“Oh, Li-uhv, you look so pretty. Ah had no idea you could clean up so nicely.” Rebecca smiled sweetly, then turned to address My Rover, who was sitting regally on a captain’s chair in the corner of Music Mix’s hair and makeup room. “Doesn’t she just look adorable, baby? Yes, she does. Yesss sheee does!”
Liv rolled her eyes in the mirror. She understood after all that Rebecca really wasn’t mean. She was just really, really weird. Colin was somehow able to find humor in her oddities, but Liv still had a way to go before she could actually be entertained by Rebecca. In the meantime, at least they were getting along.
Right after the Josh Cameron concert, Rebecca had quickly and happily agreed to help Anna and Liv with hair, makeup, and “style” for their VJ for a Day audition. And now, three weeks later, with just minutes before they were on, she was fluffing and puffing Liv’s hair to perfection.
Anna was ready to go on, and was standing outside the soundstage door, running through her lines one last time before their session kicked off. Everything—the music, script, props, and costumes—was all set. Now it would just come down to the execution, and whether they could pull it off was still to be seen.
There were a total of five auditions, and Liv and Anna had been selected to go last. They had been waiting and prepping for several hours in a tiny room just down the hall from the Hits Parade studio as the other intern teams wrapped their sessions. Almost every intern had formed a team with others, and the competition had gotten intense in the past week as the day of taping drew nearer. Though the auditions weren’t live—the winner’s segment would air on Music Mix that afternoon—all the auditions were being taped without do-overs in the Hits Parade studio.
For their audition, Liv and Anna had decided to stage a series of Make Me a Star segments, in which several “regular” people would be made over to look, dress, and act like celebrities. The makeovers would be done in real time, interspersed with the day’s top Video Hits.
If everything went as planned, viewers would see people go from Frumpy to Fabulous in just under an hour. Ideally, the “drama” of waiting for the final result would keep people tuned in throughout the show. The outlandish disco gear Anna had found in old Music Mix wardrobe closets guaranteed that the production would be a visual success, if nothing else.
Naturally, Liv and Anna had decided to use ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” as the backdrop to their audition. The “regular” people would be morphed into the band ABBA and, at the end of the show, would do a silly dance performance as the band.
True to her word, Christy Trimble had answered Liv’s call for help, and had eagerly agreed to help them with the final dance—she had won Best Pop Video at the VMAs the past two years, and was known to be an exceptional choreographer. But she had agreed to help under one condition: Christy thought it would be “fabulously funny” if Josh Cameron were one of the makeover victims. Liv had agreed, assuming Josh would never go for it—after all, he was far from “regular.” But when Christy called Josh and told him that this would be a good way for him to make himself seem approachable and “down-to-earth,” he quickly agreed.
Liv and Anna were the two female makeover victims. Anna would also be the main VJ, and Liv would handle all the behind-the-scenes, makeover-in-progress interviews. After much begging and pleading, Liv had finally managed to convince Colin to be the second guy in the band, rounding out their ensemble.
Now, with only a few seconds to go, Liv hoped Josh—or anyone else in the “band”—wouldn’t flake out. As the two-minute warning bulb flashed, Liv scurried off in search of Anna. Showtime!
“I look like someone’s dad,” Josh Cameron surveyed himself in the mirror while rubbing his short, tan beard. “Are you sure about this beard?”
Liv stifled a laugh, while Rebecca reassured him he looked “mah-vel-ous.” They were about half an hour into the audition, and the cameras were in Josh’s dressing room to check in on his “Frumpy to Fabulous” makeover status. As Liv stood waiting for the cameras to roll (Video Hit #8 was just about to end), she chose not to tell Josh how he really looked. Rather than normal and approachable, as Christy had promised him, Liv sort of thought Josh seemed a little pitiful and desperate for doing this. But he was oblivious.
“You look fabulous,” she said, just as the cameras flipped on. “Now—smile, Mr. Cameron!”
“Liv,” Anna whispered. “My butt cheeks are showing. Any suggestions?” Liv glanced across the set, giggling uncontrollably as Anna spun around and wiggled her butt. She was right—her short, white dress left little to the imagination. But the effect was perfect.
Anna and Liv were wearing matching white retro dresses, both of which were tied around the waist with a gold belt. Anna’s hair had been covered with a long blond wig, and Liv’s naturally curly brown hair was puffed into an aerobic-instructor do. Both girls had a gold headband tied across their foreheads, and were wearing moccasinstyle boots that laced up their legs. Liv had to admit it—Rebecca was a makeup genius and Anna had perfected her wardrobe skills. They really did make a great team.
Liv stole a quick glance at Colin, who turned and flashed a toothy smile. Liv burst out laughing. A few weeks ago she never could have imagined Colin would agree to do something like this, but now he was a natural. He had mastered the dance (which frightened her just a little), and had happily zipped himself into the ugliest white jumpsuit she had ever seen. Rebecca had outfitted him in a flowing brown wig and a sporty headband. He looked like the ultimate porn star.
Anna came up behind Liv to check out Colin’s ridiculous getup. “He’s your soul mate,” she whispered to Liv, laughing. “A loveable dork—with absolutely no inhibitions. I never would have guessed.”
Liv turned and squeezed Anna’s hands. “This is it,” she said. “Only one more chance to make complete fools of ourselves. You are totally rocking—if they don’t offer you a job after this, they’re crazy!”
“Gaaaah! Don’t say that. You’re freaking me out!” Anna said, grinning.
“We,” Liv said, squeezing Anna into a hug, “are going to rock. Now, as Brown would say… Go, Girl!” Then she pushed Anna out onto center stage as the producers signaled the end of Video Hit #2.
