Best Friends...Forever? (18 page)

"I just meant we didn't have to carve cheekbones out of a chubby face," he said. "You're beautiful. Don't worry."

It was nice that a makeup artist would tell me I was beautiful, but that was his job, so I wasn't sure how true it was. Part of me felt like I had to be somewhat pretty to get there, but another part of me —the part that was concerned about my chin and mentally throwing away all my "harsh" makeup — felt like I was there because of my height, my weight, and maybe even because my hair color was unusual. All things that didn't necessarily mean that my face was pretty. I relaxed as Joi had me close my eyes to shade them.

"This is more of a liquid lipstick since glosses can look too plastic-y on TV," Joi said. My makeup was perfect. Joi told me the point of makeup wasn't so people said the makeup was pretty, but so the
person
appeared awake and pretty. The cameras came over, and Massimo repeated what he had done with my makeup.

Both of them put on big TV star smiles as they thanked Little Rose Cosmetics for providing each contestant with makeup. As soon as we were off camera, they told me to make sure to get to one of them early before the fashion show tomorrow.

"It's going to be a madhouse tomorrow, so we won't have time to blend things as well, so get over to one of us as soon as you can," he said. "And don't come with makeup on, or we'll have to waste time removing it."

The event organizer grabbed me as soon as I stood up and took me over for pictures. They took several shots of me, had me do a bit on camera saying how I liked my new look and thanked the sponsors, and then they piled me into a van with some other girls to go back to the hotel.

"I'm Kyra," said an African-American girl with incredibly long black hair.

"Wow, your hair looks gorgeous," I said.

"Not my hair," she said laughing. "They put in extensions. My mom was terrified they'd want to lighten my hair or something."

"It looks gorgeous."

"Thanks, I was nervous about it. I don't know how people back home will react to it." She shrugged.

I asked if she knew when we were going to get to eat.

"They said we can order room service when we get back to the hotel," Kyra said. "I guess they did a wild card thing in Florida, and three of the girls got into a huge fight in the dining room. It was in the newspapers and everything, so they're trying to keep us all apart as much as possible."

"I haven't even met my roommate yet," I said.

"Me neither. I think they have it worked out so we're all on separate schedules so nobody fights," she said. "Where are you from?"

"Grand Rapids now, but I used to live in Chicago."

"I'm from Flint. No one from home will recognize me with this hair if they watch the webisode. I hate fake hair, but I felt like I didn't have a choice."

With her big brown eyes and dark skin, the long hair made her look so exotic. I had a feeling I was looking at the wild card winner.

"I didn't want my hair this short," I said. "I felt the same way."

We started talking about school, and I found out Kyra was a junior in high school. When we got to the hotel, Carolyn, one of the organizers, said we were to go to our separate rooms and order dinner.

"After we get our meals, could Landry come and eat in my room?" she asked. "I don't want to break any rules, but it would be nice to have somebody to hang out with."

Carolyn said it would be okay as long as I left by 10 p.m. I went to my room and saw a tray with a half-eaten sandwich and cake crumbs. Picking up the phone, I ordered fettuccini Alfredo, which was my favorite meal, and as soon as my food arrived, I went to Kyra's room.

"Wow, you're not worried about calories, are ya?" she said when she saw my plate. I had been so excited about getting pasta, and now I felt like a little kid.

"Don't worry about it. If I weren't allergic to cheese, I would have ordered it too," she said, cutting her chicken sandwich. "I heard they won't even give us our gift baskets until tomorrow, because in Florida some girl put some laxative stuff on the apples so her roommate would be too sick to compete.

"That's crazy," I said, wondering if my roommate had done anything weird to the toothpaste tube I had left on the sink.

"I want to win this round, but I'm not going to do any crazy stuff," she said. "I need to start putting money away for college now. This is the year I need to start getting serious about it, and my mom said I am going to need a scholarship and a lot of financial help if I want to go to med school later on," she said.

"Oh, you aren't trying to get, like, a big modeling contract out of this?" I asked.

"I wouldn't turn down the chance to be rich and famous, but I want to be a doctor. My dad wasn't around when I was a kid, so it was just me and my mom, and she got sick — like super sick. She's fine now. Well, she gets tired a lot, but she's much better. I mean, for three years we were constantly going to doctors and stuff, and I just want to be able to help somebody the way someone helped my mom out, you know?"

I nodded and told her my dad was a doctor and how his so-called friends tried to talk him out of med school.

