A/N: I want to start a new story, because Maybe This Time is getting a little difficult, and I think this has a lot of potential. For those of you who have read my other stuff, I will not be continuing on in Please Don't Leave Me. I didn't really feel like a lot of people liked it, and I don't know what else I can do with it. But on a lighter note, I'm really excited to write this!
Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi or its characters. I do, however, own Dream World.
The producers surrounded a giant table that held dozens of pictures that were scattered all over the place, overlapping in every which way. Three women and two men sat down on chairs while one man was pacing the room. The room was silent, aside from the occasional shuffle of pictures being moved around and the sighs emitting themselves from the pacer's lips.
"We need to decide, Martha," He said sternly, glaring at a woman with long, brown hair who looked like she was in her upper-twenties. She bit her lip and gave a slight nod before diving back into the pile of pictures. The workers were frantically trying to find the perfect selection.
"This show is supposed to save our studio. Do any of you understand what that means? If we do not pick the best cast Canada has ever seen, we are done for. Consider your selves living on the streets and eating out of garbage cans!" The man was getting even more frustrated with each word he uttered.
Finally, a man no older than twenty-five held up a few pictures. "Josh, I think I have it!" He yelled enthusiastically. Everyone stopped what they were doing the instant he opened his mouth. Josh, who was almost about to burst with anxiety, rushed over to the young man.
"Let's hear it, Smith!" He barked in his husky voice. Smith only nodded and gulped. He cleared the pile of photos off to the side and placed two down in a straight line, his hands shaking slightly.
Smith cleared his voice and then began. "This here is Clare Edwards. Her video showed that she was innocent and pure, complete with a purity ring and all. She has been going to church all her life. She has never done drugs or alcohol. She is the perfect example of a goody-goody. Now, put her with a few others that I've picked, this will make for good television," He started to get more excited as he continued. Josh just crossed his arms and set his mouth in a fine line.
Smith pointed to the photo next to the beautifully innocent girl. "This is the start of our interesting plot line. Meet Alli Bhandari. She is the ultimate party go-er. She's pretty much the class slut, but she has a decent mind about her. Alli and Clare would click instantly, because they have relatively similar interests. But because of this wild child, Clare could possibly be subject to pressure, making her give in on her good girl act. Viewers like when people are in distress; imagine what would happen if Clare woke up from a night of hardcore partying. Who knows what could happen," Smith concluded, with a slight smirk creeping up on his face.
Josh opened his mouth. "I like this idea. But there's a problem. If they become friends, Alli might not be so much of an influence on her. If anything, Clare could whip out her bible and convert Alli," He reasoned. The other producers looked at Smith with a look of worry on their faces. But Smith kept calm. He actually smiled a little wider.
"I see your point, sir, but that is where these two come in," He said, placing two more photos down next to the girls. They were both boys, one being tan and muscular, the other pale and lanky with a dark side. He pointed to the first boy. "This is Drew. He's a freshman in college, one year older than the other girls. He is the same as Alli; partier, man-whore, but with a relatively stable moral compass. With his help, he and Alli could easily persuade Clare to a night of havoc. Plus he's strong and athletic, practically the dream guy. There has to be one super stud on each reality show, Josh. This is our guy," He looked up at Josh with a determined glint in his eye.
"What about the goth guy?" Josh asked. His arms slowly unfolded and he seemed to relax more. He placed his hands firmly on the pinewood table, his pinky finger inches from the picture of the dark-headed boy glaring at the camera.
"Well, he, uh," Smith stumbled over his own words. Josh and the other producers raised their eyebrows at him. "He didn't technically apply…" Smith's sentence dangled in the air. He shrunk back, expecting Josh to fire him for wasting his time.
Instead, Josh smiled. He slipped his hand under the shiny picture and lifted it up. "A surprise application, huh?" He mused. "What's his problem; clingy girlfriend he needs to get away from? High school drop out?" He asked. Smith shook his head.
"His girlfriend got in a car accident a year ago and…died. His parents sent in an application, hoping that he would actually be chosen and be forced to socialize. Apparently he hasn't been holding up too well on his own," Smith said with a sad look upon his face. "His name is Eli," He added. One of the women sitting down sniffed, but Martha looked angry.
"We can't do that to the poor boy! What if someone pried that out of him on camera! The whole world would know! That is too horrible. No," She said firmly.
"Martha, we edit the shows. We can just cut it out of the taping," Josh assured her. He was lying through his teeth and Smith knew it. The women bought it though, and slunk back into their chairs. Josh would do anything for amazing ratings. This storyline could be just what they needed.
"Smith, this is good. Really good. Sarah," Josh said, pointing to the women with blond hair on the left of Martha, "go start the phone calls. Smith, Martha, Jessie, and I will pick the final four." Emma nodded and scurried out of the room, her cell phone already in hand.
"Why four?" Jessie, the brunette next to Martha asked. "Aren't having eight people in one house a bit…hectic?" She asked Josh. He grinned.
