Better You Than Me

by Jessica Brody

  Everyone is waiting for me?

  Why would they be waiting for me?

  “Um…” I hesitate, trying to find my voice. “What’s going on here?”

  The girl sighs like she doesn’t have time for my questions. “What’s going on is that you’re forty-five minutes late to set and the shot is already up and the entire crew is on the clock.”

  Set? Shot? Crew?

  “What shot?” I ask.

  She rolls her eyes. “The most important scene of the episode! Barry will go ballistic if you mess this up.”

  I stare at her with my face scrunched up. What is she talking ab—

  Oh!!!!

  Suddenly, I understand exactly what’s going on here. They must be confusing me for someone on the show. Maybe an extra or some small guest role. They probably think I’m supposed to be in the scene.

  I nearly sag in relief. I’m not in trouble! This isn’t about me ditching the studio tour! This is about me appearing on an episode of Ruby of the Lamp!

  My pulse starts to race. I’m going to be on TV! This is too cool!

  Of course, I’m not the person they’re looking for, but they don’t seem to know that. And I’m certainly not going to tell them.

  I wonder what the role is. Most of the time extras just hang out in the school hallway or sit in one of the classrooms. Every once in a while they have a small line, like “Do you know what time it is?” or “Has anyone seen my lamp?” I can handle that. No problem. Maybe I’ll even get to stand next to Ryder Vance!

  “Hello!” The girl’s voice breaks into my thoughts and she gestures to my jeans again. I leap into action, unbuttoning, unzipping, and yanking off. She quickly helps me step into a cute flowery skirt and zips it up. Then she slides a blue tank top over my head and tucks it into my skirt, finishing off the whole look with a thin white belt. She takes a step back and examines the outfit before nodding and placing a pair of ballet flats in front of my feet. I step into them.

  Wow, they fit. How did they even know my size?

  “Well, it’s not perfect, but we don’t have time for perfect. Plus, no one is going to be looking at your clothes.” She gives me a conspiratorial wink. I have no idea why. Maybe it’s some secret Hollywood code. I wink back just in case.

  “Okay!” she says, clapping her hands together and reaching for the door handle. “Are you ready for your big kiss scene?”

  I nod and start for the door, until her words finally settle into my brain.

  Wait—what, now?

  KISS SCENE?

  “Uh…,” I falter, my feet literally freezing in place like they’re trapped in blocks of ice. “Who am I kissing?”

  She slaps her forehead. “Oh, right. Sorry. I forgot. They changed that in the script.”

  Phew!

  I feel my feet slowly start to unfreeze and my breathing return to normal.

  That is, until she says, “Technically, Ryder Vance is kissing you.”

  “Is this some kind of joke?” I yell at Russ. I usually try not to raise my voice at him because he gets enough of that from Barry, but I’m sorry, this has gone on too long. What kind of stupid prank is this? People acting like they don’t recognize me? I’m the star of the show. My name is in the title.

  I glance desperately around the soundstage, searching for my mother. She’ll put an end to this. For once, I actually want to see her rip into Barry. But she’s nowhere to be seen. I do, however, spot Ryder standing by the Craft Services table, stuffing his face with doughnuts.

  I break free from Russ’s grip and dash over to him. “Ryder!” I exclaim, trying my best to paint a breezy smile on my face. “What’s going on around here? Why is Russ acting like he doesn’t know me? He just called security on me!” I let out a nervous laugh, hoping he’ll join in. He doesn’t join in. He drops the doughnut in his hand into the trash and slowly backs away from me, like I’m a grizzly bear in the woods. Not the costar he’s shared stages and red carpets, not to mention billboards, with for the past four years.

  I roll my eyes. “Ryder? What are you doing?”

  But he just continues to back away, his eyes wide and alert, like I might pounce at any moment.

  “RYDER!” I screech.

  And that’s when I feel someone behind me. Someone large. I turn and find myself face to face (or rather, face to chest) with Garrett, a former WWA wrestling champion and the head of security at Xoom! Studios. I know he’s head of security because he’s protected me from more than a few crazy fans.