"Do you think that maybe I could talk to your dad sometime about what med school is actually like?" she asked.

"Yeah, he'd totally talk to you about it. Don't tell him I said this, but he's great with advice on stuff."

She told me none of her friends knew she was back in the competition. She said some of them got weird last time she tried out. I nodded.

"I am doing it for the scholarship money, but some girls at school were saying I was so stuck up and only doing it to get attention from guys and stuff," she said.

Someone knocked on our door to tell us curfew was about to start. I went back to my room and got ready for bed. I had just flipped off the lights when my roommate came in. I sat up and said, "Hi, I'm Landry."

She said, "I'm Raine," without looking at me and then got into her bed. So much for making a new friend.

 

My alarm went off and I woke up wondering where I was. It took me a minute to remember. I glanced over, and Raine was already gone, so I got ready and went downstairs for breakfast. Carolyn called us all over for some group shots. We were told not to have our cellphones on, but they hadn't confiscated them like the contract said they would. I noticed my roommate was taking pics with hers, which was a definite no-no, but none of the adults were around to see it.

They had us do some runway walking that they filmed. The organizer said it was just practice, but I could tell it was the real deal, so I made sure to try and look confident, even though my knees were trembling. Kyra seemed so confident as she straightened her back and walked in front of the camera. Then I saw Talisa Milan and Jem standing over to the side, watching us.

"Oh wow, do you see them?" one of the contestants said. "Jem is even prettier than her pictures."

One of the other girls was kind of rude and made a comment that Talisa had obviously been airbrushed in her last ad.

"She has, like, acne on her chin," she said.

I stared at Talisa, and there was one microscopic bump on her perfect chin. What was with the girl behind me?

"Dude, negative much?" someone else said.

"What? That's disgusting. She's all broken out. Gross."

How could anyone call one tiny blemish gross? And let's be honest, if they were going to judge someone as flawless as Talisa for a teensy skin problem, what chance did the rest of us have?

I saw Raine lift her phone and take a picture of Jem and Talisa.

"You guys, we're not allowed to send pics or anything during the contest," one of the girls said. "No one is supposed to know which of the
Ingénue
models they brought to which competition, because it might give too much away."

"I'm not doing anything with the picture," Raine said. "I just want it to remember this day by. And Kyra took one earlier."

I thought that was weird of her to say when I knew Kyra didn't have her phone with her. In fact, I saw her leave it in the room when we came down.

All afternoon the producers had us do interviews on camera, test pics, and then more walking in front of the judges. After a while, I was too tired to be nervous. Some of the girls were complaining about their feet from being in heels all day. Pretty soon there was a pile of shoes in the corner. They gave us a snack break and said we could check our e-mail, but we weren't allowed to send out any e-mails out, because it might "compromise the suspense and integrity of the show." I glanced over at Kyra.

"Huh?"

"She means we might give something away on accident," she said.

I checked my e-mail, hoping for something from Vladi, but I just had two from Thalia and Peyton. Kyra was reading a message from her mom, and I saw Raine playing on her phone.

"I have to go to the bathroom super bad," Kyra said. "I'll be right back."

I went back to reading my e-mail from Thalia when Raine came over and asked if I could run up to the room and see if she left her medicine bottle there.

"I'd go myself, but I'm a little dizzy. I need my meds. They're in a red bottle on the nightstand. Thanks," she said.

I was worried she might get sick, so I went up to the room. When I found the bottle, I realized it was just a vitamin supplement. That seemed a little odd, but maybe it was important for her. I went back down to the media room, and she was sitting in Kyra's seat. She jumped up when she saw me.

"Thanks, you're a lifesaver," she said, yanking the bottle out of my hand.

 

Carolyn called us down to tell us they had narrowed the group down, and she needed us all in the ballroom to film. We rushed to touch up our makeup and then headed to the room. I saw they had put tape on the floor where we were supposed to stand. One of the managers was telling us to hit our marks on the floor without looking down at the tape. Meanwhile, there was a bright light blinding us, so I wasn't sure how we were supposed to even see the marks.

"Okay, ladies. When I count down, I will point, and you start to walk," the stage manager said.

They had the show's theme song come on as we began to file out. I started to smile and then remembered what Ericka said about real models not smiling. I tried to look serious, but then noticed Talisa was looking at me and nodding. She put her fingers by her mouth and did an exaggerated grin. Was she telling me to smile? I went for it, and she nodded. I saw a judge turn to look at her, and she moved her head away like she hadn't been looking in my direction.

