Chapter 1: The Star

The script run-through was almost finished, and Tanya glanced at the clock. Just after three in the afternoon, they were running about fifteen minutes late. She should be able to make the recording session on time for her four o'clock start. After a 90-minute session laying down voice tracks for her new CD, she'd hopefully be enjoying burgers by the pool in the mansion that Sunshine Studios had provided her and her family for the summer. She ran her fingers through her long hair and took another swig of orange juice.

Sam Twillingham, the executive producer, was just wrapping up. "Any questions? As usual, tomorrow is the run-through on the sound stage, Thursday is the dress rehearsal and Friday we shoot." The show, "Candy Canyon", was always shot in front of a live audience with three cameras on a Friday, two episodes a week, one in the morning and the second in the afternoon Scores of tweens would show up at the door, some as early as sunup, to try to snag rush tickets to the taping. Most tickets would have gone by Tuesday. "Candy Canyon" was still one of the hottest shows on the Studio's satellite channel.

Still, both Sam and Tanya – and her father Mitch, for that matter – were painfully aware that the show was becoming a little stale, and Tanya more than a little long in the tooth. The past four years had been great, but she was not a tweener any more. Her body had begun the maturation process in earnest a year ago, and now she was quite obviously a full-fledged teenager. On the one hand she was happy that she was developing into the large-breasted woman typical of her mother's family; on the other, that meant that there was a definite limit to the time she'd be allowed to remain Candy Canyon. She liked the character; she liked the show; she liked her co-stars and the staff. Hopefully something would come up to see her through. She'd hate to be a washed-up Hollywood has-been before she'd even finished high school.

As the exhausted teen stumbled into the golf cart for the trip across Sunshine Studios' back lot, she reflected she'd be grateful when September arrived and she'd be back in school. The pace would slacken, and she'd even get time to go fishing with her father, grandfather and uncles.

The recording session had predictably wrapped up late, but she and her father were finally headed home. Unfortunately so was everyone else, and their limousine was firmly stuck in the kind of traffic jam that made Los Angeles infamous. The limo had today's paper in it, and Tanya scanned through it for something to relieve her boredom while the limo driver unintentionally taught her several new, inventive imprecations.

It had obviously been a slow news day, for buried on Page 3 was a full-page article on the lack of changes to society occasioned by the overturning of the public indecency laws eight months ago – having sex in public was still a definite no-no, but just being nude in public was A-OK anywhere in the United States, according to the highest court in the land. The President had threatened to veto any legislative attempt to overthrow the new regulations. So far, however, the number of people actually taking advantage of the law outside of beaches in warmer parts of the country were few and far between. Tanya pointed the article out to her father. Mitch made a face as he scanned the headlines, but being as bored as his daughter he read the whole thing.

Somehow Tanya thought it wouldn't be A-OK for her personally to be nude anywhere in public, not only in her opinion but also in the opinion of both her family and Sunshine Studios. The family of course was fairly conservative socially, and Sunshine was very big into family-oriented entertainment. Like all the other talent they managed, her contract included a morality clause laying out in excruciating detail exactly what behaviour was unacceptable and suitable for termination without notice.

The limo inched a few more feet ahead, and the driver continued to mutter under her breath, speculating as to the mental capacity of the driver trying to cut in front of her and the desirability of mounting anti-tank missiles on the roof of her vehicle.