The Showcase

Chapter Nine

"Stop sweating so much!" Brice snapped at me. "I can't send you out there looking like a melted oil painting!"

"You're going to soak your dress straight through!" Eleanor whined.

"This is national TV we're talking about here. Cut her some slack," Carita added kindly from the corner.

I fanned my face and tried to calm down as Carita discreetly turned up the air-conditioner. The week had all come down to this, my biggest, final interview. This moment marked my last day as a normal girl. Once I came out of that Showcase, no one would ever look at me the same. I had finally made a name for myself.

"Good evenin' Alvuse!" Cali's sugary-sweet Southern accent blared from the TV hanging from the wall. "It's a cool, refreshin' Friday night here in Los Angeles, and I have the honor of spendin' it with the eight Products for our 25th Showcase, tonight on The Cali Carson Show!"

The audience applauded enthusiastically, and I heard a few shrill whistles and shouts. She slid a piece of paper off of the table and the studio lights dimmed dramatically.

"The Showcase collects the best and the brightest young citizens of Alvuse, to display the beauty of our society to the world. They represent how important their Aggregation's core values are to us in everything that we do. The ceremony reminds us of our beliefs. It reminds us of what we have when we have nothing," she read from the small blue card in her hand. She pauses only slightly for effect, before continuing. Marshal pressed mute as she blathered on.

Cali was your typical, California-grown celebrity. Her white-blonde hair was the perfect shade to catch the lights of her stage, and her eyes a nauseating shade of green; almost as nauseating as her personality. When it came down to it, she was nothing more than an actress. She was always feigning sweetness and concern for her guests, when in reality; she wanted nothing more from them than tomorrow's headline.

I didn't care for her or her show, but I knew that everyone else did. All week, Eleanor had drilled it into me that to become popular, I had to be the perfect combination of beauty, brains, charm and reality. While, she insisted, still keeping my innocent good-girl image since I was, after all, a Compassion. And now, seconds away from introducing myself to the world, I was swimming in my own sweat and drowning in my ruined makeup.

Marshal clicked off the TV when Cali began introducing the first product. They were going alphabetically again, this time by last name, but I had no clue where I was.

"Be still!" Brice commanded, touching me up again and then plopping me in front of a fan. "I don't want-"

There was a sharp knock at the door. Carita, Eleanor and I froze, Eleanor looking like she was going to lose it. Marshal slowly opened it, speaking with a soft voice in the hallway. He leaned back in and nodded at me.

"You're up."

***

Carita squeezed my hand and Eleanor began rattling off things she wanted me to remember.

"Don't forget to smile, and cross your feet at the ankles or the knees, and giggle, don't laugh! It's much more appealing that way. Oh, and-!"

The door clicked shut and I sighed in relief. I'd never tell her, but it was less stressful without her than it was with her.

Marshal and I followed the stage hand, winding through the rows of discarded lights and dodging people running back and forth. Everyone was wearing a headset and carrying a packet, and the whole crew wore a similar overworked expression.

Once we reached the edge of the stage, the stage hand gave me a small smile.

"Good luck," he said, before ducking away. Marshal nodded in agreement.

"So let's give a big, warm welcome to Amia Daulton, this year's Compassion Product!" Cali introduced me, and the audience went wild. I took a deep breath and strode onto the stage, smiling and waving. Keeping Eleanor's instructions in mind, I bounced over to Cali, hugging her tightly and beaming at her. She laughed and we sat down together.

"Well," she winked at the crowd, "isn't she the sweetest? And gorgeous too! Amia, look at you! You look absolutely stunning! That is really your color! Doesn't she just look lovely?"

I smiled modestly.

"Tell us a little about what you're wearing, please!" She gushed, gesturing for me stand up.

I did, swishing my skirt a little and looking down at the strapless, floor-length dress. It fell in sleek, smooth folds around me. The silky red-orange fabric hugged my torso and flowed by my feet, short in the front, but trailing along the floor in the back. "It's really pretty," I said, smoothing it out.

She and the audience laughed. "Isn't she precious?"

I started to smile, but something about the hungry gleam in her lime green eyes made my voice catch in my throat.

"So, Amia, tell us about your life before you became a Product."

I sighed and flicked my bangs out of my eye. "It definitely wasn't as exciting as this." The audience gave a small laugh again. "I don't know, it definitely wasn't anything special. I was just a student. It wasn't bad, but it couldn't ever compare to what I have now. The difference...it's unimaginable."

"Do you have any friends you miss? A boy perhaps?" She winked at the audience when she mentioned a boy.

I shook my head. "I wasn't as outgoing then as I am now."

"Why the sudden change?"

I smiled. "Well, if my whole life is just going to be a collection of magazine articles from here on, I might as well have a few interesting ones."

There was a pause, and then the crowd broke into applause. My smile inched a little wider on my face, and Cali's eyes glinted again.

***

When my twenty minutes came to a close, Cali asked me one last question.

"Amia, sweetie, do you believe in fate?"

I was shocked. I didn't expect such a deep question on such a relatively shallow show. "Yes, I guess I do."

"So, tell me, what do you think fate has in store for you after this May?"

I smiled. "That's for us to find out, now, isn't it?"

She forced a smile again, obviously hoping for something more. "But if you had to take a guess."

"In all honesty, Cali? I've got no clue. I guess we'll just have to see where life takes me."

The audience applauded, and that was my queue to stand up. I hugged Cali, and she smiled at me again. "Thanks for coming onto the show tonight."

"Thanks for having me! Goodnight everyone!" I grinned and waved at a camera before climbing down the stairs and heading backstage.

"How'd I do?" I asked the stagehand.

"You were adorable," he promised, squeezing my hand before running off.

I went over to Marshal, who was waiting to lead me back to my dressing room. When I asked him how I did, he answered with nothing more than, "You were just as annoying as you were in real life."

Very promising.

***

Author's Note: Thanks again for reading everyone! This chapter's song is LA Story by Sammy Adams!