Twenty-three. She was twenty-three. Stacey could feel herself sweating. It had seemed like a great idea earlier, but she couldn't sing or dance or act to save herself. At least as far as she knew. To be honest, she'd never really tried, so she wasn't sure. Her singing voice should be ok. Stacey was pretty sure she could sing in tune. Maybe it was better to just sit on the sidelines to watch and let herself starve to death? But… starving to death was so painful. Stacey really, really, really wanted to eat and drink something right now.
"So we'll put sixteen for your age," Mindy said, typing into her laptop computer. "We'll get our doctor to give you a checkup after this and the doctor may be able to confirm a rough age for you then. I'll make a reminder for myself to revisit this. We'll report you to the State and they'll probably organise a guardian or case manager for you in the meantime. I'll just send them the form now. For the purposes of this program, they may allow us, the program designers, to be your guardians until an entertainment agency signs you over and you get your own manager."
Stacey felt a confliction of emotions, feeling strange about being told she'd be given guardians as if she were a child. This really hurt her adult's pride. Did she really have to become a minor again? Was there a way to get the help she needed without being treated like a child?
"Hmm," Mindy hummed. "Oh. That was fast. They've already replied to my email. Like I said, us program organisers are now temporarily your official guardians. They've put Marvel down as your primary guardian, since you're one of his kids."
That was fast. Since when did any government bureaucracy answer people's queries so quickly unless they already had their eye on them? Did that mean the government had already had an eye on her? If not, if the government was paying close attention to this program, did that mean they would also pay extra special to her? If the government kept a close eye on her, did that mean they found her suspicious? If they thought she was suspicious, would they find out that she seemed to have come from another world altogether? Would she get imprisoned and taken awake to be used as an alien research subject?
The makeup man dabbed at the sweat on Stacey's forehead and gestured to a makeup lady who changed what she was going to use, dabbing a pleasant smelling liquid on Stacey's face.
"Mindy, I want to be in charge of this girl's looks and design," the makeup man said, while he worked. "There's so much we can do for her and I have so many ideas for how we can evolve her look, while still staying true to her."
True to her? How did they know what was true to her personality unless they asked her?
"Sure," Mindy made a few notes on her laptop. "I've got it down, Tonton. She's all yours."
It would be great if she could have an opinion as well, but Stacey still felt like she was dreaming. She was slow to react to most things at the moment. Even if they asked her opinion, she wouldn't know how to reply. What would be the point of them asking her opinion if the answer wouldn't change the outcome?
Stacey released a small sigh. She felt irritated with herself. Becoming objectified wasn't helping either.
"Awesome," Tonton, the makeup man, pumped his fist. "Ladies, we've got ourselves a jewel in the rough," he said to his make up team. "Let's put our heads together later to see how we can make her shine."
Stacey wasn't sure she should be happy or scared at how much attention she was attracting and how excited people were getting about her. Back home she was just a plain, ordinary person who liked to wear comfy clothes. Most of the comfy clothes just happened to be baggy and cover her body. She'd never tried or bothered to use makeup before.
She caught sight of the cameras around. Someone had already started filming earlier when she hadn't been paying attention. Her stress levels sky rocketed and she fidgeted. At least everything would be edited later. She hoped she wouldn't look too stupid.
"Don't stress, sweetie," Tonton dabbed away the sweat that was trickling down the back of her neck, while he fixed her hair in a messy ponytail. It was neater than what Stacey had done earlier but now it looked cool, whereas before it had looked like she had just gotten out of bed. "You'll be fine. We've got you. Once the entire program team have met you, they'll love you too."
Weren't people announcing their interest in her a little too soon? It was making Stacey feel like she was a bug in a tank or a project waiting to be worked on. Somehow, it made her feel less like a person. With all their encouragement and superficial niceties, Stacey wondered how genuine half their reactions were. To them, picking her up would be like picking up a street kid.
Stacey shut her eyes to let the makeup people do their work and to pretend the cameras weren't there. If she couldn't see them, maybe she could forget they were there.
Mindy's unanswerable questions continued. To the point that Stacey wanted to cry. She didn't have a favourite anything - never had, she couldn't say how much she remembered since it came from another world and no, she didn't think she had any special talents. What kind of talents could a person like her who hadn't gone to university and was only the lowliest of workers back home have?
Stacey glanced over at the boys who were done and were just sitting on the sidelines to give her big grins or a thumbs up every now and then. What was she expecting? She wouldn't receive very much help from those two when they didn't even know what a pickle she'd gotten herself into. Even if they did help, they would only help dig a deeper hole for her to jump into.
"Alright," Mindy made a gesture to the camera man and beckoned Tonton back over. "Aww, Stacey, don't cry. It's ok. The interview and registration is over now. You did fine. You may have felt awkward but that's alright. That way, people will see how you change over time and appreciate the journey of your growth that we'll take them on. No, please, don't cry. I don't know what to do when people cry. It makes me start to cry and then we'll look ugly. Our makeup will be messed up and then we'll have to get it fixed again. Look, your makeup is getting messed up too."
Gritting her teeth in frustration, Stacey pulled all her emotions back. It wasn't easy. Not when she felt like she was about to fall apart any moment now.
"Here, have a drink," Tonton passed her a glass of water and then got her to stay still while he fixed her makeup again. "Calm down. I'm sure you'll do great in your audition. I'm rooting for you. You've got this, sweetie."
Stacey took a sip. The water was sweet. Suddenly, having something in her stomach made her lose control, after all, water could fill her up a bit as well. She was hungry enough to cry. She gulped the water down so fast that she shocked everyone. She was hungry and thirsty and couldn't hold herself back. If only the cup had held more.
"You've got the looks of a drinker," Mindy chuckled. "Great. Hey, Loafer, you get that shot?"
A thumbs up came from behind the camera.
"Would you like another drink, sweetie?" Tonton refilled Stacey's plastic cup, but Stacey suddenly bent over, clutching her abdomen. "Here you go. What's wrong? Does your tummy hurt? It's ok. Don't be nervous. Look. The toilet's just over there. Mindy'll wait for you. Don't worry."
Stacey downed the cup and then hurried to the toilet, hugging her cramping tummy. The hunger pangs had gotten much worse after those two cups of water. It looked like the water had woken the hungry dragon in her tummy up.
Calm down, tummy. Calm down. You'll get to eat later. Calm down. Just calm down. Don't make things any more embarrassing than they already are.