Reality Check (7 page)

 

Signing papers takes forever! Who knew there were so many things to sign off on? My lawyer tries to explain everything to my parents while I focus on the big stuff: I'm going to get $10,000 an episode, which is incredible, with an increase in pay if we agree to shoot a second season; I'm signed on for one season with the option of picking up additional seasons with our say, plus bonuses and appearance fees. I start calculating my paycheck in my head. Fifteen episodes times ten thousand dollars is ONE HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS! And that's for a few months of work! Almost enough for college, before taxes of course, and after this lawyer, who doesn't look cheap. But as Susan said, there will be other perks and money down the line. I can barely hold my hand steady as my parents sign and watch me do the same. I'm loaded!

About an hour, two Perrier waters, and a fruit salad later, Addison comes back for me. She takes my parents and me down another hall. She walks briskly; I notice she does that a lot. Maybe I should wear sneakers more, instead of clicky slides, which I have on.

“Susan told me you're on the school newspaper,” Addison says as we walk. “I was on the paper in high school and college too. I did features.”

“I mostly do entertainment,” I tell her. “Where did you go to college?”

“Northeastern in Boston,” Addison says. “Ever hear of it?”

“Of course. It's near Boston University. That's where I want to go,” I tell her.

“BU is so nice,” Addison gushes. “I had a lot of friends who went there. And Boston is beautiful. You'd love it. Do you know what you want to major in yet?”

“Communications or journalism,” I tell her. “I really like to write. I just wonder,” I hesitate, worrying that this is too much information, “if doing the show will mess that up.”

Addison shakes her head. “I doubt it. If anything, it could open a ton of new doors for you. Maybe they'll want to work a writing internship into the show for you.”

“You think?” I gape.

“You never know where you'll get your big break,” Addison points out. “I was going to switch my major to communications junior year and then I got a summer internship here. After that, I was hooked on TV. I do miss writing though.”

Addison starts telling me about college and the do's and don'ts of freshman year. Do join some sort of activity to meet more than just your roommate. Don't do something crazy like try out for rugby. Addison says she practically broke a rib during the tryouts. Then we move on to talking about my other favorite topic: guilty pleasure TV shows (mine is, fortunately,
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
; Addison's is
Jon & Kate Plus Eight
). We enter a large studio and I recognize it immediately. It's the
Firing Up!
countdown set.

“What are we doing here?” I ask excitedly.

“Your interview,” says Addison. “The show doesn't tape till four so we're borrowing the set.”

“Are you serious?” I freak. Brooke is going to flip out.

Addison laughs. “I had the same reaction the first time I was here. It's pretty cool seeing it in person, isn't it?” She walks me over to the camera crew, which is setting up in front of the funky pink leather chairs that are a signature on the
Firing Up!
set. The show's logo, bedazzled and sparkling, is in large letters on the wall behind the chairs. Autographs cover the walls—it's customary for stars to sign the wall when they come on the show—and there are beanbags littering the floor where the audience sits. Addison quickly makes the introductions. “You're going to be seeing these faces a lot,” she tells me. “This is going to be
The Cliffs'
crew—Hank, Phil, Kayla, and Steven. Sometimes we'll all be together, and sometimes we'll split up.” I guess Addison can tell I'm confused, because she explains. “If you four girls are shooting a scene together, we'll be with you. If you go to different places, the crew will break up too so that all of you are covered.” Addison looks at a duo standing nearby. “And this is Anthony and Bruce, two of our other producers.”

I notice everyone looks a lot more relaxed down here. They're in jeans and tees, talking loudly, joking around. It reminds me of a party, except this one has video cameras and Cliffside's parties don't. I instantly feel at ease.

“Charlie, we're going to be asking you a bunch of questions, based on interviews we've done with the other girls,” says Bruce, a stocky twenty-something who has short blond hair and a Bob Dylan shirt on.

“I thought I was the first one down here,” I say.

