“So, what do you think?” Ken, one of the producers of the show, asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“It sounds great,” I said. I didn’t even know what he was talking about, but I didn’t want them to think I wasn’t paying attention. Tamara had asked me to adjust my attitude, so I was going to try—as long as these folks recognized who the real star was.
“Great. We’ll do the Sylk exclusive, then the story with Justin Timberlake taking the girl to the prom, and then for the next show, we’ve already lined up Meagan Goode’s one-on-one.” Ken slid some papers across the table at me. “Here is some background on Meagan. You’ll need to read over it just so you can be familiar with her.”
I had to struggle to compose myself. I was actually about to interview Meagan Goode. Oh, it was about to be on.
“Here’s some other background info on some more stories we’re working on,” Ken said, pushing more papers my way. “As I told you, we’ll have a mixture of national entertainment news, but the bulk of our stuff will be local celebrity stuff.”
I took the stack of papers. Good grief. They wanted me to read all this stuff?
“Just so you know, the promos are going to start running today,” Tamara said, smiling in my direction. “I told you this was gonna move fast. Lincoln, let’s show her the first commercial,” she said, motioning to the guy sitting closest to the computer.
Lincoln turned toward the screen at the front of the room and pressed a remote control. The video started playing and my mouth dropped open. I looked even better than I thought—and I hadn’t even thought that was possible. My outfit was on point, my hair was laid and I was a natural.
The narrator’s voice filled the room. “Good gossip . . . delicious buzz . . . no secret is safe at Rumor Central. And Maya Morgan is just the diva to dish the dirt.” My picture popped up with me looking fierce in a Diane von Furstenberg plum wrap dress that dipped off the shoulder just a bit. My hair was seriously on point, with the lighting hitting my highlights in all the right places. Some high-tech music popped up as the narrator finished. “Rumor Central, the place to get all the celebrity dirt. Coming soon.” Everyone smiled, pleased with the whole thing. A quick thought passed in my mind. We weren’t based in Hollywood, where all the celebrities lived, so how was I supposed to bring the dirt on a regular basis?
Oh, who was I kidding? I might not have been speaking to my crew any longer, but we all were Miami’s elite. That meant we knew some of everybody. So, finding dirt definitely wouldn’t be a problem.
Chapter 9
I heard this comedian once say if you don’t have at least ten haters, you ain’t on your job. Well, I needed to be promoted because I was definitely excelling at my job!
But it was all good because all the shade Sheridan and the rest of them were throwing my way only motivated me even more. Like now, I ignored Bali’s whispering (obviously about me) as I walked down the hall and I strutted with a fierceness reserved for the catwalk.
“Hey, Maya, wait up,” Valerie called out, scurrying to catch up with me.
In the past, I would’ve ignored Valerie. Not that she’d done anything to me, but she just wasn’t in my clique. But for these past two weeks, Valerie had been the only one not giving me grief. I’d actually gotten a B on my make-up exam but I hadn’t yet taken the leap to make her my assistant.
“What’s up, Valerie?”
“Nothing,” she said, struggling to balance her books and keep them from falling. Seriously? Who even carried that many books to class? “I . . . I was just wondering if you’d given any thought to my suggestion. I’d still be willing to help you with your other classes. I’ve been on the honor roll since freshman year.”
“Thank you,” I found myself saying. “But . . .” I paused when I saw Sheridan and another girl approaching us, and something made me say, “I think I’ll take you up on that offer. The station actually wanted me to get an assistant, so maybe you can help out there, too.”
“ Ohmygod, I so could do that!” Valerie squealed.
“I had actually been telling my producer how cool you’d been,” I continued, “and I told her I could use someone like you on my team.”
As expected, Sheridan stopped, trying to be nosy.
I pretended I didn’t see her as I kept talking. “Matter of fact, I tape my first show tomorrow. Would you like to come on set and watch and then you can get right to work?”
While Sheridan didn’t say anything, the girl standing next to her did. “I heard about your TV show. When does it start?”
“I tape the first show tomorrow,” I said, smiling at her.
Sheridan rolled her eyes, but Valerie was too excited to notice.
“So is it true?” Valerie asked. “Are you really going to interview Meagan Goode?”
“Yep. And she’s just the first of many celebrities. You won’t believe the folks I have lined up. I can tell you, one of them is Nicki Minaj.”
“You have got to be kidding me!” the girl standing with Sheridan shrieked. “I love Nicki. How you get that hook-up?”
“I just got it like that,” I said, shrugging.
“Wow, I want to be like you when I grow up,” the girl laughed.
“Doesn’t everybody?” I mumbled. Sheridan didn’t bother to hide her disgust. I was eating her reaction up.
“So, I can really come on set?” Valerie quickly asked.
“Of course,” I replied. “Just be at the studio by five. It’s going to be so fab. They’re so excited about my show and they’re treating me like royalty.”
“That’s because you are, girl,” Valerie said.
“Oh, give me a break,” Sheridan said, storming off.
I laughed as we all watched her walk away. She was probably going to find some Pepto-Bismol because I had no doubt that she was sick!
“What’s her problem?” Valerie asked.
