Finally we pulled into a parking lot next to a long, nondescript cinderblock building. “Oom boppa, oom boppa, mow mow,” said Kenna, sitting in her seat, staring straight ahead. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be doing. She turned to me. “Do you mind hopping out? I’m kind of stuck here until you do.”
“Oh, sorry, I forgot,” I said. I got out. She scooted after me, retrieving my bag from the trunk.
“Here we are,” she said. I followed her to the door and inside. She wheeled my bag to a large conference room and set it by the door. “The restrooms are down the hall if you need to freshen up. Then take a seat in here and Shane, Christine, and everyone else will be with you in a few minutes. It was nice meeting you, Emma. Good luck,” she said, waving and running off. I smoothed my suit, seeing through the conference room window that she was already back outside, crawling through her passenger door, probably off to pick up another contender.
I went to the restroom and touched up my lipstick. The linoleum floor tiles were cracked and peeling. There were wadded up paper towels all over the floor and the soap dispenser was empty. This was not at all how I had pictured things going.
I went back to the conference room and sat down, relieved that my carry-on was still where Kenna had left it. Suddenly a gaggle of people descended upon me. Everyone was wearing shorts, t-shirts, and baseball caps.
“Emma! Emma Van Elson,” said a tall guy with a beard, consulting the clipboard in his hand.
“That’s me,” I said, rising.
“I’m Shane,” he said, holding out his hand to shake.
“Nice to meet you,” I said, shaking his hand and the hands of everyone around him.
“I’m Christine,” said a tall, smiley woman.“We spoke on the phone yesterday.”
“Nice to meet you, Christine,” I said, flashing what I hoped was a confident smile.
“You got to see L.A. traffic firsthand!” someone shouted.
“That Kenna is a crazy driver,” someone else added.
“Baptism by fire!”
They all sat down and for a moment there was uncomfortable silence.
“Do you want a cup of coffee?” asked Christine.
“No thank you,” I said.
“John, get her a bottle of water,” Christine said to a young guy who was closest to the door. He hopped to it, coming back a moment later and depositing a sweating bottle in front of me.
“Thank you,” I said.
“How was your flight?” asked Christine.
“Good.”
“Let’s get right down to business,” she said. “Shane and I reviewed your video yesterday, and we are really excited about you. We feel that you are going to make an excellent addition to one of our upcoming programs.”
“I’m here to meet Bellamy, right?” I asked. I opened my water. My throat felt like it was closing up.
“Ideally, yes,” said Christine, “if that is what interests you most. But we have several other choices. We’ll begin filming soon for our programs Naughty Obstacle Course, Sisterhood of Skank, The Ultimate Bread Baking Challenge, America’s Newest Street Performer, Lusty Hotel, Gross Out, and International Truth or Dare. So if we don’t find a place for you on Bellamy’s Redemption, there are many other possibilities. No need for you to worry about which fits you best right now, though; I work on all of these, and I will be with you every step of the way. I’m going to be your contact here. Your rock.”
“Don’t forget I Can’t Believe I Ate That,” said a woman with tiny wire rimmed glasses.
“I’m really only interested in Bellamy,” I said. I wondered if they were testing me to see how serious I was about him.
Christine and Shane looked at one another, exchanging some kind of unspoken message. Palpable tension hovered in the air. It occurred to me that everyone was taking this so seriously. I smiled to lighten the mood.
“In that case,” said Shane, “I’m going to take over.” He smiled now too, looking pleased with himself. “Emma, I am going to present a series of situations, and I would like you to tell me how you think you would respond. There is no right or wrong answer. Ready?”
“Sure,” I said, taking another sip of water.
“Alright,” said Shane, “you’re riding a bus, and a man in a business suit gets on the bus. He’s intoxicated, and threatens an elderly woman sitting beside you. What do you do?”