****
Strains of the PLRG chorus pumped rhythmically through the set as the five women of Eternity danced in syncronization in the smoke filled "club". Brilliant smiles stayed pasted on their faces as they moved to the beat, their eyes bright although it was nearing the end of a 14 hour day.
"Cut! That's a wrap!" Wayne's voice rang out as the girls smiled gratefully, making their way into a small half circle in front of Wayne. He adjusted the dark glasses covering his eyes and pushed up the sleeves of his shirt. "Ladies, you gave me a lot of great material to work with and I think you'll be really happy with the final product. I understand you're heading home tonight?" he asked, then continuing as the girls nodded. "Alright, well I will get the finished video to Johnny as soon as possible so you can view it." Glancing at his watch he tapped it slightly with his index finger, "But you had better get ready to go, it's getting late. Thank you and I hope you'll be happy with the video," he finished up as the girls thanked him enthusiastically before leaving to gather up their things.
The girls changed quickly out of their video wardrobe and made sure they had all of their personal belongings out of their trailers before heading out to the awaiting limo. Saying thank you and good night to the MTV cameras, they climbed into the white vehicle that would take them to the LAX airport for their flight home.
****
"Hello?" Jordan answered the phone as she stood in the kitchen doorway of her Florida home. Rachel walked past her in a zombie like state, her carry on bag slung over her shoulder as she mumbled a goodnight and disappeared into her room. The red-eye flight they had taken from LA had made their arrival into Orlando a very early morning one, and as Jordan glanced out the window tiredly, she noticed that daylight was breaking over the horizon. Wondering who could possibly be calling her at such an early hour, her thoughts were quickly interrupted by a jubiliant female voice.
"You ain't Lance!" she shouted happily.
"Damn right I ain't Lance." Jordan stated dryly as a smile creeped across her face.
"So where have you been all my life?" the woman on the other end chided.
"Well up until recently I was touring the country DORK."
"Do you not own a cell phone WOMAN?"
"Nope." Jordan joked, "I can't 'affode' it." She teased, pronouncing the word afford with a silly accent. The old joke caused the two women to erupt in laughter.
"Girl how have you been? I miss you!" April questioned, eager to hear stories about life on tour with the guys of N Sync. "And you better tell me details about your Tennessee beefcake too, aight?" she demanded playfully.
Jordan smiled warmly, glad to hear from her close friend and neighbor from back home. Settling into a plush chair, she stretched her tired muscles as she divulged several stories and caught her friend up on everything that had happened in the last few hectic months. "...and we just got back from LA like five minutes before you called." she finished, sighing.
"Ahh the life of a popstar, you have it so rough." April said with mock sympathy.
Jordan laughed and sarcasm took over in her tired state, "I know! I mean the parties, touring with N Sync, the award shows, the photo shoots. It's just too too much." she finished with an overdramatic sigh.
"Not to mention you've got what half the women on the planet dream of...Justin Timberlake. As a bonus you've even got up close personal knowledge of..." April stopped as Jordan interrupted her.
"AGH. Would you stop with your dirty mind. I'm as innocent as they get so keep your sick perverted thoughts to yourself okay?" Jordan squealed, crinkling up her nose before joining her friend in uncontrollable laughter.
"Ooh girl and I saw Lance the other day on TV and he was looking bootylicious. I just wanna..."
"STOP!!!" Jordan screamed into the phone, clutching her stomach as she laughed, knowing full well that April was just trying to provoke a reaction.
"Aight aight, I'll stop but only cuz ya begged me too. I'll keep my nasty thoughts to myself." April concluded. "Girl I'm gonna let you get to bed okay? Don't be a stranger!" she stated firmly after hearing Jordan's stifled yawn carrying through the phone line.
Yawning again, Jordan sleepily replied, "Okay. Hey I'm coming home for a few days before we start having meetings for our album so we'll get together aight?"
"Sounds good, bye woman."
"Later." Jordan clicked the phone off and hung her hand over the edge of the large chair she sat in comfortably. Closing her eyes momentarily, it was only a few seconds before the phone slid from her tight grasp as she drifted off to sleep.
****
"Shh!" Rachel nudged Joey, who sat next to her chomping loudly on some ice. Reaching for the remote, she adjusted the volume on the big screen tv and nestled back down into the overstuffed sofa as the program began.
"Tonight on Making the Video with Eternity..."
A montage of shots flashed across the screen, showing the girls waving, smiling, making goofy faces, and shouting "Hi MTV!" into the camera.