I smiled, pulled out my sunglasses, and said, “The source of her envy is plain to see. Poor little Sheridan is hating because she can’t be me. Smooches,” I added as I runway-walked down the hall.
Chapter 10
My stomach was in knots. Today was the premiere of my show and I had an exclusive interview with Sylk, who was having a concert in town this weekend. I was still tripping that on my very first show I was actually going to be kickin’ it with Sylk!
“Here you go,” Valerie said, handing me a bottle of Fiji water and my notes for the show. I actually was grateful for Valerie’s help. She’d shown up thirty minutes early, jumped right in, and already been a big help. “Do you need anything else?”
I shook my head. Oh, I could so get with this personal assistant thing. I needed to make sure Tamara would let me keep Valerie around, even after school ended. “I’m good. But if you can go look over my chemistry homework, that would be great,” I said, flashing a smile her way. “It’s in the purple folder in my messenger bag over there.” I pointed in the corner. “If you see any blanks, can you be a doll and just fill it in, please?”
She nodded eagerly, then raced out. I hated to tell her, the whole thing would be blank because I hadn’t so much as written my name. But that shouldn’t be a problem. Schoolwork was Valerie’s thing. Being fabulous was mine.
“All right. Let’s get this party started,” Tamara said, peeking her head into the small room they’d converted into my private dressing room (another one of my requests since I didn’t want a whole bunch of people up in my personal space). “Do you have any questions?” she asked.
“Nope. Is Sylk here?” I knew rule number one of dealing with celebrities—don’t act excited. So, I made a mental note to make sure I played it completely cool.
Tamara nodded. “She’s in the Green Room.” I tried to appear unfazed. I couldn’t very well put Oprah out of her job if I was getting all excited over some celebrity.
Tamara came and stood in front of me. “Maya, I want you to know this is unprecedented,” she began. “We’re breaking new territory here. As you know,
our station serves a young demographic. We may not be one of the big three, but we are definitely giving CW and Fox a run for their money.”
I guess I looked confused because she smiled at me and said, “Our viewers are young. That’s why we tapped you for this show. So we want you to be your young, vibrant self, but you’ve got to bring it.”
“Oh, I have no trouble bringing it.” I gave myself a once-over in the dressing room mirror. Then, satisfied, I turned back to face Tamara. “This is Maya Morgan’s destiny. I was meant to be a star. Believe that.” That was the truth because if I ever had any doubt, all I had to think about was the joy Bali and that whole crew would get in seeing me fail. Nope, failure wasn’t an option.
“Okay, that’s what I wanted to hear.” She motioned for the door. “Let’s do this!”
They just didn’t know how ready I was to get started. I thought about this corny commercial I’d seen once. It said, Today is the first day of the rest of your life. That’s how I felt today. I was about to go into a whole new stratosphere and I couldn’t wait!
Chapter 11
I was still floating high as I glided down the hallway toward Tamara’s corner office. She had sent me a text to come see her as soon as I got in today. She probably wanted to tell me what a fabulous job I’d done on the taping yesterday.“Tell me something I don’t know,” I mumbled to myself as I floated confidently down the hall. I had clicked like Sylk and I were best friends. I’d even gotten her to share some details about her new movie, which was supposed to be under wraps until next month, plus, I’d gotten her to address the rumors of her messing around with one of her co-stars. I was pretty proud of the first show and was sure that’s what Tamara wanted to talk about.
Outside Tamara’s office, I tapped on the door. “Hey there. You wanted to see me?”
“Yeah, come on in,” Tamara said, waving me in.
I glanced over at Dexter, the senior producer on my show, who sat in front of Tamara’s desk. “Hi, Dexter.”
“Hey.”
I felt an uneasy feeling in my stomach when he didn’t really smile back at me.
“Please have a seat,” Tamara said. The look on her face and the businesslike tone of her voice wiped the smile off my face as well.
Oh, no, I hoped she wasn’t about to tell me they were having second thoughts. I eased into the chair in front of her desk, trying to figure out what in the world was going on.
“As you know, we thought you were a shoo-in for this job,” Tamara began.
I felt my heartbeat speed up. Thought? As in past tense? “Oh my God. You think I suck?”
Both Dexter and Tamara let out small laughs. “No, we don’t think you suck,” Tamara said. “In fact, you’re very good, a natural. And we think you have a very bright future ahead of you.”
I relaxed a bit. Of course I didn’t suck. Why in the world was I getting worked up?
Before I could say anything else, Tamara added, “The show, however, may suck just a little.”
That shocked me. I thought the show was pretty good. I mean, it was Sylk after all.
Tamara paused like she was thinking. Finally she said, “The show is . . . how do I say this?”
“Boring,” Dexter said, interrupting her.
“Not that we think you’re boring,” Tamara said, quickly jumping in. “We’ve just been assessing the first show all morning and it just lacks that umph. The Sylk interview was great, but we’re not trying to be another Entertainment Tonight. We need to spice this thing up. We’re hoping you can help bring some of that umph to the table.”
Bring some umph? I didn’t know what they expected me to do.
