AN: Reminder! If someone has an accent, I'll write their conversation parts differently and use spelling errors. Just sound it out and that'll be how it's suppose to sound. (And the guys from Camp Rock never went to Camp Rock. The only characters that know each other are Alex and Justin.) And I had to make up names for Nate, Jason, and I didn't know if Barry or Sander had last names so I just made some up. And Peggy's name I got off Wikipedia.
Alex's POV
Fly With Me
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I sat with my back against the brick wall building that was the GSS (Game Show Studio) for our local region. Ever since the third Great Depression happened, GSS buildings have been showing up all over the world, in every major city. And if this one hadn't happened to be practically in our backyard, me and my brother Justin would never have been able to get to one. Thank God for New York City.
A door opened a little farther down the wall and an overweight man with stains all over his shirt stepped out.
"Youz two da Russo siblings?" He questioned, pointing to us even though we were the only two in the alley.
"That's us." Justin answered, standing up and pushing his hair out of eyes. I stood up, suddenly proud that I'd convinced him to stop using astro-gel in his hair and let it stay in his eyes.
"Follow me." He jerked his chin towards the door and stepped back inside. We walked quickly to the door and stepped in, Justin shutting it behind us. "Have you twoz ever done any work with da GSS corporation before?"
"No, sir." Justin answered as the man led us into what seemed to be a waiting room. Several other people sat on old couches and chairs around the badly painted room, all filling out papers and tapping their pens on their chins as they thought up lies that would sound impressive for their application.
"Den youz gotta fill out deez two forms and den wait for ya turn to be interviewed by our manager. If da manager likes ya, den he'll send ya on to da East Coast semi-finals. From der you'll go through a bunch a judges and tests and such until ya reach the finals and den da National semi-finals. Ya catching the routine? It's simple, explains it all on da form. So go take ya a seat and start signing. Ya might be here a while." The man reached over a counter and pulled out two clipboards with attached pens. He handed them to us and walked out of the room.
I followed Justin over to two seats in the corner and sat down on chair that had a short leg on the front right-hand corner.
"He was right." Justin muttered, keeping his voice down as he glanced through the pages. "This'll take us at least an hour. It's all your personal information, and then a bunch of release form type legal stuff."
"I'll let you handle the legal stuff." I murmured, sighing and clicking the pen. I smiled to myself as I wrote my name, the first page was going to be easy. I wrote in my date of birth, my gender, and race before I spoke again.
"Why do they wanna know my height, weight, and which hand I write with?" I questioned Justin, who I noticed was already half way down the page.
"Saftey issues, I guess." He shrugged. "Maybe if you get picked, they need to know what sizes to make your hover-jackets and things like that."
"Oh...that makes sense, I guess." I bit my bottom lip and continued on with filling out my personal information. I finally got the first page down after another twenty questions. I lost my smile, however, as I flipped the page.
One down, sixty-nine to go.
****
"You guys suck so much! I can't believe you made it on to the show. This is so not fair. Stupid age limit." Max, the youngest Russo, crossed his arms and slouched down on the family couch. Myself and Justin simply smirked, our luggage in our arms.
"Come on, Maxie, it'll be fine. Me and you get to the run the shop alone. Just think of all the quality time we'll have together!" Jerry, our father, clapped his hand on Max's shoulder and smiled.
"I can't believe my babies are going away to be on some stupid life-risking game show. And just for money." Our mother shook her head and pulled us into another group hug.
"Mom, we need that money." Justin whispered as she released us. "If not we'll have to sell the shop, and a bunch of other stuff, just so we can pay for Alex and Max to go to school. And for me to go to college. You know I can't go if we don't win this. I'm stuck here in job-less city."
"And Max's surgery. We all know what'll happen if he doesn't get it within the next year." I added, a silence falling over us.
"Your lives are important, too." She crossed her arms and gave us a sad smile. "But I guess I can't stop you. I believe in you kids. I've always had a feeling you'd go on to do great things. And who knows, if you stay on long enough, you might even get famous."
"Don't get your hopes up too high, Mom." I shrugged. "We could be first to go."
"We'll have none of that attitude." She placed a hand on both of our shoulders. "You can win. You can win."
I looked over at Justin and sighed.
