"You'll be taking a role as Scarlett Monroe."
"What do you mean I'll be taking a role as Scarlett Monroe? Where is she? Why do I need to be her? Is this like Vanessa Hudgen's Christmas movies at Netfl!x? Taking over somebody's role just because they have the same face?""Pretty much," Drey nods, "But you'll be getting money out of this.""And Mr Gunn is fully aware you're not the real Scarlett Monroe.""Mr Gunn? Who's that?" I'm getting dizzy with all these shocking information.From the pictures I have in my hand, Scarlett Monroe seems to like dressing up, and always has herself put together. Unlike me who'd wear anything to the office if I'm too lazy to plan my outfit. Especially on one of those weeks when I hibernate.I have this tendency of going all out after spending weeks at home. I'd go out, hang out with friends, and after a fun, tiring weekend with them I'd hibernate for weeks until I'm ready to come out and play again."Mr Gunn is Scarlett's husband.""Ooohhh?" Interesting, "Is he the one who'll be hiring me? To be his wife?""Yes. He's the client so he's aware that you're not the real Scarlett. But you will be Scarlett whenever you're with him. You can't be yourself, you're a hundred percent Scarlett."I laugh at that, "I can't be this woman. Have you looked at her? She's like the royal! Even our hair is different."She has wavy, just below-the-shoulder blonde hair with long side fringe that frames her face perfectly while I have this thick, long, boring straight black hair. Her hazel eyes are in contrast with mine because I'm a typical Asian girl with black iris.Despite our similar feature, she looked more like a Latino while I qualify as an Asian. Especially on the figure part since she has big boobs and toned ass while I have this close to non-existent boobs with a huge squishy soft ass. I'm a pear, instead of an hourglass like her."I can find my magic wand somewhere," Drey smirks as he stares at me, as if he's drafting a plan on how to turn a crow into a swan."Wait wait wait," there's something wrong with this, "Why would he want somebody to pretend as Scarlett? Where is she?"Both of them look at each other but have no effort to answer my inquiry."Fine, maybe she's dead, or she broke up with him," there is so many theories I have in mind, "But can't he move on like other people? Find a new woman, forget this Scarlett for whatever reason she left him.""People can have anything if they have money, Sweetheart. Including a replication of the missing wife.""Hmm fine. You got a point there. Money rules, got it.""Good," Miss Collins smiles, "So you're saying yes to this?""No, I was just agreeing with what he said. I didn't say yes to this." I must be mad to agree to this ridiculous proposal.One, I'm a Muslim. We don't just sleep with men without being married to them. I'm a fucking virgin okay, so sleeping with him would be a hilarious effort.Two, we're obviously two different people. No matter how hard I try I can never be Scarlett. Mr Gunn would detect my awkwardness from day one.And three, I have an actual job. I can't quit my actual job for this ridiculous gig. It's not like he's gonna pay me a hundred thousand a month, duh.Finally, four. I'm feeling slightly awkward to be here without covering my hair.I started wearing hijab ten years ago when I was nineteen, because I had this Arab boyfriend at uni. He encourages me to wear one because he wants his wife to cover up.From wearing shorts and tank tops on a regular basis to loose clothes that is three sizes bigger just to hide my big ass, including the wide long shawl to hide my hair and chest, well in short I was a walking tent; that's what people call me after this drastic change I made. I did everything to make him happy, with the promise of being his wife once we finish our bachelor degree.But my family was against that idea. They expressed how I've lost my identity to a man who seemed possessive instead of protective. But of course I waved that off despite the obvious red flags.Four years later after he returned to his country in the Middle East once we're done with our graduation, with the promise that he would come back with his parents to ask for marriage, hmmmmm. I've never heard from him since.He's a douchebag, alright.But along the years, I started questioning my objectives of wearing hijab. Is it just for him? Or is it for God?I still dress modestly but not to that extreme anymore. I start wearing pants again, and buy clothes my size. My hijab still covers my hair but it is more fashionable now compared to the boring black wide shawls my ex-boyfriend only approved of.But landing at JFK last week made me think if I wanna re-discover myself, if I wanna make this religious decision on my own, without being influenced by anyone.That's how I chose not to wear a hijab that Saturday, on the day I met Miss Collins. I let out my hair after ten years, wanting to know how I‘d feel- if I'd rather cover up or let them out.Mama, Dian, Luna; my mother and sisters wear whatever they want, and never covered their hair except for prayer.Sometimes I feel jealous of how easy it is for them to just grab their handbag and go out while I need to change clothes into an appropriate one, wear my hijab, only then I get to go out. It's a hassle, that I'm not sure if I do it because I want it or because I'm still heavily influenced by my then boyfriend. Nobody knows me here, so I can start from scratch