Picture-Perfect

by Laura Dower

  Madison noticed that the floor of the stage was covered with tape marks and numbers and little trap doors—all the stuff she couldn’t see from out front, not even from the front row. The air was hot and smoky from the concert. Round, white-hot bulbs circled the front of the stage. Madison noticed that it was almost impossible to see anything in the audience beyond the footlights.

  The entryway to the official “backstage area,” was nothing spectacular. Unlike the exciting circus setup out front, backstage was merely a mess of clothes piled here and a cluster of wires stretched there. Everything was crammed in together with little room for moving around. But then the group was led into a slightly larger space for refreshments. That was more impressive.

  Madison and her friends lingered by a food table and Dean poured himself a cup of punch. All over the walls in the room were concert posters of Nikki; a giant WKBM banner; and multicolored helium balloons that read NIKKI’S SUGAR-SWEET on them. In one corner, there was a popcorn machine, and in the other, a cotton-candy maker. The circus theme continued.

  “I can’t believe we’re backstage,” Fiona said, her voice squeaking.

  “This is awesome,” Aimee said.

  “I think it’s a little weird,” Madison mumbled to herself. “Cool, but weird.”

  She was looking around at the crew of people assembled backstage. On one side of the room was a group of screaming girls just like them; and on the other side of the room was another group of screaming girls just like them.

  Everyone seemed the same. One girl looked gray, as if she might faint. “She looks like I did last week,” Aimee said.

  “I’m so glad you got better, Aim,” Fiona said.

  “I wouldn’t have missed this for anything,” Aimee said.

  Madison leaned on Aimee’s shoulder. “I’m glad,” she said.

  From across the room, two beefy security guards opened a side door, and a cluster of bodies moved into the room. Behind them, Madison and the rest saw a short, blond girl approach.

  It was Nikki. Live.

  “Attention, everyone!” Stevie Steves called out to the hundred or so people who were stuffed together in the room. “Presenting the star of tonight’s show, Nikki!”

  The room burst into applause. Madison clapped as loudly as anyone.

  Dean was so busy scoping out other cute girls in the room that he barely noticed Nikki’s arrival. When Aimee grabbed him to point to the singing star, he just shrugged.

  “What’s the big deal?” he said. “I mean, she’s okay onstage, but I don’t think she’s that pretty.”

  A stranger standing next to Dean made a face and told him to shut up, but he didn’t care. He went back over to the punch bowl for another drink.

  “Look at her hair!” Aimee said. “Just like in the magazine.”

  “Well,” Fiona said. “Look closer. You can tell she’s not a real blond. Look at the top.”

  Aimee sounded disappointed. “Really? I guess you’re right.”

  “She’s shorter than I thought,” Madison said.

  “I agree with Dean,” Fiona whispered. “She isn’t that pretty. Do you guys think she is?”

  “Of course we do!” Aimee said, laughing, as if Fiona were joking around.

  But Madison knew that Fiona was serious.

  Nikki walked over toward them, barely waving hello to the many fans who were trying to stop her along the way. She wanted something to drink and ordered one of her assistants to get her a juice on ice.

  “Make sure it has three cubes,” Nikki said. “I want it cold.”

  By now, the star was standing only a few feet away from Madison and her friends. She turned to look around the room and nearly slammed into Aimee.

  “Um, excuse me,” Nikki said. “Do you mind?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Aimee said. She reached out for Nikki’s arm as if to say, “Are you okay?”

  “Um, don’t touch, ’kay?” Nikki said, pulling her arm back. She smirked and walked off in the other direction.

  Aimee turned around as if she’d just been slapped.

  “That was rude,” Fiona said. “She is so not what I expected.”

  “Weird,” Madison said again. “This whole thing is so weird.”

  Despite the rudeness, everything about being backstage was a thrill. Standing around with record producers and other fans, drinking punch, and even watching Nikki act the super pop-star diva was fun.

  “So do we just stand around and watch Her Highness all night?” Fiona said. “I’m wicked disappointed.”

  Madison sighed. “I know what you mean, but I’m not ready to leave yet, are you?”

