Authors: Lauren Conrad
The Fame Game (22 page)
It was seriously cramped inside the limo, Carmen noted with some annoyance. The PopTV cameraman was probably six foot five, and Drew was almost that tall; plus there was Fawn with her weird long dress train and her own video camera, which she kept pointing in Carmen’s face. And Luke, who had barely said a word since Drew not-so- subtly hinted that he was on Team Kate and he thought Luke was a douchebag (with the camera rolling—Carmen had accidentally-on-purpose kicked Drew for it). Carmen had hoped the limo ride to the premiere would calm her nerves, but so far it had done the opposite.
“Carmen Curtis, you look fantastic tonight. Tell me, who are you wearing?” Fawn said, pretending to be one of the dozens of reporters who’d be lining the red carpet.
“Give it a rest, Fawn,” Carmen said. She turned to look out the window, hoping that would be enough to get Fawn to leave her alone for a minute. In fact, she was wearing Nina Ricci, and Fawn knew it. At least Fawn had stopped trying to get Luke to “say things in Australian.”
Carmen watched the storefronts of Wilshire Boulevard slip by, their windows sparkling in the late afternoon sun. She knew what to expect from the coming hours—she’d been to more than her share of red-carpet events—but never one where she was a main attraction, and she didn’t know how she’d feel about it. Would it seem wonderful? Or just weird? She looked at Luke, who seemed seriously out of sorts, and thought:
Just weird. For sure.
“You want a mint?” Drew held out one of the candies that seemed to reside in every limo she’d ever taken.
She turned to him and smiled faintly. He was wearing a tux but no bow tie, and because his tattoos were covered up he looked as preppy and conventional as could be. “No thanks,” she said, watching him unwrap it and then pop it into his own mouth.
“Suit yourself,” he said. “Fawn? Doctor Rose?”
Luke shook his head, and so did Fawn. “Oh, I don’t eat processed sugar. Ever. Or bread or dairy. And rarely salt or meat.”
“She’s following some diet Aja supposedly is on,” Carmen explained.
“I hope she’s here tonight,” Fawn said eagerly. “You had your publicist call hers, right?”
“Sure,” Carmen lied. “Of course.” She’d been in a photo shoot with Aja several months ago and they’d had a nice conversation—but that was that. She hadn’t called her.
“Almost there,” Drew said, chewing another mint.
Their driver had slowed down in the inevitable traffic jam caused by all the limos ahead of them slowing, then stopping, their doors opening to reveal Hollywood stars and starlets, dressed in their glittering finest.
Carmen took a deep breath. It was all beginning now. This was her night. She wished she could enjoy it.
Her parents weren’t coming until later, after the red carpet; her dad didn’t want PopTV filming him, and her mom didn’t want to run the risk of upstaging her. And in a way, she was relieved. This was her first real bid for independence, her best chance to come out from under their big, successful shadows. It would have been weird had they walked the press gauntlet with her. She had to do it on her own.
Or, not
entirely
on her own. As the driver opened her door, she saw her castmates already there at the start of the carpet, smiling and waving to the yelling crowd.
She made eye contact with Luke and he nodded once at her before opening the door and waiting to help her out of the car. “I’ll see you guys inside,” she said to Drew and Fawn, and then she took Luke’s hand and stepped out onto the sidewalk. The plan was for them to hold hands as he walked her to where her costars would be waiting. The plan was now making her feel ill.
Kate greeted her with a hollow smile, and Carmen wanted to reach out to squeeze her hand. Kate had called the other night to tell her what had happened with Luke, and Carmen had immediately driven to her apartment to comfort her. She’d even broken her pre–red carpet diet to share a pint of Ben & Jerry’s with Kate. Because appearances were important, but not as important as friends. But when Kate asked if Luke was going to be Carmen’s date to the premiere, and Carmen said yes, it felt like everything changed between them. Carmen didn’t think she’d done anything wrong, but it was starting to feel like she had.
And now they had to stand together on the red carpet and smile.
