Scarlet Paige | Teen Ink

Scarlet Paige

November 29, 2023
By Titan_Sanchez SILVER, Palm Bay, Florida
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Titan_Sanchez SILVER, Palm Bay, Florida
5 articles 1 photo 0 comments

Hollywood royalty, Scarlet Paige sat cross-legged in her seat in the Dolby Theater located in the heart of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles.

The golden age of sixty is the age of having a body that feels young until nature decides otherwise. The body, usually after years of sexual vigor, is still firm and strong, with a body that has not settled into bodily sags and lines. But when the body reaches the golden age of sixty, nature takes over and starts to age it. In this case, the fullness that had been with her as a young woman slowly started to subside until she was left with a series of not-so-subtle changes. Her hair, although thick and wavy before the bronze age of seventy, was now thinning. Her skin was no longer smooth and supple but creepy with fine lines on her face. Her eyes were now less vibrant colors, with dark circles creating an impression that she was a perpetual heavy drinker or suffering from insomnia. The sweet smell of health was gone from her body as her arteries began to harden and her joints stiffened with age. She was left with a soft body that had lost most of its charm.

The golden age of sixty is the time when you have until seventy hits you like a blow to the gut.

And it was the same feeling she got.

It was the night of the ninety-fifth Academy awards. The ceremony had come and gone and yet the winners were still coming and going, leaving dust in their paths. The nominees were all tall and handsome; they all walked with quick, long strides. They were every bit as talented as the winners, only they had not yet earned the accolades that go along with talent. Normally, talent and fame never appear out of nowhere. They require years of hard work to grow, followed by a shorter time to wither. The winners had been working on their craft for a long time, and the nameless others had a decade or two left in them before they faded into obscurity. Masters of this art depended on time and attention to grow, but there was no time for them because they were already masters. And when all was said and done, there was a lot of sorrow in that room because most would not live to see their next awards show.

Though, Scarlet knows that this award show is yet to be concluded. She had gone through this on several occasions throughout her career as a Hollywood A-list actress.

If one is not too familiar with Scarlett Paige, during her career spanning five decades, fighting tooth and nail to make a name for herself and build an empire and legacy, she reached the top of the box offices, with each of her (wildly Impressive) two hundred major motion pictures becoming box office hits. And as a result has become one of Hollywood's most respected, decorated, and highest-paid actresses of all time. Out of twenty-three total Academy award nominations, she has won six. Replacing her childhood role model/aspiration, Katharine Hepburn who has won four.

It is expected that Scarlett P. is to win another Academy award tonight for her supporting role in the blockbuster book-turned-movie: Death Incarnate: A Scarlet Tear.

It was reported that TMZ has stated that the all-red interior, Black Badge Rolls-Royce Cullinan driver (A sophisticated yet classy way to show a sense of importance to the theater), was inspired into joining the risky but rewarding turnout if successful (lucky), movie industry, not only by her childhood hero, Katharine Hepburn but by sixties, seventies and eighties, Hollywood legend and award-winning actress, Evelyn Hugo.

She was motivated by her due to the fact she was extremely ingenious and skilled socially. Her ability to read others was awe-inspiring. Evelyn's high social infiltration and skill made it the reason why she made it into the collective élite of Hollywood stars.

Paige has wanted to be an actress ever since she was just a little girl. And all she could do was grab that hairbrush and thank the academy, her agent, and her parents who supported her through this. Even during their last breath, they still pushed her forward. Always to make her be the best she can be.

She would never ever forget that even as the goal of becoming the most successful and decorated person in Hollywood rang almost non-stop in her mind. No matter how hard life got to her, no matter how hard push came to shove, she always pushed through. When she was knocked down, she wouldn't necessarily just sit there and cry about it. No, she would haul herself up off the tile floor and stand on two feet. She always looked out for herself when no one was. And even when a special someone entered her life and then got down on one knee and slipped a ring on her finger, and then married her, Scarlett would still look after herself. Making sure she succeeded. Making sure she always ended up on top. And now look…

The other reason she does what she does is not just for success, but for the general welfare. That even though we had lost two of the greatest actresses of all time—Kathrine and Hugo—it is possible to replicate their legacy, to carry it out, to even make one of your own.

And that is what she is doing.

She is carrying out her own legacy, by sitting there waiting for her name to be called by the host of the Academy Oscars. And even though she has won six altogether and is almost guaranteed to win tonight and take home a seventh, this isn't the position she was meant to be in. This was not how she envisioned being Oscar-nominated in a category considered to be slightly lesser but still very important (to others). In all honesty, she never had considered what it would feel like to win a lesser award. Never in her seventy years of life.

