Starring Me (19 page)
“Right.”
Derek took a sip from his stainless-steel water bottle. “So we’ll be airing just in time to promote the tour. That’ll work out great for you. Have they talked to you about singing on one of the episodes?”
“No, not yet.” For once, Chad was relieved that he couldn’t talk about the upcoming television show. If Derek and Tina knew, they might spend the whole day trying to talk him out of it. Even if they didn’t, their presence alone made him feel guilty.
Two hours later, Chad was exhausted. “How do you do this all day? I’m ready for a nap.”
“No one believes us when we tell them how tough it is.” Derek took another sip of water. “And we’ve only just gotten started.”
Chad stood and stretched while he and Derek waited for Tina to return from the restroom.
“Chad Beacon!” A very large African American girl ran into the room, security guards right behind her. “I’m here, Chad. I’m coming, baby. Hold on.”
Chad didn’t have time to react before the girl leaped over the table and landed on top of him. He fell backward with the girl crushing his chest.
God, please do not let this be the way I go out
. Unable to breathe, unable to remove the girl, Chad knew he was seconds away from losing consciousness.
The security guards grabbed the girl from behind, but she resisted, and Chad felt an explosion in his side.
“Please . . . get . . . off,” he squeaked, the girl’s braided hair slapping his face as she fought the guards.
“Oh, baby, I’m sorry.” Chad’s captor lifted herself off his chest, bringing her face within inches of his. Chad got a sudden whiff of what he was sure were her armpits and decided that passing out definitely would have been better.
“I love you, Chad. I’ve loved you from the first time I saw you.”
Backup had been called in, with two more guards assisting in lifting the girl from the floor. She fought hard, falling back down on Chad’s chest. “No, I need a minute. We belong together. You and me, sugar. Ebony and Ivory.” Her voice stank even worse than her armpits, and tears stung his eyes.
“I know, baby, I know.” The girl wiped Chad’s eyes with her thumb. “I knew you’d love me. I felt it.” She put her palm to his chest. “In here.”
Finally, the guards, with the help of the crew and Derek, pulled the girl off Chad.
“Live together in perfect harmony . . . ,”
the girl sang as she was escorted out, tears rolling down her face. “They can’t keep us apart forever, Chad. I’ll be back. We belong together. Ebony and Ivory . . .”
“A cracked rib?” Chad looked at the medic and groaned. “Are you serious?”
“Sorry, man.” Several ambulances had been posted by the arena in case of emergency. Chad never thought he would be the emergency, though.
“You need an X-ray to confirm. And an MRI. I heard you hit your head pretty hard going down.”
“No, I’m fine.” Chad tried to sit up but was stopped by a searing pain in his side.
“That was about 350 pounds of fan you had on you, bud,” one of the cameramen said, trying not to laugh.
“Please tell me you did not get that on tape.”
“Are you kidding?” Derek put an arm around Chad and helped him stand. “That’s going to make a great promo.”
Chad groaned.
“But you do need to get checked out. We’ll just have to judge the rest of the day without you. If you’re better, you can come out tomorrow.”
Any doubts Chad had about getting out of the music business were gone.
Let the fans get mad at me
. He winced with every breath.
Fame is definitely not worth this much pain
.
M
a.” Kara looked at her mother’s face filling her computer screen and groaned. “We have to sing.”
“You’re a beautiful singer.” Ma shifted, revealing only the lower half of her face.
“Ma, move the camera up. I can’t see your eyes.”
She adjusted the camera, revealing the white ceiling of her kitchen.
“Ma.” Kara laughed. “Can’t you see that little screen at the bottom?”
“What?” She leaned forward, giving Kara a close-up view of the top of her mother’s head. “All I see is gray.”
“That’s your hair, Ma. Sit back.”
“Oh, oh.” She looked down and smiled. “There I am. How’s that?”
“Better.” Kara leaned back. “But I’m nervous about singing.”
“Oh, honey. You’ve sung lotsa times at the theater here.”
“I know, but the girls here have more experience. They’re going to be so much better than me.”
Not to mention my last audition was a huge failure. I can’t afford another one
.
“That doesn’t sound like my girl.” Ma frowned. “You worked hard to get there. You can do it.”
“Thanks, Ma. I miss you.”
“We miss you too, Kara. The house is so quiet without you.”
She laughed. “I’m sure. How’s Pop?”
“He’s a little under the weather,” Ma said. “I think it’s just a cold.”
“Oh no,” Kara said.
“Don’t worry.” Ma looked at the bottom of the screen and fixed her hair. “He’s resting, and I’m making him drink plenty of liquids. He’ll be fine.”
“All right.” Kara sighed. “Are you guys still going to bring the kids down to Disney? There’re only a couple weeks left.”
“We want to. We just gotta wait until your pop is better. As soon as he’s up to it, we’ll pack the car and come down. Little Ethan asks about you every day.”
“I miss them.” Kara thought of her four-year-old nephew. “Give them all big hugs and kisses from Aunt Kara.”
“Of course I will.”
Kara hung up and popped her earphones back in, listening to her song again. The girls had been walking around the house singing all day. Haley, of course, locked herself in the bathroom, leaving Kara with their bedroom to rehearse in. The other girls came in and out of their rooms. Anna Grace had made her rounds, reminding everyone she had “seven years of vocal training by one of the premiere vocal coaches in the United States.” Having heard her sing in
The Book of Love
, Kara knew the petite southerner had the pipes to back up her big mouth.
