Meanwhile, thirty minutes down south resides a massive mansion. This is the Conway Mansion, owned by Gulls’ prospect, Scott Conway. It is a three-story mansion lined with windows, surrounded by acres and acres of vast land with a roundabout in the front and a lake behind it.

In one of the many rooms of the mansion, there is a theatre. The room is long and rectangular with golden walls lined with lights around the doorway and decorating the wall. On the slated audience floor are wide rows of comfy, black chairs, three on each side of the aisle. Facing the audience is a wide screen, which is dark at the moment.

Sitting in the back row is Joseph, who is munching on a gyro with his sunglasses on. Standing next to him on the aisle is his teammate and only resident of the Conway Mansion except for Scott himself, Kalle Kossila, and Kalle’s Finnish friend, Olli Määttä.

“You can explore the rest of this mansion,” Kalle tells his guest. “I’ll be around with my friend, Olli.”

Joseph swallows and eyes the two Finns. “As long as you don’t annoy me, I’m fine. I like to think of this as my mansion.” He turns away from them, absorbing the grandeur of the room with a smirk.

“Okay!” Kalle then nudges Olli. “Lähdetään.” He then strolls up the aisle and out of the theatre with his friend right behind him.

Joseph is now left alone in the theatre. He finishes the rest of his gyro, then peers down at his armrest.

The armrest is displaying an array of buttons, just like a remote control. With his free hand, pushes the red power button.

The screen ahead of him glows brightly before displaying exactly what he has in mind: His front door interview with all of the fans as his audience.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” he hears the fans scream over his interview.

With a frown, Joseph presses the mute button on his armrest. Yet the screams persist.

With a grumble, Joseph lifts himself from his seat and storms up the aisle and into the equivalent grand foyer of the theatre. He pushes through the magnificent double doors and strides down the marble hallway lined with rococo paintings. He then halts to a large window to his right and peers outside.

On the massive lawn of the mansion is the same sea of fans, yelling and chanting his many names with signs proclaiming his name. A big smile curls on his face.

---

Back in the humble dining room of the Monarossabergie House, Brandon is watching the Ice Guardians trailer with a skeptical expression.

“Ugh, enough of this…” He then hovers the cursor over the “x” on the tab and clicks on it. The tab along with the video disappears.

---

Joseph is still soaking in the admiration from his fans by gazing at them.

Suddenly, they cease their cheering, lower their signs, and amble off of the lawn.

A bewildered expression immediately crosses his face. “What?” He then whirls around and flounces back into the theatre.

Back in the theatre, he immediately halts at the sight of the screen. The screen is now blank.

“That’s odd…” He slowly turns around and steps back into the foyer, making his way into the hallway. “I want to watch the trailer again—” He immediately halts in the middle of the hallway. “My laptop!” His face drops. “It’s at the house.” He lets out a huff as he continues strolling.

---

Later on, in the dining room of the Monarossabergie House, Brandon is back on his laptop, typing away contently. Across from him is Joseph’s lonely laptop, which is still opened.

Suddenly, he hears the door opening and closer, followed by harsh footsteps. He peers behind his shoulder, spotting his famous roommate striding up to him.

“Oh, hey, welcome back, Joey,” Brandon tells him as he follows him with his eyes.

“My fans left,” Joseph grumbles as he breezes by him.

His eyebrows shoot up. “Your fans left? How?”

Joseph halts next to his device. “I came to get my laptop.” He leans over to it and wakes it up by tapping on the trackpad. He then clicks multiple times, opening up each tab on the window. “WHO CLOSED THE TRAILER?!”

Brandon perks up at him with frightened eyes. “Sorry. It was playing and I stopped it.”

Joseph lifts his head at his roommate, before dipping it back toward the laptop. He then goes to his history and brings back the trailer.

Instantly, the cheering of fans can be heard from outside, along with the many notification rings emitting from his jeans’ pocket:

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” the fans scream.

Bah-dah-bing! Bah-dah-bing! Bah-dah-bing! Ring, ring! Bah-dah-bing! Ring, ring! Bah-dah-bing! Bah-dah-bing! Ring, ring! Bah-dah-bing! the phone emits.

Brandon crazily gazes around his surroundings with all the unexpected sounds surroundings him. “What the--?” He gapes at his roommate. “You just brought the trailer and—” He then notices that Joseph is wearing a haughty mien. “Joey, close the tab!”

Joseph faces him. “No!”

Brandon reaches over the table, pulls his laptop close to him, and quickly deletes the tab.

Following the action, the sounds halt. All that is left is the still sound of the house.

Brandon stares at the laptop’s screen. “It’s the trailer…” He eyes Joseph. “…whenever it’s on, it makes you famous.”

“Good--” He nods toward his laptop. “--keep it on—”

“NO!”

Joseph then swipes his laptop into his arms and brings back the trailer.

The cacophony erupts out of thin air:

“AHHHHHH!!!”

Bah-dah-bing! Bah-dah-bing! Bah-dah-bing! Ring, ring!

Brandon narrows his eyes at him as the explanation for the strange situation crosses his mind. “Do you know what this spells?”

Joseph stares at his roommate through his sunglasses. “Fame.”

“No—!” He slams his hands on the table, beginning to stand up. “Icemare! This is another one of Icemare’s curses! It’s not normal to gain such popularity for being an extra in a movie! This is Icemare’s doing!”

Joseph raises his eyebrows. “Finally, Icemare has done something good—”

“Nooooo! This is NOT good!” He sharply stands up. “Joey, do you know what this fame is doing?!” He pauses as he gathers the answer together mentally. “It’s splitting us apart. You’re being taken up by fans and interviews and a mansion. That’s what Icemare wants, why else would he do this? If we aren’t together…he’ll take the upper hand and do whatever he wants with us. We need to stick together.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re the face of the Gulls—”

“Do you see me doing interviews left and right and being engulfed in fans and leaving you guys behind?”

Joseph turns his head away while letting out a huff.

“I’m sorry,” he continues on, “it’s great you’re an extra in a movie and all, but we can’t do this. We can’t lose you.” He stops as another view of this explanation comes to mind. “What would Maxi do? He never left us behind, unless he was called up to Anaheim. But when he was down here, he always stuck with us.” He then pauses. “Please. For us.”

Joseph lets out a heavy sigh. He then directs his head down at his laptop before deleting the tab with the trailer.

The sounds disappear, leaving the house in a much-needed silence.

Joseph then places his laptop back on the desk and pulls off his sunglasses, revealing his heavy-lidded eyes. “It was fun while it lasted. But those fans were something else.”

Brandon chuckles with a small smile. “Never go back to that trailer again.”

“Not even if I want a piece of fame for a bit?”

“You already have fame.” He sits back down in front of his computer and flies his hands over the keyboard. He then spins the laptop around to show his roommate its screen.

Joseph peers at it. Brandon has brought up his Google profile with his pictures and information from Wikipedia: Joseph Cramarossa is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. He is currently playing as a prospect within the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League.

Brandon smiles up at him. “People know you.”

A massive grin creeps on Joseph’s face, his cheeks becoming rounder. “I like it.” He then peers at his roommate. “We should watch the movie though— I’m in it.”

Brandon shrugs. “I guess. But you’re an extra.”

Joseph gathers his laptop into his arms. “Still in the movie….!” He then walks past Brandon and out of the dining room.

“Yeah,” Brandon mutters, “he’s still in the movie.”


The End.

Notes

E.15 "Fame For A Day"
Part 2/2
Episode 15/20