Fame (In the Cards Series #2)

one The sad thing is, people want to be famous because they think it gives them an identity. That's just the biggest mistake -- letting other people define who you are. As a performer, if you don't know your own worth before you start, you're not going to last very long. -- Interview with Peter McElroy, judge forYou Suck! "Who's next?" Anna sets the cards in the center between us. Then she looks at me and Syd. Syd immediately says, "Not me, no way. After what happened to you? Forget it." She frowns at the cards. "It's like they punish you for messing with stuff that's none of your business." I say, "What do you mean, none of your business? It'syourfuture." Syd holds up her hand. "I'm just saying, maybe there are things we're not meant to know." Annoyed, I reach for the box. If Syd wants to live her whole life in a chicken coop, fine. I'm asking my question. Only, I can't quite do it. I hate to admit it, but Syd's doom and gloom has me freaked. What if she's right? Anna went through serious craziness with her reading, and she just asked about a guy, not her whole entire life. I turn to Anna. "Knowing what you know now, would you choose not to know?" As Anna thinks, she picks up her cat, Mouli. Another gift from Mrs. Rosemont -- to all three of us, as it turns out. Syd got Beesley, the oldest, and I got Tatiana, the most fabulous. Not just my opinion, the truth. Look at her, stretched out in a nest of wrapping paper and ribbon. She's a total goddess. Rubbing Mouli's ears, Anna says, "Well, I wish I'd known Declan had a crush on Bridget. I would never have put myself so way out there, if I'd known." Digging my nails into my knees, I say, "But wasn't it amazing while it was happening? Don't you think it was worth it?" "Yeah. But I wish I'd read the cards right." I have no idea what Anna means by this. The cards said she'd be with Declan; she was with Declan. Now Bridget is with Declan...okay, the cards left that part out, it's true. Anna sets Mouli down. "The thing is, the cards only show you one small part of the future. Not the whole picture." One small part. Not the whole picture. But I want the whole picture. I want,Eve, you are on the road to fame and amazingness. Not,You'll get to sing at your cousin's bar mitzvah and your aunt Sadie will say you were great. I want big-time, bright-lights, major, mondo success. I want to be one of those people you see at awards shows, the ones who win so many Grammys and Moonmen and nobody's even jealous because it's obvious they were so much better. What if the cards say,The closest you'll ever get to an awards show is watching it on TV while you stuff your face? I reach for the cards. Can't pick them up. Anna nudges me. "Come on. We know what you want to ask." "You don't have the first clue," I say irritably. I hate when people think they know things about me. "Right." Anna leans down and says to the box: "'Dear Cards, will I be outrageously famous?'" Okay, so maybe Anna does have the first clue. "And what if they say no?" argues Syd, keeping her voice low so as not to disturb Beesley, who's asleep in her lap. "She should give up, say, 'Fine, I'll be a garbage collector'?" Anna says, "The cards only show you one version of the future. It's not unchangeable. Maybe they can show you what obstacles are in your way or people who can help you." And maybe, I think,they'll show me a life of blah nothingness. I put my hand on the box. It feels lifeless. No crackle of destiny or hum of the future. It's like the cards are taking a nap and I'm not important enough for them to wake up. I glance at Tatiana. She's watching me, tail twitching. Her eyes say,Don't do it. That's when I know in my gut: If I ask now, the cards will not give me the answer I want. The energy in the room is wrong, the planets aren't aligned right -- whatever. It's not the right time. I fold my arms. "No."[read more]