She sat in her chair infront of the lighted mirror and looked at her reflection. "Ugh I can't do this!" She scolded herself. But a little voice in the back of her head said differently sure you can, you've been performing ever since you were nine, ever since...
Now was NOT the time to be thing about emotional baggage. What was she going to do? She felt like nervous wreck, but there was one person who always cheered her up...
She grabbed her cell phone from off the counter and dialed in the numbers that were practically burned into her brain after dialing them so many times. please pick up...PLEASE she pleaded silently.
"Hello?"
"Clea?!"
"Yeah this is her...is this Karla?"
"No it's Santa clause what do you think?"
"WASSUP?! Girlie? why haven't you called me in the last couple days?"
Karla sighed, she hated neglecting her best friend, but things were just like that sometimes "I'm sorry, it's just that preping for the tour has been keeping me busy and tiring me out."
Clea didn't miss the dejectiveness in her voice. "What's wrong? they forgot to give you a crown when you were named the newest pop princess?" Clea's sense of sarcasm was normal. Karla was far too used to this to care, it was apart of her personality.
"No but seriously..what's eatin' at you kid?"
"damn you read me like a book!" Karla laughed weakly.
"No, your just too friggin' transparent for your own good, now what's going on with you in pop-land?"
"I'm about to perform...and I don't know how people are going to accept me. I mean it's like 99.9% hormonal teenage girls out there who are going to absoloutly chew me up and spit me out if I'm not good."
"glad I'm not you..."
"I wish I could say the same thing right about now..." her tone full of self pity.
"If I could slap you right now I'd sure as hell try. Are you telling me that you are over there wallowing in dissipation?"
"Yes" Karla mumbled meakly into the reciever. She knew this would get clea riled up, becuase one of her pet peeves was self pity. She saw no use for it because it never and accomplished things, sinking that low was a sign of weakness to her. She understood that not everybody could attain that at all times in their lives, but as long as she had been friends with her, she knew that this one thing she would NOT put up with.
"Karla Andrea Reid. Listen up here. How many auditions did you go through? how many cafes did you sing in? How many times have you been rejected? how many times have you been admired?You've been on tour before--Yes I KNOW it was a smaller tour, but that's not the point-- Even if they don't like you, they have to be BLIND to miss the talent and charisma that radiates out of you when you perform. I've seen it,Jive saw it and so did NSYNC. or else you wouldn't be their. Dont let them intimadate you from doing what you love! It's your therapy not theirs...and if they don't like you because you're hindering from seeing 'america's favorite boyband', then you can tell them to kiss your ass and go to hell in a handbasket." Clea said strongly. This was the last thing Karla needed before going out and performing. No one had suceeded in breaking her down before and a bunch of mindless teenyboppers wasn't going to now. Over her dead body at least.
"Why are you always right Clea?"
"what can I say? it's a gift. Now go out there and kick some teenybopper butt!"
Karla laughed. "Thanks alot Clea. I seriously don't know how I managed without you these last few weeks. Maybe you can come on tour with me sometime!"
"really? that'd be great. call me back when you get a chance so I can hear all about your performance and say 'I told you so', then we can get around to flight arrangements"she laughed.
"A'ight Chica, take care, buh bye!" Karla said hanging up her cell phone and sighing. A little burst of reality was what she needed, and Clea was the epitome of reality in her opinion. She was out of her funk and ready to take on the world...or at least the huge crowd of Nsync fans outside her dressing room door.
As she stood up there was another knock on the door. "Come in!" She yelled.
"Hello." said a male voice behind her, she recognised it from that morning, and the second time she had met up with the group at sound check. She turned around to face her vistor.
"hey Lance! what brings you to my lil' dressing room?"
"I came to wish you good luck on your first big show" He said smiling at her.
"Thanks...I think I'll need it." she said jerking her head towards the stage.
"Oh them? They can be a bit harsh, but I've sse you in action, and there shouldn't be any compliants..." at least not from me he thought.
"Somehow that makes me feel alot better, thanks Lance." She said reaching up to hug him.
"No problem" He said from behind her back, muffled by the thick weave that was planted in her hair. "We've all been through this at one point or another. Like us on Janet Jackson's tour, but that's another story..."
She laughed and moved to pull away from her, but his ring was caught on her stage hair and made parting very difficult.
"Why do they put that crap in your hair?" he muttered attempting pull his ring out of the mass of auburn weave around her shoulders.
"Ouch!"
"Sorry" He was very close to her now, and she could feel his body heat radiating off of him and his breath on her neck as he worked to get his ring out of her hair, The prospect of being that close to him sent chills down her spine. He understood the feeling completely because he was sharing the same feelings.
His lips were parrell to her ear "Almost...got it" He said giving it one last tug, freing her hair.
"my bad." He said putting his ring back on his right hand ring finger. "how's your hair?"
"Matted, somebody might think we where in here wrestling or something." She said, as she watched his expression change into an evil grin.
"You perve!" she said hitting him softly
"A guy can hope right?"he said heading towards the door. She laughed. "See ya later"
weird. she thought. three times in one day. At her sound check thaty after noon all of the guys came up and introdused themselves to her and welcomed her to the tour.
Lucky for Justin he had remebered his name that time. wonder if I'll see him again.. As if on cue, there was another knock on her door
She shook her head. Things were getting off to an ironic start...