“Since everyone has been waiting for Susan, we pulled the girls down here earlier,” Addison explains. “We didn't get enough time with Brooke, so she'll finish up after signing contracts.”

Anthony pulls me aside. “Do you mind your parents being here for this? Because we can find somewhere for them to sit if you want.”

“Why?” I ask, alarmed. “What exactly are you asking me?”

Bruce smiles. “Nothing
too
personal. School, friends, boys. That kind of stuff.”

“We're not using any of this, “ Addison assures me, and pulls out her BlackBerry. “We just need it for background purposes.”

“Unless you say something so spectacular that we have to use it on the season one DVD.” Anthony winks.

“We're getting a DVD?” I ask excitedly. The thought hadn't even occurred to me. I picture my face staring back at me from the Netflix website.

“Probably,” Bruce says. “Along with a lot of other things too, like TV specials.”

My head is spinning. Wardrobe, salary, DVDs, TV specials, photo shoots. This offer just keeps getting better. “Um, maybe you could find my parents a coffee cart or something?” I ask.

Bruce nods. “We'll set them up in the green room. They'll love it. You can retrieve them afterward.”

“Thank you.” I breathe a sigh of relief. I get the feeling it will be a lot easier spilling my high school horror stories and the other embarrassing moments I assume they're looking for if Mom and Dad aren't listening.

“Charlie, I'll check back later with the other girls,” Addison tells me, listening to a message on her phone at the same time. “Keiran is with the lawyer, but all of you should be finished by four o'clock and then you can walk around the city or do whatever you want before dinner.”

“Okay.” Kayla walks over and blots my face with powder and then adds a swipe of lipstick. I wonder if they'll be doing my makeup all the time.

“Are you ready, Charlie?” asks Bruce a few seconds later. He has a headset on and is clutching a clipboard with what looks like pages of notes.

I step onto the platform and make myself comfortable in the chair, wincing when they turn on a bright light.

“Try not to think about the camera,” says Phil.

“Even though it's right in my face—oops.” I can't help glancing at a huge camera on a rolling tripod that is inches from me.

“Exactly,” Phil says as if it's the easiest thing in the world. “By the end of the first week, you won't even notice them.”

“If you say so.” The heat from the light is already making me sweat.

“Just stay focused on me and forget the camera is even there.” Anthony's voice is soothing. “Are you ready for the questions?”

“I think so,” I tell him as my palms begin to sweat. Everyone is here to interview
me
. I'm usually the one doing the interviewing.

“We'll start off easy; how did you get the nickname Charlie?”

“My real name is Charlotte, which I can't stand.” I stare at the crease in his forehead to keep from looking at anything else around me. “It sounds so formal. I wanted my parents to change my name for a while to anything other than Charlotte. Charlene even, but they wouldn't budge. Brooke calls me Char sometimes, but I don't love it.” Was that okay to say? Too late now. “Not that I mind it too much. Then my friend Hallie started calling me Charlie Girl in tenth grade and then it was shortened to Charlie and it just sort of stuck. I like Charlie.”

“Let's talk about your friends,” Anthony says, reading off a sheet. “Would you say you're very close?”

That question is easy. “Definitely. They're my best friends.”

“Who are you closest with?” he asks without looking up.

I pause. I wasn't expecting that question.

“It's okay, Charlie, it's just us,” Bruce says, reading my mind.

“I guess Keiran,” I say slowly. “We've known each other the longest.”

“How do the others feel about you being closest to Keiran?”

“I don't know,” I admit. “We've never really talked about it, but if something major happens, I probably call Keiran first.”

“How does Brooke feel about that?” Anthony asks. “Would you say it bothers her to be out of the loop?”

Umm… I feel like I'm on a witness stand all of a sudden. I'm sweating and now I know it's not just the lights. It's like Bruce knows the answer he's going to get before I even say it. How does he know these things? Have the girls been blabbing in their interviews?