Dexter and Tamara exchanged uneasy glances before Tamara said, “You run in—” She paused. “I’m sorry, you used to run in some pretty well-known circles. I mean, not many teens can say they’re friends with the Kardashians. There aren’t many that get up close and personal with some of the hottest young celebrities.”
“Yeah,” I said, not sure where she was going. “That was part of what made us so popular. My clique was the real deal. But what does that have to do with anything? You want me to find some dirt on Miami celebrities?”
“Basically, and we thought you should start with your closest circle of friends. I mean, they are Miami’s elite, so I’m sure you know some serious secrets.”
I frowned. “Yeah, but those are my friends.”
“Were,” Tamara reminded me.
“And therefore, you shouldn’t have any problem dishing dirt on them,” Dexter added.
Tamara smiled knowingly. “I mean, that is what our show introduction says . . . that you’ll be dishing dirt.”
“So you really want me to dish dirt on my friends?”
Tamara didn’t blink as she replied. “Which friend would you be referring to? Sheridan, the one that stole your boyfriend, or Shay, the one that jumped you in the hall?”
That definitely shut me up. I couldn’t believe she was using information I’d shared with her in confidence.
“Look, this isn’t personal,” Tamara said, drumming her fingers on her desk. “This is business and if we want this show to be a success, we’ve got to come out of the box hard.”
“Okay, well, what do you want me to do?” For the first time since I took this job, I was worried about it succeeding. The way they were talking, we were doomed before we even really started.
“I’m sure there are some salacious rumors or some celebrity gossip that you can dig up, something that you can give us about your in crowd,” Tamara continued.
“I can’t do that,” I slowly said. It’s not that I cared two cents about those busters, but the last thing I wanted to be was some kind of snitch. I’d thought about it. I mean, they’d made me so mad, that I couldn’t believe I was even second-guessing selling them out.
“Are you in the in crowd anymore?” Tamara asked bluntly.
“Don’t get it twisted. First of all, the Miami Divas weren’t my only friends. I still roll with the in crowd. In fact, I am the in crowd.”
“No, you’re on the outside looking in,” Tamara said. “At least at Miami High. Here’s a way for you to have the last laugh.”
I hesitated, then finally said, “I just don’t . . .”
“I’m sorry. If you can’t do it . . .” Tamara paused and looked at Dexter, who finished her sentence.
“Maybe Sheridan won’t have any problems dishing dirt. Isn’t she the daughter of that superstar singer? Maybe she’d do it,” Dexter said, like he was dismissing me or something.
I was dumbfounded by his comment. “You’d give my job to Sheridan?”
“Of course we wouldn’t want to do that, but I bet Sheridan would have no shame in dishing dirt,” Tamara said. I couldn’t believe she was playing me like that. I thought we were cool.
“I’m sure she wouldn’t,” Dexter threw in for good measure. “Especially your dirt.”
I’m sure they were trying to punk me, but honestly, it was working. I’d never live it down if they fired me and gave my job to Sheridan.
Tamara continued talking. “So, the question is do you want Sheridan to get the guy and your job?” Tamara asked. I know she could tell they were getting to me.
Of course not, I thought. Even though I didn’t say anything, she must’ve read the look on my face because she said, “Then I suggest you go home and get to digging in the back of your memory and come up with some juicy gossip.”
I stood for a moment, trying to figure out my next move. I know we were the who’s who of Miami, but did people really want to know our dirt like that? I thought about shows like TMZ and blogs like MediaTakeout and Bossip. Of course they did.
“I got it. You want dirt, I’ll give you dirt.” I sighed. “Do I need to work today?” I finally asked.
“No, because unless you come up with something, there’s no work to be done,” Dexter spoke matter-of-factly.
I felt sick in the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t believe this. I was really goin
g to be a snitch? Could I really sell out my friends? Images of this last month flashed before my eyes. I pictured my fight with Shay, all the hate I was getting at school. Then I thought about Sheridan and Bryce at the homecoming dance and I had my answer. Not only could I do this, I would take great pleasure in doing it.
Chapter 12
I couldn’t believe I was hanging out with Valerie Elgin. On the misfit scale, she was definitely nearing a ten. Honestly, I wondered how she even could stand to look at herself in the mirror. From her drab, stringy hair, which she always wore pulled back into a raggedy ponytail to her too-big clothes hanging from her body, she was so far from fab, it made my skin crawl. But then, when I thought about the other geeks she hung out with—another nerdy girl named Jennifer and this guy named Eugene who needed to star in his own Extreme Dork show.
Looking at Valerie now, she probably would be pretty if she got rid of those Coke-bottle glasses, colored her hair, and got a decent wardrobe.
“So, do you get it?” Valerie asked. She had been spending the last hour at my house trying to help me get ready for yet another stupid calculus test. Like, who would ever use calculus again in life?
“I guess,” I said.“Although I can’t for the life of me understand why I have to know this stupid stuff.”
Valerie shrugged. “It’s not that bad if you give it a chance. I really like it. Sometimes I do calculus just for fun.”
Calculus for fun? Nerd strike number two.
“So, just review the notecards I made.” She pointed to the stack of cards that I knew I wasn’t about to pick up. I didn’t say anything else as we gathered up our stuff and headed downstairs.
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