Page 53 of The Spotlight Effect

“Absolutely,” I reply, and I slip my Cheer Extreme T-shirt I wore here over my costume.

“How is practicing for cheer going?” Emerson asks.

“Pretty well,” I reply. We go to the outdoor lunch tent, and I choose a Spicy Italian sandwich and make my way over to sit with Emerson and Grayson.

“You’re a good tumbler,” Grayson states.

“Thank you, but flying is more my specialty,” I say and sit down.

“I can tell by the way you landed that twisted tuck,” Grayson says, chuckling at the end. Excuse me? He did not just say that.

“I’d like to see you try and do one better, since mine wassobad,” I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

Grayson gets out of his chair and walks to the side of the tent on the grass. He looks behind him and around him for amoment before throwing a perfect standing twist back tuck. I scoff slightly as Grayson comes and sits back down.

“Show off.”

“Don’t be bitter, baby. You’ll get it next time.” Grayson smiles. I throw a mustard packet at him which he pays no notice to.

“Are you two like this all the time?” Emerson asks.

“Only when he’s an ass,” I answer.

“I’m never an ass. Little Miss Perfect over here is just upset,” Grayson says.

“I am not,” I say.

“You’re right, you’re not… Sometimes,” Grayson says. I just roll my eyes and eat my sandwich. He’s right. I am angry, but only at the world, not him.

After lunch, Emerson decides this would be a good time to talk to Marina, so she asks her to come to her office.

While they are inside, Emerson decided she could do it but needed me for support, so I stand outside the door and listen in. It’s mostly quiet until the very end.

The door beside me opens and out storms Marina, then behind her, out walks Emerson. “And her issue is?” I ask.

“She’s just bitchy,” Emerson replies, which I laugh at.

Now we are shootingthe last scene of the day before leaving. This is the kiss scene they tried to do last time but Grayson couldn’t, so Emerson re-wrote it and today they actually kiss. I never knew I could feel such a deep pit and gut-wrenching sick feeling.

As the scene starts, I get nervous. The strange pit that formed in my stomach deepens. I feel almost jealous but that’simpossible. I can’t even stand him. As far as this trip has gone, I’ve had no feelings for Grayson, and I don’t intend to gain any. I didn’t come to Los Angeles to get a boyfriend. Yet something in me feels strange. It’s almost like that time where you realize you could form a crush on someone if you wanted but I figured that out yesterday.

I can’t watch this, Irefuseto. I leave the space and hide out in my dressing room.

Finally, after they shot that awful kiss scene filming was over for the day. I sit in front of my dressing room mirror taking my makeup off as I look back at myself. The idea that I’m going to be on TV hasn’t really hit me yet, even though I knew this sweepstake was for people who wanted a start in the industry. I haven’t really come to terms with everything. I mean, at the end of it, I’m going home.

“Knock, knock!” a voice sings as my door opens. I turn around and see Emerson dressed in a pastel purple dress. “Hi, I wanted to invite you over for dinner. It’s a group dinner night! Will you come?” Emerson asks. As crappy as I feel, who can say no to dinner at the Hayden's House!

“I’d be honored. Let me tell my mom,” I reply.

“Fantastic, I’ll be back before I leave.” Emerson blows me a kiss before leaving the room.

“Hey, it's me,” my mom says as she knocks on the door, and I look up at the mirror to see her enter.

“I wanted to give you these,” my mom says, holding up a bottle of my antipsychotics and migraine medicine.

“I know the migraines tend to come back when you have an episode,” Mom says.

“Thanks,” I say, taking them from her.

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