Famous Read Online Free Page B

look at the camera, and ask, “What was the biggest surprise you faced after moving to LA from New York?”
    You will watch as he settles back in the chair, gazes up at the ceiling as if pondering his own question, then looks back at the camera. “Probably discovering that there were already hundreds of guys just like me out here trying to get the same acting jobs I was auditioning for. I mean, I’mnot stupid. I knew before I left New York that there’d be competition. But I never expected to be sent to an audition and find two dozen other slightly chubby guys with curly brown hair and freckles. It was like ever since Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill, every chubby curly-haired guy in the world thought he could be a star.”
    Avy will nod and smile, obviously pleased with his answer. You will imagine that he must have been practicing for an interview he was going to give. Now he leans forward and asks, “Did you always know you wanted to become an actor?”
    He will cross ankle over knee and answer. “Not really. It wasn’t like I was born totally focused on acting. When I was younger I was into sports and music and video games like every other kid. But going to private school in New York City makes it hard to excel in sports. You don’t get the playing time or access to fields. I remember in summer camp they said I had a good arm, but the rest of the year I hardly even saw a baseball diamond, unless we went to a Yankees game. Who knows? Maybe if I’d gone to one of the suburban schools I’d be throwing for the Yankees today.”
    The fog of sadness will thicken around you. No hint of irony accompanies your friend’s assertion that he could have been good enough to play for the greatest professional baseball team ever. This was Avy, who stood barely five feet nine inches tall and, as far as you knew, neverdisplayed an ounce of athletic talent. Yes, you’d always known that the chances of him actually becoming a big star were slim. But doesn’t everyone who wants to be famous have to be slightly unrealistic? When did Avy’s dreams become delusions of grandeur?

Dear Willow,
    I dont understand why you have not written back to me. I know you know who I am because you smiled at me that day outside Sheen I was the only one wearing an Angels baseball cap. Do you know why I wear it? It is not because I am a baseball fan it is because I am your guardian angel.
    I dont understand why you are not more careful. In the magazinesand on the computer I see photos of you shopping and coming out of restaurants. Dont you understand how easy it would be for someone to hurt you? Is it that you dont think anyone would want to hurt you? That is wrong! You dont know what kind of people there are in this world. They know that if they hurt you everyone will know who they are. He could become famous just for hurting you. There are people like that. You have to believe me because I know.
    You should write back to me. You know who I am. You should be more careful. I could protect you. I would always be at your side and never let anything bad happen to you.
    Your guardian angel
    Richard

OCTOBER OF NINTH GRADE, NYC

    I KNOW IT’S LAME THAT I CARED ABOUT SHELBY WINSTON’S OPINION, but at least give me credit for being honest and keeping it in perspective. I mean, welcome to high school, right?
    There in the Herrin hallway on that Monday morning after the
New York Weekly
article came out in the fall of my freshman year, Shelby Winston clamped her eyes on me. There was a time, back in sixth or seventh grade, when her gaze alone would have caused my pulse to race and my face to burn. But that was then. Now I managed a friendly smile. Shelby smiled back and said, “Can I have your autograph?”
    I felt myself stiffen. Was she making fun of me, or wasthis just a cute way of saying that maybe she
was
just an eensy weensy bit impressed? The only thing I knew for certain was that she