again. If I miss wearing it, so it's really because I wanna do it then? Not because of him."May I know why? Maybe we can rectify that?" She asks with genuine interest, as if she'll do anything to persuade me."I'm not comfortable being someone else." That's pretty vague considering the four points I listed above."And I have a real job." Hope that makes the argument stronger."How about just the weekends? And maybe nights?"I stand up right at that moment, feeling insulted, "There is no way I'm gonna sleep with him!""You don't have to sleep with him if you don't want to. That can be arranged." Miss Collins answers calmly."But he's asking for a wife. How can he agree to not sleep with someone who's pretending to be his wife? Is he mental or something? So he has no problem accepting my terms? Meaning he knows I'm not the real Scarlett. But still want me to be his Scarlett? He sounds cuckoo."Drey is trying to contain his laugh but Miss Collins remains composed, making me grab my bag."We can discuss further, Alya.""Discuss what?" I'm not gonna associate myself with a cuckoo person."Lay out your terms, and I'll voice it out to Mr Gunn. Perhaps he'll say yes.""So he's that desperate to have someone imposing as his wife? What a pathetic man, still living in the past when that woman must be enjoying her time, living her life, moved on. That's probably the reason she left him, so stuck up in the past. Must be exhausting living with that man. And you expect me to live with him? No, thanks.""The last Scarlett cashed in fifty thousand dollar a week.""Whoaaaaa what?" That really shut me up. My mind goes wild calculating what would it be in one month, multiply that to another few to make me a millionaire, just.like.that. Whoaaaaaa-"Interested?" Drey looks at me with that evil facial expression."Why is he so rich?""You'll know if you say yes. For now, are you interested? Up for the challenge?"I sigh, "Tell me what's the plan. Then I'll consider it." At least I've changed my mind to at least consider it from a solid no."You will sign a contract for a duration of three months. Should he decide to extend your service, the contract will be renewed every three months. But it will be up to him to terminate your service whenever he wishes. In terms of compensation, the last Scarlett worked full time hence the fifty thousand a week. I'll have to inform him about this and come back to you since you're tied to your job. I assume you'll be taking the role only on weekends?""Hmm.""And after all those boring legal matters," Drey grins, "You and I will have fun together. I'll shape you into the Scarlett he wants, money-back guaranteed.""You mean literally shape me or actually shape me with plastic surgery? This real Scarlett is like size two, with boobs and ass. Both her thighs equal one of mine." She even has a thigh gap."Don't worry, we'll work out a plan. No plastic surgery, everything would be au-naturale."This is officially my fourth week in New York, and I'm getting used to being here. Wearing hijab is a norm in Indonesia but here in New York, especially in my office, I'm like a rare species simply because I'm the only one who wears it. I've received multiple questions from my colleagues that sometimes I wonder if they ask because they genuinely don't know about it or simply to mock me; “Do you sleep with it”, “Do you shower with it”, and the one that got me extremely speechless was, “Do you actually have hair?”I try to be positive and answer them with a smile eventhough sometimes I do wanna be spiteful and throw that “Of course I shower with it, I use Hijab and Shoulder”. But no, compose yourself Alya. Show them that Islam is beautiful, not condescending. "Oh wow," I hear a gasp next to me, "You look so much better without that thing!" I turn to her as I put another one of my friendly face, "Thank you." Is all I said then I get back to putting on my hijab. Sometimes this chiffon
"Mr Gunn accepts the first two conditions," Miss Collins announces on the follow-up meeting after I laid out five things to be brought to him prior my agreement to the contract, "But he won't tolerate the remaining three." First, I will never, under any circumstances, have sex with him be it oral sex, vaginal sex, anal sex, fingering or hand jobs, dry humping or genital rubbing, or masturbation. Fucking wrap your junk and hide it from me. Second, I will not sleep with him even without any physical contact. Because satan is always beside us to influence us towards sinful acts. Third, I will only be available during the weekend. Fourth, I will not live with him.Fifth, family is off-limit. Be it mine, or his."So I have to live with him full-time?" That would be impossible, "I have my day job. There is no way I'm gonna apply leave from work for three months straight for him." Even if it guarantees me a hundred and fifty thousand dollar.That's 2.1 billion rupiah. I will not just b
I thought he'd be proud to know I've memorised all the utensils on which to use for what but he's a tough one to please because I stutter the moment he asked me to demonstrate on how to use the spoon for soup in case it's hot. "You do it half moon crescent," he runs his spoon in the soup in front of him, "Not blowing it as if you're playing trumpet." I giggle again and pick up my soup spoon, copying his act, "Like this?" "Make sure your spoon is facing the other way when you dip into the soup." I sigh, "I'd rather not eat soup in front of people my entire life if there is so many rules to follow." I'm sure he'll faint if he sees how hard I blow my instant noodle and slurp it loudly whenever I‘m eating it. No, not eating it. GOBBLING it. After we're done with the food etiquette class, it's the styling class next. It's a miracle no matter how many hours I've spent with him for this particular class, there will always be something new to know about Scarlett, or being a rich woman i
