“You had to have expected this,” she said. “This show attracts every fruit-loop in the city, and not just the talented ones.”
“I know but…”
“This is a once in a lifetime chance and you can’t let a crowd like this intimidate you, hon. Besides, Jesse knows someone who can get us in right away,” she said as we got out of the car.
Jesse re-tucked the bottom of his plaid blue and white shirt into his jeans. “That’s right, because there’s no way in hell I’d wait all day among all of those freaks, even for you Tiffany.”
“You’d better call your friend,” said Sinclair.
He pulled out his phone as we started walking out of the parking towards the large coliseum, where the tryouts were being held. Lines of people surrounded the building and went all the way to the edge of the parking lot.
“Okay,” said Jesse, hanging up. “We’re supposed to go around to the back of the building, and my guy, Phillip, will get us in.”
I raised my eyebrows. “It’s that easy?”
“I don’t know about easy. More like, expensive. I now owe him several drinks and a steak dinner this weekend,” said Jesse.
“Seriously?” I said. “Let me buy, Jesse. It’s the least I can do.”
“Honey,” said Jesse. “The bill will be over a grand by the time we’re finished, so don’t worry about it. Sinclair and I have it covered.”
Sinclair’s eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”
“A grand?” I gasped. “For dinner and drinks?”
“Yeah, and Sinclair is going to sweet talk my brother into joining us. Reed in turn, will feel like he has to pay because he’s pussy-whipped, and will want to impress Sinclair, and yes a grand because Phillip won’t expect anything less.”
“What if Reed and I already have plans?” asked Sinclair.
Jesse smirked. “You can get your asses out of bed to eat.”
“You’re a sick guy, Jesse,” she replied.
He cocked an eyebrow. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
She shook her head and smiled.
“How’s Reed doing, by the way?” I asked. “I haven’t heard you mention him all week.”
“He’s doing fine,” she replied. “Actually, he’s been working a lot of long hours lately. Some big case that he can’t discuss.”
From the pensive look on her face, something was definitely bothering her.
“Have you guys found a place yet?” I asked. I knew they’d been talking about moving in together, for the past couple of months.
She snorted. “Are you kidding? He barely has time to call me let alone go looking for a house.”
“It’s that bad?” I asked.
“Yes. I mean, we meet for lunch a few times a week, but it’s not the same.”
“Have you met his new assistant, Nina?” asked Jesse.
Sinclair frowned. “The blonde with the big boobs? How can anyone miss her?”
“I personally don’t care for her,” said Jesse. “Every time I call him at the office, she puts me on hold for such a long time, I wonder if she’s doing it on purpose.”
“She does it to me, too,” said Sinclair. “It drives me crazy. Reed said he’d talk to her about it. Now I just call his cellphone.”
“Is she respectful towards you in person?” asked Jesse.
“She’s always been nice. I mean, I don’t think I have anything to worry about, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“Reed adores you,” I said. “You can tell by the way he looks at you.”
“I…I know.”
“He loves you, Sin,” replied Jesse. “He hasn’t been this faithful with anyone before. Well, he was with his ex, until he met you. But that says a lot. Believe me, he’s been bitten by the love-bug.”
“I wouldn’t go that far. He’s never actually told me that he loved me.”
“Have you told him?” asked Jesse.
She smiled sheepishly. “No, I guess not.”
“Do you?” I asked.
She blushed. “Yes, definitely.”
“That’s what I thought,” I said. “Maybe if you told him first? You guys have been together for a while now. I guess I’m kind of surprised that you never told him.”
She shrugged. “I guess I just didn’t want to scare him away.”
“If that scares him away, then good riddance,” replied Jesse. “Brother or not, I’m rooting for you, Sin.”
“Thanks,” she said.
As we started rounding the building, many of the other contestants were beginning to take notice of us.
“Where you going, sexy?” hollered a tall dark-skinned, cross-dresser who was beaming at Jesse.
