Starring Me (6 page)

“I wish you had.” Addy rubbed her bottom. “I’m going to have one nasty bruise.”

“Sorry.” Kara patted Addy’s shoulder. “Next time I’ll just pick you up.”

“Next time?” Addy’s eyes widened. “I’m triple checking before I cross the street from now on.”

“Smart girl.”

“We better go.” Addy looked at her phone. “One minute until auditions.”

The girls were still talking about the near accident when they entered the building, but they were quickly silenced. Kara’s last experience—a noisy soundstage full of girls—was the exact opposite of this. The carpet in the century-old building was plush and red, the furniture was very high end—mahogany wood and chocolate brown, butter-soft leather. A receptionist sat behind a formidable desk and eyed the young women with an unhappy glare. No one else was around.

“May I help you?” the receptionist asked.

“Yes, I’m here for auditions,” Kara said.

“Speak up, please.” The receptionist drummed her fingers on the desk.

“I’m here for the auditions.” Kara stepped closer to the woman. “The auditions for the Teens Rock show.”

“And what is your name?”

“Kara McKormick. Kara with a
K
.”

“And who are you here with?” The receptionist looked at Addy and frowned.

“M-my friend Addy.”

“Where is your agent?” The woman took her time gazing down the list of names on the sheet in front of her.

“I don’t have one.”

After highlighting Kara’s name, the receptionist looked up. “All the other girls have agents.”

“Good.” Kara stood up straighter, refusing to let this woman intimidate her. “Then I’ll stand out.”

“You certainly will.” The receptionist gave Kara the slightest of smiles. “Go through the door to your left and find a seat in the waiting room. When your name is called, give these to Ashley.” The woman gave Kara a clipboard with several sheets of paper. Before handing them over, she marked the top with a small star.

“Did you see that?” Kara asked as she and Addy sat in the waiting room. “She put a star on my paper. I think that means she liked me.”

“She was awful.” Addy shook her head.

“I think she’s supposed to be.” Kara looked at the other girls’ clipboards. “I don’t see any other stars.”

“I don’t see any other friends,” Addy said. “I feel so out of place.”

Kara glanced around the cramped room. Beautiful teenage girls sat next to equally beautiful women and men, all of whom seemed to be coaching their protégés. “You’re right.”

“Thanks.”

“No, I don’t mean that you’re out of place.” Kara placed a hand on Addy’s knee. “But I do wish I had an agent. I’m the only one here without one.”

The door to the inner room opened and a petite Asian woman walked out. “Good morning, girls. My name is Ashley Win, and my company is casting the show you are auditioning for. First, let me congratulate you on making it this far. Almost five hundred girls auditioned here in New York. We narrowed our pool down to fifty. We have had similar auditions in Los Angeles and Chicago. Those have been completed. This is our final callback audition. We will choose ten girls from the three audition locations, and those ten will be sent to Orlando.”

Several of the girls clapped, but Ashley Win silenced them with a glare.

“Once in Orlando, the auditions will be taped. You’ll live with the other girls in a house outside of the city, and you’ll have cold readings, perform in front of a live audience, and more. It will be a busy month.”

Kara grabbed Addy’s arm and squeezed so tightly Addy screamed. Ashley Win shot Addy a death glare before continuing. “Today we’ll give you a script just ten minutes before your audition. If we like you, we’ll ask you to stay. If we don’t like what we see, you’ll be sent home. No second chances. So be prepared to give the audition of your life. Got it?”

The girls, too afraid of the tiny woman to speak, simply nodded.

“Excellent.” Ashley looked at her clipboard. “Chelsea Stockton and Elise Hart? You’re up first. Give me your papers, take your scripts, and be ready to perform in ten minutes.”

Chelsea and Elise jumped up from their seats and did as they were told, exiting with their agents to rehearse the scene.

“This is so scary,” Addy said.

“But amazing,” Kara sang. “This is it, Addy. My dream. It’s so close I can almost taste it!”

The girl next to Addy spoke to her agent, loud enough for Kara and Addy to hear. “So only ten are chosen out of all the auditions?”

