On Tuesday, I went to sit in the lunchroom because I thought I could sit with Devon. I was halfway through the line when I remembered she was eating lunch in Mrs. Kharrazi’s room because she had to make up a quiz. Maggie and Halle had their matching pink purses on the chairs next to them, and I didn’t feel like having to ask them to move their stuff. I didn’t want to have to beg to sit at their table. I could sit with Tad and his friend, but none of the girls had ever sat by themselves with a bunch of guys. Besides, then everybody would think I was his girlfriend or something. I had been standing there way too long, and I started to walk toward Maggie and Halle’s table when Hana walked past me to get a napkin.
“Hi, Landry. What’s up?” she asked. I almost kissed her on the mouth.
“Hey, can I sit with you?” I asked.
“Sure,” she said. “What did you think of the math quiz?” she asked as we sat down. “The story problem was crazy.”
Oh crap, I thought it had been pretty easy which should have been a huge sign since math is never easy for me. Hana was a brain, and if she found it tough, then I was sunk. My mouth was full, so I shrugged.
“I read your story. It was cute,” she said.
“Thanks.”
Tori walked by, and Hana asked if we were still fighting. I rolled my eyes.
“I know you guys were friends and all, but doesn’t it bug you how she has to be the best all the time? I’ve seen her ask for extra homework to challenge her,” she rolled her eyes. “Why are they mad at you anyway?”
I told her it was because of the audition, and she wasn’t surprised since Ericka and Tori were always so competitive. I didn’t mention Ericka was also mad about Kyle paying attention to me because I didn’t need to hear the fact Kyle would never be interested in me. Hana and her friends had finished eating, and I started to gather up my tray to go, but they told me to finish my lunch.
The rest of the week flew by as I worried about the trip. We were leaving Friday afternoon, and we even got to leave school early. I wanted to bring my favorite stuffed mouse with me as a good luck charm, but I’d die if Devon saw him, so I shoved him into the bottom of my suitcase next to my makeup bag so I’d know he was there even if I couldn’t take him out. Devon’s mom was in the driveway packing up their SUV when my mom and I walked over.
“This is so exciting,” Devon said.
“I’m kinda nervous,” I said, but I don’t think she heard me.
I said goodbye to my mom and got in the Abrams’ SUV. Devon had flipped down the two middle seats so we could sit in the backseat and put our feet up.
“Are you hungry?” Devon asked when we sat down. “My mom packed a ton of snacks. I have animal crackers, pretzels, juice boxes, and candy bars.” We pulled down the middle seat tray and made a little buffet. “You know, I’m glad we’re only auditioning for the young teen group,” she said. “I hear the older girls get asked if they’ll pose naked, and they have to wear swimsuits.”
I almost choked on an animal cracker. “I would have passed out,” I said.
“Yeah, they can’t make girls under eighteen wear swimsuits because people would, like, protest or something,” she said rolling her eyes. “Whatever.”
When we arrived, Mrs. Abrams checked us into our room at the hotel and told us where her room was. She said we were supposed to meet in the banquet room for orientation at five o’clock, and we’d eat at six. We had plenty of time, and Devon said she’d do my hair. She took out a curling iron with a bunch of different attachments. She used a waving iron on my hair, and it looked gorgeous. Since her hair was already curly, we used the straightening iron on it and then the big curling iron to put a little wave in it. Her hair looked just as gorgeous straight as it did curly.
We went downstairs to get our information packets, and I got a funny feeling when I saw our nametags. My nametag was yellow, but Devon’s was blue. Oh no, they were going to split us up into groups. We sat down and the group leaders made us go around the room and say our names and what school we were from. I was glad Devon was there because the other people didn’t look friendly.
Then we were divided up by the color of our nametags and had to sit in a circle and do this stupid getting-to-know-you game where we had to ask each other dumb questions. The first girl I was paired with never even looked at me. She kept leaning across the aisle to talk to her friend. I was getting sick of her saying, “Bella, oh wow!” every five minutes. I asked her if she had any pets, and she rolled her eyes. I reminded her I didn’t make up the questions.
“A Bichon Frise,” she said. I figured it was one of those little frou-frou dogs who wore a bow in its hair and could fit inside of a purse.
The next girl I was paired with looked like she thought she was too intellectual to sit with the rest of us or play such a stupid game. She called it “infantile.”
“Hm, my favorite book… I like Paula Danziger’s books, the Harry Potter series, and Jane Eyre,” I said. I hadn’t actually finished Jane Eyre, but I thought it might impress her. She stared at me.