"The girls head out for a night on the town..."
A shot of the girls throwing themselves into their dancing on the smoke filled floor of the club flickered across the screen momentarily.
"...and a diva spoils their fun."
The boys laughed as the screen showed Rachel getting a door slammed in her face repeatedly, showing a shocked expression on her delicate features. Before any of them could actually comment, the show continued.
"Plus the World Premiere of their video...'Poor Little Rich Girl'..."
Shots of the girls arriving danced across the screen as the lower portion displayed the time and the date, along with the location of the video shoot. Ashlee walked by and blew a kiss at the camera as Leigh waved a hello. Tressa walked behind Rachel and Jordan as they talked.
"We're running a TAD late today," Rachel explained, making a motion with her index finger and thumb to emphasize her words. "We just left the airport, but we made it, we're here. Go us!" She finished up, pumping her fist in the air.
"And we're TIRED!!" Jordan emphasized, throwing in her two cents before the girls entered the soundstage area.
A sped up version of the "club" set construction raced across the large television screen and as the music to PLRG played, the girls were introduced one by one. Following that was their intros, which included cut-outs of the girls in front of a black screen, their name printed in white letters at the base of the left side. During that time, the actress and Wayne were also introduced in a similar fashion.
"Wait! What was her name?" Chris said excitedly, jumping up and down in his seat slightly.
Shooting Chris a look of amusement, Tressa smiled. "She's too young for you."
Looking down at the blonde in front of him, Chris pouted. "So you're saying I'm old?"
"No, I'm saying she's 16."
"Ooohh. Jailbait then. I gotcha." Chris said, stroking his goatee thoughtfully as everyone laughed.
The show continued quickly, showing several shots of the girls nodding along enthused as Wayne showed them the video concept and the storyboard. Leigh sat in the hair and makeup trailer as she interpreted the song for the MTV viewers.
"It's a song about a girl, she's surrounded by money and all of these material things but all she does is feel sorry for herself. The lyrics are telling her to suck it up, she doesn't have it that bad, there are so many things out there that she will never comprehend. It's asking if she will ever appreciate the things she has, when she sees what so many people go without, will she realize then how blessed she really is." Leigh explained carefully, wrinkling her nose as the makeup artist powdered her face.
Cutting to Wayne, he sat in a director's chair, dark glasses in place as he explained his reasoning for the concept he had chosen.
"The girls wanted a dance video, but also wanted to have a sort of twist to the concept. So I came up with the concept ending as sort of a dream that brings the poor little rich girl back to reality as she realizes that she needs to go out and stop her self pity." he finished, rolling up his sleeves.
Teasing the audience before breaking for a commercial, the television showed Jordan resting her head on the wheel of a Mustang convertible, sleeping as she sat slumped forward in the drivers' seat. The short clip also flashed the girls in wardrobe selection and dance rehersals, Ashlee falling on the ground in exhaustion before finally cutting away to commercial.
The room filled with chatter as the commercials aired in the background. Joey stretched out on the couch next to Rachel, resting his head in her lap, much to her surprise. Jordan sat absentmindedly tickling the bottoms of Justin's feet, reaching behind her to do so as he sat in the recliner she leaned up against. Lance, JC, Tressa, and Ashlee were sprawled out on the floor in a row, their chins propped up by their hands. Leigh and Chris sat on the loveseat, Chris leaning forward in his seat and Leigh curled up with her head laying on the plush armrest. The conversations came to a quick halt when the program began again.
"Right now we're in wardrobe, trying to find something that would be good for the beginning of the video." Ashlee explained, making a strange face at a pair of patterned pants she held in her hand before quickly placing them back on the rack. "Those aren't." she said, holding in her laughter as she disappeared off camera quickly.
Everyone in the room laughed as the next shot showed Rachel grinning at the camera over her shoulder.
"I've come to have a special love for my ass." she stated sarcastically as she patted her rear end.
The dance rehersals graced the screen next, showing the girls sweating and tired as Darrin commented from the sidelines.
"Good good...Rachel keep that tight! You've got to get that in there. Bam, bam, bam...turn. It's a quick 8 count with a lot of movement but you MUST stay tight or you'll never pick up the next count on time." he directed with a calm voice.
The girls finished up the count and stopped for a breather, Jordan taking a sip of her water before speaking into the camera. "I'm 19 and about to have a heart attack. Is that normal?" she asked to no one in particular as she wiped the sweat off her face with the bottom of her shirt before tying it up to expose her torso. "I'm just playin though really, we love Darrin. He's our boy!" she said tiredly as he came over and placed his arm around her shoulders. They both grinned at the camera before Darrin turned to look at Jordan.
