mom and Dad! I see you’re watching, which I love, but I need you to sign off for a few minutes. I have a surprise to share with you later.” I wait until my parents are offline and then continue in a stage whisper.

“So, my parent’s thirtieth wedding anniversary is coming up, and I want to do something special for them. Since y'all have such great ideas, I’d love to hear what you think. I’ve created a poll you can link to from my social pages. Thanks fam!”

I finish my workout, and post my results for my followers to see. Someone points out that I completed my steps in record time today. I thank them and shut off the cameras for a while.

As soon as I stop filming, my smile fades and I droop between the armrests of the elliptical machine. I don’t even feel all that tired, not physically, but being ‘on stage’ all the time can be exhausting. Sometimes, I wish I had a normal job.

But then I wouldn’t get to be part of my followers’ amazing stories. And I mean their real stories, not the social sharing feature. Like Jenny, who used my dating profile advice to get her first online date after divorce. Or Margot, who gained the confidence from my makeup and hair tutorials to land her dream job. Then there’s Sarah, who feels like she has her body back post-pregnancy, partly thanks to my workout routine.

I’m about to step in the shower when my phone rings. I check the screen and smile when I see it’s my mom. Wrapping myself up in a fluffy robe, I sit on the edge of the tub.

“Hey mama, what’s up?”

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