Center Stage! (Center Stage! #1) by Caitlyn Duffy

O'Hallihan.
    While I punished myself for being so boring during my interview, I heard a car pull into our driveway. Suddenly, even though it was eleven o’clock on a Thursday morning, all of my friends piled into my house in an explosion of noise and activity.
    “What are you guys doing here?” I asked.
    “We couldn’t very well let you be on television without video-bombing your interview,” Colton teased, throwing his arms around me.
    “Yeah! If you’re getting famous, we’re getting famous,” Kaela added. My friends descended like vultures upon the catering table.
    Lee handed a memory stick to Ralph, who looked at it as if it were a rock from a distant planet. “You may be needing this. I took the liberty of editing a video biography of Allison for when she’s in the final round.”
    Ralph attempted to hand it back to him, and Lee waved it away. “That was very presumptuous of you,” Ralph said to Lee, “but we’re not allowed to make any assumptions about which contestants will make it that far.”
    “You’re not making an assumption. I am,” Lee replied. “Trust me. You’re going to need that. I’m Lee Yoon, independent filmmaker, by the way.”
    Ralph looked humored but impressed by Lee’s confidence, and shook his hand with an amused smile. “I’m Ralph Reed, location unit director. Nice to meet you.” He dropped the memory stick into the pocket of his jeans.
    When the crew finished interviewing my parents, the unit production manager suggested, “Let’s get the friends, too.”
    “We might as well. They’re already here,” Ralph shrugged. One by one, my friends were taken out to the patio for quick interviews. I leaned against our sliding door, watching Martha fluff Kaela’s hair. Kaela dreamily watched Colton, who was smiling at a handsome production assistant wearing a plaid button-down shirt with sleeves rolled up, stretched tightly over his well-defined biceps.   Lee studied the production unit’s interactions as if trying to commit the entire process of conducting interviews on a patio to memory.  
    Ralph took a shine to Michelle during her interview. He clearly got a kick out of her gruff voice and reluctant smile as she showed him the wrist brace she wore due to a soccer injury. Mom chatted with Nicole as if they were old friends. She hadn’t ever gotten a reason from my brother as to why he and Nicole hadn’t gone out on more dates. I got the feeling that she wished Todd had taken Nicole more seriously.
    The golden early autumn sun bounced off the calm waves of our pool in rapid arcs and slivers. Just for a second I saw my life with perfect clarity. I wondered if I were to become famous whether or not I’d ever have another moment like this: my closest friends, my parents, the familiarity of my house. Did I want to be famous badly enough to risk what I already had and loved? As soon as the thought occurred to me, I tried to banish it; I had no reason to believe that I’d have to compromise anything for success. But deep down at the bottom of my heart, as I watched Lee give his interview, I thought of Taylor and knew better. There was always a compromise for fame.   It was a law of physics, practically: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If I was lucky enough to have a shot at becoming a celebrity, I was sure I’d find out what that compromise would be.
    The next day at school was bittersweet. I had sworn my friends to secrecy not to tell the other kids at school until closer to the season premiere, but I was a little annoyed that they’d followed my orders. When I folded up my white lab coat and hung it on a hook in the Chemistry lab cloak room next to Kaela’s, I felt a small victorious thrill. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll never wear you never again, Chem lab coat! I thought to myself.   Ms. Shakur reminded us to all read Chapter 2 and urged us to prepare for a quiz on Monday about isotopes. My days of caring about isotopes were over, at least