In The Words Of Savvy Diamond

"BEEEEEPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Out in the inevitable busy streets of Las Vegas, numerous cars were
engaging in a terrible collision. The horns blew, acting as the first
sign of a traffic predicament. Tires screeched, engines fumed, shopping
bags flew in the air, people shrieked with severe terror - - - the
promise of the next few moments hung in the air. The familiar sirens of
police vehicles sounded, piercing the already troubled ears of the
public.
Aside from the traffic accident of late, it was a beautiful morning in
Nevada. The sun shone brightly and a gentle zephyr blew through the
overcrowded city, creating a calm, unusually warm feeling inside
certain Las Vegas natives. The tourists had no definite idea of the
city's norm, so they weren't the least bit phased by this mild,
pleasant climate. The streets bustled with people of all races and
origins, all extremely anxious to reach their destinations.
The police and paramedics dealt with the traffic accident and just
minutes after it had happened, it became "yesterday's news". Hey, it's
Las Vegas, what do you expect? It's the other "city that never sleeps",
almost literally. It's hard to tell whether it's day or night, the
lights are so bright. Most find it utterly confusing, even the
residents.
In a one-bedroom apartment above a trashy warehouse, the windows were
open and the curtains were blowing. Though the warehouse below was
heartbreaking to view, the apartment was surprisingly classy. It had
something you very seldom see in Las Vegas apartments---- a CLEAN
KITCHEN! Yep- you guessed it, a "neat-freak" lives there. But one thing
you never would have guessed it that the "neat-freak" is actually a
Casino Showgirl!
The walls of the apartment were painted a lovely beige-white color,
excepting the single bedroom, which was pale lavender. A chandelier
hung above the perfectly set kitchen table, looking boldly out of
place. The kitchen was donned with glitter and sparkles of all kinds-
the remains of past Showgirl costumes. You'd expect to see those
costumes strung about everywhere, but not here- not in this showgirl's
apartment. She was incredibly natty and stylish in everyway, she had
impeccable taste. When she walked out of her apartment the world
stopped performing their tasks to watch her pass. She gave off this
indescribable vibe that somehow made everyone develop a deep interest
in her. She's had her share of stalkers and neurotic admirers, but
after three or four, she'd become immune to them.
This woman of whom I so fondly speak is Miss Savannah (Savvy) Diamond.
She was a dancer and a singer and a jack-of-all-trades entertainer,
currently employed at Caesar's. She was the admiration of her peers,
though Savvy herself couldn't understand why. She didn't believe she
was more special than any of them were. Sure, she was beautiful,
talented, intriguing and brought home a supreme paycheck every week,
but that didn't make her any different on the inside.
To the Caesar's customers and to all of Las Vegas she was known as
"The Savvy Diamond". The name did fit her accordingly; seeing as how
her nickname was Savvy and her last name Diamond. She looked the part,
too. As the lead in the shows, she'd transcend down onto the stage
looking glamorous, wistful, determined and all dolled up. She truly lit
up the stage with her illuminated smile and glittery costumes.
This bright, shining star was born in Melbourne, Australia to careless
yet prim parents. She came into the world on October 27th under the
name Savannah Trinity Diamond Luiso. Her parents, Stephen Diamond and
Miranda Luiso, had married at age 19. Their expectations in life were
to win the Nobel Prize together- how they anticipated doing that with
their jobs at "Che's Bar and Grill", I'll never know.
Both Miranda and Stephan saw better things in their futures-
individually. They divorced when Savvy was 4 years old. Her mother got
custody and they moved to Sydney, where Miranda met Sean Macksimoich, a
successful and wealthy businessman. She married him, hoping that his
money and success would boost her closer to her Nobel Prize dream.
Stephan married Lilia Martinez, a Spanish Immigrant.
Savvy's home life wasn't a terrible and unfortunate affair but it
wasn't all hearts and flowers. Shortly after Miranda and Sean's
marriage, his alcoholic tendencies were revealed. At 15, she left
Sydney and moved back in with her dad in Melbourne, without informing
her mother. Savvy became close with her step-mom, Lilia, and together
they contemplated Savvy's future. She had no preferences; she didn't
know what she wanted from life. After a spontaneous performance at
"Che's", it became clear that a career in entertainment was the best
choice. She started performing at "Che's" every night, and loved every
minute of it. Nothing gave her more joy then to entertain and please
her audience. Savvy was blessed with a voice and coordination, that
alone, she felt, would get her by.
When she was 18, she and Lilia traveled to New York City together, in
search of wonder, adventure and an exciting career, mainly for
Savannah. Though New York City did provide wonder and adventure, the
"exciting career" Savvy had dreamed of was not found there. New York
was surely a city full of entertainment, but it wasn't what she was
imagined. She wanted something with "pizzazz"- a place she could look
forward to attending everyday. She wanted to meet eccentric, rare
people and spend her free time doing things she couldn't do in
Australia. For instance, she envisioned special parties only
entertainers could attend and events that were much different than in
the Aussie area.
She met with various agents once in New York, none of them recognized
her immense talents. Savannah knew everything was more prestigious in
NYC, so she knew she had to go somewhere else to make her dreams come
true. Los Angeles, Hollywood, Houston and cities of that caliber came
to mind, but one in particular really got her hooked. She heard the
name and fell instantly in love, before she'd even been there. Las
Vegas. The name had a certain ring to it that made it so Savvy just
could not turn it down. Once she heard it, that was it, she knew she
had to go there. And as much as she pleaded for Lilia to come with her,
Lilia was having far too much fun in New York. So Savvy left for Las
Vegas, on her own and without trepidation or apprehension. She had
tremendous faith in this enticing city.
She stepped off the plane and felt as if she'd landed on another
planet. She was willing to bet that this city was even more boisterous
than New York!
The moment Savvy walked into Caesar's it became apparent that that was
to be her new "home". She turned heads as she walked into the
owner/manager Harry Marrero's office. Harry himself practically fell
out of his chair when he first saw Savvy. She was instantly hired as a
chorus girl in his shows. But she moved up gradually and rather
quickly, and after about a year at Caesar's, when she was 20, she'd
become the lead.
She was extremely happy during the first year in Las Vegas; she found
everything very appetizing and pleasurable. She'd made many friends in
the chorus. To name a few: Roxie Carline, Genevieve Kidman, Angie
Rollins, Carly Shackman, Sissy Jameson, Holly Varjak, and Chelsea
Somers. Roxie and Genevieve were her absolute best friends though. Her
"on and off" boyfriend, Logan Edwards, was a pretty good guy. He was a
song writer. At times he could be quite flaky and flighty, but yet so
was Savvy. When they first met, Logan told her he was first attracted
to her by her "savvy red hair". Just moments later, he found out her
name actually was Savvy!
Now Savannah has been at Caesar's for three and a half years?she's 22.
And this is where the story really begins?.