  Except now he’s looking at me like I’m crazy.

  “I’m not crazy!” I shout, tears of frustration welling in my eyes. “I’m Ruby Rivera!”

  “Okay, Ruby Rivera,” Garrett says, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Time to come with me.”

  “No!” I yell, and then I turn and bolt. I need to find my mother. I need her to tell these loons who I am, because clearly they’ve all lost their minds. I figure she must still be in the hair-and-makeup trailer. That’s where she spends most of her time on set. But to make it there, I have to get to the other end of the soundstage and out the doors, all without Garrett catching me.

  Fortunately, after working here for four years, I know a shortcut.

  I run toward the set of Rogue Raymond’s Junkyard and Bazaar, my pulse starting to pound in my ears. I can feel Garrett’s heavy frame shadowing me the whole time. He’s actually chasing me. Like I’m some criminal. What is wrong with everyone today? Did Stan, the catering manager, secretly switch the coffee to decaf?

  As I run through the junkyard set, I duck between cars and old scraps of machinery, but Garrett stays close on my tail, bounding over car hoods and tossing aside junk like he’s whacking through bushes in the jungle. I run from the junkyard into the adjoining set—the Wish Granting classroom—and have to scramble over the desks to avoid getting snatched up by Garrett, who is still close behind me.

  A moment later, I burst out of the giant building of soundstage 11. The hair-and-makeup trailer is straight ahead of me, and I can just see my mom through a window. She’s exactly where I thought she’d be: sitting in one of the chairs, facing the mirror, staring down at something in her lap. That would be her iPad. She’s scouring the internet for negative comments about me. It’s what she does for fun.

  “Mom!” I call out breathlessly, but she doesn’t hear me because the window is closed. She takes a bite of yogurt from another impossibly tiny bowl.

  I run for the trailer, darting up the steps and lunging for the door handle.

  But I never make it inside.

  Garrett’s hand clamps down hard on my shoulder.

  “MOM!” I shout, and this time, I’m certain she must hear me because her head lifts and she glances around, searching for the source of the sound. “Over here!” I yell. I start to wave my arms around, trying to get her attention, but my hands are soon yanked behind my back while Garrett fastens zip ties around my wrists.

  As Garrett ushers me back down the steps and away from the trailer, I call out for my mom again, this time, using her first name. “EVA!”

  She stands up and peers through the window of the trailer. For a brief moment, I swear she sees me. I swear our eyes lock. But I must be wrong, because a second later, she shakes her head and returns to her seat, glancing at herself in the mirror and fluffing her hair.

  WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?

  Why am I standing in the middle of the Jinn Academy hallway with a row of gold lockers behind me while a girl fiddles with my hair? Why are there like a zillion lights and cameras pointing right at my face? And why is—

  OH. MY. GOSH.

  I gasp as he steps out of the darkness and onto the set like he’s stepping out of a dream. My dream. I’ve had this exact dream. That I’m standing in the Jinn Academy hallway and Ryder Vance walks up to me and says…

>   “What’s up, nerd?”

  Okay, that’s not what he says to me in the dream.

  But that’s what he’s saying to me now! The real Ryder Vance. In the flesh. Right in front of me. But why is he calling me a nerd? He doesn’t even know me! Or is it just that obvious? Is it written all over my face? Is that how the Ellas just knew on the first day of school that I didn’t fit in?

  My knees start to wobble. My head goes a little woozy. Ryder bumps my shoulder with his. “You ready for all this magic?” he asks, making circling gestures around his lips.

  His lips!

  Is he honestly going to kiss me? Or was that lady in the clothing closet just joking around? Is this some kind of strange hazing ritual for extras? Make them think they’re supposed to do a kissing scene with Ryder Vance?

  A girl with purple hair approaches Ryder and starts dusting his face with white powder. He closes his eyes and, for a moment, I’m just able to stare at him. He’s so gorgeous. And his hair is even better in person than it is on TV!