"Okay, we have narrowed the finalists down for the final round. Please step forward when we call your number."

I was number eighteen and I held my breath and tried to look calm even though my stomach was doing that familiar clog-dancing butterflies thing. Ugh, please don't let me throw up.

"Number ten."

I tried to see who was called, but the lights were so bright I couldn't tell. Kyra was next to me, and she reached over and squeezed my hand. They called two more numbers, and then they called hers.

"I can't believe it," she said, giving me a hug. I was so happy for her.

"Okay, last number," Carolyn said.

Already? Oh man.

"And number thirty-eight. Thank you all."

Wait? That was it? It was over. I sighed. All that for nothing. They told the rest of us to wait in the dining room for a group picture, but I went to the restroom instead and sat on a chair in the lounge. I felt rejected and a tiny bit relieved. One of the girls came in and said we were going to have dinner, and then the finalists would prepare for the next round.

"Do you think they'd let me skip dinner and eat in my room?" I asked.

She shrugged. "No clue."

I came out and started to head to the dining room when I noticed all the judges were over to one side of the room and talking loudly. Like they were arguing or something. That was odd. I saw them call Kyra over, and then they left the ballroom with her. I wondered if anything was going on with her. I hoped her mom was okay.

"Landry?" One of the judges motioned me over.

"Yes?"

"There's been a situation that has come to our attention," he said. Then he told me Kyra was going to be disqualified. I saw where she was standing and could see she was fighting back tears as I stood there absorbing what was being said. Seeing Kyra standing there so sad made me want to run over and give her a hug, but I was too far across the room.

"Miss Albright?" the man said. I snapped back to attention. "You were the next one in line — an alternate if you will, so you will be taking Kyra's place in the competition. All right, let's get back to our stations."

I went over to hug Kyra, and she murmured, "Congrats," to me, and then she pulled away and half-ran to the elevators. I felt so bad and wondered what happened, but the male judge was kind of intimidating, and I didn't feel like I could ask him.

"Come along," Carolyn said to me. "I know you're upset about your friend, but this is business, and this is a great opportunity for you."

It was hard to be excited about an opportunity that should have been a friend's big chance.

They sat us down and talked about how the Wild Card show was going to be completely different and shown only on their website and not on network TV. Some of the girls hadn't heard that yet and were disappointed, but I was relieved. There would be less people to see me do something stupid. Although the downside was that online videos were easier to share, so that could mean total humiliation if people at school got a hold of one where I acted dumb.

Carolyn explained that we were not allowed to share any of the pictures or anything we did there before the videos aired. "Kyra was disqualified for sharing a picture on a social media site. We explained before that was not acceptable, so we had no choice. We had to let her go."

Wait. That was why she got kicked out of the competition? She didn't share any pictures. I was with her in the social media room the whole time. She read her e-mails, and that was it. But Raine sat at the computer Kyra had been on. My mind started reeling. Did Raine purposely set Kyra up? After all, I knew she lied to the other girls about Kyra taking a picture, and then this? Maybe the picture thing was an accident, and she didn't realize Kyra wasn't logged out. Should I ask Raine about it or tell Carolyn? I decided to confront Raine first and went to find her. She wasn't in the ballroom or the lobby. I finally went up to Carolyn and asked if she had seen Raine.

"She already left with her mother. She was one of the girls who didn't make the cut."

"She didn't make it?" I asked.

"No, she was right behind you in line, actually."

I stood there feeling sick. Raine was no longer an issue. She wouldn't get kicked out if she told…but I would. I could keep my mouth shut and try my chances at getting somewhere in the competition, or I could tell the truth and get Kyra her spot back. I hated the idea of losing out on this — it was a dream opportunity, a once in a lifetime shot. I was so close to being famous, but it wasn't fair because it wasn't meant to be
my
shot.

"I have to tell you something," I said. "Kyra didn't share any pictures. But I
did
see Raine take a picture, and she was on the computer after Kyra."

"Dear, I understand you're upset about your friend, but this picture was found on Kyra's account."

"Was it a picture of Talisa? Because I saw Raine take one of her, and I
know
Kyra didn't have her phone with her today."

Carolyn stared at me. "Go on," she said.

"I can't say for certain Raine did it on purpose or not — I'm not trying to get anyone in trouble by saying she did anything on Kyra's account to ruin Kyra's chances, but I'm telling you the truth. I saw Raine take the picture, and she went over to use the computer Kyra had been on."

Carolyn stepped back and focused her eyes on me.