  They all glanced over at Dean, who had taken a seat by the refreshments and was chatting with one of the security guys.

  “My brother even found someone to talk to,” Aimee said.

  “I wish she would just come and talk with some of us,” Fiona said. “Let’s go over to Nikki and ask her a question.”

  Madison froze. She didn’t know what question to ask.

  Aimee didn’t know either.

  So Fiona didn’t move.

  A few moments later, Nikki made her way back over toward their side of the room. The three friends just stared at her every move. It seemed that she was finally making her rounds, shaking hands and meeting her fans up close. She was smiling now, too.

  “Maybe she was only mean and crabby before because she’d just finished up her show,” Aimee said, making excuses for the star.

  “Maybe,” Fiona said.

  Madison wasn’t so sure.

  As Nikki walked over, Madison looked her squarely in the eye to see if she could get a sense of what this person was really like. She remembered something Gramma Helen always said about not judging a book by its cover. Is that what Madison and her friends had done with Nikki—but only in reverse? They’d looked at her picture-perfect posing in Blast magazine and assumed that Nikki was the same kind of person on the inside.

  But she wasn’t. Not by a long shot.

  Nikki sidled up to Madison, Aimee, and Fiona and asked them if they’d won their tickets on the radio. Everyone nodded in sync, no one saying much more than a mumbled yeah or nah to Nikki’s questions.

  Madison leaned forward a little as they were talking, still searching for something nice. As she stared, Nikki kept glancing away. She sighed a lot, too, as if she had somewhere better to be.

  Not only that, but she had a few spots on her face. Madison could see that she had put on tons of stage makeup for her show, and much of it had been sweated off and powdered back on again. Her skin looked bumpy all over.

  Nikki had zits. Lots of zits.

  While they were standing there, Dean came over to shake Nikki’s hand.

  Nikki bowed her head and giggled when he did that. “Who are you?” she asked coyly, tossing her hair in the air.

  “Is she flirting with my brother?” Aimee whispered to Madison and Fiona.

  Dean didn’t smile much or say much. He really wasn’t impressed. Instead he asked, “So, what’s with the clowns and the guys in feather hats?” he asked.

  Nikki frowned. “Excuse me?”

  “The whole circus thing is a little freaky,” Dean said. “Dontcha think?”

  One of Nikki’s assistants who was standing by heard that and gently began to lead Nikki away from them.

  Meanwhile, Nikki’s next group of fans squealed and gushed all over. Nikki needed adoration. Dean wasn’t about to give her one ounce of the stuff.

  “She does work really hard,” Fiona said, trying to see both sides of the situation and be fair. “That counts for a lot, right?”

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t give her a reason not to be nice, does it?” Madison asked her friends.

  Aimee sighed. “What a letdown.”

  “She isn’t as smart as I thought,” Fiona said.

  “Let’s blow this Popsicle stand,” Dean said. “Later for the plastic music queen.”

  The three friends took one last look at th
eir idol and then followed Aimee’s brother out the backstage sidedoor.

  The ride back home in Dean’s car took the edge off the backstage experience. Despite Nikki’s less-than-perfect demeanor, the concert itself had been worthwhile. Everyone agreed that the elephant was one of the most exciting parts.

  “She has so many fans!” Aimee said. “Can you imagine what it’s like having that many people who want your autograph or want to talk to you?”

  Madison stared out the window, lost in thought. No, the evening had not been everything she’d dreamed, but it had been the experience of a lifetime. She wondered what Ivy would have said to Nikki if they’d had a run-in in the backstage area. Would Ivy have considered the star a big poser, too?

  Somewhere along the way home, Aimee started humming “Sugar-Sweet,” and Madison and Fiona joined in. They were bouncing together as they sang the chorus.

  “So, Dean,” Aimee asked her brother as they drove along. “What’s the deal with Janet?”

  He smiled. “Got her digits.”

  Fiona made a spaced-out face. “Huh? What’s that?”

  “Phone number!” Aimee said. “So are you going to ask her out, Dean?”

  Madison and Fiona giggled.