  There’s no way he’s supposed to kiss me.

  My life just isn’t that perfect.

  But then a voice booms out from the darkness beyond the cameras, rendering me utterly speechless, paralyzed, numb, dizzy, and feeling like I might actually pass out. Or throw up. Or both.

  “Kiss scene, take one!”

  And the next thing I know, Barry Berkowitz is standing right in front of me. Actually, it’s more like he’s towering over me, looking down at me like I’m a bug he wants to squash. “Okay!” he spits. Like literally spits. I feel specks of moisture hit my nose. “We can’t afford any more delays. All you have to do is stand there and pretend to be in love with Ryder. Do you think you can handle that?”

  I almost snort at how ridiculous that question is.

  Like I have to pretend.

  “Y-y-yes,” I stammer.

  Barry throws his hands in the air. “Hallelujah!”

  I smile, feeling pretty proud of myself, until I realize he’s being sarcastic.

  “So,” he says, making intense eye contact with me. “Just so we’re clear. You don’t say anything. You just stand there and let Ryder kiss you, okay?”

  I blink up at him and nod. My very first kiss ever is going to be with Ryder Vance! Just wait until the Ellas find out about this. They’ll fall all over themselves.

  “Great,” he snaps, then turns and strides off set, calling out to no one in particular. “Places!”

  Everyone springs into action, like Barry Berkowitz is some kind of king, giving orders to the courtiers buzzing around his throne. The girl with purple hair—the makeup girl, I assume—turns to me and starts brushing gloss onto my lips. I’m glad she’s on it, because I never would have thought of glossing up my lips before a kiss. But I suppose that makes sense. You don’t want yucky chapped lips before kissing Ryder Vance.

  Ryder walks slowly toward me and I feel my stomach clench. He reaches out like he’s going to punch me in the face, but instead he rests his hand against the locker behind my head, like he’s trying to make sure I won’t run away.

  Trust me, there’s no need for that. I’m not going anywhere.

  But then suddenly, a thought pops into my head.

  Why is Miles kissing some random extra? Shouldn’t he be kissing Ruby? That’s what all the fans have been waiting for. Including me!

  Maybe this is just a ruse. A side plot to make us think Ruby and Miles are never going to get together. Or maybe it’s one of Ruby’s vivid dreams. Right after Ryder and I kiss, they’re going to cut to Ruby waking up in her bed, sweaty and breathing heavy.

  Come to think of it, where is Ruby?

  I never saw her come out of the prop room. Did the door lock behind her again? Is she still in there? Should I tell someone?

  I glance around for someone to tell, but the set has emptied again. It’s just me and Ryder alone in the brightly lit hallway, surrounded by darkness.

  He’s really close now. Like touchable close. No…

  Kissable close.

  All the air in my lungs evaporates in an instant.

  This can’t be happening. This can’t be—

  “And, action!”

  Ryder looks me in the eye like he’s looking deep into my soul. That magical gaze that I’ve always loved so much is now pointed directly at me. ME!

  “I just wanted to say…,” he says, his voice soft, compassionate. Nothing like the voice he used to call me a nerd just a second ago. “…that we’ll find her. I promise. I’m not giving up and neither should you.”

  It’s a good thing I don’t have any lines, because I’m not sure my mouth would be able to form words right now. I’m completely speechless. All I can do is stare back into those gorgeous blue eyes while my entire body turns to a puddle of goo.

  Then Ryder is leaning in to me. His lips are moving toward me. He has that dreamy half grin on his face that every single girl in this country has fallen in love with. His eyes start to drift closed and…

  Oh my gosh. This is really happening. He’s going to do it. He’s going to kiss me. I’m going to…

  HUUUGHHUUP!

  And yeah. That’s what I do. Because that’s me. Skylar Welshman, professional screwup.

  “Cut!” calls someone from the darkness. I’m pretty sure it’s Barry. He’s got one of those voices that you only need to hear once to remember. It’s kind of thunderous and terrifying. Like an angry dog’s bark.