"You realize if this is true then you lose your spot."

I nodded. "I know."

"Do you not want to advance? Is it that you're scared?"

I shook my head. "I want this more than anything, but I don't want any opportunity that doesn't belong to me." Tears were falling down my face. "It's the right thing to do, so…I guess…you need to pick the right girl."

Carolyn sighed and gave me a hug. "Okay. We'll go talk to the organizers and see what we're going to do. Why don't you go into the lobby and get a snack? Just sit tight, and I'll come get you in a little bit. Just don't talk to anyone about this just yet, okay?"

I nodded. There was no way I could eat, so I went to the lobby and tried to look at a magazine, but the tears were blurring my eyes. I was so close. Why was I throwing it all away? Would Kyra have done the same thing if she were in my shoes?

I sat there for what felt like an eternity before Carolyn and two of the other
Ingénue
people came to get me. They said they talked to Kyra and called Raine and while Raine denied doing it, another contestant confirmed she saw also Raine take the picture with her cell phone then go on the computer after Kyra.

"This means Kyra gets the spot, Landry," one of the judges said.

I nodded. They told me I could stay the rest of the weekend and sit in on the competition, since what had happened wasn't my fault. I said I wanted just to go home, but they insisted I stay and said I could enjoy myself in the pool so I wouldn't be bored.

I just wanted to leave, but Carolyn added that with Raine gone, I would have a private room, and she'd said I could order room service and watch movies when I wasn't sitting in on
Ingénue
segments. I agreed, and they brought Kyra down to tell her the news. She immediately threw her arms around me and started crying.

****

The next day, I went to go down to the pool and got stopped in the hall by one of the producers, who told me they were going to use me in the final segment of the competition and said what time I needed to be ready. I assumed I'd be off camera, but he said my outfit would be on the rack so I should pick it up after lunch.

I decided I'd better skip the pool and went to eat in the dining room. All the other girls were rushing and trying to finish up eating so they could get in line for hair and makeup. At least I didn't have to worry about that. I went over to the buffet table and took some mac 'n cheese, grilled chicken, a little bit of salad, and some chocolate chip cookies. I poured myself a glass of iced tea and then realized that I'd have to sit alone, since I knew none of the other girls already seated. They were all older contestants. I thought about asking to sit at one of their tables, but then I decided I was fine by myself. I started to eat when one of the assistants came over to me.

"Landry?"

"Yes?" I said.

"You're due in hair and makeup in ten minutes."

"Me? Are you sure?"

He nodded and checked his clipboard. "Rylan will be doing your hair, and Joi Jasmine will do your makeup. Go to Rylan's station first, okay?"

I finished eating and went to find Rylan in the salon.

"Hey, you must be excited," he said.

"For what? I'm just in the background. I guess it was cheaper putting me in the back than springing for a potted plant to fill in the spots," I said.

He laughed. "It's great exposure, and maybe without all the pressure, you can relax and just appreciate the moment for what it is."

I nodded. He was trying to be optimistic, but the only thing I could appreciate about the moment was getting my hair done professionally again and the possibility that I might be seen on the webisode just long enough that I could be discovered. It was a long-shot, but that was all I could see to feel positive about. Well, there was the fact that, with all the pressure off, I no longer had to worry about getting bathroom issues while on camera. So there was that small plus.

Rylan misted my hair and then began drying it with a round brush. I tried to watch exactly how he did it so I could try and copy it at home, but he moved so fast. How did he pull that brush through my hair so fast without it getting tangled? He went from section to section, and it never got caught.

"All done, and you look gorgeous, if I do say so myself," he said.

"Thanks."

"Good luck," he said.

"Oh, I'm not in the contest anymore, remember?"

"Well, with everything you do. I wish you the best."

"Oh…thank you," I said. My face felt warm.

Joi yelled, "Get your butt over here — pronto," so I hurried to her station.

She started applying foundation and powder to my face. Joi talked to herself as she worked and said we didn't have time for false lashes or to blend or contour.

"Luckily, you have those strong features, so I don't need to worry about it," she said.

"Yeah, I know, you'll have to hide those," I said.

"Hide those? No, honey, that's a
good
thing."

"Then why were they always trying to do layers and stuff to distract from it?" I asked.

"Sweetie, you have a unique and beautiful look."

"Yeah, but all the other girls look…well, similar."

"And you're here because
you
are unique. You don't want to look like everyone else, do you?" she asked.

Kind of, but I just shrugged.

