Quest For A Popstar

by Katie Hamstead

  I return my focus to the contract and read a segment about a compulsory makeover. I raise my hand. A woman hurries over to me. “You have a question?”

  I nod. “This makeover, do I have a say in it? I just don’t want to be the next skank to dance almost naked in front of the entire nation.”

  She smiles, seeming somewhat relieved. “You get a say in it. It’s pretty tame, just a hair style, makeup, and a wardrobe that you can pick to suit you. We don’t want to alter your image, just enhance it.”

  “Okay. That sounds fine. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” She walks away, scanning for anyone else who might need some help.

  I continue reading, and upon finding nothing objectionable, sign at the bottom. Looking over, I see the Murphys passing around their contract to sign as well. Clarissa glances up at me and we exchange smiles. I’m glad they’ll be sticking around.

  Finally, crew members head around to gather the contracts, and as each are handed in, we are given a number for the round. We’re also assigned groups and will be working with one of the four celebrities. Jeffrey Halloway is mine.

  Glancing over to Clarissa, our eyes meet. She dashes over. “Who’d you get?”

  “Jeff.”

  She smiles. “Us too!”

  “Excellent.”

  She flops down beside me, and her family soon surrounds us—Lydia is on my other side, Isaiah in front, and Lucas behind with Kessa and the younger boys.

  Isaiah turns to face me. “Are you with us?”

  “Yeah,” Clarissa answers for me.

  “Awesome. Keeping the gang together.” He grins.

  Lydia tugs my sleeve. “The camera is pointing at us.”

  We look over and wave.

  “And so it begins,” Lucas murmurs.

  Chapter Four

  Jeff stares at me as I stand in front of him. “Name.”

  “Hailey Becker.”

  “Hello, Hailey.”

  I smile weakly.

  “Mmm, confidence issues.”

  My smile falls.

  “Well, what would you like to sing?”

  “I thought I’d just do “My Lagan Love” again.”

  A light turns on in his eyes as he apparently remembers me now. “Oh, that’s right. You’re a folk singer.” He looks across to the other judges. “What were our notes for her?”

  The woman, Drusilla—just Drusilla—flicks through some papers, then stands. “Stunning voice. Image poor.”

  I frown.

  “Stop frowning.” Jeff presses his index finger under my chin. “This is a superficial industry, Hailey Becker. Do you want to win?”

  “Yes,” I say softly.

  His eyes narrow. “Mmm.”

  He steps back, looking me up and down. “You’ll need some new clothes, new hair…are you wearing any makeup at all?”

  “No,” I answer, my cheeks flushing.

  “Urgh. No wonder you look so homely.”

  I hang my head. They don’t show stuff like this during the episodes. While each performer is evaluated, the camera men congregate at the back of the room on a lunch break.

  “Don’t hang your head.”

  I lift my chin, meeting his eyes.

  “Mmm.” He circles me. I’d watched him do this with each of the Murphys and several other performers. Only his assigned group remains in the auditorium, about forty people in total. Twenty-five acts. None he’d scrutinized like me.

  “You could be pretty,” he says. He grabs my shirt from behind and pulls it tight. “Small waist, nice curvy assets, a rack to die for, but all hidden under this ugly cardigan.”

  “I’m here to sing,” I say weakly.

  The other three judges look up at me with alarm. Jeff steps in front of me, glaring into my eyes. “Don’t be so naive. Your voice can only take you so far. No one wants an ugly woman dancing up on their TV screen.”

  I grit my teeth. There are guys in the group who look worse than me and didn’t get such severe criticism.

  “Oh, there is fire in you.” Jeff smirks. “Did I hit a nerve? Good. Channel that passion. Clean up your look. You might do well yet.” He hands me a mic. “Sing.”

  One of the crew saunters back to his camera and climbs up on the stage beside me. Jeff sits in his seat with the other judges, and the director signals for silence.

  From there, things happen how I saw them go on the show. Steven asks me to reintroduce myself and my song. I then sing. The rest of our group stares, none moving. Clarissa grins from ear to ear, clutching Lydia’s hands. I sing to her, overlooking the scorn on the judges’ faces.