The next few questions go the same way: “Would you call yourself the group leader? Do you think the others like you to be one? What makes you leader material? Would you say Brooke is difficult? Would you call yourself a perfectionist? Do you think you're better than your friends sometimes? How many boyfriends have you had? What did your friends think of them? What's your biggest fear? Describe your friends’ best traits and biggest flaws. Would some people say you and Brooke have the biggest rivalry of the group?” Other questions are easier and much more fun, like “What's your favorite breakfast food? Who's your celebrity crush? If you could live anywhere, where would it be?” Bruce and Anthony ask every question with the same calm voice, smiling as they read them, looking like my old pediatrician who used to swear a shot wouldn't hurt even as it stung my arm.

I try to be honest with my answers, but sometimes the truth feels like a betrayal. At the end of the taping, I feel like I need a nap.

“Super, Charlie, just super,” Bruce tells me, shaking my hand as I slide off the stool. “I'll have Kayla show you out to your parents and then after Brooke's interview, I think the four of you are all done for the day. We'll see you again before taping starts in the next few weeks.”

“We can start up that fast?” I ask. I had thought Susan was exaggerating when she told us that.

“Absolutely,” Anthony says. “Addison will probably be calling you next week with details about the first shooting week. She's very efficient. We call her the mini-Susan,” he tells me with a laugh. “She'll have this up and running in no time. You'll see how smoothly things go.”

“We've got the reality format down pat here at Fire and Ice,” Bruce assures me. “You have nothing to worry about.”

I thank everyone and find my parents in the
Firing Up!
green room with Hallie's parents. Keiran's had to get back to their other kids, and Brooke's parents had to get back to work, Hallie tells me. Not that Brooke seemed to mind, but Keiran looks upset. Actually, both friends seem weird. Keiran is biting her blond hair, and Hallie has a finger in her mouth. She bites her nails when she's nervous.

“How did it go?” Keiran asks as Hallie looks on anxiously.

“It was cool, but… weird,” I admit with a deep breath.

Keiran exhales. “Oh, thank God.”

“I thought it was just me!” says Hallie, and plays with the long strand of black beads around her neck. They look great with the khaki tank dress she has on. “I got so nervous when they started asking me about you guys. I wasn't sure if I was being watched behind a mirror like on those cop shows.”

I laugh. “Me too! That part was bizarre, but it was kind of cool to have everyone want to know everything about us, wasn't it? Who knew my favorite ice cream flavor was important?”

“Cake batter,” Hallie and Keiran say at the same time.

“I loved when they did our makeup,” Keiran says excitedly, and practically twirls around, her flowery tunic flying around her black leggings. “They said that they'll probably do our makeup all the time so that we look good on camera.”

“I wish we could hire them to do our makeup at school too,” Hallie says as she plays with her brown hair. “If I could look this good every day, I would love it.”

“You always look good,” I insist.

A door slams and we turn around and see Brooke striding across the room in that gorgeous black pantsuit she got at Off 5th, the discount store. She's smiling. “Hey, girls. That was fun, wasn't it? I
so
played with their heads.”

“Brooke, you didn't!” Keiran scolds. “You're so bad.”

“I couldn't help it,” she scoffs, crossing her slender arms, from which her Tiffany heart bracelet dangles. “You should have heard the stuff they were asking me. Is Charlie jealous of me? Do Hallie and I compete over guys? Is Keiran always that quiet or is she hiding something? Am I obsessed with money? They were being rude. I told them I don't talk about my friends that way.” The rest of us look at each other guiltily. “How did you guys do?” Brooke asks.

“Same,” Hallie says hurriedly. “We told them the same thing.”

“I did like all the attention,” Brooke admits and begins to play with her shiny red hair. “I wanted to take that makeup artist home with me.”

Everyone starts talking at once about makeup, wardrobe (Hallie heard we're going to get to go to the next Fire and Ice party and we'll be dressed by the stylists for it), and our shooting schedule. I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn to see Addison.