Nashville Nights (2 page)

Aly nodded. “I know we just met them, but it's like we've known them forever, right?”

Jim pulled up to a large brick building. The sign on the front read NASHVILLE STAR STUDIOS.

“This is the place,” Jim said. “I'll pick you guys up later. Have fun!”

Aly and AJ hopped out of the car and were greeted by Faith and Hope, who had walked out to welcome them.

“Hey!” Faith called. “Long time no see!”

“We are going to have so much fun today,” Hope said as she gave Aly and AJ a hug. “Let me show you where we are filming. The studio is huge—it's like a maze!”

Just then, a large black limousine pulled up behind Jim's car. A chauffeur wearing a black suit and hat sprung out of the driver's side and walked around the car to the rear passenger door. He opened it with a flourish, and three tall, beautiful young women stepped out of the car. They all looked a lot alike, with their long brown hair, dark skin, and high cheekbones.

Aly grabbed AJ's sleeve and tugged. “Do you know who that is?” she hissed in a loud whisper. “It's HeavenSent!”

AJ recognized the sister group right away. The R & B singers were superhot. Last month their single “Spotlight” had hit number one. AJ wondered if the sisters were going to be in Faith and Hope's video. But instead of walking toward Nashville Star, they turned and headed for the building next door. They disappeared inside as the girls watched.

“Wow!” Aly said. “Holly, Sabrina, and Eve in person. I've seen so much of them on TV and in magazines the last few months. Hey—they're a sister group! Did you ask them to be in your video?”

Hope nodded. “We did, but they refused. They said they were busy shooting their own video.”

“From what I've heard, HeavenSent is one of the hardest working groups in the business. It seems all they do is practice, tour, record, and do publicity,” AJ said.

“Sometimes it seems like that's all we do, too,” Aly pointed out.

“Right, but you need to make time for other things, too,” Hope said. “If I didn't see my friends and family every few weeks, I'd be too sad to sing.”

“True,” Aly agreed. “And a little chill time now and then is important, too. I mean, we're musicians, but we're people, too.”

“Well, whatever HeavenSent is doing, it's working,” Faith chimed in. “I'm sure they'll clean up at the National Music Awards. I've heard they're very competitive.”

“Let's get going,” Hope said. “Lionel is eager to get started. He's the video director.”

Aly and AJ followed Faith and Hope inside the studio building. They walked through a maze of hallways until they came to the soundstage where the video would be shot. It was a huge room with a high ceiling that had a network of lights hanging from it. A balding man with a beard was holding a clipboard as he talked into a phone. When he saw Faith and Hope approaching, he smiled and ended his call.

“You must be Aly and AJ,” he said. He held out his hand. “I'm Lionel, the video director. It's great to be working with you.”

Aly and AJ both shook his hand as they said hello.

“And I'm sure you'll want to meet the other sisters appearing in the video,” Lionel said. “Let me introduce you to Cadence and Calista.”

AJ and Aly looked at each other, their eyes wide and their mouths open.

“Cadence and Calista Collins are here?” AJ asked in disbelief.

Faith let out a giggle. “We wanted to surprise you. They're in town for a month, recording a new album. Isn't it great that they agreed to do the video?”

“Great—it's awesome!” Aly chimed in. “We loved their TV show when we were little.” She began to sing.
“Welcome to the Fun House. We're gonna laugh and giggle the day away.”

AJ rolled her eyes. “Oh, no. Now she'll be singing the theme song to
Fun House
all day! But seriously, we watched that show every Friday night.”

“We did, too,” Hope said, smiling. “All of America did. Imagine growing up on TV like that? I think they were six when they started the show, and it lasted for ten years.”

AJ nodded. “They were so funny on that show. And when they started their music career—remember how we bugged Mom to get us their album?”

Aly laughed. “I promised to do the dishes for a month!”

“It's amazing how they transformed their careers,” Hope said. “They started out as child stars, then formed one of the hottest pop duos around. They're on a different magazine cover every week. I couldn't believe it when they agreed to do the video with us.”

“It blew my mind,” Faith agreed. “We're really lucky. Not only are they megastar sisters, but they're twins, too. This video is going to be fantastic.”

“Twin
tastic!” Aly said. “Remember—that's what Cadence and Calista used to say on
Fun House
.”

AJ chuckled. “I sure do. I can't believe we're going to finally meet them!”

Lionel smiled at the girls' excitement. “Come with me and we'll make your dreams come true!”

He led Aly and AJ toward the far wall of the soundstage as Hope and Faith went to get into costume. Two chairs were placed against the wall. In one chair sat a woman in her late twenties with a sleek blond bob with bangs cut in a straight line right over her eyes. She was talking on her pink cell phone. Next to her sat a woman who looked to be around the same age and build. She had her long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail and wore large, dark sunglasses and a baseball cap.

“Excuse me, Calista, Cadence. I'd like to introduce you to Aly and AJ. They'll be appearing in the video today, too,” Lionel said. “This is Calista.” He gestured toward the girl wearing the baseball cap. “And this is Cadence.”

Cadence gave a curt nod. She was still talking on the phone. In a quiet voice, Calista said, “Hi.”

“I've got to get back to work,” Lionel said. “I'll let you guys chat. We'll let you know when your scenes will be shot.” He walked off.

Aly was so excited that the words just poured out of her. “Until Cadence got her hair cut, it was so easy to get you two mixed up—I mean you look so much alike. You even have identical heart-shaped birthmarks, right? On your shoulders? I know all this because I used to get your fan club newsletter. I'm sorry, I must be totally babbling!”