"We have to."
****
I haven't seen civilization in days. I've been locked away in this freakin' hospital looking building, having doctors and nurses constantly stab me with needles and hook me up to machines. I haven't slept since they knocked me out with this fruity smelling stuff and stuffed me in a liquid-filled tube to hook me up with some high-tech gadget stuff.
I'm talking eye cams, lip chips, and even those little speakers they glue into our right ears. I feel like a robot, and I'm starting to really feel like a robot now that I'm seeing them everywhere.
I can't wait to just get out there and get this thing over with.
****
The lights were turned up to super high, I couldn't see anything other than freakin light. The audience in front of us was a dark mass of nothing. I felt like we were standing on a platform in the middle of space, and not the GSS's television channel's talk show stage.
"Let's go over the rules one last time before we meet the contestants and put them into the GSS shuttle and send them off to the Moon!" The energetic talk show host giggled and playfully slapped her knee, staring into the dark mass that clapped with a thunder-like roar.
"Okay, Holly, I guess I'll start explaining the rules." The co-host, who was also all oober-happy-smiles, chuckled. "These twenty contestants will be shot off to the Moon, where our GSS HQ will be their home for the next few months. They'll be put into crazy situations, which might be working together to solve a puzzle one day or stabbing each other in the back the next!"
"That's exactly right, Bob." Holly giggled, clapping her hands together and smiling brightly. "But the fun's not over there! Also, the teen with the lowest number of points at the end of each week will be kicked off and sent back to Earth."
"That's if they make it to the end of each week." Bob chuckled and slapped his knee.
"Right you are, Bob." Holly nodded and tilted her head to the side. "And they'll also have to vote off friends and enemies themselves on our vote-tastic specials, which occur randomly every month."
"And for those of you watching at home, if you wanna join in on the action and get tickets for yourself or your family to watch a challenge play out live on the Moon, you can go to our website now! Hurry and get your seats before we sell out!" Bob laughed. Holly placed her hand on her ear, so she could hear her ear-phone over the crowd.
"And I've just been told that we have just sold out of seats, folks!" Holly giggled and smiled at the audience.
"I think it's time to meet our contestants!" Bob stood from his seat and started the loud clapping that followed. Holly also stood from her comfortable chair as we were directed out onto the stage.
"Give it up everybody!" Holly shouted over the noise, turning her head from the audience to us every other second.
All twenty of us sat down on the two rows of chairs that were placed in the middle of the stage. The ten chairs in the back were taller, so everyone could see us.
I tried to calm down, I needed to get used to the idea of a giant camera full of millions of eyes watching me.
"Let's start at the top." Bob chuckled as the wall behind us booted up into a giant TV screen. A giant picture of the girl all the way to the right of my row showed up.
A large man's voice, one that might host football games, boomed through the room.
"Player number one. Caitlyn Gellar. Hometown: Toronto, Canada. Age: 17. Previous experiences with GSS include two wins at the American Regional Championship for teen producers and the Canadian GSS Music League producer of the year title."
The screen flashed and the boy sitting next to her smiled when his picture showed up.
"Player number two. Shane Gray. Hometown: San Diego, California. Age: 18. Previous experiences with GSS include five wins at the American National Championship for teen singers, one win at the World Championship for teen singers."
I sighed, this was going to be a long day.
"Player number three. Tess Tyler. Hometown: Seattle, Washington. Age: 15. Previous experiences with GSS include three wins at the American Regional Championship for teen singers."
"Player number four. Nate Jonas. Hometown: Dallas, Texas. Age: 16. Previous experiences with GSS include ten wins at the American Regional Championship for teen song writers, four wins at the World Championship for teen song writers, and one win at the American Regional Championship for teen guitarists."
"Player number five. Peggy Warburton. Hometown: London, England. Age: 17. Previous experiences with GSS include seven wins at the European Championships for karate black belt teens."
"Player number six. Mitchie Torres. Hometown: Los Angeles, California. Age: 16. Previous experiences with GSS include six wins at the American Regional Championship for teen singers, one win at the World Championship for teen song writers, and five wins at the World Championship for teen singers."
My eyes were glued to the screen. When her picture switched to some boy's, I turned my gaze down to the row to see her.
