Chapter Three - Becca
CHAPTER THREE
I’m so distracted by the height of the man’s hair —it has to be some kind of hair piece, right?— that I don’t realize I’m just standing in the doorway, staring.
“I’m Winston Dozer.” He holds out his hand.
I swallow down a squeak of surprise as I shake his hand. Winston Dozer is the CEO of Starlight Talent Agency.
This is definitely not the first impression I had hoped to make. A burst of heat flares in my chest and starts to climb up my neck, making my cheeks hot. My eyes dart back and forth, scanning the surroundings, but thankfully, there are no cameras.
If Mr. Dozer notices my discomfort, he doesn’t show it. “Welcome to Buzz Con! We’re so happy you’re here!”
“Um, thank you,” I manage, holding the handle of my suitcase in a death grip. I’m trying to decide if I can politely excuse myself when he sweeps his arm out and says, “Allow me to introduce you to the other finalists.”
I swallow a groan. Meeting the other finalists in my current state is the last thing I want to do.
It’s a competition, after all, and I want them to know that I’m in it to win it.
I doubt I’ll be even the least bit intimidating if I show up looking a hot mess and wearing the same clothes I slept in.
But since I can’t exactly say no to the CEO of the contest, I begrudgingly follow Mr. Dozer, dragging my bag behind me.
“You all know of each other, I’m sure,” Mr. Dozer calls over his shoulder, “but it’s so nice to finally meet in person, is it not?”
He’s right. Most of us with bigger platforms are at least aware of each other, even if we’ve never spoken in person or online. I’ve never met any of the other finalists, but I know who they are, so I have some idea of what to expect.
“Besides,” Dozer continues. “We’ll be announcing the teams soon.”
Ugh. Ever since it was announced, I’d been trying not to think about the fact that the Starlight Challenge is a team competition.
It’s the one aspect I’m least looking forward to.
I learned a long time ago the only person who really looks after you is yourself.
So, I don’t love that my success in the competition will be tied to another person.
Dozer leads me further into the room, which is bustling with my fellow competitors and a bunch of Starlight Talent people preparing for the big live show that will be airing soon.
“Starlight family! Fellow Finalists!” Mr. Dozer practically booms, and my cheeks blaze hotter as I realize it’s not a quiet, one-on-one introduction Dozer plans to give me. “May I present the lovely Becca Evans, Beauty.” He sweeps his arm out towards me and then gives me a little round of applause.
“Hi!” I manage to squeak out, lifting my hand in a small wave. A few of the Starlight people quit bustling around long enough to give me quick hellos, but thankfully, Dozer’s announcement hasn’t completely stopped traffic.
I swallow as he leads me over to where two guys are lounging on a plush, blue velvet couch. One of them is focused on a hand-held video game and doesn’t seem to notice us—or really anyone else in the room. The other guy, however, sees us heading over and smiles.
“Hi,” he says. “It’s nice to meet you, Becca.”
“Sean Cheng, Music,” Mr. Dozer tells me, even though I already know his name.
Sean is an incredible DJ, and I have several of his mixes on my Spotify playlists. He has dark hair and fair skin, and a big, kind smile. He also has a pair of bright blue, over-the-ear headphones resting around his neck.
I return his smile. “It’s nice to meet you, too. I love your music.”
He beams at that and then ducks his head as if a little shy when it comes to compliments.
It makes me instantly like him. A lot of creators get a big head once their accounts take off, but from what I can tell, Sean isn’t one of them.
We haven’t been given a lot of details about how the teams will be chosen, but if I get a say in the matter, I think Sean would make an excellent teammate.
Mr. Dozer walks around the sofa and claps the guy with the video game on the shoulder.
“This, of course, is Ross Granger, Gaming.” Ross looks up at the sound of his name, swiping a wisp of his shaggy, white-blonde hair out his pale face.
When nobody says anything else, he gives a little shrug and returns to his game. I bite my lip to keep from laughing.
“Nice to meet you, Ross,” I say, though I don’t expect him to answer.
My experience with video games is pretty much limited to the few rounds of Mario Kart I played with the kid down the street once, so I doubt we’ll have much in common anyway.
I don’t have time to say anything else before Mr. Dozer sweeps me across the floor.
“There are two other male finalists: Lucky DeLucca, Stunts, and Ziven Grant, BMX, but they're not here yet," Dozer explains as he walks me past several Starlight execs and over to where the other finalists, the girls, are chatting near the refreshment table.
One of them, a short girl with shoulder-length bubblegum pink hair, ivory skin, and wide brown eyes, sees us coming. Her face breaks into a huge smile, and she skips over.
“Becca!” She says, throwing her arms around my neck. “Hi! I’m Iris Cameron, Cooking!”
I stiffen a little at the sudden contact, but ironically enough, Iris smells exactly like chocolate chip cookies which instantly relaxes me. When she pulls back, her smile is so infectious, I can’t help but crack one of my own.
“I’ll let you get better acquainted,” Dozer says, seeing that I'm in capable hands. He saunters away, his smile still wide and toothy.
