“A little to the left Gabby! Now give me a pout.....ohhhh! That’s wonderful! The
innocent look now!” Jean Claude, the photographer ordered.
Johnny stood behind the camera, watching as his golden girl worked the
shoot. There wasn’t an eye in the building that wasn’t on her. The makeup and
hair crew had transformed the girl into an angel. She looked as though she had
simply walked off the pages of Seventeen magazine.
“Give me a big smile, Gabby. A big smile like you’ve just... had an album
that went diamond....Great! Now look like you’re completely in love. Enamored
even.”
Aaron yelled from the sidelines, “Gab! Imagine you were getting that red
rose all over again!”
That caused Gabby to make an angry face, and Jean Claude snapped it,
enjoying Aaron’s coaching. “Sir, why don’t you take over?” he asked Aaron.
Being far from shy, Aaron walked up to Jean Claude and announced,
“Sounds great to me. Gabby, look like you’re about to cry because I dropped
your rose and it got crushed when I fell on it...”
Hugging Gabrielle, Jean Claude announced, “That was more than
wonderful darling. And, here are a few of the preliminaries you can take with
you. Show them to your friends. And good luck. I shall see you again, that I am
sure of.”
Once she pulled away, Johnny brought Gabby aside. “There’s a car
waiting for you outside Gabby. Just get your stuff and head on out. I’ll take are
of the rest.”
She flashed him a bright smile and answered, “Thank you so much
Johnny.”
With a nod, he replied, “It’s my job. I’ll call you on Tuesday to see how
the songs are coming. Okay?”
Gabby shook her head as she headed for the dressing room to get her
things. “Sounds great, Johnny.”
“OHMIGOD! OUR LIL’ GIRL!” Chris shrieked, being the first to see
Gabby’s drastic new look.
Hugging him tightly, she replied, “Hey Chrissy... It’s a big change isn’t it?”
Twirling his finger, he requested a 360° view of Gabrielle’s new look. She
spun around in a pirouette, finishing with a round of applause from Chris. With
an inquisitive look upon her face, Gabby asked, “What do you really think
Chris?”
Her face changed from a smile so a serious look, “You would look much
better in some FuMan Skeeto, girl!”
Lance and Joey, just having completed their vocals in the track that they
were doing, walked into the posh waiting area of the recording studio to find
Chris and Gabby. “Wow!” Lance exclaimed.
Joey, however, wasted no time. “Hey...Gabby... I lost my number, can I
have yours?”
“Joey, you already have my phone number.” Gabby answered, amused by
him.
“Well... can I have your name? Because I have to know what to ask
Santa for Christmas...” he persisted.
Finally, Lance broke in, “Joey...leave Gabby alone. You’re gonna turn
into a stalker if you keep it up.” Turning to Gabby, he asked politely, “How did
your photo shoot go?”
Smiling, she stated, “It went great. Not nearly as bad as I expected.
Maybe you could even call it...fun.”
Then, just having finished the final solos of the song, Justin and JC
strolled in. Justin staggered back when he caught a glimpse of Gabby. Just the
day before, she had been just plain Gabby. Hair that grazed her shoulder
blades was pulled back into a low ponytail, no makeup on her face. The extent
of her wardrobe was jeans and t-shirts, and of course the “stylish” Valu Mart vest
she donned at work. It was as though she was transformed into a completely
different person, especially in his eyes. Her hair was now in curls that
attractively framed her face. Makeup accented her eyes and her smile, a shiny
lip gloss over light pink lipstick. She wore a light pink strapless tube dress and a
dark denim jacket over it. Glasses with black frames and pink lenses were
holding back her mane of hair, a pink stoned necklace crafted of sterling silver
around her neck.
“Whoa...” Justin moaned under his breath. It was intended to be
inaudible, but was, in fact, caught by everyone else in the room. Trying to cover
up, Justin announced perkily, “Gabby! Great to see you!”
Holding up the rose, she said softly, “Thanks for the rose, Justin. It’s
beautiful.”
Unable to resist once again, Joey responded, “Not half as beautiful as
you, Gabby!”
Gabby smiled, and patted Joey’s cheek gently, “You kill me Casanova.”
With no witty comeback, Joey simply stated, “I’m hungry. Let’s go eat.
You come with us Gabby.”
Everyone agreed, and the left the studio with the destination of Planet
Hollywood. Of course, Gabby rode with Justin, each of the others driving
separately.
Chris was the first to spot the large manila folder in Gabby’s purse. Upon
seeing them, he exclaimed, “She’s got proofs! Ahhh! We gotta see these!”
Forgetting his manners, Chris pulled the folder out, and sprung it open in the
middle of the table.
“You’re very photogenic, you know, Gabby,” Lance commented politely.
Smiling, she answered, “Thank you Lance. Even if you are greatly
exaggerating.”
“AHHHH! OHMIGAWD! Are you *N SYNC’s girlfriend?!?!?’ a short
chubby brunette girl asked, pen in hand, waiting for the guys to sign her old
sneaker.
Smiling, Gabby answered, “No sweetie. I’m just a good friend. That’s all.”
“You know that I’m gonna MARRY Justin?” the little girl stated, loudly
stressing the “marry”.
It was all Gabby could do not to roll her eyes. She thought to herself,
“Yea? You and almost every teenybopper in the country.” However, she simply
answered, “Well, that’s great then.”
The little girl’s face twisted and she announced, “You’re pretty. Are you a
movie star?”
Gabby blushed, but answered softly, “Thank you very much. I sing”
Wide eyed, the little girl questioned, “Like Britney Spears?”
That was when Justin cut in, “Not at all like Britney Spears, squirt.”
She giggled nervously at Justin’s name for her, then a gray haired lady
hollered, “Shannon! It’s time to go!”
The little girl muttered, “Okay.” as she stomped away. Once she reached
her mother, she looked up to her mother, and said, “MOM! Didn’t you know who
they werrrrrrrrre? That was *N SYYYYYYYYYYYNC!” Her griping was followed
by a chorus of laughter by the guys.
With a piercing glare, she looked over at Justin, “C’mon guys. That’s not
funny. That little girl idolizes you...” her face broke into a smile once she added,
“If she only knew how you really were!”
