Chapter Two - Interview

Lily ate a light dinner that night. "You never want to go to an interview with a lot of food in your stomach, unless it's an all day thing. Even then…," her mother trailed off. It was only a small part of a big lecture on the do's and don't's of being interviewed that she was giving Lily.

Brandon laughed. "You'd think it was her first interview," he said.

"Well, this is her first big interview. This could make it or break it for her. Besides, one could always do with a reminding."

She returned to talking to Lily. "Now remember, always listen to your agent. He knows what's best. But don't rely totally on him. Don't let him run your life. Don't let him make a decision without consulting you. And don't you make any decisions without consulting your father or me. Preferably both. "

"Mom," Lily laughed, "I'm not going to be signing any deals or anything. It's just an interview.

Brandon hit his forehead. He knew what was coming. He had said the same thing many times before.

"'Just an interview'? Let me tell you. For one, there's no such thing as 'just an interview.' Interviews are big things. It's your publicity. It's how the world will see you as a person. For two, you can't be sure that there won't be any deals. When I was at an interview for what would be my last movie as a child actress, there were many casters there."

Brandon was mouthing the words as his mother said them. "Fortunately for me, I had dressed my best, and acted smart. One caster saw me, and decided that I might be good for the movie he was casting for. He asked me to try out, and that was how I landed my first part in a major movie."

"Brandon!" She had just noticed Brandon's mocking. "There's a lesson to be learned from that story, you shouldn't go about mocking it."

Brandon nodded, and their mother turned her attention back to Lily. "Now, you might want to take note that this is a big interview. There will undoubtedly be lots of cameras, still and video alike. Act your best for the video ones, because you'll probably be seeing them again in a film documentary. Pose a lot and smile nicely for the still ones. Those are the pictures you'll be seeing on magazine covers.

Six fifteen came, and the doorbell rang. Lily's mother answered it. "Lily, your dresser is here," she called from the foyer.

Lily went to the foyer to meet the dresser, and then went up to her room. "I'll be wearing this top and scarf, and that skirt." She pointed to the skirt her mother had picked out.

"Blue, is it?" the dresser asked, commenting on the color of the ensemble Lily would wear. She looked through her bag. "Go take a shower, then, using this soap, this shampoo, and this conditioner. Oh, and leave your hair wet."

Lily obeyed, taking the soap, shampoo, and conditioner that the dresser had pulled out of the bag. There had only been a few times where Lily had used specific soaps to wash, but she had a feeling that, as her career progressed, she would be doing so more and more often.

After Lily got out of the shower, she dried off, except for her hair. She put it up in a towel, and put on a robe.

"Okay," her dresser said, when she saw that Lily had returned. The dresser left her room, and closed the door. Lily gently changed into the clothes she was going to wear. When she had done so, she went back into the bathroom, where the dresser was.

The dresser let Lily's hair down and began to dry it. As she did so, she commented, "I think you look good in blue. It goes will with your eyes."

After drying and curling Lily's hair, the dresser gently tied it up with the scarf. It looked even better than it did when Lily had done it herself. The dresser also added a nice necklace and a cute pair of earrings. To top it off, she used a little bit of perfume. Nothing overpowering, but noticeable.

The limousine arrived a little before quarter 'till seven. As Lily headed out the door, her mother and Brandon were there. "Make me proud," her mother said.

Brandon laughed. "Don't trip when you're walking in," he advised.

Lily laughed back. It was just like Brandon to find humor in everything. "Oh, and don't be nervous," he said. "There's only going to be a thousand cameras if you do something stupid like that."

The driver opened the door, and Lily got in. She waved to her mother and brother before the door was closed. The drive was uneventful, because there was nobody for her to talk to. She sat and worked on being poised.

She arrived a little before seven. By looking out of the window, she could tell that it was indeed a big entrance. There was a red carpet, and it was lined with reporters with cameras. Lily took a deep breath. She remembered what her mother had said. "When you walk into the building, be poised. Smile, and wave, but don't stop. Smile, and wave."

The door was opened, and she gracefully got out. She could see all the flashbulbs, and she could hear them, too. The only other thing she heard was a bunch of people asking questions. But she listened to her mother. She walked down the carpet, smiling and waving, but did not stop to answer any questions.

Once inside the building, things were a lot nicer. Her agent was waiting right inside for her. Usually, he would go with her, but he didn't want to ruin her first big shot at the spotlight. "You'd think it was a big premier," she commented.

"It's the second best thing," her agent replied. "And didn't I tell you? This movie's going to be big. Now, you're in room E for private interviewing for an hour, there's going to be four different people. I'll be there, of course, but you'll be the one answering the questions. If you don't know, say you don't know. If you don't want to answer, just decline. I'll be watching the time."

With that, he led her to room E, and she sat down. It wasn't a very fun hour, but Lily was able to tolerate it. All for people asked her similar questions, like, "What do you plan to do after 'Stealing Your Heart'?" and "Is shooting your show more difficult now that you've started a movie career?"

After the private interviewing was a cast interview for an hour, where reporters asked questions to the whole cast. All the questioning was rather boring, but Lily knew that it was a small price to pay for the publicity it would get. It was all part of being a star.

She left that night, tired but happy. She knew that it had been a good interview, and she had showed her good side to the cameras. She didn't trip, or do anything embarrassing. She didn't get any offers for movies, but she didn't think there were a lot of casters there. It seemed to be mostly reporters. There just wasn't any more room in the building.

She entered her house, and her whole family was in the family room, watching something. As soon as she closed the door, they approached her.

"So," her mother said, "how did it go?"

Lily began to tell how the evening had gone. As she talked, she seemed so happy that nobody watching would have been able to tell that she was silently longing for more in her life.

Special Thanks - Where I thank those who have reviewed my story so far…

Well, unfortunatly, this section isn't going to be very long it I don't get more readers soon.

Anyway, thanks goes out to sailorball for reading and reviewing my story.