“Far way, thank God,” said Jesse under his breath. He looked at Sinclair. “That dress is gaudy, and those purple platform shoes are grotesque on those big feet. He gives transvestites a bad name.”
“Wait!” The person yelled, moving out of line towards us. “Wait, a minute!”
“Oh no,” groaned Jesse. “Why did God have to make me so damn hot?”
“Jesse! Don’t you remember me?”
We stopped walking, and Jesse’s eyes widened in recognition. “Oh, Yolanda! Girlfriend, I didn’t recognize you with the blonde wig.”
Yolanda stopped, and threw his arms around Jesse. “We’ve missed you down at the club! Where’ve you been?”
“Oh, here and there,” he answered, stepping back. “I have a new man, you know. We’ve been… busy.”
“I heard,” replied Yolanda, staring down at us with her heavily made-up face. Unfortunately, he didn’t make a very attractive woman. There were too many angles in his face, and he didn’t know the first thing about applying makeup. He was also very tall, almost seven feet with the platforms. “So, who are your friends? Are they competing?”
Jesse introduced us, and then looked towards the back of the building. “Look, we really have to go.”
Yolanda’s eyes narrowed. “Jesse, what are you up to? Did you get a special pass inside or something?”
“Actually, I have this friend who we’re meeting-.”
“You’re getting in another way, aren’t you?” he said, lowering his voice. “I know you’ve got connections all over Hollywood.”
“Well-,”
“Get me in too, please,” he begged. “I can’t wait out here all day. My makeup is already beginning to run.”
“I really can’t,” said Jesse. “My hands are tied.”
Yolanda’s eyes grew large. “Jesse, if you don’t get me in, I’m going to tell everyone about that time in Vegas, when you were so drunk you…”
“Follow us,” he interrupted, his voice clipped.
Yolanda winked at us as Jesse walked ahead.
Sinclair grinned at me. “I’ll get it out of him later.”
“It must be really bad,” I whispered.
“I know. I can’t wait to hear,” she replied as we followed Yolanda and Jesse.
When we made it to the back of the building, an extremely attractive guy, who reminded me of Matt Damon, was standing by the entrance, looking nervous.
“Come on,” he waved. “We have to hurry.”
“Oh, look at that yummy morsel,” murmured Yolanda, fluttering his eyelashes as he stepped closer to Phillip.
Phillip frowned and pointed towards Yolanda. “Who is this? I thought you said it was just going to be you and two girls?”
“Um, I need to get Yolanda in too, Phillip,” whispered Jesse.
“Oh, no,” he said shaking his head, vehemently. “It was hard enough getting Tiffany in. Which one of you is Tiffany?”
I waved at him.
He nodded in approval. “Okay, we have to hurry. You’re almost up.”
“Whoa… what about me?” asked Yolanda.
“Sorry, you’ll have to go to the end of the line,” said Phillip. “I can’t help you.”
He put a hand on his hip and shook his finger at Phillip. “Hell no. You get me in or I’ll grab one of those rep
orters outside, and tell them you’ all are cheating.”
“Yolanda…” groaned Jesse. “What the hell?”
“What the hell, nothing. I don’t want to wait around all day, either. Now, what’s it going to be? You going to get me in, or what?”
“Oh, fine,” sighed Phillip, staring at his clipboard. “I’ll figure something out. Just get inside.”
We followed Phillip into the building, through a locker room, and then back outside to the football field.
“This way,” ordered Phillip, moving quickly towards a large group of contestants. “Here is your entry information,” he said handing me a large card. “Now, the very first try-out is with one of the casting-directors,” he said, pointing to a line of several tables of men and women. “You have thirty seconds to ‘wow’ one of them, and then, if you pass, you’ll be sent to the other side of the field, where the celebrity judges will determine if you can go any further in the competition.”