She was beautiful.
I couldn't think straight when I looked at her, and an almost angelic glow fell on her. It faded, and I blushed, realizing that one: it was just the spotlight, and two: she noticed I was staring.
More like drooling.
I turned my attention back to the screen.
"Player number seven. Jason Green. Hometown: Miami, Florida. Age: 19. Previous experiences with GSS include ten wins at the World Championship for teen guitarists."
"Player number eight. Ella Pador. Hometown: Seattle, Washington. Age: 14. Previous experiences with GSS include ten wins at the World Championship for teen mathletes, ten wins at the World Championship for teen scientists, and nine wins at the World Championship for teen engineers."
I sucked in a deep breath as the spotlight hit me. I could feel the millions of eyes on me.
"Player number nine. Alex Russo. Hometown: New York City, New York. Age: 16. No previous experiences with GSS."
I blushed, and I blushed hard. I didn't no this was a show and tell type of thing. Thankfully, the light left me and went to Justin.
"Player number ten. Justin Russo. Hometown: New York City, New York. Age: 18. No previous experiences with GSS."
I glanced at Justin just as he smiled at the crowd and shrugged, following with a wave. I was surprised to see my modest older brother being this brave with a crowd. As the light left us and started on the next row, I leaned over to him and whispered. We giggled but were silenced by the glare we got from Holly and Bob, the wonderful hosts.
The entire bottom row was filled with other teens from around the world. All of which have had previous experiences with GSS. Looks like me and Justin are already the outcasts. And the game hasn't even started.
"All right!" Holly giggled.
"How about that?" Bob chuckled.
I was starting to see the pattern here.
"We've got lots of variety this year! Teens from America, Canada, England, Australia, Japan, Mexico, Russia, and Spain!" Holly giggled, doing a little dance movement in her chair.
"That's right, Holly." Bob smiled into the audience. "And as you may have noticed, we have our very first siblings!"
The spotlight returned on us. We smiled the best we could, giving short waves.
"Justin and Alex Russo, both of which have never done anything with GSS before." Holly winked at the camera, a surgically placed smile on her face.
I forced myself to keep the smile on my face as they talked. I was right, this was going to be a long day.
****
It was night outside when we walked out of talk show hell.
"Okay guys, just head on to the ship. You're flight should start within the hour. Go get comfortable and find your room. Your luggage will be there. Five per room. Girls on the right, boys on the left. Got it?" Our babysitter announced, looking even more bored then we did. "Any questions?"
"When can we eat?" Someone with a thick accent asked. I tried to place it, but I couldn't. I was never good at geography.
"On the ship you'll have a huge meal." The babysitter replied, heaving a sigh. "Hurry up, guys. We're running late."
****
"Seriously? We get to sleep in these?" I asked, a smile on my face as I walked into the first girls' room. I was first in, so I got to choose from two bunk beds or a normal bed. I decided to go with a top bunk, I'd always wanted to sleep on one.
I hopped up the ladder and sat down, looking out the small, circular window as four more girls walked into the room.
"You're one of the siblings aren't you?" A girl with a giant number one on her GSS shirt asked, holding out her hand. "I'm Caitlyn Gellar."
I recognized her as the Canadian teen producer.
"I'm Alex Russo. And yes, I'm the better half of that deal." I shook her hand and smiled. Not because I'm making friends, but because I saw who was taking the other top bunk. The Mitchie Torres girl.
"Since we're doing introductions, I'm Tess Tyler." A blond girl, who was sitting on the single bed, said. She waited, her eyebrows raised as if we should know who she was. "...daughter of TJ Tyler?"
"Oh, right. I thought that was you. It must suck that your mom hasn't won any awards in two decades. You must hate Hannah Montanna for taking her spotlight." A tall girl who had taken the bed under Mitchie Torres' said.
"And you are?" Tess asked, attitude flowing off her.
"Peggy Warburton." She replied, smiling.
"I'm Ella Pador!" A girl standing in the doorway exclaimed, smiling and waving at us. "I'm staying in the next room, but I wanted to say hi."
I couldn't help but notice she seemed a little on the airhead side. But wasn't she the super genius one?
"What about you?" Tess turned her attention to Mitchie Torres, who looked surprised we noticed her.