“Oh my gosh, I am so excited to finally meet you!” Iris squeals. “I absolutely love your content, and I am just so stoked we get to do the competition together!” She grabs me by the hand and pulls me towards the other girls. “Ladies, meet Becca!”
“Skai Williams, Books and Reading.” A tall, striking girl in a “The book was better” t-shirt introduces herself. She has long braided hair and dark brown skin. She's super friendly and gives me both a bright smile and a firm handshake.
“Hi,” I say, shaking her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
"And this is—” Iris indicates the girl standing next to Skai.
“Evie Montoya.” I finish for her. Of all the finalists, Evie is the one I know the most about—we run in the same circle, so to speak. We’ve chatted before, and we have a lot in common, but we’ve never really made it past casual acquaintances.
"Oh," Iris says, with a chuckle. "Of course, you know each other.”
“Hi Becca,” Evie smiles, flipping her long black hair over her shoulder.
She looks exactly like she does in all her videos.
Hair and make-up done to perfection, highlighting the complexion of her rich, light brown skin.
Her jewelry and accessories are super chic and the perfect complement to her romper and espadrilles.
“It’s nice to finally meet you in person,” she says, holding out her hand.
“Yeah, you too.” I reach out to shake her hand, but I don’t miss the way her eyes sweep over me from head to toe.
My face flushes. “Early flight,” I say by means of an explanation and let out what I hope is an airy laugh. It’s not. It’s more of a snort.
Evie raises her eyebrows but nods politely. “Happens to me all the time,” she says before turning to grab a bottle of water from the refreshment tray. It’s not a dismissal, but it might as well be.
The four of us stand there awkwardly for a few minutes, not saying much. You’d think with a popular platform and millions of followers that I would be comfortable talking to people, but I’m a bit more introverted in person.
I find it much easier to talk to my camera—it doesn’t talk back.
“So,” I say, grasping at straws. “I could really go for a cup of decent coffee. Anyone else?”
Skai and Evie shake their heads, but Iris’s face lights up. “Yes, please! I’ve been up since 6 a.m., and I could totally use a caffeine break. I passed by a little coffee shop earlier. It’s right here in the convention center. Out on the concourse.”
“Great!” I give the other girls a little wave and wheel my suitcase over to where Iris is pulling an over-the-shoulder bag out of a bigger backpack. “Do you mind if we stop off at the bathroom first?”
As we head back out to the concourse and towards the bathroom, Iris starts chatting away in my ear. She's a bit of a talker, but I don't really mind. She's carrying on the conversation for both of us, which suits me fine.
“Who do you think you're going to get paired up with?" Iris's voice breaks through my thoughts. We're standing in the bathroom now, and my hand, holding an eyeshadow brush, halts halfway to my face.
“I haven't really thought much about it," I answer with a shrug. It's a total lie. It makes me more nervous than I’d ever admit out loud, but I’m determined not to let the other finalists see me sweat. "Maybe you and I will get to be a team."
Iris beams. "I would love that!" Her whole face is glowing, and I decide right then and there that Iris is someone I want to get to know better.
"Me too," I tell her before returning my focus to the mirror.
I carefully swipe the eyeshadow across my lids with a practiced hand. Once that's finished, I apply a fresh coat of mascara and my signature red lipstick. "There," I say to my reflection. That's much better.
"You look gorgeous," Iris says from beside me. "I wish I could do my makeup like that." She gives a wistful little sigh.
"I could show you if you want," I offer. "It's not hard once you get the hang of it. I'm sure we'll have some downtime in between challenges."
“Really?” Iris asks. “That would seriously be amazing."
"Not a problem at all," I smile at her and give my hair one last fluff. It's down and flowing loose over my shoulders exactly how I like it.
I'm wearing white shorts, and my favorite black t-shirt that hangs off one shoulder. There's a graphic of Audrey Hepburn circa Breakfast at Tiffany’s—one my favorite movies—printed on the front. The outfit is complete with a pair of black wedges.
I take a breath and shove every worry and lingering thought of home into the back of my mind. I look like Becca from Smoke and Makeup Mirrors now, and for the first time since I arrived in Texas, I feel like I can breathe again.
I toss my make-up bag back into my suitcase and turn to Iris with a smile. "All done. Want to go grab that coffee now?"
I let Iris lead us back out to the concourse and in the direction of the coffee stand. This time, as we walk past the crowds of people, I keep my chin lifted and my back straight, imagining myself as a warrior with a sword walking onto the field of battle.
There’s a group of girls standing near one of the vendor booths, and I can tell they recognize me when they not so quietly begin to elbow each other and whisper my name. I give them a smile and a little wave, as a rush of cooling energy floods my senses. My armor has done its job.
Iris and I stand in line, chatting politely, as we wait to get our coffee, and once I grab mine from the barista, I let out a deep exhale. So far, so go—
I don’t finish the thought as I turn and lock eyes with a tall blond guy on a skateboard.
A skateboard that’s barreling straight for me.