The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era [BL]

399 [BABY’S DAY-OFF] (I)

ASTRID stared at the huge villa in front, three small cameras were following him from different angles. Yes, he was here for a variety program. He was just dropped off here by the program team.

Ellis managed to get him a pretty good gig the day before yesterday and today was the recording. It’s a new variety program called [Baby’s Day-Off]. Just by the name, one could already have an idea what of the show’s gist.

It’s about children of famous people spending a day with a celebrity, acting as their nanny. It’s aired once a week and every episode featured a celebrity’s kid. It had been airing for a month now and the one he would record today would be the fifth episode.

The reason why Ellis picked this program even though it’s still new was because of the high rating and good reviews. People thought that it was a very novel idea. The children’s innocence and playfulness, as well as the guest’s nervousness and inexperience, it made for some funny entertainment.

Since this was a new show, the guests were mostly newcomers or at least celebrities who hadn’t really made a name for themselves. After all, established celebrities would hardly want to appear in a show where they had to take care of kids.

The program team must have also known that, that’s why they instead invited kids that had popular parents. In short, the real star of the show were the kids and not the guests. The guests were mostly just accessories that would mostly serve as decorations for the kids.

The kids being featured were different in each episode. Of course, there were safety guidelines set up to make sure that the kids wouldn’t be in danger. There’s an onsite doctor, as well as other staffs that would follow along the guest and the child. Ready to run over in case of emergency.

The idea of the whole program was that the guest would be the nanny of the celebrity’s kid for half a day. As in from morning to noon. And despite the title, the kids involved wouldn’t really be babies. That would be too difficult. Not only for the guest but also for the staffs. Most of the kids were at least between the age range of four to eight.

Although the show seemed to be very disadvantageous to the guests, but if one looked at it from a different perspective, then it could still work for the guests’ favor. It’s why Ellis didn’t hesitate to put him in this program. Because she knew that they could get something out of this show.

.....

For one, the fact that the kids being invited were the children of famous celebrities already set it apart from ordinary variety programs. Second, if he showed how good he was at being a nanny of the kid he would be in charge with, then in the public’s eyes, he would have a kind and caring image. And lastly, as long as he took good care of the kid, he might also get an unexpected connection with the kid’s parents.

Expanding one’s network was always a must for someone working in this field. Of course, that didn’t mean that Astrid would only take care of the kid because of all the benefits it would give him. He would take care of them to the best of his ability and be as sincere as he could.

He actually didn’t know the identity of the kid he would take care of today. It’s one of the requirements of joining the show. So, he was only dropped off here.

Astrid looked at one of the cameras following him. “I’m kind of nervous. I hope they will like me.”

[You can go in now.] – he heard a voice from the earpiece he’s wearing. It was the assistant PD who would guide him for today.

After hearing that, Astrid walked towards the huge gate of the villa. There’s probably one camera panning overhead to take a drone shot of the whole villa. It’s actually unbelievable that the owners would allow that.

But then again, it’s not like the address of this villa was shown. Even if it was, this place probably had top of the line security. So, they didn’t have to worry about trespassers and obsessed fans.

Astrid pressed the button on the side of the gate. The screen above the button turned on and then a robot icon appeared on the screen above.

[Please state your name and the purpose of your visit.]

“Good morning, I’m Astrid Townsend from [Baby’s Day-Off],” Astrid said, introducing himself.

[Can you show your identification? Please, put it in front of the screen.]

Astrid opened his Terminal and showed his ID. After a while, the voice spoke again;

[We have confirmed your identity. You are now free to enter.]

A small door beside the gate then opened. Astrid walked trough that and was momentarily surprised with what he saw as he did. The villa was actually a lot bigger from the inside. Like some kind of resort spa with a large pool no less. In fact, he felt like he needed to get on a land vehicle to go from the gate to the main house because of the distance in between the two.

Aside from that, the temperature inside was obviously controlled. He could feel it the moment he walked in. It’s like a warm Spring season. Not really surprised by that since there’s a technology that could easily manipulate the weather.

Astrid hadn’t yet taken a step when he saw a land vehicle coming to his direction. He let out a sigh of relief. At least he didn’t have to walk that far and tire himself out when he hadn’t even started taking care of the kid.

When the land vehicle stopped in front of him, he got on and it quickly started to move back towards the house. There was no one driving so it was obviously programmed.

Arriving in front of the house, a woman wearing a suit was already waiting there for him.