Then Jo chose the worst possible shot for me-the dumbest, most embarrassing, and most awkward picture that anyone had ever taken of me. Contest suicide. I remember pointing this out to her, but she refused to reconsider her choice. She reminded me that our photos needed to tell a story, and this one said all sorts of things about me. In her opinion, it was a winning picture. I guess she was right.
But back then, I didn't protest the picture selection because it didn't really matter. There wasn't a single picture of me in the batch that I thought could win this contest. I was not supposed to be the winner. Someone else was.
The excitement finally died down, so Chuck went on. "And for all you other girls who didn't win, I'm going to show you why. Take a look at Annalisa!"
I cringed and tried to sink deeper into my chair as the screen filled with my contest submission. Jo had caught me laughing and spraying my drink, beer erupting from my mouth in a fine mist. If it hadn't been for the drink spray, it might have been a decent shot. A wisp of black hair swept across my face, my dark eyes sparkled, and my laughter was so infectious that the reporters joined right in. But I was no beauty, so I couldn't understand how I got picked.
Palmer hadn't seen this picture, and he wasn't very happy to see it now. "You look like a drunk whore." Wow, thanks for taking it to the next level. I get that I was drunk, but couldn't he have stopped there? As if I needed more reasons to break up with him.
Chuck spoke again, which saved me from having to defend my photo. "Now that's the kind of girl we want on tour with us. I bet she could drink us under the table." The reporters laughed harder, which didn't seem to help Palmer's mood at all.
Kira scowled at the television. "I can drink, too, Chuck!" Right now, I wished she had won.
My new buddy, Chuck, took me aside for a moment. He faced the camera and spoke quietly. "Hey, Annalisa girl. You'll be getting a call soon from the band manager. If you don't hear in the next hour, get in touch with us and we'll get you on the bus."
Chuck's voice returned to normal. "And for everyone else, come on down and see us. You can check the tour schedule and get tickets online."
Finally, Chuck gave everyone his famous exit line. "Bye for now. And remember. . ." He wound up for the big delivery and roared it into the microphone, "Keep on burning!" He raised his arms in the now-famous Fiery Boys hand sign, the backs of his hands to the camera with his fingers wiggling straight up like licks of fire.