Free Center Stage! (Center Stage! #1) by Caitlyn Duffy Page A

you look gorgeous,” Geoffrey assured me.
    However, that day, for my introduction to America, I would not be made over to look gorgeous. I would, sadly, look like plain, boring Allison Burch, eleventh-grader. I sat on our plaid couch fidgeting as the gaffing crew adjusted hot lights and white bounce boards to get the highlights and shadows on my face just right. Wall-to-wall distractions filled my entire house; there was a catering table in our hallway, and our bathroom was in constant use. Flush, flush, flush . I could read my mom’s mind to know that the amount of toilet paper being consumed was at the forefront of her thoughts. As per her wish, there was a noisy truck outside from which long black electrical cables snaked across our lawn and through our front door, which was propped open by bricks.
    Under normal circumstances, my mom would have been having a major freak-out about ants and flies coming into the house, but she was acting remarkably chill. She’d even taken the morning off from Levity and had a substitute yoga teacher lead her usual Thursday morning Prana Power Yoga class.
    “Alright, Allison. We’re just about ready. We’re going to ask you some questions, and when you reply, it would be great if you could answer with part of the question. For example, if I ask you, how did you first become interested in singing? You should reply by saying, I first became interested in singing when… Do you follow?” A guy who had introduced himself as Ralph, the unit director, asked me. Ralph had a Southern accent and wore a baseball cap, even indoors.
    “I follow,” I said. I didn’t recognize any of the people who’d infiltrated our house for the shoot from my audition day. I had imagined that Danny Fuego would be at my house to interview me in person, but I guess that was somewhat unrealistic. The production company had to shoot forty contestants’ introductions across the country in a week before the season premiere. I had at least thought that Claire would be there, and had even asked one of the production assistants if she’d be stopping by. But the production assistant’s expression told me that he had no idea who Claire was. Soon I would learn the difference between production crew and production staff . The production staff, who worked for the producers of the show, rarely left their desks in the air-conditioned studio.
    “Alright, Allison. So, on three. Three, two, one, and rolling. So, Allison. Tell us what inspired you to try out for Center Stage!.”
    I sat up as straight as I could, wondering if the camera were capturing any embarrassing details of our kitchen (visible behind me over the back of the couch). Television viewing audiences did not need to witness the unseasonable Christmas dish towels hanging on the door of our stove, or the National Aerospace Society calendar that hung over our counter, marked up with doctors’ appointments.
    “I was really nervous about auditioning for Center Stage! because it’s always been my dream to become a singer, but I haven’t had too many opportunities to perform. It seemed like the perfect time to see if I have the right stuff to make it, so I took a chance.”
    “Tell us a little bit about your life here in… where are we? West Hollywood.”
    “I was born here, in Los Angeles, and a lot of my friends’ parents work in the entertainment business. My mom teaches yoga here in West Hollywood, my dad designs airplane engines, and my brother goes to college in Connecticut.”
    “That’s great. Describe your love of music for us,” Ralph encouraged me.
    What an infuriatingly generic and dumb question! I struggled to compose a response in my head that would be memorable to TV audiences. “I’ve loved music my whole life, all kinds of music. My mom uses music as part of her practice to help people relax and find balance. All of my favorite memories growing up have to do with music, from singing Christmas carols together as a family during the