The camera flashes were like strobe lights at a disco. Carmen and Kate posed with their arms around each other as more and more cars pulled up, and more and more of the rich and famous climbed out. Even though her mind was elsewhere, Carmen was conscious of keeping herself turned partially sideways to the photographers, with her left foot planted in front of her right. She pointed her front toes to the cameras and placed her weight on her back foot. (All this to counteract the ten pounds the cameras added.)
She glanced over at Gaby, who was wearing a one-shoulder LBD that kind of looked like it was made out of a Hefty bag. But she was almost pulling it off, and she certainly looked happy with the attention. In a way, these were Gaby’s best moments: when she was just smiling, looking pretty, and not being asked to think about anything.
In another few moments, Madison showed up—of course she’d be the last to arrive—and even Carmen had to admit that she looked stunning in a midnight-blue column dress. She was also wearing the most brilliant diamond necklace Carmen had ever seen. Behind her came Sophia, clad in what appeared to be a turquoise sari, and Charlie Wardell, looking for all the world like he’d rather be back in prison than take another step on the red carpet. Madison posed with them for a minute or two, then made an elaborate show of hugging them both before she came over to join the other three girls. She placed herself next to Kate, and together they stood smiling, united, as if they were all the best of friends.
“Where’s your date, Carmen?” Madison said through her smile. “Is he double-booked?”
What the hell was that supposed to mean? Had Kate told Madison the truth about Luke?
After a while, Laurel appeared to usher them along toward the Hammer Museum at the far end of the red carpet, where the party was already underway. Carmen paused to speak to various reporters (“So, tell us about your new beau!”; “What’s it like to work with Madison Parker?”), and her answers were gracious and vague (“He’s a great guy and I’m so excited to be working with him.”; “She’s quite the character. You’ll have to tune in to see . . .”). The camera shutters never stopped clicking.
Everything was going smoothly—but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. This was her life, but it didn’t really feel like it. Reality TV, she realized, made everything just a little too unreal.
Above them the sky was darkening, and the lights of the museum glowed invitingly. The nervousness that Carmen felt had vanished. So what if Kate was mad at her? So what if Madison knew about Luke. Carmen needed to stop worrying about everyone else and start worrying about Carmen. She was in control. Her eyes were wide open, just like her dad said all those weeks ago.
The garden of the Hammer Museum looked like something from a fairy tale, Kate thought, or like the most expensive prom she could ever have imagined. Paper lanterns hung like brilliant, multicolored moons over tables decorated with sprays of lilies and roses. Waiters glided along, carrying trays of Champagne and appetizers. Music was coming from somewhere, but already the sound of laughter and conversation was drowning it out.
She reached for a glass of Champagne and took a small sip (she’d learned, thanks to the night of watching Gaby’s interview—or, more accurately, the morning after—that too much was not a good thing). She’d made it through the press gauntlet without tripping in her high heels or saying something stupid to an E! reporter, and now she had a little while to relax before the show really began.
Oh, who was she kidding—she had to play her song to the crowd! Relaxing was not an option tonight.
Gaby and her date—Trey? Jay? Kate couldn’t remember—were sticking close to her. They’d shared the limo to the museum, which had given Kate ample time to admire Trey’s (or Jay’s) new tattoo (a Chinese dragon on his calf, of all places) as well as learn about the various hair products that he used to keep his hair looking wet at all times. She forced herself to not think about Luke, and how if he’d been with her they would joke about this guy later, which of course was thinking about Luke. Luke who was coming with Carmen, which is why Kate was with Gaby. She knew she shouldn’t be mad at Carmen—her friend hadn’t really done anything wrong, but she couldn’t help feeling strange around her now.
Gaby’s contribution to the conversation was a long rave about Oscar Blandi’s dry shampoo, as well as occasional musings about which celebrities would be in attendance at tonight’s event. Gaby might not have a gift for words, but she had total recall for a celebrity guest list.
Kate had kind of wished she’d brought a book to read. Or had insisted that her mom and sister made the trip out. At least Natalie was around somewhere. Kate had given her invites to her, and no doubt Natalie was somewhere in this building wearing an amazing dress she’d made herself.
