Secrets of My Hollywood Life: There’s No Place Like Home (26 page)

I walk to my mark across the set, right in front of Taylor’s (aka Sky’s) bed, which is covered with a fluffy, purple-striped
comforter and lots of throw pillows. The wall behind her bed is painted purple, which was part of the plot for last week’s
episode. Taylor got in huge trouble with Edison for doing it. She tried to use legalese to get out of paying a fine at the
end of the year for defacing dorm property.

“When Kara gets back here,” I say evenly, staring at Sky seriously, “I’m not going to let her get to me. I love it here! I
love my new life, and I’m not afraid to say it. If Kara is unhappy with hers, that’s too bad.”

Sky nods approvingly. She looks so cute in that fitted sweater vest, collared shirt, and khaki skirt. Her very long dark hair
is pulled back in a low ponytail. Very private-school girl. “Atta girl. Oh, and while you’re looking forward, could you look
down too? If you don’t put your shoes in the closet when you come in the room, I’m going to start throwing them out. I can’t
keep tripping over them.”

“There is no room in the closet!” I say, pointing to the closet behind me. I start pulling on my sage green BCBG wrap sweater,
which is lodged under one of the piles of books. I hope my tan pleated miniskirt doesn’t hitch up while I’m bending over like
this and flash the crew. “Your extra textbooks take up all the floor space!”

“Hey, they were a good buy!” Taylor/Sky protests and whips out a large history book, almost knocking Gunther in the head.
I do my best not to giggle. I’m not sure she meant for that to happen, but I don’t want to screw up and make them redo the
take. “They’re next year’s books at this year’s prices.”

“How do you know they’re going to use that book next year? Huh?” I improvise, since we’re supposed to keep talking even as
we drop our voices.

Gunther steps forward. “Girls.”

Edison shakes his head. “Wusses.”

“CUT TO COMMERCIAL BREAK!” yells our episode director.

My family and friends, who are hanging out by the episode director off camera, start to applaud. This is our first episode
since our four-week break, and in a show of support, everyone I love came to watch me film. Mom and Dad are here with Laney,
Seth, Nadine, Rodney, Austin, and Liz.

“Great job, guys,” our guest director, Taye Markenson, says, walking over to where we’re still standing. “We’re going to take
a short break to set up the next shot. Kaitlin? Sky? This is the scene where you’re driving Kara back to the airport.” Sky
and I nod. “We’re using the poor man’s process, so try not to overdo it, okay?”

HOLLYWOOD SECRET NUMBER TWENTY: The poor man’s process is a movie term that is used when you’re shooting a scene inside a
car or an airplane or another moving object, but you’re not actually going to be in a moving object. They sometimes blow out
the windows in the car��make them look milky white like you would for a green screen effect—to keep the audience from seeing
outside the car. It’s a cheap way to get a shot done, but if it’s done right, the at-home audience won’t know the difference.
It’s usually the actor who messes things up when they’re acting out their driving. I don’t have my license yet, so I could
be horrible at this. Hmm… maybe Sky should be the one who pretends to drive.

“I’m going to go see my family,” I tell Sky and grab a bottle of Smartwater to take with me.

“I’ll come too,” Sky says. “I need to find out if Nadine ever heard back from Judd Apatow’s people.”

You’d think Sky and I would be bickering worse than the Kardashians now that we both have the same manager, but surprisingly,
that’s not happening—yet. Nadine tries to keep our affairs separate and usually has something to say when one of us starts
questioning what the other is auditioning for. “You worry about your own career and let me worry about hers, okay?” I’ve heard
her say those words to both of us on more than one occasion. Other than that, the transition is going well. Even Mom has
relinquished her role without a lot of drama. She still calls Nadine daily to check in, but Nadine has been patient. “She
really does have some helpful ideas,” Nadine said diplomatically.

My family went ahead to my dressing room, so Sky and I join them there. It’s so loud in my little room you’d think we were
having a party, which I guess we kind of are. I can’t remember the last time all these people were in the same room and they
weren’t fighting or throwing
Hollywood Nation
s at each other. Matty rushes through the door, knocking into me and Nadine. Mom shrieks when she sees him. His face is covered
in fake blood, and he has a black eye. His black tee and jeans are shredded, but he’s smiling so I know he’s okay.

“Did I miss anything?” he asks, sounding out of breath. “I have to be back in ten to do a phoner with
EW
. They’re thinking of putting the cast on the cover!”

“Awesome, Matty,” I say and give him a squeeze. “But you know you’ll have to get in line.” I look at Sky.

“K and I are on their next cover,” she says and flicks his nose. “’The headline is: ‘The Hottest New Show of the Season.’”

Matty’s jaw drops. “Hey! That’s supposed to be our headline!”

“Yours is the hottest
haunted
show,” I tell him. “I checked.”

“Okay,” he says, thinking a bit. “But we’re still going to beat you in the ratings.”

“Bring it on, werewolf lover!” Sky teases, and Matty laughs.

“Kaitlin?” Mom says tentatively. “Your last take was excellent. Your emotion was perfect!” Mom is really trying to work on her mothering. Last week we went for mani/pedis together, and
she didn’t bring up the Beckhams or the
H
word (
Hollywood
) once.

“Thanks, Mom,” I tell her. “That means a lot to me.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard Meg give a straight-out compliment before,” Seth says and winks at her. Everyone chuckles.

“My daughter is a star and I’m proud,” Mom tells the group. I hear Matty clear his throat. “Both of my children are stars.”
She looks at my dad. “That’s why I want to share this surprise we have for them with all of you.” Mom looks directly at me.
“We wanted to wait till we knew for sure before we told you. We’re moving.”

At first my heart stops. “Where?”