The lights splashed onto the stage, and Anna lifted the mic to her mouth and flashed a huge smile. “The moment we’ve been waiting for is finally here,” she said into the camera, just as Francesco cued up “Dancing Queen” on the stereo in the background. “Today’s top video?” she continued. “Nuh-uh—that will have to wait. First, the grand finale of our Make Me a Star makeovers. We’ve gone from frumpy… to fabulous! Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome… ABBA!”
The first notes of “Dancing Queen” came pouring out of the speakers as Anna ripped off the tracksuit she had thrown on to cover her outfit. Liv joined her in the center of the Hits Parade stage. Back-to-back, they held their microphones up and lip-synched in time to the music. “You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life…”
As the second verse started, Colin and Josh popped out from opposite sides of the stage. Josh’s outfit was exactly the same as Colin’s, but instead of a wig, his naturally curly hair had been straightened into a helmetlike flop over his face. Liv could hear the producers and camera operators chuckling as Josh and Colin swayed out onto the stage. They moved and shook their hips in time to the music, fanning their hands out every time “ooh ooh ooh” came pouring out of the speakers.
At the end of the song, the foursome all slid to their knees, arms raised, and held their pose while Anna pointed to the camera and introduced Cherie Jacobson’s new single as that day’s top video. “I hope you’ve had as much fun as we have,” she said, winking. “Live it up, Dancing Queens!”
One of the camera operators shouted, “That’s a wrap!” Liv sighed a breath of relief. She and Anna cheered as Rebecca came running out from backstage. The three roommates danced around in a circle, hugging and laughing. We did it, Liv thought happily. We actually did it.
Later that afternoon everyone gathered at O’Leary’s, an Irish pub around the corner from the Music Mix offices. The owner, a shrunken, stooped Irish fellow, had agreed to air that afternoon’s Hits Parade segment on the bar’s TV. Andrew Stone would be broadcasting the winner’s segment as part of that day’s show, and until the broadcast, they were left in suspense, waiting to see who won.
A few minutes before Hits Parade started, Simon Brown entered the bar and lazily made his way to an armchair in a corner of the room. Liv stole a glance at Anna, who had been working up the courage to talk to Brown all day. Anna’s mom had called that morning, saying she could accept that her daughter needed to figure her life out—and together, they had resolved that if Anna got a job offer from Music Mix, she would stay in London for one more year before deciding her next step. Liv knew her roommate was making herself sick wondering whether things would work out. Liv crossed her fingers and glanced at Brown slumped in the corner.
Anna caught Liv’s eye before slowly making her way across the room to where Brown was sitting alone with a cigarette and a beer (Liv could only assume he had a fat wad of Nicorette tucked in each cheek). Liv watched Anna approach him. Knowing Brown had the power to dramatically transform Anna’s future, Liv considered the fact that she would need to figure out her own future pretty soon. Living in London had been the only thing she’d ever really known she wanted to do, and it had turned out to be a perfect choice.
Though Liv didn’t know for sure what her next move would be, Anna had helped her realize that uncertainty could be okay. She just needed to think a lot more clearly and carefully about what she might want to do after graduation next year. She smiled at Colin, who had been watching her from across the bar. He moved over to her and pulled her in for a kiss.
“I can’t believe you have to leave,” he murmured in her ear. “Stay.”
Liv wrapped her arms around Colin’s neck. “Mmmm,” she murmured as she snuggled into the crook of his neck and breathed in deeply—she loved that Colin smelled like a combination of fabric softener and soap. If she had known how comfortable that crook was, she definitely wouldn’t have waited so long to get rid of Josh Cameron. She just wished she had more time to burrow into Colin’s neck before she had to go back to the States.
“I really don’t want to waste our time together thinking about me leaving,” she said, leaning back and looking into his eyes. “And who knows what could happen? Maybe I’ll be back next summer.… My mom left London to come to the States—what’s keeping me from taking her place in England?”
“You would really come back?” Colin said, brushing a stray curl off her face with his finger.
“This summer sort of proved that anything can happen, didn’t it?” She leaned forward and brushed his lips with hers. He pulled her in tighter.
“I hate to interrupt.” Anna had materialized at Liv’s side, smiling broadly. Liv and Colin broke apart, and Liv looked at her roommate expectantly. Anna continued, “Guess who’s staying in London?”
“You got a job?!” Liv asked, her excitement bubbling up.
Anna nodded. “Apparently, Gloria was just offered a position as a VJ—so her job is open.” Anna was beaming. “Brown said it’s mine if I want it! I guess my supervisor in wardrobe talked to him a few days ago and recommended me. Brown said he was impressed that I approached him—that it proves how much I want it.”
Liv was ecstatic. She quickly gathered Anna into a huge hug, just as Francesco danced over. Colin and Francesco exchanged a shrug and then wrapped Anna and Liv into a big four-person hug. Liv broke away just in time to see the Hits Parade logo pop up onto the TV in the corner. The show was about to start.
She reached for Anna’s hand, and they held their breath, waiting to see who had won. Liv closed her eyes—she couldn’t stand the suspense. She reminded herself that even if they hadn’t won, their performance—and Anna’s job offer—had been a truly perfect ending to a perfect summer.
Just as the first notes of “Dancing Queen” came floating out of the television set, Rebecca’s high-pitched yell cut through the din of the bar—“Ah did it!” she screamed, lifting My Rover into the air. “Li-uhv, Anna, I won!”
Some things never change. But for Liv and Anna, so much had.
And Liv was having the time of her life.