  Dean nodded seriously. “I’m calling her tomorrow.”

  “What do you think makes a girl pretty?” Madison asked Dean out of the blue. He seemed a little taken aback.

  “Pretty … I have no clue,” Dean said.

  “Yeah you do,” Aimee pleaded. “Is it a cool ’do or nice eyes or smarts or what?”

  “She has to be nice,” Dean said, glancing over at his sister but keeping his eyes on the road.

  The car fell silent. All ears were on Dean. After all, he was the guy who could get dates with girls in three minutes.

  Dean shrugged and stared straight ahead. “I really don’t see the big deal about that Nikki chick,” he said. “That’s why you guys are asking, right? I mean, you three are way prettier than she could ever be.”

  Aimee let out a little gasp. Then she punched her brother right in the shoulder.

  “What was that for?” Dean yelped.

  Aimee turned around and looked at her friends. They all laughed.

  “You are such a liar,” Aimee said.

  “Whatever,” Dean said, rolling his eyes. Madison could see him do that in the rearview mirror.

  Despite all of its ups and downs, none of them wanted this night to end.

  Chapter 14

  “SO TELL ME EVERYTHING and don’t leave out a single moment,” Mom said to Madison as soon as she’d walked in the front door.

  Madison grinned. “It was so cool, Mom. The people, the arena—they had this circus theme—and the singing and there was a real live elephant on stage, too.”

  “An elephant?” Mom asked.

  “Yup,” Madison said. “And clowns, and a guy on stilts, and a ringmaster like in a real circus.”

  “So what was Nikki like? Was she a good dancer and singer?” Mom asked.

  Madison yawned. “She was okay.”

  “Okay?” Mom said. She sounded a little surprised. “I thought she was the greatest singer ever. She was, yesterday.”

  “Yeah, well …” Madison’s voice drifted off.

  “I think maybe it’s time for you to hit the hay,” Mom said, putting her arm over Madison’s shoulder. “Phin and I have been waiting up for you, but we’re pretty sleepy, too.”

  “Roworrrroooo!” Phin wailed as soon as he heard his name. Madison bent down to scratch the tip-top of his head.

  “Your dad called tonight,” Mom said as she tucked Madison into bed a few moments later. “He wanted to say he was thinking of you at your first concert. We both were. It was a big night, Maddie.”

  “It sure was,” Madison said.

  “Good night, honey bear,” Mom said before shutting off the overhead light. Phin jumped up onto Madison’s bed and snuggled into her side.

  “Good night. Mom,” Madison said.

  She closed her eyes and thought of Nikki dancing in rainbow light and smoke onstage. Nothing could take that excitement away from Madison, not even Nikki’s crummy attitude. The concert was seared into her memory forever.

  And she’d shared it all with her best friends in the whole world.

  The next morning, Madison got up very late. Mom let her sleep until after eleven o’clock! The first thing she did after jumping out of bed was to log onto her laptop. Bigwheels would be expecting an e-mail update on the concert. So would Dad. She was off to a late start!

  She reopened her Nikki file first.

  Nikki

  It was funny standing next to Ivy of all people while we were at the concert last night. I always thought she was the fakest person I knew, but now I’ve met someone even worse—Nikki.

  Rude Awakening: Nothing is as pretty as a picture.

  Blast is a big lie. Fiona was right all along. She is so smart sometimes. They DO airbrush pictures in that magazine. That’s why I never saw that Nikki has zits just like me. I never saw a lot of things.

  FROM SUBJECT

  FHASC Clinic Update: Beagle-Mania

  Go Nikki! Sugar-Sweet Nikki News

  JeffFinn Dinner?

  Wetwinz LYLAS

  BalletGrl Re: LYLAS

  Bigwheels Write Back Soon

  It was hard for Madison to keep her mind on writing in her files when her e-mailbox was full. She scrolled down and picked out the e-mails she wanted to read and respond to now. She’d save the rest for later.