Well, I’ve had two years in concert choir with Mr. Jones. So there
.
Kara sang her song several times, trying not to strain her voice. Later that afternoon, all the girls were taken over to a recording studio downtown.
“That’s Chad Beacon.” Zoey pointed to a picture on the studio’s wall.
“Yes.” Jim, the manager, straightened the photograph. “He was just in here last week, as a matter of fact.”
“Will he be in today?” Anna Grace stepped forward.
“I’m afraid not.” Jim led the girls to the green room. “I heard he got hurt. Broke a rib or something.”
“What?” Kara’s voice was louder than she intended.
“Calm down, Kara.” Anna Grace flipped her short hair. “Good grief.”
“He was a guest judge for
America’s Next Star
auditions and a fan attacked him.”
Kara wondered where Chad was, if he was all right. She pulled out her phone and texted Addy to see if she knew anything. The girls all looked up as the door to the studio opened and Ashley Win walked in.
“Sit.” Ashley pointed to the couches. “We need to talk before we begin recording.”
The girls obeyed and Jim left the room. The tiny woman looked at each of the girls before continuing. “Don’t worry. This won’t take long.”
Kara heard the clock ticking as Ashley pulled her phone out of her purse.
“Over the last few days, I’ve heard from several of your agents and parents. Calls, texts, e-mails, all telling me how to run this audition.” She narrowed her eyes. “All suspiciously similar.”
The girls looked at each other. No one spoke.
“I am the casting director.” Ashley pointed her phone at the row of girls. “You are not. I’m not out to win a popularity contest. I’m here to do my job. I make the rules; you don’t. If you don’t like them, go home. That’ll make my decision that much easier.”
Kara glanced around. Only she, Kylie, and Jillian were actually looking at Ashley. All the rest of the girls’ heads were down, examining the carpet.
“Am I clear?” Ashley asked.
The girls mumbled, “Yes.”
“Very good,” she said. “This better not happen again.”
Anna Grace raised her hand. “Ashley, I hate to be a tattle, but this was really Haley’s idea.”
Haley stood. “Excuse me?”
“Come on, girls.” Anna Grace’s southern drawl became even more pronounced. “I know we all want to protect our friend, but we have to tell the truth.”
“If you want some truth”—Haley’s voice was shrill—“how about we tell Ashley how you’ve been acting around the house, telling everybody you have this audition in the bag and we should pack up and go home?”
Several of the other girls piped up, complaining about each other, agreeing with Haley about Anna Grace.
“Enough!” Ashley waved a hand in the air. “You two have just earned the first spots in today’s recording session. Let’s go.”
“But I’m not warmed up,” Anna Grace whined.
Ashley ignored her and walked to the door. Anna Grace and Haley followed.
As soon as the door shut, the girls all began talking at once.
“Well, I think this is all good,” Sophie said, shaking her short black hair. “Two girls down. No way Ashley casts them.”
“What about the rest of us?” Zoey said. “She knows we had our agents call her.”
“She can’t take all of us out,” Gina said. “Then she’d have to start over.”
“This is about talent, girls.” Ava sat on the tan couch and crossed her legs. “Ashley is looking for a star, not a Goody Two-shoes.”
The door opened and Ashley walked in again. “We need some quiet in here, please. Take out your cell phones or your iPods or read a magazine.” She pointed to a rack on the wall. “But no talking. Got it?”
“Thank you.” Kylie sighed as the door shut behind Ashley. She pulled out a book on the art of comedy and opened it to the middle.
Kara took Kylie’s cue and pulled
Northanger Abbey
out of her purse. Flora had been helping her understand the novel, and to Kara’s surprise, she was actually beginning to like it.
Her cell phone chimed and she picked it up. Addy had finally texted back: C
HAD’S RIB IS CRACKED, BUT HE’S OKAY
. A
T A HOSPITAL IN
O
RL
. J
WANTS ME TO GO SEE HIM
. W
ILL
U
COME WITH
?
Did Addy really have to ask? RU kidding? Yes!!
T
OMO MORNING
?
Kara couldn’t wait. Yes, yes, yes!
P
ICK
U
UP AT
9.
Kara was so excited about getting to see Chad, she completely forgot to be nervous about singing. Until Ashley called her name, that is.
Jim walked with Kara and Ashley down the hallway to a small room divided by a sheet of Plexiglas. A microphone with a circular shield was on one side of the room, the sound equipment on the other. Glancing down the hallway, Kara saw Flora sitting on a chair watching a TV set up in the corner.
“Put those headphones on,” Jim instructed. “A thumbs-up means ‘turn the music up,’ thumbs-down means ‘turn the music down,’ and an okay sign means it’s perfect.”
“I think I can remember that.” Kara smiled and put on the headphones. The manager walked into the other half of the room and sat behind the desk, turning dozens of tiny knobs and pressing buttons.
Okay, feeling a little nervous
. Kara tried to will away the knots forming in her stomach. Her throat suddenly felt coated with peanut butter. She was sure when she opened her mouth to sing, nothing would come out.
I can’t have another bad audition
. Kara thought back to the
Morgan’s Road
fiasco.
I’ve got to do my best. Come on, Kara. You can do it
.
The music blasted through the earphones, and Kara gave the thumbs-down sign with one hand while yanking the headphones off with the other.