Starring Me

by Krista McGee

  Kara watched as Anna Grace grabbed Ashley for a one-on-one conversation. “I wonder what that’s about?”

  Addy looked over. “That’s the casting director, right? ”

  “Yes.” Kara tried to interpret Ashley’s body language. “She’s pretty no-nonsense. She just tells us what to do and that’s it.”

  “So?”

  “So she’s having a conversation with Anna Grace.” Kara watched as Anna Grace pulled out her cell phone and showed it to Ashley. “She doesn’t have conversations with us.”

  Addy grabbed Kara’s face with both her hands. “Stop spying. You’re being paranoid.”

  “I’m just a couple auditions away from the decision.” Kara took a deep breath. “How can I not be paranoid? ”

  “You did a great job tonight.”

  “But so did Anna Grace.” Kara looked back at Anna Grace and Ashley. “And I’m sure the other girls did too. Kylie is an acting machine. And Ava—”

  “Kara, relax.” Addy pulled her from their corner to the door leading outside. “Let’s go out here.”

  “Fine.”

  The girls exited the building and Kara tried to calm her knotted stomach.

  “So, what’s it like to perform in front of a live audience? ”

  “Oh, Addy.” Kara beamed. “It’s so amazing. I know I was worried about an audience and cameras being there, but it just worked. I can’t even explain it.”

  “You looked very natural out there.”

  “Do you really think so?”

  “No.” Addy smirked. “Of course. You’re really good. I’d never be able to do that.”

  “Sure you could.”

  “No way.” Addy crossed her arms. “You couldn’t pay me enough to act in front of a bunch of people. Or remember lines. How do you do that?”

  Kara shrugged. “I don’t know. I just do it. It’s fun.”

  “I’m praying it works out. I’ve enjoyed having you in the same state.”

  “And I’m still waiting for you to take me waterskiing.”

  “I can arrange that,” Addy said.

  The door opened and Anna Grace stuck her head out. “There you are. I’ve been looking for you.”

  “You found me.” Kara leaned against the wall as Anna Grace came outside.

  “Addy Davidson.” Anna Grace’s eyes narrowed. “Still trying to find that fifteen minutes of fame?”

  “Addy is here to support me, her friend. Not that you’d know anything about friendships.”

  “Who needs friends when you’ve got talent?” Anna Grace glared at Kara. “I just got word I’ve been offered a role in a new movie. Starring Devlin Tyne, no less.”

  “Really?” Addy said. “That’s so exciting.”

  “I bet you think it is,” Anna Grace said. “Get me out of the way so your little friend can get this role? Well, too bad. I just talked to Ashley. I can do both.”

  “And you came out here because . . . ?” Kara asked.

  “Because it’s all over, missy. Pack up your toys and go on home.”

  “The audition isn’t over.”

  Anna Grace opened the door, walked through, then turned back. “Oh yes it is.”

  The door shut and Kara rolled her eyes. “Could she be any more dramatic?”

  “Don’t worry.”

  “Don’t worry that she’s being offered a part in a movie? Or don’t worry that Ashley told her she could do both? Or don’t worry that with a part in a movie, she’ll get a leg up on all the rest of us? What should I not worry about, Addy? ”

  “Breathe, Kara. You’re getting way too nervous. Don’t worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will worry about itself.”

  “What?”

  “It’s a Bible verse,” Addy said. “It means that worrying about the future is pointless. Just focus on getting through today.”

  “Easy for you to say.”

  Addy opened the door. “You can do it. Are you all done with the show?”

  “It sure looks like it.”

  “Kara, I meant are you done with today’s show?”

  Kara sighed. “Yes.”

  “Do you have to go straight back to the house?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Addy walked behind the set. “Let’s find Flora. I’ll ask her if I can take you home. We can stop at that yogurt place you liked.”

  “Yogurt sounds good.” Kara exhaled loudly.

  “There you go.” Addy patted Kara on the back. “Keep breathing.”

