Prologue: Sadie's Voice
The whole positive publicity thing does worry me a little bit. I mean, I've put pen to paper now. I'm a bonafide Jewel, or I will be, when Topaz hangs up her mic. That's not far away now, she's decided to call it a day when Jewel play a local function here in the city. I suppose it makes sense for her to say goodbye to the band in Los Angeles, where the group's roots are. I do worry though that I've done something very bad, in signing that contract without telling them everything. They don't know that Sadie Monahue has a criminal record, or a history of heroin abuse. They don't know that stuff and I couldn't bear it if they ever did. I wanted a new start and I want to take this with two hands and never let it go. It's a dream, but if the truth came out it'd only turn into a nightmare, so that must never happen. Jewel must never know what Sadie Monahue did in England. It's as simple as that. I've a chance here to make a name for myself as a star...and I'm not going to throw that chance away. Maybe it's dishonest, perhaps it's even lying to them, but I don't care. I have to keep it a secret. Image matters right now, more than anything else.
Last night, Copper dyed my hair. It's weird to think that I'm not exactly blond any more. They've named me Garnet, so consequently I'm developing a decidedly pink image, including the streaks in my hair. I know Garnet is red, but red has never been my colour, and since the stone is pinkish red and pink is definitely my favourite colour, I was happy enough to go with that. Nancy says I look like a strawberry milkshake now...I prefer to think of it as raspberry ripple hair. It's cool. I've not dyed my hair for a long time, and there's always that little rebellious, naughty streak inside of me who wants to stand out and look different, defy convention and make a statement. That's why I went out and got my nose pierced as a kid, when Dad said I couldn't have my bellybutton done. Come to think of it, I've always been kinda like that - maybe it's the artistic streak in me. Trouble is though, I also feel really guilty if I do anything too bad. Especially these days. I know what prison is like and I have no desire to encounter it again any time soon!
Tomorrow morning, the next stage of my transformation from Drug Counsellor to Jewel begins. Misfit Music are hosting a press conference - hence the hastily dyed hair - to present me to the nation as a whole. With Topaz's last performance not far away now, it's apparently important that the public believe the changeover is both voluntary and amicable before it actually happens. Yes, more of that Publicity thing. I can see I'm going to have to learn a lot of new things -what to say and what not to, how to field questions that I don't like, that kind of thing. Tomorrow will be my first big test, and all the encouragement Phyllis gave me about it was to say "Don't blow it, Jewel's reputation hangs on it's success." Well, that's made me feel a lot better. So much better that between that particular interview in her office and returning to the Starlight Mansion I'd smoked a box of ten. But the others promised to give me some pointers and tips and rescue me if things got too intense, so I feel a little better about it now. I've a brand new outfit - all courtesy of the company, it cost more than I earnt in a week in Brum, and I'm afraid almost to touch it - in order to present me to the nation, and I've been led to believe that I will get more Jewel wear at the company's expense as this goes on. A whole new wardrobe - I can't even begin to imagine!
I hope everything goes well tomorrow...I want everyone to like me!