Variety

Chapter 4

Carol's POV:

I couldn't believe it- I was face to face with the man who's been the cause of my immense stress load recently. What could he possibly have to say to me? All I knew was, nothing good could or would come out of this.

"Can I help you, Steve?" I asked in a monotone voice, so as not to set him off by saying something wrong and worsening things. He could hurt me, or worse, my crew on the show. He chuckled, and this may sound childish but it was a bit scary.

"Nope. Eydie and I have everything under control- just tell your newbies there to watch there backs." I was furious, this had gone too far.

"What in the name of-" I was met with a flash of his dark features, a gust of wind, and he was gone.

Angie's POV:

A week had passed since we came to work on that first Monday, and working on Carol's show couldn't be better. I was still quite shy around the cast members, however. Helen especially. Unless we were rehearsing, I avoided her at all costs- if I avoided her, I avoided making a fool of myself in front of my idol. That was my logic, anyway. On Carols show I had a chance to feel different, and I was eternally grateful to her for giving me that chance.

Speaking of acting differently, Carol's been very strange lately. Although I'm not going to get involved. If I can barely talk to her about the weather, how can I ask her about anything that may be going on in her personal life?

"Hey Angie." I looked up to see Lola, strutting out onto the stage confidently. I smiled. I'd never met her before we were both cast, but she was very nice. And she's confident too- she's a good friend in my opinion. Especially for me, opposites attract.

"Hey, Lola." I replied. "Have you noticed that Carol's been a bit off lately?" She raised an eyebrow as she fumbled around in her bag for something, sitting criss-crossed on the bare stage.

"No, not really." She said dismissively. I decided just to shrug it off as well. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around and came face-to-face with Helen and Carol. My breath caught in my throat and my thoughts poured out of my brain and dissolved into the floor, leaving me floundering for something to say.

"Hey Angie, I wanna talk to you about this week's lineup." Carol told me.

"O-ok." I managed to get that out. She motioned for me to follow and with Helen and I on her heels she led us to the practicing soundstage.

"Join Helen in the booth and I'll tell you guys what I had in mind." I nodded and Carol held the door opened for us. At least she seemed to be back to her usual self. Maybe Lola was right- maybe it was nothing. Helen and I both sat down on stools opposite each other and looked expectantly at Carol.

"Well," she began, taking a seat herself near the tech guys outside the sound booth. "Joe and I have been talking, and we decided that you two haven't gotten much of a chance to work together. So we're going to take a few of Helen's songs, and you're going to duet them, and that will be our finale this week." I was surprised. Normally the finale consisted of everybody- except for last week when Tommy, Jonathan, and Lola did this comedy music tribute.

"That sounds fun." Helen commented. I nodded. Carol laughed.

"You don't talk much, do you Angie?" She asked playfully. I looked down, embarrassed. Helen smiled at me reassuringly. Carol showed me the lineup of songs and we got to work.

The session was amazing, and singing with Helen was a dream. When it was over we all departed from the studio, and I stepped out the back door and into the darkness. It had gotten awfully late. From behind me I heard a noise- but when I turned around, nothing was there. I shrugged it off nervously. I told myself it was nothing, and I just kept walking. The door opened from behind me, and Lucy and Tommy were exiting the building.

"Goodnight, Angie." Lucy smiled and Tommy gave a goofy wave. I smiled back at them.

"Night guys." I turned around and tried to start walking again, but I was met with a face. I recognized him as Steve Lawrence, and right as I tried to run, something collided with my head and everything went black.