All the Right Things (Love in LA) (13 page)

Annie started to tell her that the producers wanted to film her parents as well, but afraid her mother might faint from the excitement, she decided to give her a few minutes to calm down and break the news to her father first. Alexander Chang was a man not easily ruffled, so she knew she could count on him to take everything in stride, despite the short notice. Hearing him talking in the background, she asked to speak to him. A moment later, her father’s familiar voice filled her ear.

“Hey kiddo, Mom just told me the good news. Congratulations!”

Annie knew she had a goofy grin on her face, but she couldn’t help it. She was still daddy’s little girl, and his approval meant everything to her. “Thanks, Dad. I’m still pinching myself. I can’t believe this is really happening to me.”

“Well, it couldn’t have happened to a better person, sweetheart.”

“Aww, thanks. I’m really grateful for the opportunity. I just hope I don’t get stage fright and mess up or anything. Last thing I want to do is humiliate myself on national television.” Annie shuddered at the thought.

“I’m sure you’re going to do just great. Just practice, practice, practice before the big day. You can never be too prepared.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m thinking about hiring a vocal coach to work with between now and then, but they’re so expensive.”

“Well, your birthday is coming up soon. Would you like that to be your gift from me and your mother?”

Bouncing up and down on her toes with excitement at her father’s generous offer, Annie smiled widely. “Wow, sweet! That would be awesome, Dad. Thank you, really.”

“Of course, honey. Anything for my little girl.”

“Anything?” she asked with a hopeful tone in her voice.

“Uh oh. Do you need something else?”

“Well, yeah… the producer who called me said that they want to film a segment at my parents’ house of me receiving the phone call informing me that I’ve made it to the final round of auditions.”

“Okay, that shouldn’t be a problem. We’ll just need a day’s advance notice so we can make sure the house is spic and span. When do they want to do it?”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Annie told him she still needed to get all of the details, but that it would be sometime in the next few days. She hadn’t thought her parents would have a problem with it, but it was still comforting to know that they were supporting her in this crazy venture.

“Oh, and there’s one other thing.”

Her father groaned and then chuckled. “Okay, out with it.”

Biting her lip, she hesitated before responding. This was a huge favor, and she wasn’t quite sure how he was going to react. Her father had always drilled into her and her sister’s heads that he and their mother were raising them to be responsible adults who didn’t need to depend on anyone for help. He wanted them to make their own way in the world, stand on their own two feet. More than anything, she hated to disappoint him.

“Well, if I get through to the live tapings, I’m going to have to hand in my notice at work.”

“Yeah… and?”

“And so I won’t be able to afford my apartment anymore. Would you and Mom be okay if I moved back home for a while? If I don’t win, I’ll get a job again as quickly as possible and save up to move out again. I promise I won’t stay there any longer than absolutely necessary.” There was a long pause before her father answered, which made Annie gulp nervously as she waited for him to respond.

“Sweetheart, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. Of course your mother and I stand behind you one hundred and ten percent. You can stay here as long as you need. You’ve done nothing but make me proud since the day you were born. I know that’s not going to change.”

Annie’s lip trembled as the tears welled up in her eyes. It meant more than anything that her parents believed in her and truly wanted her to follow her dreams and succeed. “Thank you, Daddy. I promise you that I am going to do everything I can to win this thing and make you and Mom really proud of me.”

“Baby, we’re proud of you no matter whether you win or come in last. You just give it the best you’ve got.”

“Oh I will. You can bet your life on it.”

“That’s my girl. Here, your mother wants to talk to you again.”

After saying good-bye, he handed the phone back to her mother so she could say good-bye as well.

Her next call was to the production coordinator. Annie told Janice that her parents had given the green light to film the segment at their home and provided their phone number so she could contact her parents directly to make all of the arrangements. Janice informed her that she and her parents would all have to sign non-disclosure agreements, which basically said that they couldn’t talk about anything regarding the segment until after the episode aired or they would be sued. Annie assured her that their lips were sealed and thanked her for everything before hanging up.

When she called her sister, Leah, she was prepared this time and already had the phone held away from her ear to avoid the high-pitched screams that came through.

“Oh my fucking God, lady! This is the single most awesome thing that’s ever happened to me!”

“Uh, I’m the one who’s auditioning,” she reminded Leah as a wry smile twisted her lips.

“I know, but it’s still the coolest thing ever to happen to me! It’s like I’m going to be famous by default!”

Annie couldn’t help smiling at her sister’s enthusiasm. It was heartwarming to know that all of her family was genuinely pleased for her to have gotten this opportunity. “Well, I’m glad you’re happy about it.”

“Why wouldn’t I be? I can’t wait to tell all my friends!”

“Well, between you and Mom, I think all of Los Angeles will know by the time you’re done. But listen—you can’t say anything, yet. I don’t know that we’re allowed to tell anyone until after the segment has been filmed. Maybe not even until it has aired. I’ll keep you posted, though.”

“Aww, man.”

“Leah, I’m serious; you can’t tell anyone. We could get sued.”

“Alright, alright. Where are they filming the final round? Hollywood?”

“No, they’re sending the finalists to New York.”

Leah squealed again. “Oh wow, the Big Apple! I’m so jelly. I’ve wanted to go back there ever since my senior year trip. You’re gonna love it, I promise. Just be careful not to spend all your money on Fifth Avenue.”

Annie snorted. “What money? I probably won’t be able to afford anything there anyway.”

“Well, once you make it big, you’ll be able to afford to shop there. Bloomingdale’s flagship store is there, and it is insane. You know they have like seven or eight floors?”

“Holy shit. That’s a lot of floors.”

