« Ah ah ha, you are so funny ! Please applause Doc J J Prime ! Doc, I cannot wait to see your new motion picture next week : No Slain No Gain ! Stay with us, I know it is late … but there is still time to have some Fun Today! » John shook the Doc’s hand and smiled at the cameras. « 10 minutes break ! » shooted the stage director. Doc left as the audience applauses faded. John kept smiling as his assistant handed him his text for the finale of tonight show. He read swiftly and commented « Yeah, that’s a good one, good for the business, sponsors will like it, let’s get it done » He smiled back at his assistant, « the collusion smile », and faced the camera. He took a sip from his Smile branded mug and showed a full scale ultra white Smile towards the director. « live in 4,3,2,1 and smile ! » barked the stage director. John left the studio at around 1 am, walked past the large sign « Fun Today, the late show with John Smile » towering above the street. He looked up at his own face smiling back at him. “Have I made it ? Can I go higher ? “, he grinned. A few seconds passed. “That’s not enough” he said to himself. He walked a few blocks and decided to hail a cab back home when a man interrupted his thoughts. « Excuse me sir, aren’t you John the Smile ? Can I take a picture of you ? » the man had a large almost dumb smile. « Sure, my pleasure ! » said John wearing the « genuinly friendly spontaneous smile ». As the flash blinded him, John thought « if I got a dollar each time I got photographed… ». The next day, 9 am, business review. Audience analysis, sponsor feedback, rolling forecast, interviews to come, … The numbers are good, the audience loves the Smile. « And now for the Merch ! ». John loved merchandising. Selling tshirts, mugs, posters, … wearing his Smile was for him the real proof of success and fame. « Guys, I get photographed ALL the time. My fans post the pictures on social networks. I do not get a dime out of it. That does not make me smile ». His team grinned. Their job is to keep John smiling. They looked at John icy Smile knowing they had to come up with solutions by the next meeting. « NFT what ? » John asked. « Imagine Warhol selling the original negative film of his picture. People will bid for it. You can enter a digital stock market with a unique digitally protected Smile picture. ». The team had a frozen smile on their face, waiting for John’s reaction. Well… « mmh… », « yeah », John put on his greedy smile. « Yeah ». The team sighted in relief. « Let’s get it done. Let’s get the Smile NFTed » John really enjoyed the photo session. He gave them all : the friendly Smile, the joyful Smile, the happy Smile, the wonderous, … all the Smiles he ever gave to his audience. «What’s next? » John was so impatient that he laughed out loud. His team echoed his laugh as they were not themselves anymore. Weekly business meetings now started with a review of Smile NFT prices. « Should I publish more ? … mmmh …. No, I’ll wait. » and his lips rose on a large big smile. Shows after shows, John advertised his NFTs. « Get a unique part of the Smile with you , NFT is fun ». And each night he walked back home, he shook his finger at the large ad board displaying his face and told himself : “hey Smile, see how big we are getting !”. And he walked on, ignoring the people around him. Week after week, the prices went higher. He was mesmerized by the chart showing the climbing price. He was so self absorbed that he did not even notice some uneasy smiles among his team. One night, as he walked though Time Square, all the screens read "NFT Smile at its highest after a crazy day of transactions. 90% of NFT Smile changed owner today causing the price to raise at its highest ever.". "Highest … ?" That left him with a puzzled smile across his face. At first, John had not noticed. Less people asking for a selfie with him, less picture smiling and hand shaking. He looked all around him as bypassers trod by him throught Time Square. A frightfull thought cross his mind : “Are they ignoring me ?” John arrived at the studio earlier. Tonight was the Fun Today special 10 years anniversary. John wore a childish smile, as a kid impatient to open his presents. He walked into the studio, saying “hi” to everybody, not noticing few saluted him back. Smile froze on his face as he saw it. Sitting in his chair, was the machine dressed just like him. Its face was a round screen wearing John’s best smile. « Yeah, that’s Fun » said John after a while. "A Smile stunt double , that’s fun. So how do you like being my Smile?" he asked the machine. The robot host turned its digital face towards John. "Your smiles do not belong to you anymore John. No Fun for you today" said the machine improvising a cruel smile. Any resemblance would be a coincidence. Please read : The Smile by Ronald Wrong, (No) Fun Today by Ronald Wrong, Doc J J Prime by Ronald Wrong, No Slain No Gain by Ronald Wrong
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