Ally looked around her small apartment. This was it; her new beginning. As soon as they had gotten back to Florida, she said goodbye to everyone, picked up her stuff from Craig’s house and bought a one-way ticket to New York City, and she was really happy. She had gotten in touch with Jo as soon as she got there, for the first time since their argument over Craig. They were going to get together in a week for lunch. She hadn’t given anyone from the tour her new address or phone number. Craig couldn’t get a hold of her. She could get a job. Surely there were career opportunities here. Those were all great things, but the best part was that now she was away from Nick. She would be able to get over him fully now that he was out of her life. Granted, there was still MTV, but that wasn’t a big deal.
She looked out her new window at the bustling traffic below her. Yes, this was exactly what she needed. A change of setting and a change of people would be perfect. The door to her apartment opened and a short, blond girl her age stepped in. “Hey, Ally.”
“Hey, Celeste,” Ally replied to her new roommate. Celeste was also a dancer. She had grown up here in New York, and she needed a roommate to help make ends meet.
“I know the view isn’t the best, and I know it’s kind of loud, but hey, it’s inexpensive,” Celeste said.
“Don’t worry about it. You have no idea how much I love this place,” Ally answered.
“You must have lived in a pretty bad apartment in Florida to love this place!” Celeste exclaimed.
“I need the change, Celeste. It’s not the place that matters. It’s the change.” She hadn’t told Celeste much about her past yet.
“Really? I lived in California for a year, but I couldn’t stand the change, so I came back here.”
“Anywhere but Florida sounds good to me.”
“What’s so wrong with Florida?”
“There are two people down there that I need to get away from. Two ex-boyfriends, one of which I just don’t want to be around, the other I need to get over.”
“Ah, I get it. What kind of dancing did you do down there?”
“Mainly tours with pop bands. I was a backup dancer for Your Fantasy and the Backstreet Boys.”
“Really? Wow! Are the guys really stuck up?”
“In Your Fantasy, they were, but the Backstreet Boys were awesome, once I opened up to them.”
“Opened up to them?”
“I was really shy, and they took that to be a sign that I didn’t like them.”
“You were shy? You don’t really seem like the shy type.”
“I learned a lot about myself during the tour and I realized that I needed to change; the person I was just wasn’t working for me.”
“I see. Did you meet your ex-boyfriends on these tours?”
“Yeah. One of them was Craig Miller.” She paused to see Celeste’s reaction, which was a look of astonishment. “He was an asshole, though.”
“I’m sorry to bring this up, but are you the girl he cheated on with Mindi McAllen?” Celeste asked.
“Yeah, that would be me,” Ally said. “The other boyfriend was Nick Carter.”
“Wow! What happened with him?”
She quickly told Celeste of the events with Kelli. “I still love him, but I can’t trust him anymore. I took off when we got back to Florida and I don’t plan to see him ever again.”
“I thought Nick would be a sweetie.”
“He may have broken my heart, but he is a sweetie,” Ally said softly. “I miss him.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll find a guy who really deserves you.”
“I hope so. Lord knows those two put me through enough,” she muttered bitterly.
Celeste and Ally had just auditioned to be backup dancers for Natalie Lewis, the newest pop princess on the music scene. After auditions, Cindy, the tour manager stood up and silenced the waiting girls. “Okay, here’s the list of backup dancers. If you’re on this list, congratulations! Please wait here for further directions. If you’re not, sorry. Better luck next time! You can go home.” She taped the list on the wall and went into another room. It was immediately mobbed by girls who were hoping to see that their careers had finally started to pick up. Of course, most of them were let down.
Celeste and Ally waited for the crowd to clear before checking for their names. After the many groans of disappointment and the very few squeals of joy died down, the two girls got up and looked at the list. Celeste’s eyes bulged out of her head and she screamed happily. “We’re on here, Ally!”
“Oh, man, that was easier than I thought!” Ally said. “We’re backup dancers for Natalie Lewis!”
Before long, the tour started, and the weeks flew by. Soon, the tour was almost over. Ally and Celeste boarded the bus they shared with the other dancers: Amanda, Valerie, and Kristen. Amanda was somewhat quiet, but she was nice. Valerie was bouncy and outgoing. She reminded Ally of Shannon. Kristen, on the other hand, was not fun to be around. She was really rude and very egotistical. Natalie Lewis, despite her fame, was really nice and very down to earth.
“Are we ever going to meet Natalie’s boy toy that she keeps talking about?” Kristen said loudly. Celeste’s eyebrows raised, and Ally’s ears perked up. They were always eager to pick up on the gossip.
“I heard her say he’s joining us next week,” Amanda said.
“Does anyone actually know who he is?” Valerie wondered.
“She won’t tell us. She said it’s a surprise,” Kristen said. “It doesn’t matter. It won’t last. She’ll just spit him out in the end.”
“What makes you say that?” Valerie asked.
“She’s a pop princess. What do you expect her to do?” Kristen answered simply.
“I don’t think Natalie is like that. She seems really nice to me,” Amanda said.
“I still wonder who this guy is,” Valerie pouted.