“I know, right? Everything I looked at was ridiculously expensive. I saw a winter coat by some designer label I’ve never even heard of and it was like thirty-five hundred.”

“What the fuck?”

“I know. Crazy, huh?”

“Totally crazy. Who can afford to shop like that? Is everyone in New York rich or something?”

Leah laughed. “Hardly, but you know Wall Street is there, and of course there are always big baller tourists and celebrities who live or work there or come to visit. And that might be you soon, big sis! I’m so stoked for you. I know you’re going to be fantastic.”

“Ha, well I dunno about fantastic, but I’m sure going to give it my best shot. Dad said he and mom would pay for some voice lessons for my birthday, because I want to be as prepared as I possibly can be.”

“Nice! That’s right—your birthday is next month. What else do you want?”

Annie hummed and thought for a moment before answering. “Well, since I’m
probably
going to be on TV, any kind of cool accessories that you think would be eye-catching would be awesome.”

“Done. And whenever you want to hit up karaoke so you can practice, just let me know.”

“Thanks, sis.”

“Anytime. Make sure you tell me once you know what day the show is airing so I can set my DVR to record.”

“Yup, will do. Well, I need to make a few more phone calls, so I’ll catch you later, k?”

“Okie dokie. I love you!”

“I love you more!” Annie made a loud kissing noise through the phone.

“Muah.”

The next few days were a whirlwind of activity. Annie still had to work as usual, but also had to prepare for the upcoming film shoot at her parents’ home in Calabasas, not to mention her trip to San Francisco that weekend to see Casey. She recruited Katie and Alex to help her figure out wardrobe for both herself and her parents, swearing them both to secrecy before telling them about the taping, and they spent an entire evening perfecting her ensemble choices.

As she sat cross-legged on her bedroom floor with a half-empty glass of champagne in her hand, watching Alex and Katie attack her closet, Annie tried to maintain her calm. Her two besties proceeded to take out almost every single piece of clothing she owned and laid everything around the room so they could better peruse all of the options. Her neat freak tendencies were fighting against her, but she bit her cheek and smiled. She knew they meant well and were only trying to help, even though they seemed to be methodically trashing her carefully organized closet and tidy bedroom.

After muttering to each other and mulling it over for what seemed like hours to Annie, they finally came up with three outfits for her to choose from. The first was a teal sundress, the second a pair of white skinny jeans with a soft pink camisole and matching cardigan, and the third and final option was a pair of white shorts and a sunflower yellow, sleeveless top that had a softer yellow ribbon woven through the neck and bottom hem. She ended up picking the second option, but said she would keep the other two as back-ups in case the producers disagreed with her choice.

Katie gave a rundown of her latest dating escapades and quickly had them roaring with laughter at some of the craziness she’d experienced. It was hard to believe that a girl as beautiful as her had just as much trouble finding a normal, balanced, decent guy as the rest of the female population.

“Okay, so the latest one—you’re not gonna believe this shit. So I posted an ad on Craigslist,” she started to say, but Annie interrupted her with a groan and roll of her eyes.

“Craigslist again? Seriously? Haven’t you like, learned your lesson from me?”

Taking a sip of champagne, Katie shrugged. “It’s just easiest. I post an ad, and then the guys reply to me and send their pictures, and if I don’t see anything I like, I just delete them. If I don’t want to reveal who I am and what I look like, then I don’t have to. It’s perfect if you want to remain completely anonymous until you know if you’re interested.”

“That’s so shady,” Alex said with a stern look on his face. “I just have to play Devil’s Advocate for a second here on behalf of all men and say that’s so not fair.”

“Dude, you don’t even swing our way. But regardless, you can’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same shit if it were you,” Katie shot back, sticking her tongue out at Alex.

“That’s beside the point,” he answered with a sniff.

Annie got up to refill their champagne glasses, first moving over to where Katie was perched in the middle of her bed, then turning to where Alex was sitting on the floor next to the bed with his back resting against the wall.

“Children, stop fighting. You both have a point. Katie’s right. It’s the easiest and fastest way to meet someone, hands down. I dunno if it works the same way for the men, but if you post an ad in
Women Seeking Men
and it’s a halfway decent post, you’re going to get tons of emails to choose from. I automatically deleted any that didn’t have a picture. After that, I checked to see if the emails were something they were just copying/pasting to every ad they responded to, or if they had taken the time to write a genuine reply.” After topping off her own glass, she set the champagne bottle down on her bookcase and sat back down on the ground, resting her back against the dresser so she was facing both Alex and Katie again.

Alex took a sip of his champagne and shook his head. “I can imagine it’d be hard to write a genuine reply if every woman posting an ad is like the two of you. Why bother if the chances of the woman even responding are slim to none?”

“Well, that’s why you better make sure you have a great recent picture, you look like you actually give a shit about what you look like, and if you’re going to copy/paste a reply, try to personalize it a little to make it seem like you’re genuinely interested in
her—
or him, in your case,” Annie said matter-of-factly, Katie nodding in agreement.

“Anyways, so can I continue my story?” Katie asked, sounding a little annoyed.

“Sorry, Katie,” Alex and Annie both said at the same time, and all three of them laughed.

“Please proceed,” Annie said.

Katie sniffed. “Thanks. Okay, so I posted another ad on Craigslist, and you’re never going to believe who responded.”

“Ooh, is it someone we know?” Alex asked, waggling his eyebrows.

Laughing, Katie nodded. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure you know who this guy is.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “Okay, I was totally kidding when I said that. Seriously, it’s someone we know?”

“Well, not someone you
know
, but know of,” Katie said mysteriously.