Now that Kate was here, she was feeling giddy. She hadn’t known what to expect of the party, but as far as she could tell, PopTV had gone all out.
She had gone all out, too. She’d never been this done up before. Her dress was gray silk charmeuse, with a deep V-neck and a slit up the leg. It was so light and smooth that it felt like water against her skin. Her makeup had been professionally applied, and her hair was fashioned into a soft, braided updo.
Much of this was thanks to Madison, who’d helped her pick out her look after Kate finished rehearsing her song the day before. (She actually had a backup band this time—and who cared that Trevor had instructed the band to “pep up the song”? She had a professional band performing with her!) The PopTV cameras were there, of course, so they could capture Madison’s advice for how to “slim the silhouette,” “elongate the neck,” and “accentuate what curves you have.” Kate wasn’t really listening to Madison’s various monologues, but it occurred to her that Madison must miss having her own makeover show; she seemed like she was really good at it.
While Madison directed her to try on various dresses, Kate thought about the last time they’d seen each other, when Gaby had lost her earrings and Madison had called Kate a boring little nobody. She knew Madison had been defensive about her father—that was the reason she’d lashed out, but did that excuse it? Kate had to admit that it bothered her still. She felt too nervous to bring it up, though. She hoped that they could just forgive and forget without ever talking about it.
“Yes, this is the one,” Madison had said when Kate tried on the Halston Heritage dress that she was now wearing as she gazed out over the glittering crowd. “It has a beautiful line and the color is great on your skin. It also makes you look at least four inches taller.”
“Um, isn’t that the heels?” Kate had asked, poking her patent-leather peep-toe pump out from below the gown’s hem. They were the highest heels she’d ever worn, and she was seriously worried she might break an ankle.
Madison shook her head. “Heels add height, but so does the cut of a dress.”
“So I look, like, eight inches taller total?” Kate had asked.
She was trying to be funny, but Madison didn’t laugh.
After the camera crew had gotten what they needed, Madison had abruptly turned to go, and Kate realized she was going to have to say something to clear the air. She didn’t want to make an enemy of Madison. That seemed like a bad idea for all sorts of reasons.
“Wait,” Kate had called. “I can tell you’re still mad about the other night. And I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”
Madison had turned around and raised an eyebrow, waiting for Kate to continue.
“It wasn’t fair of us to bring your dad into it. You know him, Madison, and we don’t. You say you trust your dad, and I’m sure that you’re right to. I’m really sorry if I ever suggested otherwise.” She smiled shyly. “Friends?”
Madison had paused at the door and looked at her for a moment, as if deciding whether or not to just keep walking away. She didn’t, though; she smiled. “Friends,” she’d said.
Now, Madison was over by the stage, introducing her father to one of the PopTV executives while Sophia hovered in the background (even though Madison had told Kate her sister’s name was Sophie, Kate still thought of her as Sophia—after all, she didn’t think of Madison as Madelyn, and that was
her
name), smiling and emanating love vibes. (Kate had to wonder how long that would last—she’d seen Sophia on
L.A. Candy
, and as far as she was concerned, people didn’t change. Not
that
much, anyway.)
Kate felt someone tap her on the shoulder and turned to see Carmen’s friend Fawn, who she’d met a couple times.
“Oh my God, you look amazing!” Fawn said while giving her an enthusiastic hug.
“Thanks,” Kate said, a little taken aback. Fawn had previously said about ten words to her.
“It’s cool that you were okay with the whole Carmen and Luke thing, considering,” Fawn said.
What the hell was she talking about? “Considering what?”
“Y’know, that they’d hooked up before you guys met.”
Weeks of having cameras in her face must have finally had an effect on Kate, because she barely flinched, even though what she was thinking was:
What. The. Fuck?!
“Kate!” cried a voice, and Kate saw Laurel, dressed in a slinky red number, and for once not carrying a travel mug of coffee, hurrying toward her.
“Um, I’ve got to go,” she said to Fawn. “But I’m sure I’ll see you later!” Kate hoped to never see her again. She turned to Laurel.
“Kate, are you ready? You’re on in five.”
Kate felt her stomach practically explode with butterflies. “No?” she squeaked.
