Star Power by Zoey Dean

there.
    â€œIowa!” Shane snapped his fingers in Emily’s face. “I need you to stand right in the gazebo.” He pointed a finger toward Davey.
    Numbly, Emily marched to position like she was walking down a gangplank. She had not even said two words to Davey since her audition, and now she was going to ruin their relationship before it began. She racked her brain for a way out of this scene. She quickly nixed fainting (too dramatic), faking a seizure (too unattractive), and feigning amnesia (too crazy).
    Desperate to find Mac, Emily craned her neck to peer at the crowd of industry onlookers who had gathered to watch. She saw Giselle mumbling to herself, and Chris the PA talking into his headset. She saw the DVD crew, already filming everything. She saw the producer of Deal With It , Elliot Tachman, who looked like a giant teddy bear with his belly and big beard. Kimmie sat beside him, clutching her pink iBook. Seeing Kimmie, Emily gulped. Anything stupid she said or did would wind up on the Tawker’s live blog. She imagined a headline about a dumb Iowa girl who knocked Davey Woodward out with her death breath. Which was all the more reason to find Mac now. But where in the Sony-world was she?
    â€œ Quiet on set! ” Shane screamed. He walked to his director ’s chair, which had a canvas back with his name on it. There was a hush over the crowd and then Shane screamed “ Action! ”
    Emily couldn’t believe it was all happening so fast. Her heartbeat was racing. Already the cameras were filming her. Davey snapped into his character mode and faced Emily. “Look, Kelly, there’s something I need to tell you—”
    He began to remove the braided wig and leaned in close to kiss Emily. Even though Emily knew it was acting—make believe, pretend—her tuna breath was very, very real. Suddenly she didn’t even see hotness in Davey, she just saw Code Red Terror. Between the heat, the lights, and the people staring at her, Emily felt like she was going to faint.
    â€œHold up!” Emily screamed. “What’s my motivation?” It seemed like a clever way to show she was a serious actress, a Meryl-in-the-making, his next Oscar-winning star . . . so Emily continued. “I’d like to take this material home and work on it tonight.”
    Shane stared at her like she’d turned into a wildebeest. “CUT! CUT! CUT!”
    She looked over at the industry crowd and saw Mac pushing her way through to the front, her blue eyes widened in horror. Mac ran over to her. “What do you think you’re doing?” Everyone—even Emily—knew it was a cardinal crime to interrupt a shot. That was how desperate she was.
    â€œI need breath mints,” Emily whispered when Mac was close.
    â€œI cannot believe this,” Mac hissed, slipping a roll of Lifesavers into her hands.
    â€œI’m all set!” Emily screamed big to show that she was ready to be serious. “Figured it all out.” She had never felt so relieved to freshen her breath in her entire life. She turned her face away from the crowd, unrolled the entire package of mints, and shoved them all into her mouth.
    â€œAnd we’re going again!” Shane screamed in an exasperated voice. He took his position behind the monitor. Slowly he raised his right hand to the sky and then brought it down in one strong swoop. “ Action! ”
    Davey faced Emily exactly as he’d done the first time. “Look, Kelly, there’s something I need to tell you—”
    Emily wanted to respond, but she’d stuffed her face with mints and now her cheeks were swollen like a chipmunk’s. Davey was looking at her like she was a freak, which only made her more nervous. She tried to quickly chew her mints so she could swallow them. But the more she thought about not spewing mints all over Davey, the more her lips began to quiver nervously. He leaned in closer, and Emily prayed