"Is it laundry day?" My sister, Dian teases me in Indonesian as she munches on her snack while watching me button the tweed jacket I've just put on. "No, no, no. Wrong question. Is it pay day?" Oh I know what she meant by that. Being sisters means we share our clothes despite the difference in our size; she's two sizes smaller so she can wear mine but I can never fit into hers. That also means she knows every article of clothing I own, and this two-piece skirt suit is too obvious for being a brand new expensive-looking item I just owned. "Whose is it?" "Not mine." "Yeaaaaa I know it's not yours, obviously," she rolls her eyes at the last word, "But who's the designer? How much is it?" To be honest, I have no idea how much does this skirt suit cost. All I know is Drey specifically asked me to wear this on my first meeting with Mr Gunn. Uhh, I mean Honey. "Uhm let me check," I walk to my bed and grab the skirt I laid there, wanting to inspect the tag at the back to which she ga
"Go to the penthouse, meet him there. Have dinner with him. Off you go to your own bedroom to end the night."Step one is completed, now onto step two. Honestly, I'm prepared to give him two kisses a day, as per Drey's briefing. One would be in the morning, when I send him to the door before he go to work. The second would be at night, right before we depart to each other's bedroom. And those kisses were supposed to be lip-locked but being a hard headed, I made it a non-negotiable condition on top of the two he agreed earlier before I signed the contract, that I will only kiss his cheek, unlike the previous Scarletts who would have no problem to kiss him on the lips. I'm a Muslim, remember? But that, was unexpected. I thought I have at least an hour or two to decide if I'm pulling myself out of this charade but one minute in, he already marked his lips on my body. My hair, to be exact. "Bee," the way he calls me as he goes down the stairs gives me this certain vibe, as if I'm r
"Tell him I-love-you as much as you want, that's part of your job description. And don't worry, he won't fall for you." "He never fall in love with any of the Scarletts?" "Nope. Every time we have a new Scarlett he has no problem to switch them up." "You mean he currently has a Scarlett? Like right-now?""Her contract will be terminated just before yours is activated, as in your first day with him." "What? I thought you said he's nice?" "He is. But this is a business transaction. If we have a new product, of course he wants the latest version.""So we're like iPhones? To be changed every time a new one is available? He's a jerk alright." I still remember that conversation I had with Drey, and the remark I made of calling him a jerk. But when he said ‘I love you’ just now, he doesn't seem like he's lying. Like he's not the jerk I thought he was. "I love you too, Honey." I reply sweetly, silently knocking my head to remind me that I'm on the clock. He said I-love-you to Scarlet
This is harder than I imagined. To maintain Scarlett's image, I get out of his penthouse in another designer skirt suit and a pair of Louboutin with matching Hermes Kelly. My hair as instructed by Drey, is kept in a low bun."Scarlett will always wear a suit to work, be it a pantsuit or a skirt suit. Bag, always Hermes either a Birkin or a Kelly. Shoes, make sure they're at least four inches high. Hair, in a bun. A professional bun, very much different than a formal dinner bun. And lastly, red lipstick." I am struggling over here to remove this pencil skirt that will be replaced with a pair of slacks. My slacks. Because it'd be weird to wear a headscarf with a skirt that stops a little over the knee. God, it's so hard to have double personalities. Once I'm done with my pants, I put on my hijab to cover my blonde hair. Then I swipe the red color off my lips and use my usual nude lipstick. Lastly, I replace the Louboutin with my Salvatore Ferragamo flats, the one I always opt for wo
I've always had this dilemma whenever I travel, ESPECIALLY when I travel with my family. We are foodie people, we travel mostly because of food, and travelling overseas means we don't really get halal food all the time. It's easy for my family because they don't mind eating anything as long as it's not pork. But for me, who's a bit particular about food, since I've gotta maintain my hijabis image and all, I'd always opt for vegan or kosher meals. Until it reaches the seventh or eighth day of our vacation that I'd get sick of eating the same old limited-option vegan and kosher meals while watching my family gobble anything in the world except pork. That's how my faith fades a bit and I start to taste just a bite of what they're having that suddenly, out of nowhere, I'm already ordering a full meal for myself. And now, after three months of living in New York with those limited food option, I am now being served a plate of meat that looked fucking delicious with such beautiful deco