#famous(24)

“What sort of plan? I don’t really have a say over this.”

“Of course you do. You certainly have a say in how you react. For example, you didn’t have to agree to be interviewed by those reporters this morning.”

“I guess not.” I could feel my back tensing up.

“I think you were quite poised.” Mom gave a rare smile. I exhaled. “I was proud of how you handled yourself. The goal now is to make sure you get more of those opportunities and use them to your advantage.”

“Look at you, Stage Mom.”

“No, I’m just trying to be smart,” Mom said pointedly. “If you play this right, it could put Princeton back on the table. An essay about this—with Rosie’s help, obviously”—Rosie was the SAT tutor Mom had hired a year ago who had transitioned recently into a college apps guru—“well, it would definitely stand out. And colleges have always liked applicants that are visible, doing something different; the ones that have that ‘something special.’ This could be what makes you special, Kyle. It could be everything we’ve wanted for you.”

I swallowed. I’d thought my parents were mostly resigned to the idea that I wasn’t going to follow Carter to the Ivies. I didn’t have the grades, I wasn’t half as good at lacrosse; it just wasn’t going to happen. It had actually been a relief when my most recent SAT scores came in; even they could see I was nowhere near Princeton’s averages.

The first thing I manage to do that’s different than Carter, better even, and they want to use it to put me back on track to being his Mini-Me.

The house line rang from the little paneled nook at the back of the kitchen. Mom stood up automatically. Usually it was either a telemarketer or one of her clients.

“I’m gonna do some homework,” I said, starting across the kitchen.

“We’re on the same page, though?” Mom walked to the phone but didn’t pick it up, watching me with raised eyebrows. “We’re going to optimize your . . .”

“Media appearances?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I guess that’s what they are. You’ll discuss any ‘appearances’ with your dad or me first, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Sure.”

She nodded once and grabbed the phone off the cradle, putting a hand over the receiver and mouthing “shoes off” before putting it to her ear. I kicked them off and started upstairs. I figured I had at least an hour of video games before I had to start on homework. After all, I’d expected more shifts this week.

I’d barely turned on the Xbox when Mom’s voice ricocheted up behind me.

“Kyle, come down here, please?”

I clicked the game open, so it could at least be loaded when I got back, and padded back downstairs.

“Yeah?”

Mom’s eyes were extra wide and the blood had drained out of her face. She was still holding the phone at shoulder level, but I could hear the tinny flatline of the dial tone from the doorway.

“What happened? Is everything okay?” My heart started beating faster, pulsing hard through the veins in my neck. “Mom, what’s wrong?” Had something happened to Dad? A car accident? “MOM.”

“Nothing, everything is fine.” Her voice was robot-flat, and she was staring past me, frowning slightly. “I’m just a little shocked. That was a producer from the Laura Show.”

The cage of barbed wire that had clamped around my stomach loosened slightly. People we loved: not dead or dying. Mom just looked like she’d gotten gut-punched.

Then her words registered.

“Wait, like the talk show?”

She nodded slowly.

“Why?”

A dazed smile started to pull up the corners of her mouth.

“They want you on the show. Friday’s show, but they’d tape tomorrow. They said they’d fly you out on a red-eye. Tonight.”

The Laura Show? Wanted me? I’d only seen it once or twice when I was home sick. It was on in the middle of the afternoon, and it seemed to be aimed toward goofy moms. Still, even I knew it was big. “Real celebrities selling their latest movies” big.

It was exactly what Mom wanted. She always seemed to be able to make what she wanted happen. My whole body started to feel too light, like even my arms were dizzy. It wasn’t particularly pleasant.

“What do you think?” I finally said. I couldn’t have answered the question if she’d been the one asking.

“Oh, Kyle, it’s fantastic!”

She leaned forward and hugged me hard around the shoulders. I wasn’t sure if I agreed or not, so I just focused on trying to keep my balance.





chapter fifteen


RACHEL

WEDNESDAY, 4:35 P.M.

“It has to be a joke, right?”

Monique had collapsed onto the bed beside me, but I was still staring at the phone, transfixed.

@YourBoyKyle_B: Just got a call from the

awesome people at the Laura Show. Who

wants to see me on TV? ;)

“I don’t think it’s a joke,” Monique said to the ceiling.

“But Laura? She has on TV stars. She got the president to do karaoke with her that one time. She can’t seriously be interested in Kyle Bonham from Apple Prairie High.”

“Why not? She had Melodramatic Husky on a few months ago.”