Childstar 2

“Five seconds, Ms. London.”

“His name is Sheldon Worcester,” I confessed.

Grinning wickedly, she lifted the envelope up to me, saying, “You have an interview this afternoon with Stephanie MacAdams. When it’s over, take a moment and enjoy the feeling. Felix.”

She directed the last part to the driver up front who immediately stepped out to open the door for me. When I got out, I stood right in front of the NQB News building.

“Have a good day, Ms. London,” the man said to me as he entered the car. Without another word, they drove off just as quickly they came into my life.

“Amelia.” Ollie got my attention as we stood in front of the building. Beside him was Keri, dressed now in dress pants and a collared shirt. “What happened to you? The private jet in New York said you weren’t at the airfield when they waited to pick you up. Then all of the sudden, I get a message from you that you have an interview with Stephanie MacAdams and to bring Keri? What is going on?”

I froze, my brain trying to connect the dots. All I could do was turn to look back in the direction in which they had driven off. Since I got on the jet, something felt odd, but I was too exhausted to care at the time. Ollie had struggled to get me a plane coming back and told me I was going to have to wait. However, when I got to the airfield, one was already waiting. Not only that, but it was far more luxurious than I was used to.

“Amelia?” Keri said, stepping in front of me. “You look exhausted right now. Whatever this is, maybe you should wait—”

“No,” I said, cutting her off and walking around them and into the glass skyscraper.

“Amelia, you’re starting to scare me. I have no clue what’s going on with you anymore. You’re being far too reckless right now,” Ollie whispered, and I couldn’t argue. I was starting to scare myself, but I couldn’t stop.

“Amelia London for Stephanie MacAdams?” I said to the receptionist.

“Of course. We’ve been expecting you,” she said, handing us all badges as she got up from her seat. “I’ll take you to the green room so that you can get ready.”

“Thank you,” I said, following her.

“No problem. Mrs. MacAdams says this is top priority. We’ve taken the liberty of getting you a makeup artist and a change of clothes since this is all very last minute,” she explained, pushing open the white door to reveal a rack of clothes and two women sitting on the couch drinking coffee.

I didn’t even have time say anything as she left, and one of the women led me to a chair in front of the mirror.

“Amelia, I think now is the time you clue me in on what you are about to say on national television, don’t you think?” Keri whispered, leaning up against the countertop.

Finally releasing the grip on the envelope in my hands, I handed it to her. She paused for a second just like I had. Before opening it, she peeked in first, her eyes widening as she pulled out the contents.

“Where? How?” she questioned.

“Do you know who Melody Callahan is?” The moment I said her name, you would have thought I had kissed Satan in church with the look of fear that spread over the faces of everyone but Ollie and myself. The stylist almost dropped the clothes in her hand before recovering and trying to pretend she heard nothing. Same with the makeup artist, who was busy blending something on the side of her hand.

“You’re friends with Melody Callahan?” Keri whispered.

“I’m not sure I would call us friends,” I said. I had only just met her ten minutes ago, after all. “Again, who is she?”

“Basically the queen of Chicago…she just gave this to you?” Keri asked.

She didn’t just give me anything.

I’m pretty sure I sold my soul. But I couldn’t say that because it gave me goosebumps. Plus, the look on Ollie’s face bothered me.

“Yeah. Pretty much,” I lied.

“Ray Mallory must have gotten on her bad side,” she whispered to herself, staring down at the photos in front of her. “Fight a queen, and you lose your head.”

The way she spoke about her, this Melody Callahan, made me a little envious. I wondered what it was like to be so important that everyone in the city not only knew and revered you, but never wanted to cross you, either. I guess that was the difference between queens and celebrities: queens get shit done.

Today, I failed. I wanted to help Noah on my own, thinking I could just stomp around and everything would fall into place. It was naïve and prideful of me. I did learn a lesson I’d never forget.

The makeup and getting dressed passed by in a blur. I had one thing left to do, one last part to play, and I could only focus on that. Even as Keri tried her best to prep me on short notice, I couldn’t think of anything else right now.

“Ms. London, we are ready for you.” A man peeked into the dressing room.