Chapter 22
We slid into the Internet café right as the sun was coming up. There was a twentysomething guy in a dirty red baseball hat snoring at one table and a brunette with a painfully tight ponytail behind the café bar, falling asleep on her arm. The minute we opened the door, she jumped like a gunshot had gone off.
“Sorry we scared you,” I said in a hushed voice.
I didn’t know why I whispered, it wasn’t a library. It just felt impolite to speak loudly so early in the morning.
“We’re gonna log on.” I patted the laptop bag hanging from my shoulder.
The woman grunted and waved her hand, exposing the soppy sweat stain on the armpit of her T shirt. I cringed.
Lilly and I grabbed a round table near the front so we could benefit from the orangey light streaming from outside. The place only had one overhead—greenish—light illuminated, probably to keep the temperature of the room down. Like much of Utuado, the café was not air-conditioned.
We plopped into two hard, cheap, white plastic chairs and I immediately flipped my laptop open. We had five minutes until the interview. I raced to the radio station’s brightly colored Web page, opened the media player on my laptop and waited until the live broadcast zoomed in with perfect clarity. I adjusted the volume.
“I didn’t know you could listen to radio on the computer,” Lilly whispered, her coffee breath hitting my nostrils.
Puerto Ricans were big on coffee. It was locally grown, very dark and very strong. My aunt and uncle always had a pot brewing, and Lilly had packed us a Thermos for the occasion. I had never really drunk it before (my parents didn’t let me, they thought it would stunt my growth), but it wasn’t too bad.
After a few minutes of the latest Top 40 hits, the DJ’s voice emerged.
“All right, you’re listening to Eagle 102. This is Larsky and the Crazy Crew and I’m here talking with two of the extras in the upcoming blockbuster Full Count.”
I heard Madison and Emily’s familiar giggles. I grabbed Lilly’s forearm, stretched my eyes and smiled. At this hour of the day, with neither of us wearing any makeup and both of us with our auburn hair pulled into ponytails, it struck me yet again how much we resembled each other. The same freckles, the same cheekbones, the same small brown eyes. I still hadn’t gotten used to it.
One of the DJ’s co-hosts suddenly erupted into a booming laugh, and I shook my head and turned my attention back to the radio.
“So, girls, tell us your names, how old you are and where you’re from.”
“I’m Madison. I’m from Spring Mills. I’m fifteen, but my Sweet Sixteen is tonight!”
“I’m Emily. I’m also fifteen and from Spring Mills.” (She laughed awkwardly as she said that. I could tell she was nervous. Her voice was shaky.)
“Now, you girls have spent three days on the set with Orlando Bloom as extras in his new movie.What was that like?”
“Omigod. It was so awesome. (It was clearly Madison speaking.) Orlando’s, like, super nice.”
“Yeah, and he’s really down to earth,” Emily added.
“So did you girls actually meet the man himself? Did you talk to Orlando?”
“Madison did,” Emily huffed quickly.
“Yeah, Orlando came up to me at a snack table. He gave me advice on my career and told me he thought I was doing a great job. Orlando was really nice, like super-duper nice. We had an instant connection. I think we, like, really hit it off.”
(Wait, she didn’t tell me that. First off, she said she stalked him at the snack table. Second, she complimented his acting, not the other way around. And third, since when are she and “Orlando” on a first name basis?)
“ ‘Hit it off,’ really? You saying there might be a little romance there?”
“Omigod. I dunno. I mean, he asked if he could come to my Sweet Sixteen tonight. Everyone’s gonna be there. But I think he has a girlfriend. But maybe if they break up . . .” She giggled.
Oh. My. God. My jaw swung low and I glared at Lilly. She clearly didn’t know how to react. As far as she knew, everything Madison said was true and this was an accurate representation of my best friend. Only it wasn’t. Unless Madison had turned into a pathological liar. I couldn’t believe how she was milking this.
“All right! You heard it here first. One of Philly’s own striking up a romance with a Hollywood heartthrob (I could hear Madison and Emily laughing in that fake way they do in front of teachers and parents).
“So girls, this is your first movie, right?”
“Yeah,” they said in unison.
“Would you do it again? Would you recommend other people try their hand at being extras?”
“Absolutely! It was the best!” Emily squeaked, with a high-pitched voice.
“Totally. This has been, like, the best experience. And I can’t wait for my party tonight. This break has been awesome. I wouldn’t change a thing. Best summer ever!” Madison cheered.
After that, the DJ switched topics to a discussion about girls who cheated on their boyfriends and got caught. Only my mind was still reeling over Madison’s last comments, “I wouldn’t change a thing. Best summer ever!”
How could she not miss me at all? Wasn’t there even a tiny part of her that thought: Gee, I wish Mariana were here with us? Apparently I was utterly replaceable—by some Hollywood hottie who’d probably forgotten she exists. I slammed my laptop closed, startling the guy in the baseball hat still sleeping at the table beside us.
“What’s wrong?” Lilly asked.
I closed my eyes and blew out a puff of air.
“They were acting so fake. And none of that stuff was true. She totally exaggerated. I can’t believe she would lie like that,” I ranted.
Lilly said nothing.
“They made it all up. Like she and Orlando Bloom are seriously going to start dating? Does she really think he’s gonna go to her party? She’s such a liar,” I continued rapidly, my hands flailing as I spoke.
“They’re just trying to sound cool. It was their fifteen minutes of fame.”
“Try their fifteen minutes of fake.”
“Dude, whatever, they suck,” Lilly teased.
“But they don’t,” I whispered, my voice cracking.
“Look, they can make up stories all they want. But that just tells you that they’re not really having fun, right?”
I closed my eyes, and took a few deep breaths. I wanted to believe Lilly, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being forgotten. Secretly (and I would never admit this), I had hoped that they would at least mention me on-air, give me a quick shout-out or something. So much for best friends.
“You know, you have my party tomorrow. Orlando Bloom might not be on the invite list, but it should still be fun,” Lilly said.
I opened my eyes. She was right. I did have a party to go to. I had my own life.