  When I finish, she, Lydia, and Kessa leap to their feet with their applause. Most of the group follows with awed appreciation. Clarissa meets my gaze and mouths, “Beautiful.”

  When the applause quiets down, Steven raises a hand. “Hailey, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.” I brace for a ripping.

  “That’s the same song you sang at auditions.”

  “Yes. I thought we could perform the same song.”

  He nods. “Can you do anything else?”

  “Ahh…yeah.”

  “Well, Hailey. You have a week until eliminations. Bring us something new or you will be knocked out.”

  I feel sick. They said I could do that—use the same song. Several others had, even the Murphys used the same song. I feel…picked on.

  “I can work something out.”

  Drusilla smiles sweetly. “You have a lovely voice, dear. We’d like to see your full potential.”

  Yeah, in other words, less clothing.

  “We’ll work on it,” Jeff says, smiling now, his whole demeanor completely changed. “Team Jeff.”

  I fight the urge to roll my eyes.

  “And cut.”

  I glance at the producers, surprised. Jeff stands, no longer smiling. “Hailey, come here.”

  Does he really want to bully me more? I step down from the stage and stand in front of him.

  His expression is grim. “We expected more from you.”

  Seriously?

  “I’m going to pick a song for you and you will perform it exactly how I say. You didn’t move or do anything up there. It was embarrassing, to be honest.”

  I grit my teeth again.

  He points at me. “I don’t want the worst competitor in the comp in my group. The show with your audition aired last night, and you and the Murphys were the most popular acts so far. Twitter went mad about you guys. The hits on YouTube were the highest we’ve ever had. You have to do better.”

  “What?” The mixed signals have me completely thrown off.

  “It seems,” Steven says, leaning forward, “that after last year’s scandal, people are eating up the wholesome thing. The von Trapp family sing-along, and the sweet young girl with the voice of an angel appeals to their sense of ‘morality.’” Standing, he leans against his knuckles. “I can guarantee you a place in the top twenty.”

  I draw a sharp breath. “I thought that went on votes.”

  He smiles. “Only after the top twenty. We pick before then. The producers tell us who’s pumping up ratings and to keep them on. Now, Miss Becker, I can see you are smart, and you know this is an opportunity you won’t come across again. Play the game, make the people happy, and we can line you up for success.”

  I stare at him, not sure how to react. The show definitely involves playing a game, and I’d often wondered why someone progressed to the next round over another person who had more talent. Now I know. I find myself in a moral dilemma—step down and lose my chance, or go along with it?

  “It’s all rigged?”

  Drusilla sighs. “Don’t be so dramatic. It’s all for show. It’s show business. We put on a show that makes the most money. You should be grateful you’ve been handed a golden ticket.”

  I glance across at Clarissa. I want to stay with her and have fun with my new friend. Rarely do I come across people who want to stick to me like she does.

 
; “Don’t worry, the von Trapps are shoo-ins too,” Jeff says. “They just don’t need ‘convincing’ like you do. They’re naturals on the stage.”

  “The Murphys,” I respond.

  “The point is, Miss Becker,” Steven continues with a hint of irritation, “we don’t like you. You’re not attractive, your stage presence is lousy, and your shyness makes you awkward. You’re not cut out for this, but you’ve stolen people’s hearts. Work on it with Jeff over the next few days and we’ll keep you in.”

  I let out a long breath. “But—”

  Steven waves me off. “Next.”

  I make my way offstage, debating my moral dilemma around and around in my head. Clarissa rushes over and wraps her arm through mine. “What was that about?”

  I stare at my feet. Could I tell her? Should I tell her? Should I taint her excitement? Spoil her dreams? “They wanted to tell me I needed to clean up my act a bit.”

  She sighs. “Yeah, Jeff was pretty harsh on you. But your voice is amazing, so don’t worry about it.”

  My voice. It seems that isn’t enough.