A chill went down Savannah Diamond's spine and it unfortunately woke
her up. She opened one eye reluctantly, then did the same to the other.
The first thing she noticed was that her window was open- which would
explain the chill she'd received. She slowly got up, put her red Elmo
slippers on and walked toward the window in her bedroom. She pulled it
closed, then examined the part of the city she could see from her
window. It was a pleasant day, from what she'd observed and that set
her in a jubilant mood directly. She found her silk bathrobe and put it
on, yawning as she did so. She glanced at the digital clock on her bed
table, which read 10:38 AM, and then she moseyed into the
kitchen.
After filling the kettle with water and placing it on the stove, she
reached into the cabinet and grabbed a mug that said "I'M GOING NUCKING
FUTS!". That was one of her favorite mugs. Any mug that made her laugh
in a store, she bought. She'd acquired quite a collection over the
years. She placed the mug on the counter next to the stove, and then
moved toward the refrigerator. She located the milk and put it on the
counter, sugar was next in line. She took hold of the sugar and put it
next to the milk. She liked to have all her tea elements ready for when
the water was heated.
Savvy yawned again and then the kettle's whistle began sounding. She
took the kettle off the stove and pouring the hot water into her mug.
She added the other "elements", mixed them, and sat down at her kitchen
table. She leaned over and hit "play" on her CD player. She didn't know
what CD she had in there, but she figured it could only be one of four
things. She only listened to a select four CDs- they were all
soundtracks from her four favorite movies. Which were "Moulin Rouge"
starring Nicole Kidman, "Cabaret" starring Liza Minnelli, "Darling
Lili" starring Julie Andrews and "Victor/Victoria" also starring Julie
Andrews. Those four movies had influenced her so much.
"What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play.
Life is a Cabaret oh chum, come to the Cabaret." Savvy sung along with
Liza Minnelli to the "Cabaret" soundtrack. She took a sip of her tea
and continued singing.
"I used to have this girlfriend known as Elsie, with whom I shared
four sorted rooms in Chelsea. She wasn't what you'd call a blushing
flower. As a matter of fact, she rented by the hour! They day she died
the neighbors came to snicker, well that's what comes from too much
pills and liquor. But when I saw her layed out like a queen, she was
the happiest corpse I'd ever seen." She laughed; she absolutely loved
that part of the song. She loved to imagine Elsie. She clicked the
"Next CD" button and it switched CDs.
All of a sudden she heard,
"When you play me Le Jazz Hot, baby, you're holding my soul together!
Don't know whether it's morning or night, only know it's sounding
right! So come on in and play me Le Jazz Hot baby, cuz I love my jazz
hot! Le??Jazz?..Hot!"
Savvy sang along with Julie Andrews from her "Victor/Victoria" CD. She
finished her tea, plopped it in the sink and turned up the volume on
her stereo. She began dancing around the kitchen to the song "Le Jazz
Hot". It was her favorite song on the "Victor/Victoria"
soundtrack.
The song ended and the CD switched off to Julie Andrews' "Darling
Lili". While listening to "Whistling in the Dark", Savvy went to her
closet to picked out today's outfit. A sleeveless light purple Armani
top and a knee-length matching were chosen. She pulled out purple
high-heeled sandals and added then to her outfit. Then she picked out
her jewelry and make-up.
She stood in front of the mirror for about 10 minutes, then decided
she was "good to go". She grabbed her chic pocketbook and meandered out
the door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Savannah walked into Caesar's Palace and went straight to Harry
Marrero's office. Her hair flew out behind her as she power-walked
through his door. She slammed it behind her.
"Harry. We have to talk."
He sat up in his chair. EVERY time he saw Savvy he was stunned and
left breathless.
He composed himself. "Oh, ah, yes, Savannah?"
She dropped her pocketbook and sat in an overstuffed chair in front of
Harry's desk. She crossed her legs and folded her hands on her
knees.
