JOHN AND ROSE
Chapter Two
Mary skipped along the road beside Nadia, as
excited as a child at Christmas. Nadia looked at her strangely, wondering what
had made her bored, sulking sister so happy.
"All right. What is it?"
"What?" Mary gave Nadia an innocent
look.
"What’s made you so silly? Two hours ago
you were thoroughly bored, and considered yourself ever so much more mature
than those boys. Now, you’re acting like a little kid."
"I’m perfectly mature," Mary
replied, but couldn’t wipe the excited grin from her face.
"It’s not that phony director we met, is
it? If you really think you’re about to be discovered, you’re even dumber than
you usually act. He’s a fraud."
"He’s not a fraud!" Mary retorted,
annoyed by her sister’s lack of enthusiasm for her pretty dreams. "He’s a
real Hollywood director."
"Oh, yeah? And have you read about him
in any of your movie magazines?"
Mary shrugged. "He’s probably only
directed art films. Those aren’t usually in the movie magazines."
Nadia rolled her eyes. "You are so dumb.
You’d fall for anything."
"I would not! He’s a real director, and
he’s going to make me a star!"
"Uh-huh. And how do you know he’s a real
director?"
"He gave me his business card.
Look." Mary dug the card out of her pocket.
"I already saw that. How do you know
he’s a real director?"
"I already told you! Would he have a
business card if he wasn’t?"
"Business cards are easy to get. Dad
gives out hundreds of them."
"And Dad’s a real businessman."
"That’s not the point. He just gets them
printed up by someone in town. Anyone can do that."
"And why would someone pretend to be a
director if they weren’t?"
"To lure young, pretty girls."
Mary looked at Nadia disdainfully. "You
read too many crime novels."
"I read the newspaper, too. Besides, I
didn’t like the way he looked. He was too sincere."
"How can a person be too sincere? I
swear, you are much too suspicious."
"How can a person be too
suspicious?" Nadia countered. "Mark my words, Mary, he’s up to no
good. The most he might do is take some nude pictures of you—if nothing worse.
Why would a director look for actresses in Iowa, anyway? There’s hundreds of
actresses all over Hollywood. If you want to be an actress, finish high school
and then get Aunt Rose to help you."
"Aunt Rose isn’t a director. She doesn’t
make movies."
"No, but she’s a big star. She knows a
lot of people who make movies."
"Actresses get discovered every day, in
the strangest places. Mr. Ross is just looking for undiscovered talent."
"Yeah, right. A few actresses get
discovered—mainly in places like Hollywood and New York. Why would anyone look
for an actress in Cedar Rapids?"
"I’ve had my name in the newspaper a few
times."
"Which I’m sure he’s read. Right. Face it,
Mary, you’re just being stupid if you think he’ll get you anywhere."
"I’m not being stupid." Mary turned
to glower at Nadia. "I’m as smart as you are. Maybe I want different
things out of life, but I’m not stupid!"
Nadia sighed. "Fine. You’re not stupid.
Unless, of course, you really believe this fellow is what he says he is. You
have to watch out for people like that. Even Aunt Rose says so."
"Aunt Rose didn’t get discovered."
"Actually, she did. Remember? She got
discovered—"
"—on the set of a Civil War picture.
That’s not the same. She was already an actress then."
"So are you. You go on stage every
chance you get."
"I want to be a movie star."
Nadia sighed in exasperation. "Good. Be
a movie star. But get Aunt Rose to help you, not some stranger you met at the
fair. I bet he won’t even be around Hollywood in two years."
"I think he will." Mary smiled to
herself. Especially, she thought, if he has a talented actress to
appear in his movies. I’m going to be that actress.
Nadia eyed her suspiciously. "You’d
better not run off. Dad will lock you up until you’re eighteen if you do.
Remember how the older sister of that one girl we knew back in New York tried
to run off to Hollywood? She wound up on the streets before she finally got
home."
"That’s just a rumor. Besides, she
didn’t know anyone."
"If you run off to Aunt Rose, she’ll
ship you back here so fast your head will spin."
"I won’t run off to Aunt Rose."
"Don’t run off to anyone else,
either," Nadia warned.
Mary gave her a secretive smile. "Don’t
worry. I won’t."