rock star

"I'm gonna trade this life for fortune and fame. I'd even cut my hair and change my name."

With a name like Ocean, she must have been destined for fame.

This was the familiar thought in Ocean's mind as she hazily opened her eyes. She should have been afraid, as the blur of her vision eased and she realized she didn't know where she was. But Ocean was used to it. Waking up in strange places had been her life for the past seven years, even before the drugs.

It took her a minute longer to fully process that she was in a hospital room. Ocean tried to sit up but found that she was shackled to the bed. And not with the soft, padded restraints she'd been placed under a half dozen times. She was handcuffed to the bed by cold, steel, police-issue handcuffs.

The police. A proper dose of panic finally set in on Ocean. She couldn't be arrested by the police. If word got out, she would lose the shampoo endorsement she just got before the ink was dry on the contract. Not to mention the big comeback album she and her manager had been promoting would be destroyed.

Then the feeling began to creep into Ocean. It was slight, but she recognized it immediately. She needed a fix. Thoughts of her imploding fame and untimely arrest got pushed to the back of her mind. She needed a fix.

By the time the nurse came in ten minutes later, Ocean was frantic. She felt the early stages of withdrawal creeping in and was desperate to avoid them. A police officer followed the nurse in. And behind the officer was her manager Tim and her mother. Her mother! Ocean knew it was over.

The officer informed her she was being charged with several misdemeanors. Her manager informed her that the news of her arrest had hit the air nearly two hours ago. Her mother informed her that she had just had her involuntarily admitted to the hospital's rehabilitation program and was petitioning for power of attorney.

So it was over. The fame. The drugs. Her life as she knew it. How could she have let things get here? How could she not have been able to handle it? After all, she was Ocean. She had been destined for fame.