  Kara pointed to Flora, standing by the fake door to the set, talking with Jillian. “Flora, can I ask you a question? ”

  “‘Who questions much, shall learn much, and retain much.’”

  Kara wrinkled her eyebrows. “Another Bible verse? ”

  Flora shook her head. “Oh no. Francis Bacon, the philosopher.”

  “Of course.” Kara smiled.

  “So what was your question, my dear?”

  “What was my question, Addy?”

  “Yogurt.”

  “Yes.” Kara clapped her hands together. “I would like to get yogurt with Addy so I don’t get an ulcer from worrying.”

  “Yogurt is quite healthy,” Flora said. “Its cultures do help the digestion, but I don’t know if it can prevent an ulcer.”

  Kara looked at Addy and laughed.

  Flora smiled. “Of course you may go. And thank you for asking. But be sure to return by eleven.”

  “No problem,” Kara said.

  Kara went to the green room, grabbed her purse, and met Addy at her car.

  I want this part so much, but I’m not going to get it. Anna Grace has it in the bag. She knows it. I know it. The show’s producers would be crazy not to pick her. She’s going to be in a movie. Kara slammed the door harder than necessary. I knew I should have stayed in New York and auditioned for Broadway Bound.

  Looking out the window, Kara watched the soundstage fade away in the distance. Just like my dreams.

  Chapter 33

  You totally defeated the whole purpose of getting frozen yogurt.” Kara eyed Addy heaping chocolate chips and peanut butter candies on her dessert.

  “The candy balances out the yogurt.” Addy sprayed a mountain of whipped cream on top of her frozen yogurt.

  “I don’t know how you stay so thin.”

  “I don’t know how you eat so healthy.”

  “Only when I’m away from home.” Kara paid for her dessert. “There’s no healthy eating in the McKormick household.”

  “So this is your rebellion?” Addy pointed to the mango yogurt with coconut shavings on top.

  Kara laughed. “Yes. When Ma and Pop aren’t looking, I eat yogurt and drink smoothies.”

  The girls looked around the yogurt shop, walls painted cotton-candy pink and decorated with hand-drawn ice-cream cones and circles in all sizes and colors. Each table was unique, all hand painted, and the counter extended the length of the far wall, every kind of frozen yogurt and topping imaginable under the refrigerated glass.

  “Ooh.” Kara pointed to a “Hollywood” table, with paintings of some of the city’s famous landmarks in miniature all over the rectangular surface. “Let’s sit here!”

  “I’m glad to see you laughing again.”

  “I’m just so nervous.”

  “I know.”

  “But it’s so fun.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  Kara mixed the coconut into her yogurt. “But it is. I mean, I’ve been in plays since I was little. And I love doing that. But this . . . this is the big leagues. It’s so professional and exciting. Did I tell you what we get to do next?”

  “No, what?”

  Kara’s eyes danced. “We get our very own variety show!”

  “Isn’t that what the actual show is going to be?”

  “Exactly!” Kara leaned forward. “But we get to be the stars. We get our own group of actors and writers, and we get to help plan the whole thing. It’s so exciting.”

  Kara’s voice had grown
louder as she explained, and the other customers in the shop looked on, annoyed.

  Addy placed her hand over her eyes. “Everybody’s staring at you.”

  “I know.” Kara smiled and waved. “Isn’t it great?”

  “So a whole show, huh?” Addy asked, once the other customers returned to their desserts.

  “And I’m the star.”

  “They’re filming ten of those?”

  “Yes.” Kara took another bite of her yogurt. “We each get our own. No more working with the other girls. At least that part of the competition is over. Of course, if what Anna Grace said is true, it’s all over.”

  “Kara, don’t say that. Who cares if she got a part in a movie?”

  “I care.”

  “I can’t wait to see you in your own show. How much will they show on TV?”

  “I don’t know.” Kara took another bite of her yogurt. “They haven’t really given us many details about that.”

  “Can I come watch?”

  “I don’t think this one is live.” Kara frowned. “But I can see if I can get you backstage. Or in it. That would be great. You could be in some of the sketches with me.”