  The day before, the Far Hills Clinic had sent an update about new adoptable dogs. This time, the announcement was about a litter of baby beagles that had been born to an abandoned dog. The clinic wanted to help place the puppies into new homes. Madison considered asking Mom if they could get a second dog, but she knew the answer would be no. They had enough to deal with with Phin. He’d only get jealous anyway.

  The e-mail after that made Madison laugh. With Mom’s approval, she’d signed up online to receive a Go Nikki! Fan Club Newsletter. An e-mail announcement had arrived in her e-mailbox in html format, which meant that a giant photo of Nikki popped up onscreen the moment Madison opened up the mail. In the picture, Nikki looked perfect—no zits, no bad attitude, nothing wrong. Madison hit DELETE. Nikki wasn’t that perfect. No one was.

  As Madison moved along to the next e-mail, she laughed even harder than she had at the Nikki newsletter. As usual, Dad had sent along one of his lame-o jokes.

  From: JeffFinn

  To: MadFinn

  Subject: Dinner?

  Date: Fri 24 May 9:51 PM

  Why did the FHJH Student put on mascara in math class?

  Because she was taking a makeup exam!

  So I’m here with Stephanie and we’re thinking of you being at the concert. Wow. You have to call and tell me everything.

  Let’s have dinner Monday night instead? I already checked with your mother and she was fine with that.

  Love, Dad

  P.S. Did you know that it takes only 17 muscles to smile and 43 muscles to frown! I hope you’re smiling right now!

  Madison skim-read the e-mails from her BFFs next. They had written first thing that morning to say that the concert had been the best night in their entire lives. Madison wrote back “TOTALLY!” They agreed to meet up later that Saturday for ice cream at Freeze Palace or maybe to rent a movie over at Aimee’s house. Attached to Aimee’s e-mail was a link to the Web site of her dance school. She wanted Madison and Fiona both to see the program for her upcoming recital. “I can dance better than Nikki! LOL!” Aimee wrote.

  The last remaining e-mail in the box was the one Madison was most excited to open and read. Hearing from her best friends was always fun, but getting keypal mail was super special. It made Madison feel important. And she always knew the right things to say.

  Unlike Madison, Bigwheels had obviously gotten up early in Washington, which was three hours behind Far Hills. She’d
just sent the e-mail a little while before Madison opened it.

  From: Bigwheels

  To: MadFinn

  Subject: Write Back Soon.

  Date: Sat 25 May 10:04 AM

  I can’t sleep late anymore on weekends because my little sister has to go to this special accelerated class on Saturdays. Mom makes us rise and shine at the crack of dawn. But at least I can write to you! That and watch cartoons. They are showing this bonanza of old Bugs Bunny cartoons and they make me laugh so hard. I also love the Powerpuff Girls even though my uncool sister does too.

  HOW WAS THE CONCERT????!!! I have been thinking about you since yesterday. I told my mom that I wanted to go to the Nikki show and she said “NO WAY,” so all the more reason why I wish I were you. Was she amazing? I think that she wears the best clothes. I saw on one of her Web sites that the theme of her concert is like a carnival or something. Is that true?

  Send me ur update. I will be waiting!

  Yours till the flower pots,

  Bigwheels a/k/a Victoria a/k/a Vicki

  p.s. That’s what most people call me at school and I don’t think I told you that—Vicki. CWYL! Bye!

  Madison dashed off an extra long e-mail. She included all the details too, right down to Ivy’s appearance and Nikki’s zits.

  The rest of Saturday flew by. And Sunday, too. Madison spring cleaned her closet with Mom’s help, boxing up some of her winter sweaters to put upstairs in the attic. Spring was here, and summer wasn’t too far off.

  By Monday morning, the high of the concert had mostly worn off, although everyone in school was talking about Nikki. Most people were still idolizing her clothes and her poses, but Madison and her friends knew something everyone else didn’t. Before homeroom, Madison went into her school locker and peeled off the Nikki poster from the door. She didn’t worship the singing star quite as much as she had a few days before.

  “I still can’t believe we met her. In person!” Aimee said. “She wasn’t that bad, was she?”

  “She was kind of rude to you,” Fiona reminded Aimee. “Don’t you remember?”