“Reality TV is entertaining,” Kirby said. “It’s fun. And I love it. I love watching it. I love being on it. You’ll never hear me call it empty calories or a guilty pleasure. Because I don’t feel guilty about pleasure.”
Janette whipped out a sheet of paper. “This is the list of shows you’ve appeared on:Celebrity Dance Crew,Genius Academy,Celebrity BBQ Grill-Off,The Love Algorithm,andThe Love Algorithm All-Stars. There is no line on what you’ll agree to do?”
“I mean, I’m not going to go to space for a bit of clout, but otherwise, gates are pretty wide open.”
“Even if it disrupts your training?”
“I’m here, aren’t I? I qualified. I made the team. I’m feeling good and gaining momentum this season at exactly the right time.”
What had Kirby said earlier?
That was true but wasn’t the truth.
The interview carried on without Mara for a few minutes. She had screwed up.
She’d been trying so hard not to make the same mistakes as last time in Beijing. She’d wanted to put her best foot forward. Maybe be a team player for once. Set the record straight by winning this time. And set herself up for after the Olympics.
Instead, she had let her own control slip through her fingers. Andthatwould be the headline. A snippy cat fight with Kirby Bonham would be the headline. Again! It would be nothing but a distraction.
She couldn’t imagine what Coach Karlsson would say. Or her sponsors. Or Chandler Wendleton.
Or her father.
Her brain couldn’t fathom what all the strangers on the Internet might think. What they might say in disgusting, sexist comments. When would the interview be released? During the Olympics?
During primetime right before the fifty kilometer?
Right before she choked again?
Janette asked her a question, but Mara didn’t quite catch it. “I apologize. Can you repeat the question, please?”
“Oh, there she is,” Kirby whispered. “So polite. Back in control.”
But Mara wasn’t in control at all. She ignored Kirby and shaped her face into the mask she had perfected as a preteen when it had become clear she was special and gifted and going places.
Janette tried to get them back on course. Or maybe she tried to get them backoffcourse. Mara wasn’t sure. She treated the rest of the interview like the suffer fest it was. She put her head down and double-poled through to the end. She refused to say anything interesting, giving the rote, preplanned answers she should have from the beginning. Kirby’s heart didn’t seem in it once Mara stopped playing her game.
And that was exactly what had happened. Mara had tried to play Kirby’s game and had come out the loser.
Again.
CHAPTER
SIX
The interview endedand the lights came on in the rest of the room, revealing all the camera people and staff. One of the reps from US Ski and Snowboarding was standing in the corner looking shellshocked.
Good.
Kirby wanted them to be. The longer the interview had gone on, the more heated it had become, the angrier at everyone she’d gotten. How dare they ask her to be nice and biddable. They might as well have told her to smile more. How insulting.
Chandler Wendleton caught her eye before storming out. He was great at the dramatic exit. It made Kirby laugh.
Janette smiled at them like she’d won the lottery. “That was certainly an interesting interview. Thank you both for being so vulnerable.”
Vulnerable was a nice way to look at it. Kirby hadn’t felt vulnerable, though. She’d felt powerful.
“Making headlines, making money,” she said lightly, shaking Janette’s hand. And it was true. Brand deals, followers, TV shows. Good press or bad press. It all helped Kirby in the long run.