Cadence let out a sigh. “I'll have to call you back,” she said into her cell phone. She looked at Aly, and it wasn't in a friendly way. “I'm sorry, what did you say?”

Aly blushed. “I'm sorry; I know I was going on and on. It's just we loved your show so much. It's really a thrill to meet you both.”

“Thanks,” Cadence said. But she didn't smile or say anything else, and Calista just sat next to her, not saying a word.

AJ tried to break the silence. “Calista, I loved the dress you wore to that movie premiere a couple of months ago. You know, the one that you said you designed yourself? It was so pretty.”

Calista looked over at her sister.

“Listen,” Cadence said. “I don't mean to be rude, but Calista isn't feeling well right now. So if you don't mind, we'd really like some privacy.”

AJ was taken aback. “Uh, okay, of c-course,” she stammered. “Aly, let's go.”

Aly and AJ walked away from the sisters. When they were out of earshot, AJ said to Aly, “That didn't go so well.”

Aly frowned. “It was certainly
not
twintastic!”

“I know Cadence said she didn't mean to be rude, but she sure was good at it,” Aly remarked. She and AJ sat in makeup, getting prepped for the shoot.

“We were definitely dissed,” AJ agreed. “Maybe it was because Calista wasn't feeling well.”

Aly sighed. “I guess. It's just that when I was little, I dreamed about meeting Calista and Cadence. I never thought it would be like this!”

Tina, the woman applying their makeup, looked up from her brushes and bottles.

“Calista and Cadence? I was surprised to learn they would be here today,” she said. “Rumor has it that those two are not getting along. In fact, I heard that they canceled two shows earlier this month.”

AJ looked thoughtful. “Maybe they're just going through a tough time. We should try to be more understanding, Aly, and not let it bother us.”

“You're right. I won't take it personally that my childhood idols totally dissed me,” Aly said.

Tina swirled the makeup brush one last time over AJ's face. “All finished!” she said.

AJ stood up and smoothed down her skirt. It was a cute brown corduroy skirt with a side zipper and a pretty flower embellishment with sequins on the front left. She wore it with a vintage three-quarter length sleeve white lace top and platform boots with vintage crystals on the heels.

Aly was wearing a black camisole top that was trimmed with lace and had a cute ruffle accent down the front. She also wore a pair of vintage-looking, five-pocket bootleg faded jeans and high-heeled black boots.

The premise of their part of the video, Lionel had explained to them after their disastrous meeting with Calista and Cadence, was that Aly and AJ were each on a horrible date. AJ leaves her date and rescues Aly, and the two go off to see Faith and Hope in concert.

Part of the studio was transformed into the inside of a restaurant. The set looked very realistic, with tables covered in cream brocade tablecloths and a faux wall that was sponge-painted a rich red with cream accents.

AJ laughed out loud when she met Michael, the handsome model who was playing her date. The makeup crew and costume people had decked him out to look like a total nerd. His hair was slicked down with grease and parted in the middle, except for one long strand that stood straight up on the top of his head. He wore thick-rimmed glasses, a white button-up shirt, and suspenders on pants that were pulled up practically to his chest.

Michael grinned at AJ. “Meet your dream date!”

“I never judge a book by its cover,” AJ told him. “But in this case, I just might!”

Lionel directed AJ and Michael to take their places. They were supposed to pretend to eat dinner. AJ tries to be nice, but Michael does some funny things, like blowing his nose into the cloth dinner napkin and spilling his drink all over AJ. She then goes into the bathroom and climbs out the window to escape the horrible date.

Michael was very funny, and Lionel had to stop filming a few times because AJ was laughing when she was supposed to look disgusted. Finally, they got the perfect take and Aly was up next.

Aly was shooting on a set that looked like a park. A backdrop that looked like rolling green hills and a blue sky was behind her. She had to pretend to be on a picnic with her date, a handsome actor named Brady. Aly had to sit on a blanket across from Brady and try to talk to him, but instead Brady pulls out a mirror to look at himself and flex his muscles. She takes his mirror away and instead he checks himself out in a spoon. Just when Aly's had enough, AJ comes, grabs her sister by the hand, and the two run off together, just as the chorus of the song “Nothing Like a Sister” begins to play.

“That was so much fun,” AJ said to Aly. “Michael was so funny!”

“Brady did a great job of acting like a conceited jerk,” Aly said. “And he seems like such a nice guy, too.”

As the production crew was setting up for Cadence and Calista's scenes, Aly and AJ sat in chairs on the sidelines to watch. Lionel was going over the scene with the girls.

Aly pulled her sketchbook out of her purse. “This will be a good way to pass the time. I haven't had a chance to draw in ages!”

“I'm interested to see what Cadence and Calista will be doing,” AJ said as she watched. The girls wore adorable sundresses and cute wedge sandals. Their set was constructed to look like a street filled with fancy stores. Cadence and Calista were both holding lots of shopping bags. The idea, Lionel said, was that they get so caught up in shopping that they are late for Faith and Hope's concert.

Filming started. Cadence and Calista walked down the street set, chatting and smiling. Calista looked very '50s glamorous, wearing a scarf on her head, big sunglasses, and a white pearl-buttoned sweater over her dress. Cadence's head was bare, but she still looked very sophisticated. Lionel was telling Calista to look at her watch while juggling all the shopping bags. She lifted her arm up, but the sweater was covering the watch.

“Calista, can you please take the sweater off and we'll film that again?” Lionel asked. Calista nodded and removed her sweater.

They shot the scene again. Aly was having a blast sketching her childhood idols.