1

Maddie’s heart was racing.  She couldn’t help it.  After all, this was the most exciting experience of her life… or it was supposed to be.  When she had entered the contest, it had seemed like it.  When she won, she was sure of it.  But here she was, and she was scared.

            She closed her eyes and thought back to a poem she had written a few months ago.  A poem meant only for the eyes of a Mr. Nicholas Snider, famous singer and dancer and actor.  The one with the dusty blonde hair and chocolate-colored eyes.  Well, at least that was how he used to look.  His hair was an unnaturally shimmering blonde now.  It had been a month since she saw him walk onto the TV show in his weird hair with that weird look in his eyes.

            “Hello,” he had said in an odd version of his usual voice.  “I have big news.”  He had been staring past the camera, probably at some sort of script.  He had definitely looked too drunk to say everything on his own.  “Ezzie and I have gotten married.”

            That was when Maddie’s world had crashed down around her.  Ezmeralda Viztoza, Nick’s long-time girlfriend and fellow celebrity, was also one of Maddie’s idols.  She had once wanted to be Ezmeralda.  She didn’t any longer.  Now, whenever Nick and Ezzie made a public appearance, they both looked drunk and miserable beyond belief.  No matter how unhappy they were, she was still jealous.  She loved Nick, and now he was married to an alcoholic rock star who made him dye his hair a weird color.

            What was worse was that Maddie had to meet Ezmeralda.

            She couldn’t give up the contest.  So many hopeful contestants had sent their entries in, and Maddie had been chosen.  Besides, she couldn’t tell her friends of her new despising attitude towards Ezmeralda.  They wouldn’t understand.  They all thought Nick was cute, but they didn’t dream that they would meet him one day.  Maddie’s dreams were still alive, hanging by a thread.  She couldn’t bear the ridicule that she would suffer from if they knew.

            The door creaked open, and the smell of perfume washed throughout the room.  Maddie held her breath as she turned towards the door.  Ezmeralda Viztoza stood in the doorway, towering over her entourage since she was 5’8” coupled with hazardously high heels.  “Hello.  I’m Ezmeralda.”

            Maddie nodded.  Of course she knew who Ezmeralda was.  She had entered the contest for a reason!  “Madeline Broody.”

            Ezmeralda dismissed her followers with a wave of her hand and took a seat next to Maddie.  “Well, Madeline, congratulations on winning my contest!”

            Maddie looked up at Ezmeralda, into her hypnotizing dark eyes.  They were so dark that you couldn’t tell the difference between the pupils and the irises.  They seemed to go deeper and deeper, never ending.

            Ezmeralda seemed shockingly sober, but incredibly miserable.  Her smile was fake and her eyes were preoccupied.  “I…  Is there anything you want to talk about?  I don’t know exactly what I’m supposed to do.”

            “Let’s get one thing straight,” Maddie told her.  “I’m not a fan of yours anymore.  I really despise you.”

            The rock star laughed.  “Is it all right if I ask why?”  Before Maddie could respond, she held up a hand.  “Let me guess.  It’s about Nicky.”

            “Yes,” Maddie said.  Nicky.  Why on earth did she call him Nicky?  “It’s about Nicholas.  And the fact that you’re a drunk.”

            “Reasonable.  All very reasonable.  Well, now that we’ve gotten that over with…”  She picked up a folder that was sitting on a nearby table and began to flip through it.  “I’m supposed to take you around to do whatever you want.  We’re supposed to have a camera crew with us.  For a TV thing.”

            Maddie nodded.  The camera crew had already given her an interview in which she had to pretend to still be Ezmeralda’s biggest fan.  “I want to meet Nick.”

            The star smiled gently.  “Madeline, when we’re with the camera crew, I’d prefer if we didn’t.  You know what?  I’ll make you a deal.  This contest is a really big deal for my image.  You and I do ‘normal’ stuff today and I will give another day when we can meet Nicky and you can do whatever you want.”

            Nick?  She’d get to meet him?  And do whatever she wanted?  She could ask Ezmeralda why all of this stuff had happened.  She could ask the two of them why they were married and drunk and everything else.

            “It’s a deal,” Maddie told her.  “Oh, and please call me Maddie.”

            “Only if you call me Ezzie.”

            A huge smile graced the fan’s face.  Maybe Ezmeralda wasn’t so bad, after all.  She’d have to see.