"Oh, I'm Mitchie Torres." She shrugged.
"I love your work." Peggy said, glancing up, even though they couldn't see each other.
"Really? You've heard of me?" She smiled shyly, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear.
"Totally. Well, my mother wrote one of the songs you sang to win the World Championship a few years ago." She explained.
"That's so cool that you guys are all singers and musically skilled." Ella giggled. "I'm just good with books and computers."
"Not all of us have GSS titles." Tess said, lowering her voice but staring directly at me.
"It's kind of weird. You and your brother both not having GSS titles? Why would they pick you?" Caitlyn wondered out loud.
"I dunno." I shrugged, playing it off with a bored expression. "Lucky, I guess."
"Very lucky." Tess muttered, narrowing her gaze.
"What do you think they did? Bribe the GSS president?" Peggy laughed at Tess' expression.
"I'd like to see that." I sighed.
"Huh?" Ella tilted her head to the side as Caitlyn sat down on the bed under mine.
"My family's kind of on the...not rich side." I shrugged. "Fact is...we need this money."
"We all need the money." Tess rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure my family could use it more." I replied.
"Wanna bet?" Tess tilted her head and glared at me.
"Guys, come on. You're acting like children. We're about to be famous, okay? Not the famous we are right now, but the actual super star famous. Up there with movie, television, and internet stars. We can't have bad images." Peggy smiled.
I frowned.
Fame and money aren't the same.
****
I looked out the window as all twenty of us walked to dinner, the first meal I'll have had since yesterday morning. Sure, I ate, but snack tables filled with doughnuts, chips, and crackers don't count.
I stopped walking, my eyes glued on the dark space outside. I smiled, realizing I hadn't even felt our lift off. I stared out the window as thousands of stars twinkled.
Oof!
My butt hit the ground seconds after my legs flew out from under me. I sat on the floor, and shook my head, trying to find who's hard head hit me.
"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"
I looked behind me to see Mitchie Torres standing up and dusting off her jeans. She offered me a hand and I took it, loving the feel of her soft hands holding on to mine.
"I'm fine." I shrugged. "It's my fault. I got caught up with the view."
"No, it's all my fault. I wasn't paying attention." She smiled, glancing out the window. She did a double take on it and walked closer, her smile spreading. "Wow. This is so beautiful."
"I know." I sighed, my eyes on her and not the window. She glanced back at me and caught that little detail, blushing. I wasn't sure if she thought I meant her or the stars, but I didn't care.
"Ladies, let's go! You're blocking the hall." A guy with nice hair and a bad mood exclaimed, crossing his arms as we turned away from him and started walking down the hall.
"What part of the world should I blame for that jerk?" I whisper-asked Mitchie. She giggled and glanced over her shoulder.
"That's Shane Gray, from America. You've never heard of him before? He's on the cover of all those girl magazines. He's the obvious choice for the fan vote." She whispered back as we walked into the cafeteria-looking room. It was pretty much a buffet in space.
"Fan vote?" I questioned as we picked up plates and started scooping up different food items and plopping them onto our plates.
"Once a month at random GSS'll have a vote-tastic thing. It's where we vote each other off the show. But one or two of those times the fans'll be the ones voting. Whoever gets the least amount of votes gets kicked off like normal, but whoever gets the highest amount of votes gets special stuff. Last year the guy who got the most votes got a Free Pass. It's like a get-out-of-jail-free card. He used it the next week to keep himself from getting kicked off and then he ended up being the guy who won." She explained.
"That's not fair. We should all be nobodies like me. That way it's not just pick-the-famous-guy." I sighed, looking for a place to sit.
"I know, but rules are rules." She shrugged, also looking for some place to sit.
Justin started waving his hand in the air to get my attention and I smiled.
"Do you wanna sit with us?" I asked Mitchie, starting to walk towards Justin.
"Um...sure, I guess. Is it okay with your brother?" She asked, getting shy again.
"Yeah, he's cool. Well...that depends on your version of what cool means." I smiled. When she smiled too, I felt a solid-like hope rise in me. It filled up a hole I hadn't even known was there.
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AN: I'm loving this. I've been wanting to write something set in the future for a long time and I finally got around to doing it. :]