"I don't know Mom," I said as I laid down on the couch in the living room and reached for the remote. "Who?"
"Seventeen magazine!"
I sat up quickly. "Seventeen? What do they want?"
My mom sat down next to me. "They want to do an article on you, and you'll be on the cover of next month's issue."
"Oh my God, that's so cool!" Charisma said.
"What did you tell them mom?"
"I told them yes of course! They're coming tomorrow morning, so I'll bring you to school late."
"Oh yes!" I gave my mom a hug. "Thank you, you're the best mom ever!"
My mother smiled. "I know."
The Next Morning...
"Hi," I said nervously as I shook the hand of Marie Miller, the woman from Seventeen.
"Hi Cara, you ready to get started?" she asked. I nodded. "Okay, we'll start with the pictures. First the cover shot. Ray!" A man came running. "Get the white screen and get wardrobe in here too."
"Sure Marie." The man went running back.
"Are you nervous Cara?" Marie asked.
"Yeah, kinda. I've never really done something like this before."
Marie gave me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I won't write anything bad. I've already got a lot of it done, actually. I called your brother and the guys the other day."
"Oh," was all I could say before another woman grabbed my arm and sat me down in a chair.
"Makeup!" she announced.
As she worked on my makeup, another woman picked out my clothes. A black tube top, black capri pants, and black sandals.
After I had put that on and gotten my makeup done, a man came in to do my hair. It came out really nice; it was a messy bun with curly tendrils framing my face.
"You look nice," Marie complimented me. "I like it!"
After we took about a dozen shots of me in front of the white screen, I changed back into the clothes I had been wearing before so we could start the interview. After many questions, Marie thanked me and she and the crew people left.
"So how'd it go?" my mother asked as she walked through the front door. She had been out shopping during the interview.
"It went okay," I answered as I got my book bag and purse. "Are you gonna bring me to school now?"
"No, you can stay home. You look exhausted Cara."
"Thanks Mom." I went into the family room and turned on the TV. "Ooh, Jerry Springer."
I watched TV until I feel asleep on the couch.
A Few Weeks Later...
"Cara!" Charisma came running up to me, waving the new issue of Seventeen. "Look!" She handed me the magazine.
I looked at the cover, and sure enough I was on it. "Cara Litrell talked about her brother, fame, and what its like to date a Backstreet Boy," I read.
"Read the article, it's good."
I flipped to the page and began to read, "When you think of the Backstreet Boys, you think of the oh so adorable hotties crooning songs Like 'Quit Playin' Games With My Heart' or 'As Long As You Love Me'. But what does Cara Litrell think of when she thinks of the Backstreet Boys? Something deeper than that.
'Well, Brian is my brother, and Kevin my cousin, but Nick, Howie, and AJ are like my extended family. I love them all so much, they are the greatest people and deserve all of their successes,' Cara says with a shy smile as we sit and talk in her living room.
What does Brian say about his sister? 'I call her Shorty,' Brian says with a laugh. 'Even though she's taller than me now, the girl's huge! We're really close though. Whenever I'm on tour and she can't come with us, I call Cara everyday to talk. That's the kind of relationship we have, very tightly knit.'
It's no secret that Cara is the younger sister of Brian, but there was a point when her entire school had no idea. 'I just didn't want people to like me because I was Brian's sister,' Cara says with a sigh. 'So I kept it from everyone, even my best friend. They all found out when I went on Backstreet TV with the guys, and now I'm popular.'
What does Cara think about this new-found fame? 'I hate it!' she answers confidently. 'You should see the scene when I walk into school ever morning, it's horrible. People ask if I could get them autographs or if I can give one of the guys their phone number for them. One girl even asked me if I could kiss AJ and then say it was from her!'
But what about her and AJ? Since MTV News 1515 aired a special on their relationship, neither has been at odds to deny it. 'Cara is the sweetest person,' AJ says. 'She never complains that we can hardly see each other, she takes it in stride. I love her so much, she completes me.'
'AJ is in one word incredible. He's such a sweetheart,' Cara says happily, her cheeks getting red. 'I've known him since I was little, and I always had a crush on him.'
What do the guys have to say about Cara? 'She's my partner in crime!' Nick says with a smile. 'Whenever Cara's on tour with us, we pull pranks on the other guys. It's the best part of the tour!'
'Cara's my homegirl!' Howie says, laughing. 'We always joke around together, she's a lot of fun to be with.'
'Cara's my lil cuz, and I love her so much,' Kevin says. 'She's the sweetest person, despite when her and Nick gang up on the rest of us.'
After spending all morning with her, I've got to say that Cara Littrell is every bit as cool as the Backstreet Boys say she is."
"So what'd you think?" Charisma asked.
"I love it! I have to call AJ later, what he said was so sweet!"
"I know, I loved it." Charisma glanced down the hallway. "Um, Cara?"
"Um, what?"
"There are like thirty girls holding a copy of Seventeen, I suggest we get the hell out of here before there's a stampede!"
I nodded and Charisma and I ran to homeroom, ready to start yet another really bad day of school.
"Cara!" my mother called as I walked through our front door tiredly. I just signed about twenty copies of Seventeen. "Cara, you'll never guess who called."
"De ja vu," I thought to myself but said out loud, "I don't know, who?"
"The Elite Modeling agency! They saw you on the cover of Seventeen and said that you're model material! They want you to live in Paris for a year and do some work for them! They said that you'll have a tutor come with you so you don't have to worry about school. What do you think?"
My jaw must have dropped to the floor. "Oh my God, are you kidding me! What did you tell them?!"
"I told them yes! We leave tomorrow!"
"Tomorrow? Oh my God, I gotta pack!" I ran over to my mother and gave her a huge hug. "Mom, thank you so much!"
My mother smiled as I ran up the stairs and into my room. "Don't mention it Cara."
The Next Day...
"I can't believe you're really going," Charisma said sadly as I gave her a hug good bye at the airport. Her eyes filled with tears. "I'm gonna miss you so much."
"Stop that, you're gonna make me cry!" I sniffled. "But I'm gonna miss you too. I'll call you every chance I get, I promise."
"Flight 202 departing for Paris now boarding!"
"Well, that's our plane," I said with a sigh. I gave Charisma one last hug. "Bye Ris."
"Wait, here." Charisma handed me a small box. "Don't open it until you get on the plane! Bye Cara!"
I nodded as my parents and I walked through the gate. They were coming with me to Paris, but my dad had to leave after we got there. My parents decided that for the first few months they would alternate, one staying for a month or two, and then the other.
We found our seats on the plane and slowly I opened the small blue box. Inside was a a golden best friends necklace. As I looked at it closely, I saw my an inscription on my half of the heart that said Charisma. There was also a note inside the box:
Cara,
Hi, if you're reading this I guess you found my present. My half says Cara, and yours says Charisma. Like it? I got it so you won't forget me while you're in Paris.
You have no idea how much I'm going to miss you. I hate not being able to see you all the time, but once you get really famous I guess all I'll have to do is open a magazine, huh?
Well, have fun in France. See ya when you come home again!
Tears filled my eyes as I read the note and I realized that I was going to miss Charisma so much. I sighed as i look out of the window of the plane. This was going to be a long trip.
