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She was right, of course. I had no right to sulk or focus on the negatives. The Lacuna Television Network was giving me a place to sleep while I figured out my next plans. Ineedednew plans. Stat. The last thing I wanted to do was get stuck dealing with another SpankKing.
“Would you put in a good word for me at the cafe?” I asked. She’d offered before.
Layana wrinkled her nose and scrunched her forehead. That didn’t bode well for either of us.
“Uh, well I would, but you might not want me representing you to Roger,” she said.
“What happened?”
“Well, you know how you told me to keep my job as a backup?”
“Yes,” I said, eyeing her suspiciously.
Wincing, she said, “Well…I didn’t do that.”
“But you left on good terms, right?” I cringed, knowing how absurd that was given the circumstances and given the who I was talking to.
She laughed. “If by ‘good terms,’ you mean I told him he could shove his schedule up his nose, then take his comments about how I’d be prettier smiling, write them down, then shove those straight up his other nostril, then yes. I did that. But there’s no need to worry. This show is going to open so many doors for us.”
The shuttle stopped, and its door opened.
“See, there’s the first one, right there.” Layana beamed at me.
I nodded, but my insides twisted. I hated the idea of both of us failing here in Epiphany and having to return home to Cricket Falls, tails between our legs. I would make this reality show thing work, because it had to.
We were two boss ladies, powered by concrete intention, and the will to make all of our dreams come true. Success was inevitable.
I pushed down my worries and followed Layana out of the shuttle.
A short man with a headset waited for us. I recognized him from the casting.
“Hello again, everyone,” he said, waving jazz hands at us. “If you don’t remember me, my name’s Gilbert. I’ll be your liaison, so if you have any questions or concerns, come to me.”
A guy in the back raised his hand.
“Save it for the end,” Gilbert said. “This way everyone.”
Well, that wasn’t exactly reassuring.
Gilbert led us into a cavernous room with an open faux room set in the middle of it. The set walls were painted in bright graffiti-esque patterns. Wood-topped standing tables sat in orderly rows.
Blinding spotlights shone down over us as we stepped up onto the set. A moment of awe hushed the contestants, or maybe that was just the buzz of my nerves deafening me. I filled my lungs with air conditioned air.
Breathe.
You can do anything you put your mind to, even this.
Gilbert went through what sounded like a memorized welcome speech, telling us how we were now part of the Lacuna Television Network family, how that meant so much to so many people, and a bunch more garbage with zero heart in it. It was almost nice, but the fakeness and rehearsed feeling of his words took away any positive impact they could have had.
He pointed to the different tables, telling each of us where we would be stationed. He went on and on about which cameras not to look at, which seemed to be all of them.
“Some of what you already recorded may be used for your intros, but we’re going to need more footage. Galore, you’re first.” Gilbert pointed at the human disco ball. “Come with me.”
I leaned over to Layana as the two of them left the room. “Juno’s last name is Galore?”
“Lots of people use stage names for this kind of thing,” she said. “She’s going by Glitter Galore. It matches all of her social profiles.”
Sounded like a Bond villain. It felt different from when Layana wore cat ears to tryouts, but maybe that was just me.