According to her, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, in a major motion picture was... in all sense... embarrassing. Even though most of the rich and famous never get one. Due to the challenge of becoming nominated. Of seeing your name appear on the stage screen.

But no, Scarlet Paige had always thought the Oscars and just the same with the Grammys, Emmys, and Tonys, were a competition. A competition. And she was going for number one. And she also thought that you were a fool to think otherwise.

She has established herself as one of the few reigning monarchs in the film industry. So now all she has to do is sit back and wait...

The director called action and The Host of the Oscars walked from backstage onto the front stage with a golden and red accented envelope in his hands.

It wasn't surprising when he opened the letter and looked over the crowd and paused. It wasn't surprising when nerves were jangling at her temples as she awaits the announcement. Scarlet always got the feeling. No matter how calm she was, it always happened to overcome her.

And it wasn't a surprise, when The Host called out her name and when all who were present in the crowd stood and applauded when scarlet got up. And it wasn't a surprise, when he called out her name and when all who were present in the crowd stood and applauded when scarlet got up. Her grand red off-shoulder gown tumbled around her, and she could feel the weight of the fifteen-carat ruby necklace that hung around her neck like a 15-pound weight. She made her way to the stage and planted herself behind the microphone. 

People continued to applaud her. For she had finally done it. They hadn't expected her to win, and now she did. She is literally on top of the world, and one of the world's most respected women. (According to Forbes). She, on the other hand, didn't feel anything. She had gone through this one too many times. She was more experienced in giving these speeches than anyone else.

But before she could open her mouth something in the corner of her eye brought her attention backstage where someone was... most likely, a worker. He stood over a bag he had thrown on the floor. Scarlet wondered if anyone else saw or heard that.

Of course not, how would they?

She couldn't think anything more about it, especially when The Host pressed her gold-plated silhouette in her hand, bringing her attention back to the crowd, who were now sitting back in their seats. Waiting. Waiting for her speech.

Scarlet Paige opened her mouth to speak, faking the emotion in her voice, "What the winners didn't tell you was just how hard it would be to win this prize. We gave them goodbye presents, we congratulated them, and they flaunted their new possessions, but they didn't tell you what it would be like to actually win. Most of all, they didn't tell you how much time and effort, and courage it takes to really win one of these. No one ever offered an ounce to help me while I was on my rise to stardom. I tried and tried, worked and worked, for decades of my life. I dropped out of high school, and almost went homeless, almost confined to the dirty streets of Beverly hills. But in retrospect, I could say I regret none of it. All of my decisions led me to where I currently am- the most respected, highest-paid, and grossing A-list actress ever. I mean look at it, I have my seventh Oscar. Most people can hardly win one. And so without further ado I would like to say thank-"

But before she can say anything a blade pierces her neck and twists about. Her flesh bleeds freely and glistens in the dark space. Her body jerks and her eyes roll wildly to the side. For a moment, she doesn't know what is happening, then she hears and feels the skin around her neck stretching, tearing, breaking. Then it pulls out, blood now shoots out of her neck with high velocity. She very slowly lifts her hand to touch it. The cut across her throat is paralyzing her. She managed to turn her head and noticed The Host looking at her, as most got up from the audience and ran, followed by an eruption of screaming throughout the theater. The whole world seems to dissipate, leaving nothing but the two of them. Scarlet tries to block out all noise, as she continues to look at him. His face is set as stone, conveying nothing.

She gasps, then screams. She clenches her hands and moves them around, but she cannot see what is happening. She gasps, then screams, then gasps again, each one an almost silent response to the last. She shakes her head from side to side three times and opens her eyes wide. The crater in her neck only gets larger, ejecting more blood. The Host now wraps his hands around her neck. His hands are covered in blood from the cut across her neck. Her mouth was so full of blood that she couldn't close it. And when she opened it, the blood gurgled and bubbled in her throat. And the last thing she could think of before the utter and complete darkness consumed her whole was... body bag.

NowThe Host's hands cinch around her neck. His teeth bite into her neck and tear it apart severing the head and neck in two. She collapses to the ground, to be quickly consumed by flames. Erupting from nothing.

His secrets spill out, dripping like the blood down his face. The scent of her burns fills the air.

What most would say, was that they had been there, and they would never forget it. They would carry the terror of the night away with them and into their dreams, or nightmares, or just into the night as they walked back to their hotel room and watched the news, still incredulously stunned, trying to make sense of it all.

And looking back at the horrid events that took place during the ninety-fifth Academy Awards, what still rang through them was not the murder itself.

No.

But what would ring through them, keeping her fellow actors and actresses and the sixteen million six hundred thousand watching from home, up at night, eating them away, bit by bit, like a caterpillar gnawing on a leaf, to this very day, was how it was too bad she died the night she got her seventh Oscar win.

Like that was more important.



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