Chapter 1
"Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!! NO WAY!!!!!!!" I screamed when I heard the news. It was 2004, and I was twelve years old. It had been your typical day, June 19. I was babysitting my three younger siblings: seven-year-old sister, Susie, two-year-old brother, Jacob, and eight-month-old brother, Brendan. My older brother, Jason, was in his room in the basement downstairs, and I knew not to bother him unless it was a dire emergency: someone was bleeding, someone was dying, the house was on fire, or someone was breaking in. Susie, Jacob, and Brendan had been in the playroom upstairs, just quietly playing with their toys, and reading, and I was watching a movie. I really don't remember what movie because most stuff that happened before I got the letter just slipped my mind. I heard the doorbell ring, and figured the mailman must have stopped by, because he always rang the doorbell when he did.
I stepped outside to grab the mail, figuring it would be one less thing for my parents to do when they got home. I was wearing a floppy t-shirt, jean shorts, and flip flops, so I stayed out there for a couple of minutes, soaking up the sun. It started to get hot, yes, it can get hot in Cheela, a small town outside of Boston, so I went back inside. I flipped through the mail looking for anything for me, magazines, letters, postcards, the like. The last letter in the pile was addressed to me.
"Hmm," I said. "Who could it be from?" There was no return address, just my name and my address. I put the rest of the mail on the kitchen table, and went upstairs into the playroom where Susie, Jacob, and Brendan were still playing nicely.
"Who's that from?" Susie asked, coming to sit beside me on the crimson, velvet couch while I opened the mysterious letter.
"I don't know," I said, "Let's find out." I opened the letter, quickly scanned through it, and that is when I screamed.
"Who's it from? Who's it from???" Susie nearly shouted.
"It's from the producers of Lost! I got the part!" I screamed.
"Read it out loud!" Susie said excitedly.
"Okay," I breathlessly replied, and began to read the letter. Here's what it said:
June 11, 2004
Dear Jamie Homer,
Congratulations! We have chosen you to play the part of Anna on the new TV show, Lost! Filming starts on August 10, 2004, but we ask you to come down here a week early to get to know your fellow cast members. It is also requested, but not required, that you move to Hawaii for your part, as that is where all filming will occur. We ask this of you, because we don't want to have to worry you with flying back and forth between your home, and the island of Oahu, where filming is done. We really hope that you accept this offer, because we changed the character especially for you, because we liked you so much! The character was originally intended to be a boy, Walt, but we instead made it a girl, Anna, just for you! We hope to see you in a few months. Again, congratulations!
Sincerely,
JJ Abrams, Carlton Cuse, and Damon Lindelof
"Oh. My. Gosh. Jamie! You're going to be on TV! You're going to be a star!" Susie exclaimed. Jacob and Brendan didn't really know what was going on, so they just kind of joined into our mini celebration.
I ran to the nearest phone, which was downstairs in the kitchen, with Brendan on my hip, and Susie and Jacob running behind me. I made a couple of calls. The first people that I called were my parents at work.
"Oh my gosh, Jamie! Are you serious?" was the response from Mom, and:
"No way! You're kidding, right?" was Dad's reply.
"Yeah! It's true!" is what I told both of them.
Next, I called my two best friends: Macy and Samantha (or Sam, as she likes to be called). Funny thing is, they live on either side of me, so they came over as fast as they could.
"Please, Jason? Just for, like, an hour and a half?" Jason was fifteen, and hated to be asked to do anything.
"Fine," he sighed. I had asked him to babysit for a while, while Sam, Macy, and I talked.
"Yeah!" I exclaimed. Jason and I were super-close, even though he would never admit it. I gave him a quick hug, and then Macy, Sam, and I raced up to the attic, which nearly a year and a half ago had been converted into my bedroom.
We finally settled down, breathlessly, in my purple, pink, and lime green room, covered with posters of my favorite TV and movie stars, and excitedly began talking.
"OMG, Jamie! You're going to be famous!" Macy, who was very tom-boyish, and always wore her hair short, while Sam and I wore ours long, and normally wore jeans and a sweatshirt said.
"You guys WILL watch my show, right?" I asked nervously.
"Duh! And we'll tell EVERYONE at school to watch it, too!" Sam, who was a fashonista, and loved to wear makeup and jewelry, replied.
"Hey, what about school?" Macy asked. "Where are you going to go, since you're probably going to be filming a lot of the time?"
"Um…I think I get a private tutor or something…" I said unknowingly.
"Well…how would you know for sure? This is your first big gig EVER! I mean, you've done all the plays at Kolato Theater, but you've never done something this big before!" Sam said enthusiastically.
"I know!" I said.
"Hey, are you going to have to MOVE to Hawaii?" Macy asked with wide eyes.
"I think so! I mean, yeah. I mean…here, you guys read the letter," I handed the letter to Macy. She read the letter word for word, as did Sam, reading over her shoulder.
"I…I…I can't believe you're leaving!" Sam exclaimed, tears filling her eyes.
"You have to move from Cheela all the way to Oahu!" Macy said depressingly.
"You guys! I still have two more months here! Let's make the best of them! And we'll always be best friends. That will NEVER change!" I said, beginning to cry.
"Best friends since preschool and forever!" Macy said.
"Forever," we all whispered. "Forever."