Chapter 24: Some things in common.
Mark hesitated a bit before speaking his mind,
"Andrew, don't take it like am poke nosing on your private life, I am just so curious about this. How were you able to acquire all these riches within just a year and some months of your acting career? The duplex, the cars. The movie industry does pay a lot right?"
Andrew dropped his ruffles chips on the table while smiling a little, he clarified,
"Before my emergence into the movie industry, my bank account was loaded with money already. That's with the help of my mum, 'cause she makes sure to stuff me with the cash always. I am the only son and only child of my family, so my mum makes sure to allot me with the bag always. Doesn't mean she over pampered and spoilt me unnecessarily, she made sure to discipline me when necessary".
"Mother and son chemistry". Mark uttered teasingly while smiling, "Your mum must have been a mighty and successful woman, right?"
"Yeah, she is a mighty and successful woman because she worked hard to get to where she is right now". Andrew declared.
"Just like my mama also". Mark said in comparison.
"What about your mama?"
"Don't worry, we're gonna talk about that later on, let's get to know more about each other as for now".
"Ok, if you say so".
"Did movie acting added a lot to your income or it just added a speck?" Mark inquired of Andrew.
"I won't lie, it added a lot. I am being paid a lot of money per movie I am featured in, especially if I happen to play the role of the main character. So my wealth came from two different sources, my Mum's support and my hard work as an actor and entertainer". Andrew responded.
"Wow! you are really fortunate, within just a year and some months of your acting career, you've been able to make a name for yourself globally as a skilled and talented actor. You are also receiving a huge amount of money as an actor.....you are blessed".
Andrew smiled as he crunched his ruffles chips some more, Mark and a lot of his fans were mistaken about the actual year he began his acting career, and an explanation would be the best way to put Mark on the right track.
"There is something you guys don't fully know about me". Andrew uttered.
"What is it? I hope it isn't a story of your horrible past life experience we don't know about?" Mark asked in inquisitiveness.
"No, not related to that at all. Everyone believes I commenced my acting career a year and some months ago, even the internet says so too. But you guys are all mistaken and wrong".
"Really!"
"Yeah, I commenced my acting career some three years ago in my first role in a movie titled 'A quest for power'. I was a very minor character in the movie, so people didn't seem to recognize how good my acting skills were. I got featured in more other movies playing the role of a minor character until my first big break where I played the role of the main character in the hit movie titled, 'never give up'. That's where my fame and success story started from, I got more recognition than ever before. So everyone assumed 'never give up' was my first movie, but they are all wrong".
"Wow! I am just knowing that now, a lot of people are really mistaken". Mark said opening his eyes wide like that of a person that was just freed from a strong spell.
"Yeah, a lot of them. After I became popular, everyone seemed to be talking about how good my acting skills were. I let them believe whatever they chose to believe, I didn't clarify anything to them regarding my acting career". Andrew deciphered.
"You should have clarified these things to us, so we wouldn't be in the dark for too long, it's just like conversing with your fans. A lot of people are unaware of it, and if you didn't tell me now, I would be oblivious of it for as long as possible".
"Yeah, I should have notified you guys about it, that's the right thing to do. But, I don't know, I didn't felt like clarifying it".
"Not good....you know that right?" Mark asked.
"Yeah, let's say I was a little immature at that time, let's shift that topic aside and crunch our chips to our satisfaction, after that, I'm gonna bring another pack of chips for more crunching, we are gonna get high on chips today". Andrew declared with a gleaming face as he stylishly changed the conversation between him and Mark.
If it was up to Mark, he still wants this conversation between himself and Andrew to keep going. Mark didn't like the fact that Andrew had been keeping his fans in the dark for a long time, most of them aren't aware he had commenced his acting career some three years ago, even the internet isn't aware of it either. Celebrities are supposed to be communicating with their fans regularly through social media and other communication means. Regular communication and interaction are crucial for fans to get to know more about their favorite celebrity.
But it seems Andrew had failed a bit on that aspect, his fans and supporters around the globe ain't aware of very important stuff about him....the actual year he commenced his acting career. Mark and Andrew crunched their chips until they emptied their two packs of ruffles chips. Andrew wasted no time in bringing four more packs of ruffles chips giving two to Mark and taking two for himself. They crunched their ruffles chips slowly, enjoying the sweetness and yummy taste of it, then suddenly, Andrew threw a question at Mark.
"Your dad is no more, right?"
Mark was confused by the unexpected question Andrew just threw at him, "H...how did you know that? Ohhh! the interview right?"
"Yeah, the interview was an eye-opener to me, I learned a lot of things about you. We have somethings in common, my mum became successful through persistence and hardwork, your mum became successful through her persistent and hardworking spirit also. Your dad is dead, my dad is...."
"Dead also!" Mark uttered abruptly cutting Andrew's word short and also completing his sentence.
"Yeah, you got it right, my dad is dead also". Andrew said with a slightly unhappy face.
"Wow! had no idea at all, what age were you when he died?" Mark asked.
"I was 15 years old at that time".
"Cause of death?".
"He died from a very tragic car accident. He and three of his colleagues were coming back from work very late in the night in one of his colleague's car, my dad was the one driving. They discussed and cracked lots of jokes while coming back, and that was what resulted in the car accident that took some of their lives. My dad was so engulfed in laughter that he didn't take notice of a huge truck coming in their direction, before he could put the car in order and dodge the coming truck, it hit their car causing it to somersault before landing heavily on the ground. My dad and one other colleague died instantly, the remaining two were badly injured and were rushed to the hospital. My mum and I were so sad and heartbroken for a long period, but as time passed by, we got used to it and life went on". Andrew explained.
"So sad, really a tragedy. But how are you able to describe how the accident occurred when you weren't even there?" Mark inquired of Andrew.
"A forensic scientist gave us a full detailed explanation of how the accident took place after examining the area where the accident occurred". Andrew explained.
"Oh! fully understood". Mark uttered.
"According to your interview with the 'music extra', you said your dad died of a heart problem, can you please detail me more on it?" Andrew asked, he yearned to listen to the full explanation from its very beginning to its climax from the horse's mouth.
"Sure, I was 11 years old when these events took place. My dad suddenly woke up one morning complaining of chest pain. He was taken to the hospital by my mum for a medical checkup to detect what the problem was. The checkup was done by the doctor and the result revealed that he was suffering from heart disease and heart failure. The doctor gave us two options, either he undergoes heart surgery or he dies. Surely, we went for the first option and the surgery was performed on him, after the surgery, everything seemed to have gone back to normal, my dad stopped complaining of chest pains and other stuff related to heart disease".
"Then one Saturday morning, he woke up complaining of serious chest pain once again, it was much worse than the previous one. Terror struck me at that moment, I was afraid, my dad could die as a result of this".
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone