Apple's Angst by Rebecca Eckler Page B

to Fancy Nancy. She could have told her that she was a complete novice when it came to television, that she had no idea how her mother had done it for so many years or why viewers found the show so appealing.
    â€œThat’s good. Really good. Because we want you on
Angst TV
. There’s something
real
about you,” Fancy Nancy said. “It will be great to get someone who looks
real
on
Angst TV
. Of course, we have a main host. She’s television-ready, you know—well spoken and pretty to look at. But you’re … well, you’re human. And
real.”
    Apple was beginning to hate the word “real.” How many times could a person use that word in a sentence? What did “real” mean, anyway? Did that mean Apple wasn’t good-looking, didn’t look like she belonged on television?
    â€œNow, let’s get down to the business at hand. We need a teen advice columnist, and that will be you. And you’ll also have a spot on
Angst TV
doing the advice thing for teens. But before you think this is an easy job, it’s not. I think your … background, being the daughter of the country’s most famous talk-show advice host, right off the bat gives you what people will see as experience. They’ll trust you immediately. Which is good. But, Apple, I need to know how committed you are to
Angst,”
Fancy Nancy asked. “Which is why I wanted to meet with you in person.”
    Apple suddenly felt she was guilty of something and on trial. She sat up straighter, feeling unprepared. But Apple was going to “fake it until you make it.”
    â€œI wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t committed. Of course I’m committed,” Apple said, while thinking, My feet! My feet!
    â€œHere at
Angst
we want people to really be part of the family,” Fancy Nancy continued. “How do I say this? We don’t want you just to do the advice column and share that advice on television. We want you to be here more than that. We want you to learn all the ropes of this magazine, from answering phones to organizing the fashion closet. We want you to eat, breathe, and live
Angst.”
    â€œOkay,” Apple said slowly.
    â€œWe need you here two days a week at the
very
minimum. After school, of course—we want our interns to do well at school. We need you to set a good example. And we hope you’ll be here on weekends. Saturdays, Sundays. It takes a lot of work to put out this magazine. And with the new television show, the more help the better. You’ll be working with a variety of editors, and basically doing whatever they ask and need you to do. If they need you to photocopy something, you do it. If they need you to take photos of clothes on racks, you do it. If they need you to go out and get them a sandwich, you do it. And, of course, you have to get your advice column in on time and practice for your television spot. Almost everyone here starts from the bottom rung and works their way up. I can’t have my other employees thinking that just because you are the ‘daughter of,’ you can get away with receiving special treatment, even if you will have such a sought-after job from the start. Everyone around here wants to be on
Angst TV
, but not everyone is going to be. You
are
. They’re going to be jealous, so you’re going to have to prove yourself more than anyone,” Fancy Nancy said bluntly. “Can you deal with all this?”
    Apple looked at Fancy Nancy, wide-eyed.

“O f
course
I can deal with it. I don’t want to be known just as the daughter of someone famous either. I never have,” Apple said, nodding in agreement with Fancy Nancy. “I will prove myself.”
    â€œI’m glad to hear that. And your school schedule will allow you to be here every Tuesday and Thursday for a few hours? Because to launch this show and do your column and help out with other things is going to take up a lot of your time. And