  “Whoa, there.” Addy threw her hands up. “I don’t want to be anywhere near a camera. Remember?”

  “That’s so hard for me to comprehend.” Kara smiled. “To not want attention. What’s that like?”

  “It’s not as tough as it seems.” Addy dug into her yogurt for a peanut butter candy. “I much prefer working behind the scenes. Way behind the scenes.”

  “Speaking of being behind the scenes, I had a really interesting discussion with Flora the other day.”

  “Really? About what?”

  “God and sin and cyanide.”

  “Wow.” Addy laughed. “Sounds like quite a talk.”

  “Do you know she writes to murderers in prison and tells them God loves them and will forgive them?”

  “My uncle is involved in prison ministry,” Addy said. “He loves it.”

  “Hmm, Uncle Mike and Flora.” Kara rubbed her hands together. “I can see it. Straitlaced ex-army with intellectual hippy. How fun would that be?”

  Addy shook her head. “I doubt either of them wants a matchmaker.”

  “That would make a good sketch.” Kara pulled a piece of paper from her purse and began writing. “An Internet dating site that messes up the matches. I could be Flora and we could have one of the guys be Mike. Yes! I love it. Maybe they could bring in Chad Beacon to play Mike.”

  “You’re still thinking about Chad?”

  “Do you still think about Jonathon?”

  Addy’s face turned red. “But we’re . . . we talk and . . .”

  “Mmm-hmm.” Kara arched an eyebrow. “Chad and I are just taking things slowly.”

  “So slowly that he doesn’t know anything is going on? ”

  “He knows.” Kara smiled. “We have a connection. Like ESP. He senses my thoughts and returns them. It’s just a matter of time before he starts calling.”

  “How did we even get on this subject?” Addy laughed.

  “Let’s see.” Kara focused on a purple circle above Addy’s head. “Chad, TV show, Uncle Mike and Flora, murderers, cyanide, sin. That’s it. From sin to Chad. That’s about right.”

  “Kara.” Addy rolled her eyes. “So what did you think about your talk with Flora?”

  “Actually, she told me I should ask God to reveal himself to me.”

  “And . . . ?”

  “And I have been.” Kara shrugged. “But I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to be looking for.”

  “The fact that you’re even asking is huge.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you wouldn’t even acknowledge the existence of a God when I first met you. Now you’re willing to consider he might be real.”

  “But that’s because of you and Flora.”

  “Who just happened to be in your life.”

  Kara looked at Addy. “Huh?”

  “Think about it. What are the chances we just ‘happened’ to be thrown together on The Book of Love?”

  “Pretty slim, I guess.”

  “Slim? Only a hundred schools were chosen.” Addy ticked off the reasons with her fingers. “We were one of a hundred girls chosen from those hundred schools. We were then put in the same room. Then we both made it into the top five, giving us time to get to know each other. Time we would never have had in any other circumstance. And Flora . . .”

  Kara held up a hand. “I get it. So God put you guys in my life so I would hear about him.”

  “Does that really seem so strange?”

  Kara thought for a moment. “Not as strange as it used to seem.”

  Kara’s phone interrupted the girls’ conversation. Kara began to dig through her purse. “I bet it’s Flora. Are we out past curfew?”

  “No.” Addy looked at her phone. “It’s just ten fifteen.”

  “It’s my brother.” Kara pressed the Talk button. “So you finally get around to calling baby sister, huh, Joey?”

  “Kara.” His voice sounded distant. “I’m sorry. I thought I was dialing Ma’s number. I must have hit the wrong name.”

  “Why are you calling Ma at ten o’clock at night? You know she’s not up.”

  Joey didn’t say anything. Soft music played in the background.

  “Joey, are you on the phone in the car? You never call from the car. What’s going on?”

  “Nothin’, sis. Don’t worry about it. I’ll call you later.”

  “Joey.” Kara’s heart began to race. Something was going on. Something bad. “Tell me what’s happening.”