Laurel gripped her arm with long, cold fingers. “I’m nervous, too,” she said. “But everything is going to be amazing. Okay? Now, the plan is that Trevor will introduce you, and then you’ll play your song.”
Kate’s shock and anger dissipated as she had a moment of even greater panic—
where was Lucinda?—
but then she remembered that her guitar and all the backup instruments were waiting for her on the stage. (For the first time in her life she’d had a roadie to lug her guitar and amp around—in a way, that helped her feel like she’d made it already.)
It had been so crazy to get the phone call from Trevor the other day. For one thing, he’d never called her before, whereas Madison made it sound like he called her every night to tuck her in with a good bedtime story from her favorite gossip mag. For another thing, he’d said that Mike from Swing House had sent him the song, and he wanted to use it as the opening music for the series.
“Girls across the country are going to be singing ‘Starstruck’ on the way to school next week,” Trevor had said after he told her he was sending a messenger with a contract for her to sign. “It’s going to be your first hit. Did I mention you can buy the MP3 of it on iTunes starting tonight? Yeah, took care of that the other day.”
Kate just hadn’t known what to say. When she’d first heard the final version, she couldn’t believe it was her song. It was a far cry from what she’d recorded herself. Mike had layered in one of her ukulele tracks and added some drums, making the sound as lush as it did in Kate’s head. Plus, he’d used one of her joke takes in the chorus, about being ready for the game. At first Kate was annoyed but then realized it did make the song more appropriate for the show’s opening.
Laurel’s grip tightened on her arm. “Don’t worry, you’re going to kill it. And then the other girls will come up on stage, and you’ll stand there together and introduce each other and the episode. Got it?”
Kate nodded. She was staring at the stage, imagining herself already up there, singing and playing better than she ever had before. But she also couldn’t help remembering all the YouTube videos that Ethan had sent her over the last six months: the guy auditioning for
American Idol
whose only talent was holding a note so long that all the judges kept checking their watches; the kid who tried to sing “Happy Birthday” on
Good Morning America
but instead hyperventilated and passed out. She
so
did not want to be like those people. But her fingers felt stiff and her throat was tight with worry. And her heart hurt a little too. More from Luke’s betrayal or Carmen’s? She wasn’t sure.
“Seriously, you’re going to be great,” Laurel said, and Kate nodded, still staring at the stage.
A moment later, Trevor appeared on it, looking slick and intimidating in a pin-stripe power suit and a platinum Rolex that must have weighed at least a pound. He took the microphone and smiled, and the crowd immediately hushed.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen—and agents,” he said, and the sound of polite laughter rose up from the room. “I’m thrilled to welcome you to the premiere of PopTV’s next hit show,
The Fame Game
. Before we start the episode, I’m going to call up our newest star, Kate Hayes.” He smiled in Kate’s direction, and Kate felt the butterflies in her stomach doing cartwheels and somersaults. “You all have been in the room with her for half an hour now, and you probably didn’t notice her.”
Wow, thanks a lot
, thought Kate.
“Maybe you said to yourself, Oh, there’s a pretty little redhead. I wonder what cop show she’s been an extra on. But ladies and gentlemen, tonight you get to witness the birth of a star. It starts tonight, and it continues all season long. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you . . . Kate Hayes!”
All eyes in the room turned toward Kate as she ascended the stairs to the stage. With each step, the hurt and confusion she felt hardened into something like determination—she would go onstage and kick ass. She was no longer Kate Hayes, that girl from that YouTube video. That girl was not good enough for Luke. Screw Luke. Once she was on her mark, the spotlights blinded her; the crowd was a dark blur. She reached for Lucinda and brought her into her arms as she sat on the stool at center stage. Behind her, the backup musicians quietly took their places.
She took a deep breath and willed the butterflies away. She could not afford to choke! She tried to imagine that she was in her room back in Columbus, and the only person watching her was Ethan with his video camera. Everything had been so much simpler back then, she thought.
Simpler, but also a lot less exciting.
She closed her eyes and felt her fingers touch the strings of her guitar.
Here goes nothing
, she thought.