"I can't operate under this kind of pressure."
He was stuck in a childish fantasy and didn't hear what she
said.
"Harry!"
He looked up, startled. "Ah, sorry. What was that, Sav?
"I cannot operate under this kind of pressure." She reiterated.
"Under what kind of pressure?"
"I feel so?."looked-at". I feel like I just have to please
everybody."
"What! No! Savvy, your job is to entertain customers on the stage; you
don't have to go past that at all, if you don't want to. And I can't
imagine that you would."
"I don't mean that. Well, maybe I do. But something clicked inside of
me this morning. I can't really explain it. It need more than
this."
"What did you have in mind?"
"Nothing- just?.more. Oh, I don't know. This job?.it doesn't really
have any meaning to it."
"It's not just a job. You're an entertainer. You bring joy to hundreds
of people every week. Not everybody has that privilege. And how can you
say there's nothing meaning in it? I find it quite meaningful."
"That's cuz you sit in your bloody office all day and fantasize about
your female employees!" She shot back.
He was taken aback and he fumbled with his ballpoint pen. He was
tempted to say "How did you know?", but he didn't.
"That wasn't very considerate." He said instead.
"I don't care. I know it's true. You don't care about any of your
employees?.you have other ideas. You couldn't care less what any of us
thought about our jobs." She slyly and angrily walked behind his desk
and pulled out one of his cabinet drawers. Inside, it was full of
picture of the showgirls at Caesar's?.some inappropriate, some
headshots.
"What do you have to say about THAT, Mr. Big shot?"
He gasped. How did she know that was there? He asked himself.
"Savannah?"
"You see?! I was right. For the record, I've known about that drawer
for two years!" She exclaimed.
He dropped his head in his hands and muttered an unmentionable word of
distress.
"I guess you'll have to find another hiding place, eh?"
He shook his head at her. "You're something else."
"Yes, yes I am. Got a problem with that?"
"Don't be expecting any raises or anything now, Savannah." He said,
depressed.
"Oh, don't try that with me. I could walk out there right now and
embarrass you in front of both your colleagues AND your customers. I
don't think that'd be too healthy for your "career", if you'd like to
call it that."
"You wouldn't dare." He said in disbelief.
"Oh, wouldn't I?" She strutted over to the door, threatening to ruin
Harry.
"DON'T!" He shouted. She spun around.
"Why ever not?" She asked, mockingly, putting her hands on her
hips.
He walked over and firmly pushed his hands on the door, closing
it.
"Don't." He whispered.
"Why should I listen to you?" She turned the knob. He stopped her
hand.
"Please. You'll ruin me."
"I'll stop if you let me ruin those pictures you've got in that
drawer."
"What do you mean?"
"BURN them."
"B-B-burn them?" He stuttered.
"That's what I said."
"But?..but?.I?.."
"It's either that or I ruin your entire career, if you want to call it
a career?."
"Fine. Fine. Burn them!" He said, sounded quite pained. He turned his
head away as Savvy gathered up the pictures in a bag.
"Have a nice day!" She said with fake congeniality and she glided out
the door, very pleased with herself.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After diligently disposing of the derogatory photographs, Savvy headed
toward her dressing room. She opened the door and then flopped on the
couch. She was already tired out and it was only 12:30pm. She looked up
and saw a note on her side table. She carefully opened it, admiring the
wax seal. It read:
'Dear "Savvy Diamond",
I have watched you grace the stage of "Caesar's" for years now and I
never tire of doing so. Your beauty and talent surpasses that of anyone
or anything I've ever seen. I have admired you since the first show I
saw you in. I believe you were singing a number from the musical
"Chicago", I think was called "Nowadays". You and Roxie were stunning
performing it. I think you are the brightest star in Las Vegas.
You don't know me and I don't expect you to, but I figured I would
write and give you my two cents. Maybe one day I'll be so privileged as
to meet you, but for now that image exists only in my dreams. Keep
shining, STAR!
Your Admirer,
Just call me Merlin"

