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“Oh, like the Big Apple doesn’t have pollution?”
“No, because the money tampers it. Fame. Dreams. Taylor Swift lives there, you know. You should look out for her.”
I resist the urge to tell Tab about Cassie’s deathly eyeliner straight out of the pop star’s song for fear of devolving the conversation into a best friend hierarchy fight again, so instead,I lead with, “I saw a homeless guy outside my hotel this morning with a brand-new Yankees cap on. Does that count?”
A quick knock sounds on the door behind me. My breath hitches.
“Ooh, that sounds serious. Is that how show biz knocks? I need to up my game. No more timid knocks for me.”
“Come in!” I call out, ignoring my best friend.
The time-conscious assistant walks in wearing a new accessory: a headset. “You’re on in five. Shall we start walking?”
“I have to go,” I tell Tab, suddenly wishing I was back in Tennessee with her, getting ready to open up the store.
“You’re going to kill it. Be yourself. Everyone loves you. Show the world why you have two best friends.”
My lips quirk into a smile. “Will do. Love you, Tab.”
“Love you, too.”
I end the call and set the phone on the vanity. When I stand, Athena does too. She’s right by my side as I walk toward the technology-wearing assistant. He’s most definitely younger than me. He looks like he’s barely out of high school, let alone college.
The youngin’, as my grandfather would call him, leads me through a maze of hallways until we’re suddenly in an open space and I can hear Paula talking. She sends to commercial, and important-sounding people tell her she’s off camera. Mr. Too Young To Be Having A Fancy TV Job moves me around a dark wall, and suddenly, Paula is walking toward us. A host of makeup artists dab her with brushes, and one specific person fluffs her hair. A hair fluffer. Imagine that.
“Raeann Gorman,” she says brightly, holding out her hand.
A famous person has never said my name before. Well, that’s a little lie. When my video was going viral, a bunch of famous people said my name when they continued to show it on shows like this. I guess the correct thing to say is that a famous person has never said my name to mein the flesh.
I shake her hand, hoping mine isn’t sweaty. “Nice to meet you.”
“Aww, listen to you. Your cute little southern accent. They’re going to love you.”
They? Who’s they? Like an existential they? Are we talking about the world at large? Or a subset of people that she wants to please?
My question gets answered immediately when someone says, “Who’s that?” rather loudly.
I turn to find an entire audience staring at me. My social battery drains out of me from head to toe in the matter of seconds.
“Oh, dear, you look petrified.” She moves next to me, blocking my view from all the people, and puts her arm around my shoulders. “Nothing to be scared about. Just two friends having a cup of coffee together.”
Another assistant who I haven’t seen before pops up next to us. “Two creams, one sugar,” she verifies.
I nod. Truthfully, I don’t drink coffee, so I ordered it like Tab does. I didn’t want to be seen as some small-town girl who doesn’t do what the cool kids do. “I can do that.”
“Two minutes,” the time-conscious assistant says.
“Thanks, Mike.”
Paula starts moving me toward a short set of stairs that lead to two modern chairs facing each other. Athena pushes her head into my palm, and I stroke her absentmindedly.
“The dog!” Paula suddenly says, stopping us.
“She’s right here.”
Athena pops her head around the hem of my dress and stares at Paula. “Oh, goodness. Look at her. Good. We’ll have her sit next to you.” She moves her stare from Athena to me, and I can’t help but smile back. She doesn’t seem fake at all. Her eyesare genuine. Even though people fuss around her, she appears unfazed.
An assistant points out my white chair while I ascend the steps. I get myself situated, and Athena sits to my left. A few of the important-looking people appear pleasantly surprised when Athena just stays there. They walk away with content smiles on their faces, like they weren’t sure how it would go having an animal on set. Athena isn’t only an animal, though, that’s for sure. I’m pretty sure she’s part human.