I looked over to the other side of the field, which was surrounded by security, where the real action was taking place. Cameras were already rolling as finalists stood before the celebrity judges. Although I couldn’t see him from this distance, I knew that Ransom was there. I could almost feel his presence in the pit of my stomach.
Crap.
“Okay,” I replied.
“You can sing, can’t you?” he asked. “I mean you look the part, thank goodness. But can you carry a tune?”
“So I’ve been told,” I said.
I knew others enjoyed hearing me sing, especially my mother when she was still alive. After she’d been diagnosed with cancer, and had to go through chemo, I’d made a CD for her, which she’d played during her treatments. She’d said that listening to me always everything a little more bearable.
“So, have you ever had any singing lessons?” he asked.
“No, but I was in the church choir for several years,” I said.
He sighed. “But you’ve never had any voice lessons?”
“Oh, she has a fantastic voice,” said Jesse, who’d never heard me sing before. “She’s going all the way, you’ll see, Phillip.”
“I just don’t want to waste my time here,” he said. “I’m risking my ass getting you in front of all the other contestants.”
I smiled, gratefully. “And I appreciate it.”
“I have a voice too,” said Yolanda. “I’ve been told that I sound like Whitney Houston or Beyonce.”
Phillip wrinkled his nose. “Really?”
“That’s right. Now, where’s my entry card?” ask Yolanda.
“Patience,” he replied. “I’ll get you one in a few minutes.”
“You’d better,” said Yolanda, glancing down at his long red nails. “I want to go and have my nails filled this afternoon, so the sooner I’m up, the better.”
“Be ready, Tiffany,” replied Phillip, ignoring Yolanda. “You’re almost up. Just watch the screen for your number.”
“Thanks Phillip,” I replied.
He nodded and walked away with Yolanda on his heels.
“Ready, honey?” asked Sinclair.
I blew out a long breath. “I think so. I’m just still so freaking nervous.”
“You’ll do great,” she said. “I have faith in you.”
“Do you need any water or anything?” asked Jesse. “I can try and find you something.”
Sinclair reached into her over-sized purse. “I brought some.”
“I wish I was as prepared as you were,” I said to Sinclair as she handed me the bottle. “How do you feel about auditioning for me?”
“Would you like to lose?” smirked Jesse. “Sinclair couldn’t hold a note if she tried.”
She nodded. “This is true.”
“Isn’t that your number?” asked Jesse, staring up at the screen.
I looked down at my card and swallowed hard. “Yes.”
Chapter Four
Tiffany
“What is your name?” asked the casting director, a forty-something woman with warm brown eyes.
“Tiffany Banks.”
She took off her glasses and began cleaning them with a small green cloth. “Okay, show me what you’ve got, Tiffany Banks.”
I was nervous, so nervous. I opened my mouth to begin but then froze up.
“Nervous?” she asked, with a small smile.
I smiled weakly. “Yes, I’m sorry.”
“Why don’t you close your eyes and try again.”
I closed my eyes, inhaled through my nose, and then blew it out.
“Tiffany?”
The song I’d picked out was immediately replaced with the one I couldn’t get out of my head. I only hoped that I could do Pink’s song, justice.
Made a wrong turn, once or twice
Dug my way out, blood and fire
Bad decisions, that's alright
Welcome to my silly life
Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood
Miss no way, it's all good
It didn’t slow me down.
Mistaken, always second guessing,
Underestimated, look I'm still around,
Pretty, pretty please,
Don’t you ever, ever feel,
Like you're less than, less than
perfect
Pretty, pretty please,
If you ever, ever feel,
Like you're nothing,
You are perfect,
To me.
“Tiffany.”
I opened my eyes and stared at the woman, her expression unreadable. I took a deep breath. “So, it was that bad?”
She smiled. “Congratulations, you’ve made it to the next round.”
The back of my eyes began to burn. “Oh…Oh my God, thank you,” I said, blinking back tears. I wanted to jump up and down and scream with joy, I was so happy.
