Fame Game 03: Infamous Read Online Free

would; they already were, despite her dip in the charts—she’d have to give up that goal. She had her Twitter account and her Facebook fan page, so she could stay connected, but she was going to feel guilty once she stopped answering letters.
    “So what’s up with your music?” Carmen asked, having successfully removed her hangnail.
    Kate sighed. “A lot—and also sort of nothing.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Well, as you probably know, Trevor wouldn’t let me sign a record deal before, because he felt like it was a quote-unquote ‘season two story line.’ So he basically made me put my life and career on hold because it suited him and his show.”
    “Which is also our show,” Carmen pointed out.
    Kate waved this obvious fact away. “Of course, but back in the fall people were calling me. My song was everywhere , and now it’s only on that stupid Nokia commercial.”
    “Hey! That stupid commercial paid for your Mini Cooper.”
    “True,” Kate said, brightening. She loved that car. “Anyway, Trevor says I can sign a deal now, but all of a sudden, my phone’s not ringing.”
    “Oh, you’ll have your pick of labels,” Carmen assured her. “Your songs are great.”
    “Thanks,” Kate said. “Maybe people are still interested, sure. But it wasn’t any fun to put them off, you know? Imagine if Colum McEntire had told you he wanted you to star in his movie, and you were like, Yeah, sounds great, but can you please wait for three months, because my dad grounded me for shoplifting?”
    Carmen laughed. “Ouch. You know I never actually stole anything, right?”
    Kate looked at her in surprise. “You didn’t? And here I was, thinking Trevor must have an eye for the thieving type.”
    “I can’t believe I never told you,” Carmen said. “I took the fall for a friend.”
    “Wow, that was really nice of you.”
    Carmen shrugged. “It seemed like the right idea at the time.” She sounded like she might have had second thoughts. “My dad was furious at me.”
    “Honestly, I felt awkward ever bringing it up, but now that I know you didn’t do it, you have to tell me what really happened,” Kate said.
    “It’s not really that exciting,” Carmen said. “I didn’t have to go to court like Mad.”
    Kate laughed. “Thank goodness there was no ‘giving back to the community’ required of you! Because why on earth would you want to do that?”
    “Yeah,” Carmen said faintly.
    Kate wondered if she’d managed to offend her. Again. Why was it so hard for them to get along? It was like they couldn’t help pushing each other’s buttons. She’d simply meant that it was good Carmen didn’t have to go to court, but it had come out sounding like Kate thought she was a spoiled brat.
    “Soooooo . . . ,” Kate said, after an awkward moment of silence.
    “So Luke called,” Carmen said suddenly. “He said filming’s going great.”
    “Oh! That’s great.”
    Lately it seemed as if Carmen mentioned Luke about twenty times a day. Not that Kate minded—she was completely over him. Carmen and Luke could absolutely have each other . . . for the five minutes that they’d actually be into it. If there was one thing Kate had learned about these actor types, it was that they changed partners as often (at least) as they changed roles.
    What she had with Drew, on the other hand, was real .
    Kate tapped the unopened letter against her hand once more and then tore it open. She didn’t mean to read it while she and Carmen were in the middle of a conversation, but she couldn’t help but glance down.
     
    —think it’s so, so unfair when people say you’re boring and stuff, because you’re the sweetest one of—
     
    Kate looked back up, feeling deflated. Thanks for the backhanded compliment, Misty from Nebraska , she thought. As if she weren’t perfectly aware of the nasty things that got said about her—that she was a doormat, she was as exciting as watching paint dry—some “fan” had to go