The Mighty Fall // l.h.

Prologue

• Mimi •

My reflection stared back at me in the mirror as I sat patiently, letting my mother brush through my short blonde hair.

"Why do we have to do this, mommy?" I asked.

The chair was far too big for me and I looked down at my feet, moving my legs back and forth like I was on a swing. There were big yellow bulbs all around the mirror and they were starting to hurt my eyes.

"Because you're going to be on TV, sweetie," she replied, "and we want to make sure you look extra pretty because everyone's going to see you."

My mother's blonde hair was teased into a big updo on the top of her head and she was wearing a plain black dress with a golden pendant hanging from her neck. My father had gotten that necklace for her on her birthday — it was shaped like an "S", her first initial. He had gotten me a similar one with a curly cursive "M."

"On TV?" I gasped. "But I'm only nine! Don't you have to be a grown-up to be on TV?"

"Well, they do need grown-ups on TV," she answered, "but they need little girls and boys, too."

"Stefanie, we have ten minutes until we have to start filming!" A man's voice shouted from somewhere nearby. "Is she ready yet?"

"Shit," I heard her mutter under her breath. Even as a young girl, I knew all about swear words and cringed when I heard one come out of my mother's mouth. "Just a minute! Her makeup isn't done yet."

She turned the swiveling chair around so that I was facing her and pulled a little black makeup compact and a brush out of her purse. I scrunched up my face as she swiped powder onto it, whining and complaining until she was finally finished. She took my hand and I hopped out of my chair, following her through the unfamiliar room and clutching her hand tightly.

In the center of the huge room was a fake kitchen surrounded by big lights and lots of people dressed in dark clothes with big black cameras. My mother got the attention of a man in jeans and a black button-up shirt with a headset on. He turned towards us and smiled widely. I got even more nervous and hid behind my mother's skirt.

He bent down to my level, putting his hands on his knees. "Hey, Miranda," he said, his voice bright and kind. "My name's Tom. I'm going to be helping you with your commercial."

He held out his hand to me, but I grasped my mother's leg tighter and stared at the floor.

"Miranda," my mother hissed. "Don't be rude."

"No, it's fine," Tom assured her. "I understand why she's nervous — the younger kids are usually a bit shy. Miranda, I'm gonna make sure this is all a lot of fun for you, okay?"

I thought about it for a moment, then nodded shyly. Tom smiled and then held out his hand again. This time, I took it and he lead me to the set.

There was a boy a bit older than me and a woman about my mother's age on the set already, waiting for me to show. Tom brought me to the fake kitchen table and had me sit down on one of the chairs.

"Okay, Miranda ... can I call you Mimi?" He asked, and I nodded enthusiastically, loving my new nickname immediately. "Great. This is Ella, she's going to be pretending to be your mom for the commercial."

He had gestured to the older woman who was standing behind the counter of the fake kitchen, who gave me a smile and a wave.

"But she can't be my mommy," I replied, furrowing my little brows. "She has brown hair, and my mommy's hair is blonde!"

Tom laughed and Ella joined him. "I know," he said, "but we're just pretending, okay? Now she's going to give you a bowl of the cereal that we're advertising in this commercial and you're going to eat a spoonful. Then, you're going to look at the camera over there and say 'This is awesome!' Do you think you can do that?"

I nodded quickly and Tom smiled once again. "Perfect," he said, then turned to one of the cameramen. "Let's get it ready to go."

The men and women dressed in black started to shout things to each other and before I knew it, the whole room had gone quiet and Ella was placing a bowl full of cereal and milk in front of me.

I took a spoonful and put it in my mouth. The cereal wasn't really all that great-tasting, but I remembered what I was told to do. I turned to the big camera with wide blue-grey eyes. "This is awesome!" I shouted as enthusiastically as possible, which made the whole crew laugh and grin.

"Give us a big smile, Mimi!" I heard Tom yell happily, and I flashed the camera a huge, toothy grin.

My first experience on camera — the first of many, might I add — was a huge success. Who could've possibly guessed that things would go downhill so soon after that?