In The Spotlight

Coiny- Early Bird

As I catch a glimpse of my friend from the other side of the room, my nerves are somewhat calmed. He serves as a reminder that even with all the bright lights and shiny equipment, I am still me. Just Coiny.

I've known Firey since the seventh grade. He was really popular, and I was well liked enough, so our circles overlapped. Our History teacher had assigned us a group project, and we worked well together. I admired his people skills, and he thought I was funny. We started talking more and more until we were each other's favorite people. (Not counting whatever middle school girlfriend he had at the time.)

We stayed friends all through high school, but once we graduated, we didn't talk as much. We went our separate ways, apart from the occasional "Happy Birthday" text, or nod when we spot one another at the store.

So imagine my surprise when he invited me over out of the blue.

I was fully prepared for a miserable evening, but I won't lie, I had been a bit lonely for a while. Plus, tequila.

Honestly though, I had a really good time! The game show was literally the last thing on my mind. I was just glad that we still could be friends like back in the day.

Sunday morning began as most of my mornings do. I rubbed my eyes, turned off my alarm, and started my routine. Once I was dressed and ready to get the day going, I checked my phone. This used to be the first thing I did, but it was way less productive, so I had to break the habit.

There was a new email in my inbox. It was my work email. My personal email gets clogged with spam and whatever new thing I've signed up for. But my work email was for actual matters. I figured some idiot client had an "emergency" last night, and needed my help. But when I opened the message, it wasn't from anyone I knew.

4x Productions Co.
Subject: Application

Hello! Thank you so much for partaking in the quiz for our new game show! The due date was last night at midnight, and we have spent recent hours overlooking the applicants. You scored in the top 25%, getting you a spot!

We look forward to seeing you at the informational session next Sunday. It will be held on Zoom from 3-4 pm, EST. We will send you the meeting code an hour prior to the event. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

Pretty on brand for me to do something right before the deadline and ace it.

I read over the words again, more carefully. What was "a spot," in this context? Did they mean in the actual show, or just to some preliminary competition?

They must be on the East Coast, maybe New York City, if they've already had time to review the applications. Maybe it was computerized. That message certainly wasn't written by a human being.

Suddenly, I remembered my promise to Firey. I had to tell him that I got word on the show! Everything was really hitting me all at once. I could be on TV! It was insane.

I shot him a text, and when I didn't hear back, assumed he wasn't yet awake. Typical. I rolled my eyes and started making myself breakfast.

I tried to stay grounded, but I couldn't help but picture myself in a studio, meeting celebrities. One particular vision of getting my hair and makeup done by a professional was so captivating that I missed my glass and poured orange juice straight onto the kitchen counter.

When I was little, I'd wanted to be famous. There was a girl I knew in school. I didn't like her all that well, but she wanted to start a band. I begged her to let me join it. She didn't. Of course, a band of 3 sixth grade girls didn't end up being all that big of a deal, but the idea of people knowing my name was so wonderful to me.

My whole life I hustled so I could start a company. Make my own name. But running an accountant's office doesn't really turn you into a star.

The dream of being on TV is making me feel like a naive child again. Logically, a game show with no existing fan base will not make me famous, but my 12 year old self is screaming over the sensical side of me. I need to think like an adult.

Or maybe I've just been grown up for too long.

I pondered this for a while, until I heard a ding from across the room. Firey!

I sped toward my phone to read the text.

Dude, you're never gonna believe it.
Me too.

I had found a nice enough shirt to wear, and my favorite blue tie to compliment it. I had spent the whole week picking out the outfit, trying to use my nerves and anxiety for something useful. All afternoon I rapid fire texted with Firey. I was absolutely crazed by the upcoming Zoom meeting.

My fingers shook in anticipation as I clicked the button to join the meeting. The middle-of-nowhere wifi connection was particularly spotty that day. The thirty seconds it took for it to load were the longest of my life, by far.

Finally, a few boxes came into view. Those few seemed to multiply into 10, then 25. Some showed video feeds, others just two letters, likely the person's initials, others still had profile pictures of their smiling faces. I turned on my own video, after composing myself. I didn't want to draw attention to myself, but I was in nice clothes. I wouldn't mind a few eyes on me.

I clicked through the participants list. I found Firey, wearing a hoodie, of course. I noticed a girl with thick round spectacles, and platinum blonde hair. There was a woman who looked a bit like a tired mother, dark circles painting her under eyes, a slightly outdated fashion sense, and a knot of green directly on top her head. One dude wore suspenders and a bow tie, like a nerd from the sixties. His room decor (which consisted mostly of action figures and movie posters) matched the look.

The last two people I happened upon were also the most interesting to me. A college age girl who had a frantic look in her eyes as she watched her own finger twitch slightly. She had a look like those actresses in horror movies when they know the murderer is inside the house. I wondered to myself if she thought we were out to get her like those hokey movie killers. She had dark curly hair tied into pigtails with baby blue ribbons looped into bows. It gave her a schoolgirl sort of look. She had on bubblegum pink lipstick and eyeshadow, and blush placed so that her face looked rounder than it already was. She looked sweet and innocent, but that fear in her eyes was so intense.

Then there was Edge. I had decided to call her that because of the extreme angsty teen look she had. From her red leather jacket, to her spiked head band, she looked like a rebel trying to anger her mother. Her hair was black, with red streaks throughout. She wore a lot of eyeliner, maybe too much. (Although, who am I to judge? I've never worn eyeliner.) She had on at least five necklaces, plus a choker, covering her neck and chest. Behind all the darkness though, her eyes were bright and round. She smiled giddily, like a kid on Christmas. The background of her video was pastel pink. It reminded me of hello kitty.

They were pretty, both of them eye catching ladies with beautiful faces. I studied my own square and scrutinized my looks. I flattened my hair a bit and smoothed my shirt for what was probably the 40th time. Just as I began to wonder if anything would actually happen in this meeting, the person from the TV ad started to speak.

"Hello contestants!" Their voice squeaked a bit as they spoke, in a tone a bit too high pitched for their face. "I hope you all get comfortable with each other after today. If not, you will in due time." They had a dreamy tone on that last sentence. They continued.

"Soon, you'll know these strangers better than your own families."

(A/N: Very excited to get this published! One less thing to get off the to-do list before my finals week! 1422 words. Song for the day: Brutal- Olivia Rodrigo)