  He exhaled loudly into the phone. “It’s Pop.”

  “Oh no.” Kara gripped the table and Addy looked on, her eyes wide. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. I’m on the way to the hospital.”

  “The hospital?”

  “Don’t worry,” Joey said. “It might not be anything.”

  “What happened?” Kara’s voice caused the crowd in the yogurt shop to look at her again.

  “Ma came downstairs about half an hour ago and found Pop in his chair. She couldn’t wake him up.”

  “Oh no.” Tears formed in Kara’s eyes. Addy grabbed Kara and pulled her outside. “Was he breathing?”

  “I don’t know.” Joey’s voice was cracking. “Valerie, next door, saw the ambulance and came outside. She’s the one who called me. The driver told her what Ma had said on the call, that Pop was unconscious. Val said the EMTs had Pop on a stretcher with an oxygen mask on his face. Ma was right with him. She hasn’t called anybody.”

  “Oh no.” Tears were streaming down Kara’s face. She grabbed Addy’s hand and squeezed. “I’m coming home.”

  “No, Kara. Ma hasn’t even made any calls yet. She would call us if she thought we needed to be there.”

  “Pop’s in the hospital,” Kara said. “Of course we need to be there. Ma needs us to be there.”

  “Which is why I’m going, and I’ve called the others.”

  “But not me? You were going to leave me in the dark? ”

  “No, Kar.” Joey took a ragged breath. “We just didn’t want to worry you. Not until we knew something specific. You’re in Florida.”

  “I can go to the airport right now.”

  “But the auditions . . .”

  “Auditions aren’t as important as family.”

  “At least wait until we get to the hospital, okay?”

  Kara wiped the tears from her face. “Fine. But call me as soon as you get there.”

  “I will.”

  “I love you, Joey.”

  Joey sniffed. “I love you too, sis. Don’t worry. Pop’s strong. He’ll be fine.”

  Kara pressed End and looked at Addy, her eyes firm. “I don’t care what Joey says. I don’t care if I lose my shot at the show. I’m going home. Now.”

  Chapter 34

  Hey, man.” Jonathon reached out to give Chad a bear hug. “I
’m glad you came. You sure you’re up to singing? How’s the rib?”

  “It’s been almost two weeks. I’m doing much better. Besides, when the president calls, you come, right?” Chad put his suitcase down in the spacious bedroom. “But I’m thinking I should get a title: Official White House Singer.”

  “How about Pop Star Laureate?” Jonathon slapped Chad on the back. “The prime minister’s daughters are apparently your biggest fans.”

  “Hey, I do what I can to help my country. Even sing for eight-year-olds.”

  “You’re the best.” Jonathon carried Chad’s suitcase to the closet.

  Chad walked to the window. The night sky was filled with clouds and rain pelted the glass. “So, how’s Addy doing? It was really nice of her and Kara to come see me.”

  Jonathon blushed. “She’s really good. I’m trying to get her to come up and visit again in a couple weeks, before I have to head up to school.”

  “Is Kara coming with her?” Chad moved to sit on the bed.

  “Wow.” Jonathon shook his head. “You really like her, don’t you?”

  “I’d really like to get to know her.” Chad sat back and put his arms behind his head. “She’s so fun. And she treats me like a normal guy. That’s a nice change.”

  “I know what you mean.” Jonathon sat in a wing-backed chair beside the window. “But she lives in New York, and you’re in Florida.”

  “You’re in DC—soon to be New Jersey—and Addy’s in Florida.”

  “That’s different.”

  “Why?”

  Jonathon folded his arms. “Because . . . we already had time to get to know each other.”

  “Do you know God has had me pray for Kara every day since I met her?” Chad sighed. “That’s one of the reasons I can’t stop thinking about her.”

  “What do you mean, God has had you pray for her? ”

  “Haven’t you ever gotten a thought in your mind about someone or something, and you just know it’s God?”

  “Don’t think so.”

  “I bet you have; you just didn’t know it. Random thoughts about your friends or family.”