Chapter
Eighteen
Center Stage
The Costas and Rush families were watching the show from rooms on opposite sides of the studio. The network didn’t want Cameron and Rosa to meet until they walked to center stage in front of millions of viewers. As Meagan Fletcher announced the commercial break, a production assistant knocked and entered each room.
“Ninety seconds, Mr. Rush,” said one.
“Ninety seconds, Miss Costas,” said the other.
Cameron was led to an X taped on the floor on the left side of the stage, while Rosa was told to stand on a similar mark on the right side. The assistants stood between them and the stage itself. They could hear someone in the studio say, “Live in five… four… three…”
Two silent seconds later Meagan Fletcher’s voice could be heard over the backstage monitor. “Welcome back to this special edition of Technology World. The two young people you’re about to meet are best friends. They applied to and were accepted by the IHT Academy as a team. That’s unusual in itself, but it’s even more remarkable that they’ve never met in person, before tonight. Please welcome Rosa Costas, a real, working cowgirl who lives on a ranch outside Moriarty, New Mexico, and Cameron Rush, from Troy, Wisconsin.”
Rosa heard the applause. At that moment, the production assistant stepped aside and motioned for her to enter. When she saw Cameron entering from the far side, she gave him one of her mischievous looks.
Cameron saw the look on Rosa’s face as they walked towards center stage. He knew that look only too well. She had something planned— something that would embarrass him. What would it be? Well, if it was a hug, like at the interview, she was in for a shock. He was prepared for that. He would hug her right back. In fact, he would hug her first! He wouldn’t look stiff and awkward either. He was even prepared for her to call him Cheese Boy in front of the whole world. What he wasn’t prepared for was…
As they came to center stage, Rosa reached out to give her friend a hug. She noticed Cameron did not hesitate to return the gesture. She knew he wouldn’t. As they hugged, she lifted herself on her toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek before pulling away and calmly taking her seat next to Max Anderson. Max’s hand was over his mouth trying to mask his amusement.
Cameron stood there a moment, awkwardly. The red of his blush radiated through the makeup.
“Please have a seat, Mr. Rush,” said the host with a tone of sympathy in her voice.
Cameron walked stiffly to his seat. During the commercial break, two chairs had been added on stage and arranged so Cameron and Rosa could sit in the center with their reps next to them. The other two students and their reps sat at the ends. The two boys were on the left side of the stage while the girls were on the right.
“So tell me, Rosa,” said Meagan, “is Cameron your boyfriend?”
“Yes,” she answered without hesitation. She glanced at Cameron, who had turned to look at her when the question was asked. Rosa had a sly smile on her face. “He is a boy and he is a friend.”
“And what do you have to say about that?” The reporter was addressing Cameron now.
“She’s right on both counts, I guess,” was his somewhat lame answer.
“Cameron’s mother is a county attorney, and his father is a writer. Rosa’s father is the foreman on a cattle ranch…”
Rosa’s face went white at the reporter’s revelation. Now Cameron knew they didn’t own Rancho Verde. He knew they were only hired hands. She was going to tell him — eventually. She hadn’t expected him to learn her secret here and now in front of millions of viewers. She turned to Cameron and was amazed to see that Cameron did not react to the information. He was calmly watching the reporter. Didn’t he hear Meagan Fletcher say her father was a ranch foreman?
Cameron furtively extended his little finger and briefly touched the side of Rosa’s hand, which was resting on the arm of her chair. With that gesture she realized Cameron had already known her secret and everything was okay. She smiled as she turned to watch Meagan Fletcher.
“…and so you have never met in person before tonight.” She was talking to Cameron.
“I’m not sure if that’s true,” said Cameron.
The reporter was puzzled. “How can you not be sure if you’ve met in person before, or not?”
“Well, we were at the interview together.”
“Yes, but that was just an IHT simulation. You didn’t meet in person.”
“Didn’t we?” He turned to look at Rosa, who took up the thought.
“Ms. Fletcher, I could see, hear, and touch him,” said Rosa, “and his thoughts, humor, and spirit were there. So was that him, or wasn’t it?”
“What an interesting question. No wonder you two scored the highest ranking of any applicant to the Academy.”
“That’s not fair to say,” Rosa protested. “There were two of us.”
Cameron rose to the occasion. “Yeah, I reckon if you divided the score by two we each came in dead last.”
The audience erupted in laughter.
It was 4:37 in the morning in Oslo as Gwen Johanssen watched the live show in the conference room. “They are terrific,” she said to the man in the room with her.
“For their own sake, I wish they weren’t so good,” said the man. “The media won’t let those two alone after this.”
“That’s why we evaluated the families as well. They’ll protect their children.”
“I hope so, Gwen. I truly hope so.”
When the show was over, their reps informed the four students that the three-day all-expense-paid vacation, which was to follow their appearance, had been canceled. Their luggage had been gathered from the various resorts and would be waiting for them at the airport. Cameron and Rosa were upset. They had hoped to be able to spend some time together in Phoenix.
There were no long, white limousines waiting for them when they left the studio, only four blue airport vans. The students and Amy Lassiter went in the first van while the families and the other reps piled into the others.
“This sucks,” said Malik as the van moved swiftly down the freeway to the airport.
“Yeah,” said Becky. She didn’t need Amy to sign Malik’s comment to understand what he had said. “Our parents didn’t seem too unhappy though.”
Rosa signed, “Hi, I’m Rosa. This is Cameron.”
Cameron was astonished. “I didn’t know you could sign.”
Becky’s face broke into a wide smile and she gave a timid little wave in response. “Hello Rosa. Hello Cameron.”
Cameron extended his hand in greeting to Becky, then to Malik. Becky giggled as she shook Cameron’s hand with a feather-light grip. Malik’s grip was firm yet friendly.
“What a summer! Huh?” Malik’s voice was tinged with wonder and disbelief
“For sure!” said Becky after reading Amy’s sign. “I’m just disappointed we aren’t getting to stay and visit a few day’s like they promised.”
They spent the next few minutes sharing how they had cracked the puzzle of the 715-page application form. Becky had not gotten the humor of the “red tape,” however. Again she giggled when Malik explained it to her. Her giggle was infectious. Soon the whole van was laughing.
“Wait a minute!” said Rosa suddenly as she looked out the side window. “Didn’t we just pass our terminal?”
“Who knows?” asked Cameron. “It’s dark out, and this place was confusing in the daytime.”
Malik cupped his hands around his eyes and peered through the glass. “No, I think Rosa’s right. My oldest sister lives here, and I’ve come to visit several times. So I’m familiar with the airport. That was the main terminal we just passed.”
The parade of vans turned off the primary airport roadway and cruised along a row of low buildings until they pulled to a stop behind a small hangar. The van door was thrown open revealing a shiny, private jet glistening in the light of a full moon. GundTech was painted in tall, blue letters on its tail. The gang of four was speechless.
Max Anderson approached their van. “It’s way too hot to spend three more days in Phoenix,” he said. “So we decided to move you to a new hotel, several hundred miles west of here. Have any of you ever heard of the Disneyland Hotel?”
Becky could see the excited movements of her companions, but she didn’t understand until Amy had finished signing. “Disneyland?” she asked, fearing she hadn’t read Amy’s signing correctly. Amy nodded in affirmation. With that, Becky started bouncing like a jumping bean, giggling uncontrollably.
Malik put an arm around her shoulder like a big brother trying to calm his sister. Rosa put one arm around Becky’s waist and the other around Cameron’s. Then, arm-in-arm, the four American students walked towards the magic carpet that would whisk them away.
(Chapters 19-23)
