Look Alike
By Achuloh
Viviana Forte had finally made it big as a pop star! Her singles always rocketed to the number 1 spot, and stayed there for weeks. She was on top of the world.
And it was exhausting.
Most of her time was spent in a whirlwind of touring and interviews. Why, just last week, she had seen four cities and been on two airplane rides.
Which is why she valued a rare week off liked this one so much.
She decided to lay low, and relax. Her boyfriend was an actor, and was in the middle of filming a movie, so she was truly alone. Just her, and the hotel floor she had bought out for her entourage.
But she couldn’t “really” be alone. People were always coming in and out, asking her opinion on licensing deals or wanting to talk strategy. So Viviana bribed a few hotel employees, and snuck out into the city.
Her disguise was paper thin—just a hoodie on top of the expensive clothes she usually wore, but it seemed to work just fine as she wandered aimlessly into the city and didn’t spot any paparazzi about.
Viviana walked into a donut shop, and bought a dozen donuts. She was acutely aware of how much she’d have to work out to undo the donut, but nobody was around to tell her no.
While munching on donuts, she just watched the people around her. Nobody seemed to recognize her, or at least, if they did recognize her, they kept their cool and didn’t say or do anything to make her uncomfortable.
As she walked through the downtown, she ed a sign that caught her eye.
“VIVIANA” it said in huge eye-catching font, and then below it, “Look-alike contest.”
Viviana smiled. It looked like it would be happening soon.
Maybe she would drop in and give all of her fans there a surprise?
Viviana walked into the hotel room, and ed under the fake name of Jenny Middleton. They gave her a name tag, and sent to her to wait in a green room with a dozen other “Viviana”s.
It was a bit surreal to be surrounded by so many people trying to look like her.
They had all tried so much harder—dres to reference some of her most iconic looks throughout time. She was just in her street clothes… and an oversized hoody.
Viviana took the hoody off, and tied it around her waist.
A girl walked up to her, and extended her hand. Her impression of Viviana left a little to be desired. While it was clear that the girl had put in a lot of effort, she looked more like a parody of Viviana than the genuine article. The dress was vintage Viviana, but it was clear that the girl didn’t quite have the curves to pull it off, her eye color was brown instead of Viviana’s blue, and her face was a few degrees off from a true Viviana look.
“Hi there!” the girl said cheerily. She pointed at her name tag. “I’m Amber. And it looks like you’re Jenny?”
“Yeah,” Viviana said, feeling a little caught off guard. “That’s me.”
“Well cool!” Amber said. “I’ll bet you’ll make it to the second round at least.You nailed Viviana’s overall vibe.”
Viviana smiled. Amber was going to be so surprised when she revealed her true identity at the end of the contest.
“Actually,” Amber said. “Do you mind if I get a picture with you?”
Viviana nodded. She was used to getting pictures with fans, and she smiled at the thought that Amber might look back fondly on this picture.
Flash.
Viviana blinked and looked around disoriented.
“It’s a shame that your eyes aren’t the right color,” Amber said. “But other than that, you look just like her.”
Viviana blinked. That… shouldn’t be possible. Of course she had eyes the same color as Viviana—she was Viviana!
Viviana pulled her phone out to check the mirror app, but—
Flash.
“There’s nothing unusual about that though, is there?” Amber said.
Viviana looked at Amber. Amber had the prettiest blue eyes she had ever seen—she wished she had eyes like that!
The call went out for group four, which Viviana was a part of. The first round was the simplest. Every girl would get 30 seconds to do their best Viviana impression, and then if they did well enough they’d be called back to the second round.
Viviana waited for her turn, and when she was called up, she just acted naturally. It was easy—she had practiced for this role her whole life!
She was shuffled off stage, and waited for the next round to start.
“You were really good up there!” Amber said, approaching her again. “So natural!”
Flash.
There was that disorienting flash again! Viviana felt like she was floating. Why hadn’t Amber asked for permission this time?
“You have to tell me what you did for your costume,” Amber said. “Do you really look like that under the make up?”
Viviana frowned. She wasn’t wearing a costume!
“Uh, well, I guess I just lucked out in the looks department. I just happen to have a build very similar to Viviana, you know?”
Flash.
“You don’t have to lie to me, I bet you’re using every trick in the book to look like her,” Amber said.
Viviana blushed, and looked down at herself. “Is it that obvious?”
Amber nodded. “I can tell you’re using a push up bra to augment your cleavage, and some padding to make your booty look bigger.” Then she pantomimed zipping her mouth and locking it. “But your secret is safe with me.”
“Thank you!” Viviana said. But then she realized how strange all of this was.
Viviana shouldn’t have had to use any tricks to look like herself. Her boobs and butt should already be the perfect size, because she was herself. And yet, when she looked down she could tell she was using a push up bra, and if she shifted her legs she could feel the padding on her butt.
“Hey, wait a second!” Viviana said. “Something weird is going on. You’re doing something to me!”
Flash.
Viviana blinked, and felt her head swimming.
“Of course not,” Amber said. “You’ve always been a bit on the scrawny side, right?”
Viviana nodded. “I guess so.” She looked jealously at Amber. She was so sexy! Amber had sexy curves, just like she pretended to!
A judge approached the girls, and told them who had made it to the next round. Viviana was thrilled when she made it to the second round!
Then she took a step back, and thought about how strange that was. She should have been a shoe in, right? Why was she suddenly so nervous?
The second round was a fake 5-minute interview with a judge. The girls had to pretend to be Viviana, and answer questions like she would.
“Nervous about the next round?” Amber said.
Viviana shook her head. “Of course not, I know everything there is to know about Viviana.”