Savvy smiled as she read it. She just adored getting fan mail,
especially since she wasn't really a "star"- at least she didn't think
she was. The whole "Just call me Merlin" thing at the end kind of got
to her though.
"Merlin?" She repeated a few times. She pondered the name for awhile,
and then finally decided to forget about it. She re-sealed the letter
and left it on the table.
Savvy pushed her hair behind her ears and walked up for her vanity.
There she found another note. She sighed, partly flattered and somewhat
apprehensive. This one read:

" Dear Diamond Doll,
Yes, it's me again. I found more things to say to you after I sent the
previous note. I didn't mention how drawn to you I felt, did I? Or how
I once tripped over a chair trying to get to you. And then there's the
time I literally bent over backwards to get the last ticket to a
sold-out show of yours. Now, I'm determined to, once and for all, meet
you. I'm not going to tell you how I'll do it, but I assure you I
will.
Well, I'll be seeing you!
Charmed, Merlin"

Savvy dropped the note, positively horrified. Her hand began shaking
for she had the realization that this note didn't necessarily mean he
was going to "be seeing" her through violent means. She put her hand on
the vanity to keep it from shaking. She composed herself, and reapplied
her make-up, though she knew she'd most certainly be struck with
paranoia throughout the day.

Once Savvy had gotten into her costume and had her make-up and jewelry
set, she went over to the Group Preparations Room, as it was called.
That was where all the girls in the show "hung out" until the
show.
She frantically opened the door, praying everyone would be there. She
got into the room, looking flushed and disturbed.
Roxie was the first one to go over to her.
"What's wrong, Sav?" She asked nervously.
Savvy held up her hand, then moved over and sat down on the couch near
to where everyone else was.
"What is it?" Genevieve questioned.
"In?in my dressing room?..there was a note," She told them.
They all laughed.
"Savvy, you get notes from people everyday! What's the big deal?"
Sissy wondered.
"There were two. Both from the same person. The first one just said
how he admired me, etc. And the second one said?he was going to meet me
no matter what or something like that. You all have to read them
later."
They all looked at each suspiciously.
"Here's the thing," Savvy began, "When he signed the first letter, he
signed it 'Just call me Merlin' and on the second one he bluntly said
'Merlin'. Doesn't that freak you out?"
"Maybe his name IS Merlin. Some people have hippie parents?" Angie
pointed out.
"I don't think so. There's definitely something fishy about this guy.
I don't trust his letters, his words or even his handwriting. At first
I thought it was just a normal fan letter, but then when I read the
second letter?." Her voice trailed off in reluctant reminiscence.
Roxie insisted she sit down and Savvy obliged.
"Are you going to be all right, Sav?" Sissy wondered.
Savvy nodded, although she was uncertain.
"Maybe you should skip this afternoon's show. You might feel better
for the evening show. Whadaya say?" Carly suggested.
"No, no. I can't let this get in the way of my life. I can't let this
Merlin guy win. And plus, you need me in the show. Not to sound
conceited, but you know what I'm saying, don't you guys?"
"Sure, Sav. Now we've got about 15 minutes until show time, so just
relax and chill out till then, ok?" Roxie told her.
"Ok." She rubbed her temples, hoping that would help the agonizing
headache she'd quickly developed. Holly brought her a glass of water
along with two Advil tablets and set them down on the table beside
her.
"Thanks, Holly." Savvy said, popping the tablets into her mouth and
following it with a gulp of water.

*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*@@@@@@@@@@@*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"All right, Sav. We're on, are you ready?" Roxie asked.
"Yup." Savvy slowly got up and followed to the rest of the girls
backstage. Savvy knew that whatever the trouble was, she's have to find
someway to get through it. She had to move on and not give up. No
matter how scared she was. After all, that's what life is all
about.