"Are you tryin to butter me up so I'll let you rest?" he asked teasingly.
"Me? Nooo." she said, her eyes wide in mock surprise that he would ask such a thing. The two laughed and Darrin removed his arm from her shoulders as he turned away from the cameras, clapping his hands together to signal the short break was over. Jordan winked at the camera, "It's like butta baby." she said before sticking her tongue out and dragging her tired body over to the rest of the group.
Justin smiled at the inside joke and leaned over, planting a kiss on Jordan's forehead before righting himself and continuing to watch the show as it played out before him.
The next few scenes were Wayne directing some of the simpler shots of the video, including several shots using the actress they had hired to play the poor little rich girl. After another commercial break, the show returned with the scene in which the song begins and the girls are driving toward the club.
"We're on location..." Rachel looked confused briefly and looked off camera searchingly before nodding quickly and turning back with a sheepish grin on her face. "At Palos Verde Estates. It's gorgeous up here...kind of windy, but I don't think any of us will blow away." she rambled as Tressa interjected, sticking her head into the view of the camera.
"And I would just like to reiterate that no automobiles were harmed during the making of this video." she teased, wiggling her eyebrows.
"Are you makin fun of us?" JC asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at the blonde. Turning to Lance he finished, "I think she was makin fun of us."
Lance laughed as he shook his head and turned his attention back to the television.
On screen, the girls drove along the winding coastline at dusk, the camera following their every move. Jordan was in the driver's seat, her sister seated next to her as the remaining three occupied the back of the open convertible. They sang the opening lyrics to PLRG as they drove, moving to the beat slightly from their positions in the car.
After the car scene was complete, the girls said their good-byes to the cameras in order to head back to their hotel for the evening.
Another commercial break interrupted the show, but quickly resumed, opening with the girls climbing out of their limo, the words Day 2 gracing the base of the screen as they all yawned tiredly.
"It's 5 AM. Does it look like I'm functioning? Does it look like Jordan and 5 AM co-exist?" Rachel said, coming up behind her sister and reaching around to contort Jordan's face into a smile. "That's what I thought." she laughed, shaking her head as Jordan ducked out of the shot.
The girls all giggled out loud as Chris raced up to the screen, peering at it closely when it showed Wayne preparing for the first setup of the day. "I knew it! He only owns three shirts!! He wore that during our video shoot too." he said, laughing as Ashlee grabbed him by the leg of his pants and pulling him down so she could see.
Finally the last shot of the day played out across the big screen TV.
"This is the last scene we'll be shooting for 'Poor Little Rich Girl', it's the dance scene from the club that will also be on the television when Airyn is flipping through the channels. Hopefully it turns out cool!" Ashlee said, raising her crossed fingers and smiling before turning to enter the smoky atmosphere of the 'club'.
The dance sequence went well, focusing in on each girl as she sang and moved in perfect syncronization. The music faded out as Wayne informed the girls and the crew that they were finished.
"Bye! I hope ya'll enjoy the video!" Jordan waved. "Now we're goin home! Yeah yeah yeah!" she said playfully, flashing a mega-watt smile at the MTV cameras before disappearing into the limosine.
Short clips of the video process moved rapidly across the screen as it counted down.
"5...4...3...2...1"
The screen turned blue as the WP symbol appeared.
"And now...the world premiere of Eternity's 'Poor Little Rich Girl'." the voice stated.
The five women sat silent as the video played, awaiting the boys reactions. Finally the credits had begun rolling and Leigh spoke up. "So..what did ya'll think?"
Lance nodded his approval, "That was really good. I liked the part where ya'll are driving and the poor little rich girl is flipping through her channels. Then she stops cuz she sees you guys on TV as you're driving and singing to her, but shakes her head sort of in disbelief and looks closer and you're not there. The special effects were a nice touch." he finished.
Justin nodded as he leaned over slightly and placed his arms around Jordan's shoulders. "I liked the dance sequence, that was tight."
Joey sat up from his position on the couch, "I think my favorite part was when the poor little rich girl slams the door in Rachel's face." he laughed, flinching slightly as Rachel held up a threatening fist.
Lounging comfortably in the cozy Florida home, the two groups laughed and talked more about the video before their discussion drifted to other topics, fueling the conversation well into the night.
****