"Hectic is good, my dear. We need to get under their skin. Plus, there will be surprises later," He wiggled his eyebrows. The other four people in the room turned to Josh, questions being formed already. Josh just waved them off and reached into the picture pile. He slid one out from the group.
"Dave Turner," He said. The boy was grinning in the picture, and he looked so innocent. "Could he possibly be the love interest for our dear Clare? How was his video?" He turned to Smith.
"His dad is a police officer. He's a good kid. He would suit Clare nicely," Smith nodded. Josh placed the photo next to Eli's. "He's good looking, too. We could switch some things up, make his storyline a bit more interesting," Smith continued. Josh pursed his lips and slowly nodded.
"He isn't the most interesting one we have, but I think we could make a very intriguing romance between Dave and Clare." Josh said, scanning the pile of pictures. Three more…
"How about this one, Josh!" Jessie squeaked. She held up a picture of a beautiful blonde teenage girl. She was sitting on a park bench, guitar in hand. Her smile revealed sparkly, pearly teeth.
Smith nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, yeah! Jenna's a cheerleader and one hell of a singer. She's the popular girl in school, and she's said to be a 'man stealer'. That could be interesting, right, Josh?" He looked at Josh expectantly, who smiled.
"Yes. Add Miss Jenna to the others. She could stir up a lot of drama here. Now, we need two more. Any other potentially interesting kids in the admission videos, Martha?" Martha pursued her lips and shuffled through the pictures. She had an idea, and she thought it could work nicely.
"Adam Torres," She said, holding up a picture of a pale boy grinning at the camera. He had a beanie on his head and had his arm draped around a tall, tan, muscular boy.
"Is that-?" Josh asked, confused.
"Yes. He is the brother of one of the contestants, Drew. A sibling rivalry could spark a few hits!" Martha said, excited. Josh sat down and rested his head in his hands.
"Martha. Our show is about to be cut. We cannot afford to play safe with family relationships. It's boring and the characters will be too comfortable with each other," He said so firmly, he may as well have yelled it for the same effect.
Martha gripped the photo fiercely. "You haven't even let me get to the dramatic part, yet," She said venomously. Smith, Josh, and Jessie looked expectantly at her. She took a deep breath. "Adam is a transgender. He's an FTM, female-to-male. I was uncomfortable with this choice at first, but he said on his application that he is very good at hiding this. He knows what he's doing," Martha stated. Josh picked up the picture and stared at it. Now, he could somewhat easily pick out the feminine details of this boy, yet he got a strange feeling that he was, most certainly, a guy.
"Add him. He could attract a whole new audience! Few reality shows have characters quite like this," He mused. For the final choice, Josh reached into the pile. He came across two photos of equally beautiful girls. He laid them on the table, slightly overlapping. The producers leaned closer to the table, trying to get a better look at the two possible stars.
Smith cleared his throat. Being as he had watched every single video-application for Dream World, he knew practically everyone's name and life story. "The one on the left is Fiona Coyne. She is extraordinarily rich. She goes to a private school in New York. She has a twin brother. She was also recently released from rehab for alcoholism. The girl on the right of Fiona is Bianca DeSousa. She's a badass and doesn't necessarily come from the nicest family. She hangs out with the wrong crowd and lives off of drugs. Both of the girls are contenders, as each would make a solid benefit to this dramatic cast," Smith rambled. His colleagues looked at each other and then back to the smiling girls. They couldn't decide which girl to choose.
"I choose Fiona," Jessie said softly. She placed her finger on the corner of Fiona's picture and dragged it slightly towards her body. "A rich, spoiled brat is exactly what we need. Plus, she's a recently recovered alcoholic. She could have a relapse on the show." She said defiantly.
"I disagree," said Martha. "Some of these kids are under age. Most of them are nineteen, but Clare, Alli, Dave, and Adam are eighteen. If Fiona starts drinking heavily, they could too. We don't need a lawsuit on our hands. Plus, we already have a few heavy partiers. We don't need any more."
Jessie pinned her eyebrows together. "Bianca does drugs! She could easily influence the others as well! And most of the drugs aren't even legal to anyone!" She exclaimed. Martha deflated and leaned back in her chair, running her hand through her chestnut-colored hair that fell down her back.
Josh stood up and grabbed the final picture. "This is our girl. She may have problems that could influence our cast, but that's what makes it interesting. They have to sign contracts, remember. If they are in breach of it, they have to be kicked off of the show. This girl will bring in the interest if she keeps getting scarily close to blowing off her contract." He scooped up the pictures of the new cast and held them in his hands.
"Dream World is supposed to save us, guys. Hopefully, we picked the right cast," With that, Josh walked out of the room, leaving the other three to clean up the reject pictures that were now scattered all over the floor.
As Smith was picking up the last of the photos, he felt his heart grow heavy. He knew that this cast could save his career, but he couldn't help but feel that they had all set the kids up for failure.