I guess I could tell him about it, explain why we can never, ever kiss. But how would that work, exactly? He’d either think I was crazy or think I was making up something ridiculous to spare his feelings.
How do I explain to him in a way that’s not hurtful, so he’ll immediately move on and we can go back to how things were?
Say that I don’t like to kiss? Or I’ve got some sort of extra contagious mouth disease? My religion dictates that I can’t kiss before marriage?
Think, Claire.
I don’t have time to figure anything out because our clients walk in then, and it’s time to do our jobs.
Bailey takes her seat, and I position myself off to the side behind the camera line, with a perfect view of her and River. Luke takes the spot on the other side, and it feels purposeful. Last-week Luke would have stood right by me, making jokes and nudging me with his shoulder. This-week Luke is back to being a jerkwad. Maybe I was rash in changing his name in my phone.
But he’s not a jerk. I rejected him. I didn’t want to, though. And then I ran out of his apartment like Cinderella at midnight, but instead of losing a glass slipper, I left my dress in his washing machine.
Actually, I want that dress back. I should probably wait awhile to ask him about it, though.
The first interviewer, Meg Bowman from Entertainment Weekly, walks in with a small crew and takes a seat in the chair across from Bailey and River.
“Hello,” she says, smiling brightly at the two of them. “It’s so good to see you both together again. What’s it been like stepping back into these characters this season?”
Here we go.
Four hours later, and I kind of want to die.
I’m seated now because standing got to be too much, so I had someone bring me a chair. And honestly, there hasn’t been anything to flag. I’ve just been watching Bailey answer questions like a pro, and all the interviewers have stayed within the parameters we gave them.
Translation: This is boring.
I think the only thing to note is how comfortable River and Bailey are with each other. Which bodes well for the interviews—and for the show. It’s just in the way they interact—a touch here, a look there—that I’ve noticed something . . . different. A shift. Whatever it is, it’s working.
Luke’s seated on his side of the room. We haven’t really interacted, aside from a couple of shared eyebrow raises when we thought a question was going one way and it ended up going another.
I don’t know what to do about him. I hate that he’s staying put on his side of the room. I could go over, but my view of Bailey would be obstructed, and I’m here to do my job first and foremost.
We have a small reprieve while we wait for the next interviewer. I grab a bottle of water from a nearby table with snacks and drinks and down it quickly.
We’re notified the next interviewer is coming, and I head back to my seat.
But when the person walks into the room, my eyes go wide, and I stand back up.
Is that—?
No. It can’t be.
But it is. I’d know that mousy-brown hair and pointy nose anywhere.
You Oughta Know just walked in the room.
I look to Luke, and he looks right back at me before immediately crossing the room to my side.
“Is that You Oughta Know?” he asks quietly.
“Yes,” I whisper back. “Did you know she was going to be here?”
“No. Did you?”
“I saw a name I didn’t recognize on the list of interviewers this morning. I flagged it to have Tessa look it up, but then I forgot.” I glance back at her. “It’s definitely her, though.”
And when she greets Bailey and River—her slightly nasal voice filling the room—we know for sure.