"I'm going to do liquid liner on you and leave the rest of your eyes bare. Dramatic and a different look for you, huh?" she said, taking out another brush.

She finished with a dark pink lipstick that was also something I had never worn. One of the assistants came over to get me as Joi was finishing.

"Is she finished?" he asked.

"Almost," Joi said. "Okay, girl, go knock them dead."

I followed the assistant into the ballroom where the other girls were lined up. But I was confused. Why was I here with the other finalists? I knew they weren't putting me back in the competition, because they all had numbers on, and I didn't have one. Well, maybe they actually were too cheap for a potted plant to fill in a space.

The director got us ready, and they began filming. Carolyn came out and began talking.

"This year we had several subcategories for the Wild Card contestants: prettiest hair, most stunning makeover, best poise, but we recently decided to add a new category, for beautiful both inside and out. The winner of this subcategory will be featured in an ad in
Young and Fun
magazine with models Talisa Milan and Jem Jade. In fact, both Talisa and Jem chose the prize that this winner would receive."

Talisa and Jem were smiling and nodding. I would have loved to be in an ad with those two. Of course, anyone would look like a hideous troll next to them, but still. What a dream.

"Our
American Ingénue
beautiful inside and out winner has shown us that doing the right thing in the face of something difficult is always best. We award this to…Landry Albright of Grand Rapids, Michigan."

My mouth dropped open. I started shaking, and I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Kyra.

"Congrats, now go up there!"

She gave me a little push, and I walked over to Carolyn, who handed me a white-and-pink tipped rose. I saw Rylan, Massimo, and Joi standing there clapping for me. Then someone motioned me over to the side. I watched the rest of the competition sitting behind the judges. They got down to the final five, and Kyra was still in the running. I knew she'd win, even though she didn't look so sure. They stopped the filming to powder the girls' faces, because they were shining so much from the heat and stress.

"This is why I hate working with teenagers," one of the makeup artists said to the judge in front of me. "Such oily skin."

They got everyone powdered and then announced Kyra had won the Wild Card competition and the chance to re-enter the main competition. I expected everyone to go wild, but it was just five of us clapping for her as she cried. As soon as it was over, the other girls were whisked out of the ballroom for photos, and I sat there not knowing what to do.

One of the coordinators told me I could go back to my room and that they'd get in touch with my agent about the ad. That was it? My big moment, and I was going back to my hotel room alone to wait for my mommy? I checked my watch. Oh man, she was probably already there and waiting for me. So that was that. My almost claim to fame. I walked out of the ballroom to the elevators and heard someone yell my name.

"Honey, we are so proud of you," Talisa Milan said, touching my shoulder. Jem was standing right next to her.

"Do you know how many models have sabotaged us since we started modeling? I have had stories sold about me, shoes tampered with, stuff put in my moisturizer to make me break out and give me a rash," Talisa said.

"I still say someone did something weird to my mascara backstage at a fashion show in Tampa. I was the only one whose eyes swelled shut and the last one to use that tube," Jem said. "People can be ruthless."

"You could have gone on and, who knows, even won this thing, but what you did — that was amazing. When we heard they were going to do a special award for you, they were going to give you some gift certificate thing — just a tiny bit of cash, but we thought you deserved an ad," Talisa said.

I burst into tears, and Talisa hugged me. Me,
I
was hugging Talisa Milan. She smelled like dewy flowers in a meadow.

I just stood there blubbering, and Jem said we should take a selfie since the show was officially wrapped. The three of us stood together while she took the shot. "I'll wait to post it until
after
they air this episode." She laughed.

I asked when the ad was going to be shot, and they didn't know. "If our schedules can handle it, we'll all be in it together, but it might just be a pic of you added in with us. We don't know their plans yet," Jem said.

"Landry, hon?"

My mom was standing there, and her eyes about fell out of her head when she realized who I was with. Jem told her about the competition, and Mom stuttered how proud she was of me. I composed myself long enough to ask Mom to take another picture of me with Jem and Talisa. We all posed, and Mom took two shots. She made a little face after checking the first picture, and I knew it meant one of us didn't look good in one of the shots. Let's be honest, I was standing between two goddesses, so it had to be me, but I was glad for the second chance at a decent picture all the same.

The girls wished me luck and told me to say hi anytime on their social media sites. Mom and I went back to my room. I was practically bouncing as I told her about everything that happened. Grabbing her phone, I checked the last picture on it. We were all pretty cute in that shot. Well, they were flawless, but I didn't look half bad either.