  Isaiah appears in front of us. “Hailey, I hadn’t realized you had such a fantastic body under there.” He reaches for my waist, but Clarissa slaps his hand away.

  “I don’t…” I touch my cheek, feeling the heat rising again.

  He grins. “I saw those curves. Wow. Stop hiding them under all this. It just makes you look chubby.”

  “Isaiah!” Clarissa shoves him. “Rude.”

  He shrugs. “Hey, I met some people. You guys should come meet them too.”

  Clarissa looks to me.

  I don’t want to stop her from meeting new people. I’ll probably be gone soon anyway. I nod.

  Isaiah leads us to a group of other contestants all close to our age. “Guys, meet my sister Clarissa, and our friend Hailey.”

  The three guys offer us their hands, each holding Clarissa’s hand and eying her over a little longer than me.

  “That’s Brandon, Ryan, and Tyler,” Isaiah says. “And this is Jessica and Whitney.”

  The two girls, who look like they could already be pop stars with their slit jeans and tight tanks, smile at us.

  Clarissa pulls me closer to her. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Looking at Clarissa, the contrast is startling. She wears light makeup, a tidy pink blouse that sets off her brown skin, and a black knee-length skirt. Wholesome. Natural. Those other girls…I can see what the judges mean.

  Lucas shuffles over, standing beside Clarissa. “Mom wants you.”

  Jessica and Whitney give him the once over and smile. He completely ignores them.

  “Okay.” Clarissa pulls at my arm. “It was nice to meet you all.”

  “You too,” Brandon, Ryan, or Tyler—whichever—responds, again looking her over slowly.

  Lucas steps into his line of vision. I have to give Lucas props for being great at the protective big brother thing.

  Clarissa drags me with her as we hurry back to the family, Lucas keeping his body between Clarissa and them.

  “I’m sorry, Hailey,” Clarissa whispers.

  “What for?”

  “I didn’t want to stay around them. If you want to socialize, go right ahead.”

  I shudder. “Not with them. I’m sure there are plenty of other people I can socialize with.”

  She smiles. “Thanks.”

  We sit back in our seats and Kessa leans forward. “You sang beautifully, doll.”

  “Thank you,” I respond softly.

  “If you’d like, we can work on your stage presence. I think they weren’t too impressed with that.”

  If only she knew. “Not really.”

  “Easy fix.” She turns to Lucas. “You should train her. You’re much better than I am.”

  “I learned from you,” he responds, staring up at the stage.

  “Yes, and now you’re better.” She looks at me. “He directed the musical at the university last year.”

  “Seriously?” I turn to him.

  He folds his arms.

  “That was supposed to be the best production the performing arts have put on in years,” I say, amazed.

  “We had good talent,” he says shortly.

  Kessa chuckles. “He’s being humble. Did you go to it?”

  I shake my head. “I haven’t been to any plays or performances on campus. At first, I was flat broke, then I had no time, now Tom’s not interested.”

  “Pity.” She leans forward. “It was fabulous.”

  “Maybe I’ll go next time.”

  Clarissa rests her hand on my shoulder. “The next one is in May. He’ll miss being part of it.”

  “What about the fall production?”

  “I graduate in May,” Lucas says.

  “Oh yeah.” I slump, pressing my chin against the back of the chair. “I guess I missed out.”

  “Yup.”

  Clarissa slaps his leg.

  I turn away from him. After the discussion with the judges, I don’t feel like another cool conversation with someone who really doesn’t want anything to do with me.

  Clarissa turns back around too, and I hear Kessa say, “Don’t be so rude, Lucas.”

  He doesn’t respond.

  Isaiah laughs. I glance at him out of the corner of my eye. The girls, Jessica and Whitney, lean in close to him, batting their eyelashes. He slides his hands into his pockets, lapping up the attention. They seem more his type than me. I can’t believe I even considered the notion that he’d flirt with me. It doesn’t matter anyway. His interest elsewhere just makes things simpler for me.

  Chapter Five

  Clarissa and I sit on the beds in our pajamas, the TV droning on in the background. She braids her hair while I flick through one of my text books. Molecules, cellular regurge…no…regen…I yawn, my eyes blurring.

