Conrad - Starstruck

Starstruck

To Farrin Jacobs, for working unbelievably hard
and making the writing process so fun.
Thank you for not just being an amazing editor
but a wonderful friend.

Dear Madison,

You probably dont remember it, but a few months ago I wrote you a letter. I told you that I was your biggest fan. And I really was! My screen saver was a picture of you from the Fame Game premiere. My ringtone was the theme from Madisons Makeovers . I loved you.

Well, Im writing now to tell you that I dont love you anymore. At all. Everything I said in that letterabout how you were true to yourself, how you worked so hard for what you gotI take it all back. Because everything that you said was a lie.

You had it all, Madison. Money, looks, fame. But I guess that wasnt enough. Stealing is wrong. Didnt your parents teach you anything?

Sincerely disappointed,

Becca B.

PS: I unfollowed you on Twitter.

Madison Parker stood in the echoing marble foyer of the Beverly Hills Courthouse, her back pressed against the wall and her purse clutched tightly in her freshly manicured fingers. People in ill-fitting suits and outdated shoes hurried past without a second glance at Madisons uncharacteristically pale face. (Seriously, was there a law against natural fabrics and current-season pumps around here?)

Madisons own outfit was carefully thought out. Shed taken a page from Lindsays book (after all, who had more experience when it came to courtroom couture?) and opted for white, although Madison wore a bra with her ensemble. Her dress hit right below the knee, and she accessorized with a modest heel and pearls. She had a quilted Chanel that would have looked perfect, but instead shed chosen a simple black bag. No labels, her lawyer had instructed her. Shed been charged with theft, and flaunting an expensive wardrobe wasnt going to help her case.

She sighed. For the last ten minutes shed been waiting for Andy Marcus, Esq., to emerge from wherever hed disappeared to in the moments after her hearing. He was probably off congratulating himself, as if it had been his performance that had convinced the judge not to give Madison jail time for grand theft. Madison knew the truth, of course: When she took the stand, with her big blue eyes full of tears and her voice full of remorse, she saw the judge soften. In seconds, she had him wrapped around her finger. (She often had that effect on men.)

Shed practiced what she was going to say for days. Shed even hired an acting coachthe same one shed used to help her prepare for her guest-starring role on an episode of Family Guy. She had to be prepared, because every word was a lie.

I got caught up in the moment, Your Honor. All the excitement and the glamour and the celebrity went to my head. Im a small-town girl, sir. I never could have imagined all this would happen to me. I justI dont knowwhen the Fame Game premiere was happening, I wasnt myself. There was so much pressure and insanity. It was wonderful, but it was also really confusing. I was exhausted and I wasnt taking care of myself. Like I said, I just sort of forgot who I was. I saw this beautiful diamond necklace, and I felt like I needed it in order to be as special as everyone thought I was. Even though I know that I didnt. Im so sorry, Your Honor. I take full responsibility for my actions, and I deeply apologize to you and to my fans and to the wonderful people at Luxe....

This line of defense was inspired by the recent antics of action star Austin Beck, who, after being caught climbing a flagpole in a pair of womens underwear, claimed reactive psychosis from stress and dehydration. (Surely his weakness for psychedelic drugs had nothing to do with his stunt.)

But defending herself in a court of law hadnt been easy for Madison. While she was experienced in exaggerations and manipulations, she was not actually a good liar. On top of that, she was unaccustomed to taking blame for anything, even if she deserved it. Shed spent the last five years of her life looking out for number one, and number one had always been Miss Madison Parker. The words I was wrong tasted like poison in her mouth.

But when her estranged father, Charlie Wardell, showed up in L.A., rumpled and sweet and ashamed of the way hed abandoned her, Madison discovered a selfless side that no one thought existed. She rented him a house. She welcomed him into her life. She forgave him for leaving all those years ago. And when he vanished into thin air the morning after the Fame Game premiere, along with the diamond necklace shed borrowed from Luxe Paris, she took the fall.

Of course shed thought about telling the truth and letting him suffer the consequences. But hed already done time for theft. She couldnt bear the thought of him being locked up again, making license plates for twenty-seven cents an hour or whatever it was they did in there. Not when hed finally come to find herto be a part of her life.

No matter what anyone else said, Madison knew that Charlie hadnt reappeared with the intention of taking advantage of her. Shed offered him money dozens of times, and he had always refused it. I dont want to take anything from you, hed say. All I want is to spend time with my daughter.

Shed been right to believe himat first. But then something changed. Who knew exactly what had happened? Only Charlie did, and he wasnt around to explain. Maybe one of his bad debts had come due, or maybe he experienced his own moments of reactive psychosis. All Madison knew was that her father had stolen the necklace and split town. Just tell them you lost the necklace. Theyre insured. Nobody loses. I love you alwaysCharlie, his note had said.

Nobody loses? If only it was that simple! But it wasnt, because Charlie had been caught on videotape pocketing a pair of Luxe diamond earrings to match the loaner necklace.

(Questions of morality aside, how could he be so bad at stealing? Really, it boggled the mind.)

In the hours after she discovered that he was gone, a deep familial loyalty rose up in Madison. And today, she had pled guilty to cover for him. And for that act of generosity, she got a long lecture from the judge about honesty and personal responsibility, along with three hundred hours of community service. She had to pay back Luxe, too, although theyd given her a little break on what she owed because of the free press they were getting. So generous of them! (They had agreed to lose the security tape of Charlie and the earrings, so Madison knew she should be grateful, but she just couldnt muster up the feeling.)

Oh! There you are, said her lawyer, appearing at her side and looking pleased with himself. I lost you for a minute.

Madison took a small step away from him. Andy Marcus wore too much hair product and even more cologne. Youre the one who disappeared, she pointed out. Ive been standing here in the middle of well, where I can only assume people are sent for crimes against fashion. Im surprised everyone isnt walking around here with black bars across their faces.

Andy laughed. Down but not out! he said. Theres the Madison Parker the world knows and loves.

Whatever, she said, noting his own poor choice in suiting. We should probably walk out together, right?

Madison knew what was on the other side of the courthouse doors: a sea of photographers, TV cameras, spectators. A crowd of people waiting to see her. A few of them were her fans, of course. Most of them were not, though, and they waited impatiently, holding signs painted with mocking slogans, itching to unleash what she knew she had coming. While Madison was thrilled to have avoided jail time, there were plenty of people who felt differently. They wanted her to pay for what shed done.