“I’m currently reading Joyce and I love Faulkner,” she said. Okay, what was I supposed to say now? She spent the rest of the time staring at the clock above my head and snapping her gum. I don’t know why they even bothered with the book question anyway. It wasn’t like reading was important for being a model anyway. The servers began bringing out our dinners, which was some kind of chicken and vegetable thing smothered in a slimy gray sauce. I ate two bites, and Devon and I hit the vending machines before we went back to the “fun” activities.
“Is it just me or are the people here stuck up?” I asked.
“People suck. Aw crap, my chips are stuck.” She hit the machine, and a tall guy came up behind her and expertly tipped the machine making her chips fall down.
“Thanks,” she said staring up at him.
He winked and walked away. “Whoa. He looked just like the singer — what’s his name… um, Mason Fraser,” she said. She narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re not going to tell me your dad looks like him are you?”
“Nope, although I just downloaded Mason’s latest song,” I said. “I wonder if the Mason lookalike works here.”
“I think he had a hotel shirt on. We should clog up our toilet and maybe they’d send him up to fix it,” she said. “Of course, it would be kinda embarrassing, but we have to see him again.”
Later, we went back up to the room and changed into sweats. Devon flipped through the TV stations, and we sat on her bed and ate our snacks from the train.
“You know what I’m craving?” she asked. “Cupcakes.” We decided to go to the vending machine down the hall, but neither one of us felt like changing into our regular clothes.
“How bad do I look?” she asked.
She had on a gray sweatshirt and navy sweatpants. They were baggy, but she looked fine, and she said I looked okay in my sweats.
“Should we risk it?” she asked.
We peered around the corner, and the hall was empty. We made sure we had the room key and tore down the hall to the machines. We bought cupcakes and bottled water and checked the hall to make sure it was still clear. I dropped my cupcake package, and I heard her gasp.
“Another junk food run?” The Mason Fraser lookalike was standing in front of her.
“Um, yeah,” she said.
“Cupcakes, huh?” he said. She offered him one, and he took a bite and thanked her as he walked down the hall.
“I’m dying,” she said. She narrowed her eyes. “Aren’t you the one who said, ‘Who will see us?’”
“Oops.”
“My hair’s a complete mess from lying on the pillow, too. Oh well. He’s probably too old for me anyway,” she said.
“At least this guy isn’t as old as your dad,” I said.
“I wish I hadn’t given him a cupcake though,” she said.
We went back to the room, and she asked if I wanted to watch a movie. I knew we should go to bed, but there was no way I was going to fall asleep. I was too nervous about tomorrow to sleep. Devon found a movie on one of the local channels, and I said one of the actors looked like Nikolas.
“You mean the guy on our bus?” she asked. I nodded. “Did you know he skipped a grade or two?”
“He did?”
“Yeah, he’s pretty smart, and he’s like only eleven or something,” she said.
Oh no. Total humiliation. He probably saw the nesting doll keychain on my backpack and thought, “Ooh toys.” Ericka and Tori would have a field day when they found out. Why did I have to go bragging in front of them about meeting him at the mall? Could I be any dumber?
“I have to tell you something, but you have to swear you won’t tell anybody,” she said.
“Promise.”
“Okay, you know how India is in love with Stuart? Well, I asked him if he liked her, and he told me he likes Arianna,” she said. “India said he’s been acting weird around her lately, but I don’t think she knows I talked to him.”
“So you lied when you said you thought he stunk like moldy burritos?” I asked. She nodded.
“Promise you’ll never talk to a guy for me,” I said.
“Too late, the hotel guy already knows you’re after him,” she said through a mouthful of cupcake.
“He’s all yours,” I said.
“But don’t you think it’s better to just go for it? If I like someone then I just go up and tell them,” she said.
It helps if you have curly dark hair and happen to be gorgeous. Kyle would fall over laughing if I went up to him and told him I liked him. Then he’d tell all of his friends so they could laugh at me, too.
“Yeah, like how you were so brave in the hall just now,” I said.
“Hey, he’s not an ordinary guy. He’s like actor hot or something,” she said. “But don’t you think it’s better to know? What’s the worst thing he could say? If they don’t like you back… then you just move on.”
Easy to say when guys fall all over themselves to talk to you. I bet she had never been rejected by anyone she liked. Devon’s mom knocked on our door to say goodnight and reminded us we needed to get up early for the audition.
“Do you like anybody right now?” Devon asked after her mom left.
Like I was going to tell her about Kyle after she had gone behind her best friend’s back. “Nah. Besides, guys never seem to go for me. They all want girls who look like Yasmin or Arianna or you. I wish I had dark hair and big brown eyes like yours.”
“Funny,” she said as she snuggled down into her pillow. “I’ve always wanted blonde hair and blue eyes like yours.”