Chapter 346: Boom and Bust I

"Alex!"

"Yeah..." Here it goes again.

"I'm famous!"

"I know." It'd be hard not to. Alexander had been reminded for the plentieth time already.

If asked about the specific number of times, he'd directly answer that it's more than plenty enough.

"I still can't believe it." Milla said for the same plentieth time. Even now, she was still talking about it.

Probably still adjusting.

With "Take My Breathe Away"'s popularity, a lot of people are talking about the girl behind the song and the music video.

Attention came. Praise came. And then there was fame.

Of course, there were also drawbacks as well. Like a kid singing such an innuendo-d love song despite it not being used in a sex scene anymore.

Alexander wasn't too sure of the extent of its effects but he was sort of sure about what's happening with Milla.

Aside from probably botting up frustrations from the negativity, he could tell that she got an ego boost from it. Why else would she come repeatedly remind him about it?

Or maybe she was in the time of her life. Proud, jolly, gay, and whatnot.

Or maybe she feels that she's stuck in some sort of ultra-happy dream that she didn't want to wake up from. Repetition is her way of judging whether it's reality.

Or maybe... well... the list will just go on.

Alexander was sure of something and that was that she was in dire need of a better adjustment strategy.

Milla was awfully happy of being a face in a comic book, an extra in a movie, a model in some magazine, and a voice in an animated show.

This whole music video stuff must take the cake.

Is Cocky Coxy busy with something?

Alexander figured that since both of them got their coming uppance at the same time, they could cope with this popularity fever together.

Then again, last he heard, she got some part in something called Princess Bride.

You killed my father, prepare to die.

That meme is all that Alexander knew of that movie.

Well, that option was a bust, already.

There's always the option of consulting Drew. If anyone's got experience, it could only be her.

Being able to work in this industry since being a few months old has got to account for something.

However, her tactic will probably be the usual destructive way that the famed in Hollywood go about it.

Also, Milla kind of hates her guts and it's the same the other way around.

He didn't know how they got so creative with it... but their choice of name re-wordings was really something.

In fact, the only reason that it's relatively peaceful right now is due to Drew being busy as well.

Some movie called A Conspiracy of Love. The love part is something that she emphasized over and over again, even though it's just some grandfather-granddaughter family story.

So... this option is a bust in so many ways.

There's always the handy momager to turn to. With her mom being her manager and whatnot. There's also the adage of being an actress from Russia as well.

Of course, Milla's still on this weird 'Alex, I'm famous' habit, even when Miss Galina's always around, so Alexander wasn't seeing something working out with that.

Another bust of an option. Might as well go with the flow.

Suffice to say, Hollywood and its culture are whack. If every famous people get swept up by fame just like this, then the term Hollyweird sure has merit.

A boom in career comes with a bust in the personal self and private life.

It's only a matter of time before paparazzi come hounding. Stability would only get further and further away.

------

Anyways, on that topic of boom and bust, Alexander got kind of caught up in that as well.

There's no denying that he had a booming business endeavor but it's been quite the bust on the other side of things.

Specifically... school.

A factoid that the hush-moneyed school principal could no longer be hushed about.

The problem wasn't about a student of theirs suddenly getting MTV and Top Gun fame, it's also because Alexander overdid it with his absences.

The deal was just a few days a week or a bulk in a month like the November production visit.

Alexander kind of overshot it with January's Game Engine finalization and Pixar 3D software fever.

February's Creed Chaos System release...

Then the game developer hiring and teaching procedures...

Then there's the stacked game development process within those aforementioned months and after them...

And there's the management of the other businesses aside from those...

Geez... even Alexander, who's summarizing what he's done, could admit that his schedule was stacked.

Strangely enough, as a developing workaholic, he relished in it.

Anyways, despite being able to pass and keep up with assignments, projects, activities, and key tests... his abundance of absences is still the crux of it.

His absences were very concerning to the point that gay-not-gay Brian felt that he was responsible for it.

Chronologically, classmate Creed's school schedule was still fine before the new year.

Everything changed when his botched Christmas confession attacked...

January until the school break, classmate Creed must have been to avoid his misunderstood profession of love like a plague.

Poor Brian Cranston really thought so...

Sharing his thoughts was his friend, ready to defend his shaky-gendered friend's honor...

Brian's friend was still Brian's friend. He wanted to defend Brian from classmate Creed's snobbiness.

Hence, the fight challenge on the very last day of 5th grade. Which came out of nowhere.

Something that Alexander considered as stupid, pointless, and another indictment of the American education system.

So much for his first-day rationalizations of treating the monotony of school as an anchor for the changes of this re-life.

His last-day realizations sure were distinctly different from how they had been.

Without a doubt, school seems wilder than what he remembered it to be.

And it's definitely not sitting right with the supposed abnormal work and normal school balance that he envisioned it to be.

Which goes to show that he really needs to reconsider a lot. A whole lot.

Clearly, a big bust that's a completely stark contrast to the boom that business had been.

------

Then again, his train of thought still wasn't finished with the whole boom and bust matter.

If anything, he rode along this thought train due to a noticeable boom in the comic industry that's happening now as he's lost in ruminations.

It was truly a boom in the greatest sense cause Watchmen's explosive end may have been what sparked it.

Anyways, before he knew it, Miss Marker's sales chart spiked up to a very steep vertical climb.

It wasn't just Creed Comics' sales chart... it was actually the strategically compiled list from the whole comic booking business.

This should be very good news for the industry but the trend was quite abnormal to what it should have had.

Something was amiss.

After all, whenever there's a boom, there's always got to be the other thing.

A dreading boom-and-bust cycle.

Its target... the whole niche of comic books.

The culprit. Probably some factors just coinciding.

Or... an off chance that recently ruffled powers wanted Creed Entertainment's entire booming business structure to go bust. Messing with the comic book market sure is one way to go about it.

Anyways, there it goes again, boom and bust.

------

Milla, on the other hand, could only sigh.

Alex was at it again.

She just talked and there he was...

Lost in thought. Probably scheming or some other thing.

Why did he say "Yeah..." and "I know" for the plentieth time?

Can't he just congratulate me or something?

She'll just try again, next time.

Admittedly, Milla didn't even care about the fame or worried about the negativity. Well, she did, but not too much. She learned from the best, after all.

It just so happens that her fame-dismissive and no-nonsense indifference teacher happened to be this kooky Alex before her.

It's always quite the wonder what he's lost in thought about. What could it be?

If only she knew...

If only she knew, indeed!