  “What in the name of all that is holy was that?” he asks.

  “I—I,” I stammer, and then break into a series of multiple hiccups that come so fast, they even surprise me. I glance over at Ryder Vance, who’s not even looking at me. He’s typing something into a phone. He’s probably so grossed out right now. That was even worse than hiccupping on the stage of Fairview Middle School and having it broadcast all over the internet!

  “Come here, please,” Barry says from the darkness, and I can tell he’s trying really hard to keep his temper in check.

  I bite my lip to try to get my hiccups under control and walk toward the sound of his voice. As soon as I leave the hallway set, I can see that Barry is sitting in a small booth with three flat screens. They’re all showing different angles of the Jinn Academy hallway. They must correspond to the various cameras. On all three, I can see Ryder now standing alone by the lockers, on his phone. One screen shows his back, one shows his left side, and the last one shows his face.

  His beautiful, beautiful face.

  That I just hiccupped on.

  Ugh.

  “I’d like you to watch this playback and tell me what’s wrong with it.”

  I swallow. I know what’s wrong with it. I’m wrong with it. But I have a feeling you don’t argue with Barry Berkowitz. So I just nod meekly and turn my attention toward the screens.

  “Roll playback, please!” Barry shouts to someone, and a second later, the image on the screen flickers and now there are two people in the shot. Ryder and…

  Huh. That’s weird.

  The person with Ryder in the hallway looks exactly like Ruby Rivera. Is he showing me footage from another scene? Except she’s wearing the same outfit as me. The flowery skirt, blue tank top, and white belt.

  Why is Ruby in another scene wearing the same outfit as an extra?

  “Action!” comes a voice from off screen, and then I watch as Ryder says, “I just wanted to say that we’ll find her. I promise. I’m not giving up and neither should you.”

  Then he starts to lean in toward her. She looks panicked. She looks like a deer caught in headlights. She looks like she might—

  “Do you notice anything wrong here?” Barry asks me, and I want to scream, “Yes! It’s all wrong! Everything is wrong! That’s not me!” But all I can do is swivel my head from screen to screen, trying to find an ang
le where this makes sense.

  “Well,” Barry prompts, clearly growing agitated. “Do you, Ruby?”

  Ruby?

  Then I watch the center screen in total shock and disbelief as Ruby Rivera lets out a loud, obnoxious hiccup right in Ryder’s face.

  And that’s when I really do pass out.

  Garrett puts me on a golf cart and drives away from the soundstage. It doesn’t take me long to figure out where he’s taking me. To the visitor center. The only rational explanation floating around in my head is that maybe they’ve confused me with someone on one of the tours. Maybe Cami did something strange with my makeup today and I don’t look like myself.

  “We’ve called your mother,” Garrett says after parking the golf cart in front of the large one-story brick building. “She’s on her way here.”

  “Good!” I spit back, thinking about my mom sitting in that trailer with her iPad, getting the message that I’ve been escorted to the visitor center by security.

  “She’s going to have your head on a platter!” I say, and then quickly amend my statement. “Okay, well, technically this week, she’s going to have your head in a tiny bowl, but still. She’s probably already called our lawyer.”

  Garrett ignores me and escorts me into the visitor center and down a hallway toward the Xoom! Studios security office.

  “Looks like your mother has already arrived.” Garrett nods toward a set of glass doors and I see a woman standing in the office. She’s tall and willowy with strawberry-blond hair pulled back into a ponytail and tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses.

  I snort. “That is so not my mother.”

  That woman is clearly the very opposite of my mother. First of all, my mother would never be caught dead wearing her hair in a ponytail in public, not to mention wearing glasses. And don’t get me started on her clothes. She’s dressed head to toe in a blah shade of gray. I don’t think my mother owns even a single gray item.

  The woman turns just then and sees me. Her entire face lights up and she rushes through the glass doors into the hallway. “Oh! Thank goodness!” she wails, and then pulls me into a hug.