“You’re going to be thrilled, Kate-Kate,” Dad says enthusiastically. “We bought a house in Toluca Lake!”

“WHAT?” Matty, Liz, and I say at the same time.

Toluca Lake? That’s where the alter-Burkes lived! If we wind up living in the same house, I’m going to have to see a psychologist
for sure. But other than that, I’m excited. I love Toluca Lake! I’ve always wanted to live near many of the other studio kids.
It’s so pretty and residential and doesn’t feel so isolated like our home does now. It’s also much closer to Austin’s and
Liz’s. “But why? How? What…?”

Dad looks at Mom and plays with his shirt collar. He’s in golf mode again, looking like a caddy in his Dockers and button-down
shirt. “We’ve been thinking of moving for a while. At first your mom wanted Malibu, but in the last few weeks, we started
looking in other areas, and your mom mentioned how much you like Toluca Lake. We went looking with a realtor and found this
darling Tudor.”

“I wouldn’t call it darling, honey,” Mom tuts. “
Darling
sounds small. This is forty-five hundred square feet, but it feels homey. We put an offer in right away, and it was accepted.
We’ll move as soon as our house sells.”

“When can we see it?” Matty wants to know. “Stefan and Jo live in Toluca Lake too. Wait till I tell everyone on set. This
rocks, guys!”

I hug my parents, lingering with my mom, who smells like freesia, which is also the color of the cashmere sweater she’s wearing
with skinny jeans and tall, tan boots. “Are you okay with this? It’s a lot to give up,” I tell her. “You won’t live anywhere
near as close to the Beckhams as we do now.”

“Toluca Lake is the place to be,” Mom says wryly. “I told Victoria she should look herself. ” Mom touches my chin. “And if
she doesn’t, then too bad for her. I think we’re going to love it there, and that’s all I’m concerned about.”

“The mileage to the dealership is pretty great too,” Dad tells me happily. “I really like the drive. You’re going to love
it when you get your license, Kate-Kate.”

“Speaking of which, when are you taking that test?” Laney asks. “I’m getting sick of answering phone calls about your driving
exam. Are you ever getting your license?”

“Hey! I was on crutches for a few weeks, if you recall,” I remind them as they laugh. “I’ve had a lot going on. Work, meetings,
assistant interviews, college applications. Now that they’re all in and I’m just waiting to hear, I’ll reschedule the test.”
I look at Nadine out of habit, but she’s not my assistant anymore. I’m pretty close to finding one, thanks to her, but I haven’t
committed yet. Nadine is hard to replace. Mom knows I’ve sent in college applications. She still doesn’t think I need to go,
but she said she understands my need to try new things. Like I said—she’s growing.

“We are going to throw a party when you take that test and pass.” Rodney flashes his gold tooth. “And you’re going to pass
because I am the one giving you driving lessons.”

“Learn from the best, that’s what I always say,” I joke.

There is a knock at the door, and the Mexican food we ordered for dinner tonight arrives. The scent of enchiladas and melted
cheese makes me salivate, but I don’t want to get anything on my wardrobe. Instead of digging in with the others, I walk over
to Liz, Sky, and Austin. Austin puts his arm around me. His half-zip green sweater feels soft against my skin.

“I think a party for getting your license is a great idea,” Austin says. “Liz and I are already on the decorations.”

Liz grins. “We’re going to have a big banner made that says ‘It only took me two paparazzi mishaps, a shady driving instructor,
and two years to get my license.’”

“I like it. Will you get plastic plates that look like steering wheels?” I ask.

“We can get a cake that has little cars on it being chased by the paparazzi,” Sky suggests and we all groan. “What? Too much?”

“Too much,” I agree. “I don’t want to relive that.”

Not the accident part, not even the dream part, because my life now is just the way I want it to be. I start preproduction
on the James Cameron project in late April and am done by July, a few weeks before I go back to
Small Fries
. Even with
SF
work, I’ll still have plenty of time to see Liz and Austin before they head off to college. The one thing I know about furthering
my education is that wherever I go, it will be close to home. I’m not giving up
SF
, and I’m not giving up my chance to do college either. Liz applied all over, including NYU (“I’m not heading east, though,”
she said hastily. “I’m a Los Angeles girl. Right?”). I think she still adores NYU more than she’ll admit. Austin has several
schools on his radar, and his top picks are all in New England, which is pretty far from here. But after all that’s happened
the past few years, I’m not about to worry about the long-distance thing just yet.

“What are you thinking about, Burke?” Austin asks, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

“You, me, fall, friends, college, life,” I rattle off the list and smile. “Nothing big.”

“Yeah, you’re not one to worry about anything major,” Austin teases. “You take things as they come.”

“I do now,” I say confidently. “It’s a new year, and I’m just grateful to be here, on this set, with all of you.”

“You’re not going to get weepy on us again like on New Year’s, are you?” Sky asks. “I thought I was going to have to take
you and Liz outside and throw you in the pool to calm you down.”

Okay, so on New Year’s I was still a little weepy about what the next year could bring, but I’m allowed to be sad that everyone
might be leaving Los Angeles eventually, even if I know we all have to grow up and lead our own lives. “No tears,” I promise
Sky. “I’m happy.”

“It’s about time,” she says and smiles a little.

“It’s taken you a long time to get here, so you should enjoy it,” adds Liz and raises her glass of Sprite to me.

“I am,” I say and I really mean it. I lean into Austin, with his arm firmly around me, and he kisses my cheek.

I have all I’ve ever wanted and then some. I’m sure worrying will always be part of my nature—hey, I’m an actress and we tend
to be dramatic!—but being happy, having the freedom to do what I want, and looking toward the future with an open mind is
the name of the game now. It may have taken me a while, but I think I’ve finally figured out how to have a Hollywood life
I can truly enjoy.