“Yes, Deb,” the agent said. “But I know Ashley. We go way back. And believe me, in this business, it’s all about who you know.”

“Good.” Deb threw a smug glance in Kara’s direction.

Kara felt like she had been punched.
I’m never going to make the top ten. All I have is a few weeks on a reality TV show. These girls have training and help and “connections.”
Kara tried to breathe deeply, but she couldn’t suck enough oxygen into her lungs.

“Kara, you okay?”

“Sure. Just auditioning for the role of a lifetime with little to no chance of getting picked. No biggie.”

“Take a deep breath,” Addy instructed. Kara obeyed. “Let’s think about something else.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we could play a game.”

“Seriously? A game?”

“I just downloaded this great word game on my phone.”

“Only you would think a word game would be fun.” Kara rolled her eyes.

“Come on, it would give you something to think about other than the auditions.”

At the word
auditions
, Kara’s tongue felt like it swelled up in her mouth.

“Okay. Mind off of the you-know-whats.”

After forty-five excruciating minutes playing Addy’s word game, Kara’s name was finally called. She was paired with Deb, whose agent pulled her into a huddle as soon as they received the script.

“Don’t you want to practice?” Kara called.

“She is, my dear.” The agent glared at Kara. “With me.”

Kara looked at Addy. “She wants to make me look bad. That is ridiculous. We’d get a lot further if we worked together.”

“It’s all right. I’ll help.”

“I’m just so nervous,” Kara said as they walked outside. “They’ve hardly called anyone back. All these girls keep leaving, crying.”

“Or having their agents yell at the receptionist.”

“True. What makes me think I can compete? What am I doing here?”

“Kara, take a deep breath. Focus on the audition. You only have ten minutes. Spend them rehearsing.”

“You’re right. Okay. Let’s go.”

Kara read over the script quickly. “This is cute.” She laughed, having finished reading. “I’m the fan, though. That part is tougher.”

“Why?” Addy took the script to look it over.

“Not as much fun as the other part.” Kara tried to think of a creative way to play a less-than-thrilling role. “I wonder if Deb’s agent got her the cheerleader part because of her ‘connections’?”

“Stop worrying and practice.” Addy shook her finger at Kara.

“You’re right. I need to be fairly serious. Normal. Deb’s character is the one that’s crazy.” Kara stopped pacing and looked at Addy. “And no matter what Deb does, I’ll be serious. That’ll show the directors that I won’t break character, no matter what happens.”

“What could happen?”

“I bet you anything Deb’s agent is in there with her right now, telling her tons of ways she can be ridiculous in this scene and make me laugh. I’m sure that’s why she didn’t want to practice with me.”

“That sounds terrible.”

“Hello.” Kara took the script back from Addy so she could try to memorize her lines. “Only ten girls are chosen. She wants to do all she can to make sure Deb is one of those ten.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to be the best fan you’ve ever seen.” Kara handed the script back to Addy. “Ready to practice? ”

“Yes, ma’am.” Addy winked.

Chapter 7

I
can’t believe I am sleeping in the White House.” Kara jumped up out of bed. “Four days ago, I was auditioning to star in a TV show, and today I am waking up in the White House. My life is amazing. Can you believe it?”

“I can’t believe you can be that loud this early.” Addy pushed herself up on one elbow.

“But we’re at the White House.” Kara shook Addy. “And Mrs. Jackson is going to give us a grand tour. The First Lady is giving us a tour!” Kara’s voice got louder as she spoke, and Addy grabbed Kara’s hands and pried them off her shoulders.

“Kara, it’s seven thirty. We should still be sleeping.”

“We can sleep later—when we’re not at the White House.”

Addy threw her pillow at her friend and reluctantly walked to the bathroom for a shower.

“I’m at the White House,”
Kara belted out.
“Three days at the White House. Gonna get a tour of the White House. The White House, the White—”

A knock on the door interrupted her solo. Kara opened it to find Jonathon Jackson, First Son, smiling at her. Beside him stood an incredibly good-looking boy who looked very familiar.