“You have an amazing voice,” she said, handing me back my card. “Now go and show the judges you mean business. One thing though...”
I leaned forward. “Yes?”
“You’ll need to keep your eyes open with them, and keep your chin up. You’re exactly the kind of talent we want in the final rounds.”
I smiled so broadly that my cheeks hurt. “Okay. Thanks.”
She shook my hand and I walked away, still in shock.
“Oh my God, you sounded wonderful!” squealed Sinclair, throwing her arms around me. “I have tears in my eyes from listening to you!”
“That was amazing,” said Jesse. “I’m blown away.”
“Thanks,” I said, the excitement I’d felt seconds ago now replaced by fear and anxiety.
“Okay, what’s wrong?” asked Sinclair, staring into my eyes. “You look like you’re going to run for the hills.”
“What’s wrong? I made it.”
“Yeah,” said Jesse. “Wasn’t that the point?”
I bit my lower lip. “I know, but now I have to sing in front of Ransom.”
Jesse groaned. “God, you’ll be fine. Just do your thing, and don’t look at him if you’re nervous.”
Easy for him to say. I’d been infatuated with Ransom, ever since I was eleven years old. The memory of those silvery-blue eyes staring into mine before we kissed still made my knees weak.
“There you go,” said Sinclair. “Just ignore him. Chances are he may not even remember you.”
“Miss,” said one of the staff, a muscular looking guy wearing a security uniform, and a name-tag that said “Tim”. “You have to move over to the celebrity judges now.”
“Okay,” I said. “Can my friends come?”
“No, I’m sorry.”
“Good luck,” said Sinclair, hugging me one last time.
Jesse kissed my cheek. “Break a leg, or whatever.”
“Thanks.”
I followed Tim to the other side of the field, getting more nervous by the second. By the time we reached the celebrities and all of cameras, I was shaking.
“Hi,” said an older woman with short spiky red hair.
She grabbed my card. “I’m Misty; I’m here to prep you. Now, Taylor might do a short interview with you before you’re presented to the judges. In fact, looking at you I’m sure he will.”
I cleared my throat. “Oh, okay.”
She smiled and grabbed my hand. “You poor little thing. Don’t be nervous, honey, just do your best and remember, those celebrities wipe their asses the same way everyone else does, so don’t let them intimidate you, especially Tyrone. He can be a little unnerving at times.”
I’d watched the show before, and knew he was a hard win. In fact, I was quite sure he’d be the first one to vote “no”.
“Now, you understand the rules, you need two-out-of-three judge’s votes to get to the next round. Oh, and here,” she said, handing me her clipboard. “Read the disclosures and sign by all the X’s. You have approximately five, minutes before you will be interviewed by Taylor, and then ushered over to the judges.”
“Okay, thanks Misty.”
She patted me on the back. “Good luck honey.”
I skimmed through the disclosures, which were basically the rules of the audition, and signed everything as quickly as possible. As I handed Misty back the clipboard, Taylor approached me with a camera man.
“Hello,” he said, holding out his hand. “Congratulations on making it to this round. I’m Taylor Blake, and you are?”
“Tiffany Banks,” I said, placing my hand in his.
His dark eyes regarded me with interest. He squeezed my hand. “What do you know? We have the same first and last letters in our names. Fate has obviously brought us together, my dear. So, Tiffany, would you mind if I interviewed you before you meet the judges?”
I smiled. “Not at all.”
“Where are you from?”
“Stanton.”
“California girl, nice. What do you do when you’re not auditioning for something like this?”
“I’m a hairstylist at Tangled, over in Midway City.”
He touched his perfectly groomed, blond head, and smiled. “Knowing that Tangled has such lovely hair-dressers, I might have to stop in for a cut very soon.”
I blushed. He was very good looking, with his puppy-dog eyes, and dimples, but not really my type. He was almost too… perfect looking.
Tangled Mess Page 3