“Oh?” Amber said, curiously.
“Yeah, I—”
Flash.
“You don’t have to lie to me,” Amber said. “You might be a huge fan of Viviana’s music, but there’s no shame if you don’t know anything about her life.”
She blinked at Amber in confusion. Of course she knew stuff about Viviana’s life!
Didn’t she?
But strangely, she was coming up blank. Very blank indeed. She barely ed anything about Viviana—except that she liked her music.
Meanwhile, Amber’s eyes went wide as she was looking at her.
Amber said, “No way. No fucking way! You…”
She looked at Amber in confusion. What was happening?
“Um, whats up?” she asked.
Amber shook her head. “What’s your name?”
The girl shook her head. “I, uh, I don’t know. I’m, uh,” she looked around until she saw her name tag. “I guess my name must be Jenny.”
Amber looked thoughtful for a moment. “Of course, Jenny.”
Flash.
“Your name is Jenny, that’s right.” Amber said.
Jenny blinked. Something about that sounded off, but she didn’t know what her name would be if not Jenny.
Flash.
“You’re actually, Viviana’s biggest fan, I bet. You must live here in the city, in a run down apartment with your parents, and I bet I was mistaken about you not knowing anything about Viviana. You probably know a ton of trivia about her—you’re probably reading the internet constantly for news about her.”
Jenny blushed. Anyone could guess that she was a huge Viviana fangirl! She didn’t look much like her idol, but she knew everything about her.
Jenny realized someone was calling her on stage. It was time for round 2!
Jenny totally nailed the interview. She had watched countless hours of video of Viviana, and had her mannerisms and speech patterns down.
After she finished, she watched the other girls perform. She was surprised when Amber went on. Something about Amber just seemed so… Viviana-esque!
Jenny was so envious of her. Jenny could act like Viviana, but when Amber was being interviewed, it was like she was Viviana. Everything was impeccable.
After round two finished, Amber ed Jenny again.
“You know what round three is,” Amber said.
Jenny nodded. “The singing portion.”
Amber shrugged. “I’m not much of a singer? You?”
Jenny smiled. Her one secret was that she was actually an amazing singer. She knew how to sing all of Viviana’s songs, and she sounded great doing it. In fact—
Flash.
“I bet you’re not much of a singer either.”
Jenny blushed. Of course she couldn’t sing. She was just a huge Viviana fan girl, that was all.
Amber smiled. “Don’t worry about it, I’m sure you could learn to sing like Viviana some day, you just have to work hard and keep at it.”
Jenny nodded. She felt strangely encouraged by Amber’s words.
The judges started round 3, and when Jenny went up. She bombed it.
Her singing was predictably, absolutely terrible.
Then Amber went on stage, and Jenny felt so stupid she hadn’t seen it before!
Amber was Viviana Forte!
It was so obvious in hind sight. Amber looked just like Viviana. She acted just like Viviana. She sang just like Viviana!
Jenny started freaking out. She was breathing so fast, and her heart was practically beating out of her chest. Her idol was right there! On stage, live in front of her. She wondered if anyone else realized it.
When Amber walked off stage, Jenny ran up to her.
“It’s you, you’re her!” she said.
“Hey, keep it down,” Amber said. “Not everyone has caught on yet.”
“I can’t believe it!” Jenny said. “What are the odds that I would run into the real Viviana at a look alike contest.”
Amber shook her head. “Honestly, I’m wondering the same thing. Oh, do you want another selfie?”
Jenny nodded eagerly.
Flash.
“Jenny, you’ve never been Viviana. I am Viviana—everything about me is Viviana.”
Jenny nodded. Of course that was true, why would anyone think that Jenny had ever been Viviana? Jenny was just an ordinary girl with a fangirl obsession. That was all. She was nothing special. She had never been anything special!
When the judges tallied the results, they announced the winner.
Amber won 1st place of course.
Jenny was waiting in anticipation for her to reveal her identity.
But then the judges said 2nd place.
And for third, “Jenny Middleton!”
Jenny was thrilled, she ran up on stage and collected her prize, a $50 gift card.
When all of the winners were announced, Amber walked up to the microphone and said dramatically, “I have something to reveal. I am Viviana.”
Everyone in the room went crazy. People were trying to get pictures, and the one bored reporter who had been covering the event lit up and tried to get forward to her.
It was a long time before Jenny had a chance to talk to Amber, uh, Viviana again.
“Wow, this was so much fun!” Jenny said. “Do you do this kind of thing often?”
Viviana shook her head. “No, but I love seeing my fans like this. You guys are all so wonderful.”
“You’re the one who’s wonderful!” Jenny insisted. “You’re the most wonderful human being who has ever lived.” Jenny started sobbing, and Viviana hugged her, and patted her back awkwardly, unsure of what to do or say.
“I’m sorry!” Jenny said. “I must look so pathetic. But I love you, you’re the reason I get up in the morning.”
“Oh, wow,” Viviana said trying to keep her composure. “Is this really what I look like from the outside?”
Jenny looked up at her in confusion. What was Viviana saying?
Viviana shook her head. “I had been planning to take one more picture with you—to set things right, but um, wow… Jenny, enjoy your life! I know you’ll do an amazing job living it.”
Jenny smiled through her tears. Viviana’s words of encouragement were etched into her mind. She would never forget what she had said, and it would give her strength and courage and peace for the rest of her life.
Jenny’s mom came and picked her up, and she sighed happily.
Jenny would go back to her 9–5 job living with her mother, with no prospects or ambitions, except to listen to more of Viviana’s music. To learn everything there was to learn about Viviana.
And who knew? If Jenny was lucky, maybe she’d be able to meet her idol Viviana again!