Loving A STRANGER 206 Chapter 206: Hold On

When Jane arrived, she saw where Khloe was sitting, and she rushed over her. "Khloe," she gasped, "President Laurence has said that your seat is in the very back."

Khloe pushed Jane away from her and said, "Bulls.h.i.+t! I'm here to receive an award. I am not a n.o.body."

"It's not bulls.h.i.+t," Jane replied. "Your father just called me and told me to remind you that he'd instructed you to stay low-key."

"Are you nuts," Khloe hissed. "This is my time to s.h.i.+ne!"

Jane pointed and the label on her chair and said, "You are not going to s.h.i.+ne tonight. When Tom Hanks comes and sees you in his seat, you will be an embarra.s.sment!"

"Whatever," Khloe laughed as she pulled Tom Hank's name off of the chair and threw it on the floor. "You are dismissed."

As Jane walked away, she crossed paths with two ushers. They looked like they were headed for Khloe. She thought about making one last-ditch effort to help Khloe, but she knew that it was pointless, so she carried on.

Khloe looked up when the ushers arrived. The first usher said, "Khloe, there must be a misunderstanding, because there are no seats for, especially not in the front. The seats up here are for famous people and nominees. Tom Hanks and his family are sitting here. I spoke to my manager, though. He does not want there to be a scene, so he said that you could stand at the back behind the n.o.bodies. That is the best he can do. This is the Oscars, and every seat is spoken for."

"This doesn't make sense," Khloe said as she stood up, "I am nominated for at least two awards. My dad told me I was…"

Khloe suddenly realized how ridiculous she must sound to these ushers. She turned to face them, but before she could say anything, she noticed that the chair behind Tom Hanks had been delegated to Kylie.

Tears welled up in her eyes suddenly. She turned to the ushers and said, "There has been some misunderstanding. Please, help me to get out of here before I am noticed. I am already embarra.s.sed enough.

Once I am in the foyer, I will call my father and try to figure this out.   One of the ushers nodded his head and said, "Of course, Ms. Finch. We will help you."

The ushers help Khloe escape through a secret door that was behind the drapes. There was a hand scanner. The usher put his hand on it, and the door slid open.

Once she was back in the foyer, Jane ran over to her. "What next?" she wondered.

"Hold on," Khloe replied as she pulled out her phone. She was just about to dial her father's number when she saw Kylie, and an idea came into her head. She called Kylie over and said, "Dad just called me. He told me to ask you to call him. He said it was an emergency."

Hearing this, Kylie looked concerned. "What is it about?" she wondered.

"He didn't tell me," Khloe replied, "but it sounded important…"

"Alright," Kylie replied as she pulled out her phone.

Khloe touched her arm and said, "Not here. Find somewhere private."

"Good thinking," Kylie replied as she walked away.

As soon as Kylie was gone, Khloe rushed into the hall and sat in Kylie's seat. By then, the lights had gone down, and the ceremony had begun. As she took her seat, she accidentally kicked the back of the seat in front of her, and Tom Hanks turned around to see who'd hit him. When he saw who it was, he looked surprised. Khloe waved shyly and whispered, "h.e.l.lo."

Without saying a word, Tom turned back to the stage, and Khloe silently cursed her clumsiness.

The first three awards were for the Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Original Score. Seeing these people walking off the stage with their trophies, Khloe was super jealous. She wasn't a writer, director, or musician, so she hadn't expected to win any of these awards anyway.

The next award though, was for Best Supporting Actress, and she sat up quickly as the announcement was made. William called out three names, and the spotlight hit the women, one by one, as they had for the three previous awards. When the last name was called, the light fell on her, and she was overjoyed.

Everyone was clapping, so she stood up.

Khloe was surprised, and her heart beat fast all of a sudden. She looked around, feeling amazed. She noticed the astonished looks of the people around her and paid them no mind. She was dizzy, and she couldn't even remember what project the award was for. It didn't matter to her, though. All that mattered was that she'd finally been recognized.

Suddenly, Khloe realized that they weren't clapping. They were laughing. On the stage, William was cracking jokes at her expense. "What happens to our beautiful swan?" he laughed. "Has she suddenly turned back into an ugly duckling?"

Someone shouted, "This is Khloe Finch. She must have stolen her sister's seat. The nomination is for Kylie Finch. Khloe is a fraud, but did she really think she could trick us?"   

From the seat directly in front of hers, she could hear what Tom Hanks was whispering to his wife: "What a c.u.n.t."

Rita Wilson nodded and said, "The girl obviously has no shame."

Khloe felt incredibly embarra.s.sed. Silently she prayed that G.o.d would strike her dead. He didn't, though, and every second seemed to stretch out into minutes; into hours; into days – and yet she was still standing. Like a deer trapped in the headlights, she could not move.

The light began to wash over the crowd, and a picture of Kylie appeared on the screen up front. William picked up the microphone again and said, "Let's all see if we can't find Kylie Finch. I saw her earlier, so I know that she's here."

Suddenly someone shouted, "I've found her. She is in the back! Khloe must have stolen her seat!"

"Stop it!" Khloe cried. "Please… I will give Kylie her seat, but please quit attacking me!"