  “You won’t retain anything like that,” she says.

  “I can’t fall behind.” I rub my eyes.

  “It’s been a day.” She drapes her legs over the side of the bed and slips in a bookmark. “Go to sleep.”

  I glance at my phone. Tom still hasn’t called. Maybe he’s waiting for me?

  “Just call him,” she says, pulling her blankets back to climb in. “You’ve been watching your phone all night. Just call him.”

  I sigh and reach for it. “What if—”

  “What if what? He’s your boyfriend. I’m sure no matter what he’d be happy to hear from you.”

  I smile. “Yeah.”

  I grab my phone and call.

  “Hailey!” He sounds bright, almost startled.

  “Tom.”

  “Babe. Oh, hell. What time is it?”

  “Like ten thirty here.”

  “It’s that late? I lost track of time. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. What are you doing?”

  “Writing a paper. It’s driving me crazy.”

  “What about?”

  “Well, in terms you would understand—how to dig deeper holes without negatively impacting the environment.”

  “I love how you have to dumb it down for me.”

  He laughs lightly. “Not what I meant.” He groans and yawns. “I saw the show last night.”

  “Oh yeah?” My heart skips a beat.

  “Yeah. I didn’t know you were that good. You’ve been holding out on me.”

  “Ahh, well, it never came up.”

  He chuckles and groans again. “I just realized how tired I am.”

  “I’ll let you go then.”

  “No, it’s okay. I’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve missed you too.”

  “That Lucas guy hasn’t tried anything on you, has he?”

  “Ahh…no.” I turn the volume down on my phone, hoping Clarissa can’t hear.

  “You and that family were the favorites last night. Everyone was talking about it all day.”

  “That’s what I heard.”

  He sighs. “The things I wish I could do to you righ
t now.”

  I bite my lip, really hoping Clarissa can’t hear. “I’ll probably get sent home at the end of this round. I doubt I’ll make top fifty.”

  “Oh well.” He sighs again. “You did your best, right? Nothing to be ashamed of. You know all the musical clubs will hunt you down when you get back.”

  “I didn’t even think of that.” Lucas might have a say in that. I doubt he’ll be okay with letting me into anything.

  He groans again. “Hailey, I think I’ll go to bed. I’m really tired.”

  “All right.” I sigh. “Are you doing okay?”

  “Yeah. Nothing sleep can’t fix…and you coming back.”

  I smile. “Bye, Tom.”

  “Good night, Hailey.”

  He hangs up, and I set down my phone.

  Clarissa rolls over to face me. “Why did he ask you about Lucas?”

  “You heard?”

  She giggles, covering her mouth. “Sorry. I’m nosey.”

  I sigh, shuffling under the covers. “He kinda got a bit crazy when he saw Lucas walk me to the door when you guys dropped me off. I guess he recognizes him from around campus because he knew he was into musicals and stuff and thought…”

  “Ohh.” She pushes up onto her elbow. “Lucas would never do that.”

  “Tell Tom, not me. I’d never do that either.”

  She beams. “Because you’re in love, right? You guys are gonna get married.”

  “I wouldn’t anyway,” I say with a chuckle. “Cheating is horrible.”

  “I agree.” She lies back. “All it does is break hearts. It always comes out in the end.”

  “Yeah.” All the more reason to fight my attraction to Isaiah.

  “Well, good night.” She reaches over and turns off the light.

  I soon doze off. What feels like only moments later, pounding on the door wakes us. Clarissa flicks on the lamp and rushes to the door. She peers through the peep hole. “Isaiah.”

  She opens the door and he stumbles in. “Hey, Sissy.”

  She closes it behind him, scowling. “What are you doing here?” She looks at the clock. “It’s one a.m.!”

  “Don’t tell Mom, okay?” He looks over at me. “Whoa, Hailey. You should dress like that all the time.”

  I clutch at my blankets to cover myself in my spaghetti strap tank top and no bra.