Read Online Choosing America's Next Superstar by Jeff Erno - Free Book Online

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    When he got into the elevator and pushed the button for his floor, a young lady slipped in just before the door closed. “Floor eight, please,” she said, smiling broadly.
    “You from Superstar too, ma’am?” he asked. It was kind of a dumb question. She was carrying a registration packet just like his own.
    “I am,” she said, nodding. “I’m Teri, and you are?”
    “Jimmy,” he said, holding out his hand. “Pleasure meetin’ ya. Where y’all from?”
    “LA,” she said. “And you must be from Kentucky?”
    “How’d you know?” he asked, tilting his head to the side and squinting.
    “Lucky guess,” she said. “You’re a cutie. I knew you must be from either Kentucky or Alabama or Georgia. Somewhere in that vicinity….”
    “Or Tennessee,” he said. “They talk the right way there too.”
    She laughed. “Let me show you a little secret,” she said. She reached down and pulled up the handle of Jimmy’s suitcase. “It’s a lot easier to pull your suitcase behind you when you use the handle. Here, let me see your smaller bag.” She grabbed it from him and flopped it atop the big suitcase, sliding the strap around the handle to secure it. “See? Isn’t that easier?”
    “Ain’t you smart?” he said. “I guess you can tell I ain’t done much travelin’.”
    “Well, if you need help with anything else, you let me know, cowboy,” she said. The elevator bell rang and the door came open. “This is my floor. Good luck!”
    Jimmy decided he’d been entirely too hasty in his assessment of the people here in New York. That was the second friendly face he’d encountered in the past five minutes. God must have been smiling on him after all. Now if he could just be lucky enough to end up with a decent roommate….
    It took him a minute to figure out exactly how to use the room key. When the desk clerk first gave it to him, he thought it was a mistake. It didn’t look like any key he’d ever seen before. Seemed more like a credit card, but when he saw the handle, it all made sense. He had to push that credit card thing into the slot. It took him three tries to get it to work. After his second attempt, he pulled the card out and read the instructions. “Insert this side up and remove quickly. Turn handle when green light appears.”
    As he stepped through the door, it became obvious his roommate had already arrived. There was a big suitcase on one of the beds and clothes hanging in the closet. Apparently he was in the bathroom. Jimmy thought about knocking and letting him know he’d arrived but wasn’t exactly sure what he’d say. He decided instead to take a seat over in the desk chair and wait for his room companion to finish up in the bathroom.
    About two minutes later, he heard the bathroom door opening. Jimmy stood up and stepped toward the door. His mouth dropped open when he saw who emerged. Dripping wet and wearing only a towel, it was Corey.

Chapter Four

     
    “N O WAY !” Jimmy objected. “You are not my roommate.”
    Corey, slightly embarrassed by his seminudity, grinned sheepishly. “Wow,” he said, “what a coincidence.”
    “Dude, I ain’t gonna room with you. There’s no way!”
    Corey frowned and shrugged, still standing in the hallway by the bathroom door. “Suit yourself. I guess you could go sleep in the lobby. They already told us that no one could change rooms.”
    “I’m going down there,” Jimmy said in a huff. “I’m gonna get this straightened out right now. They can’t make me share a room with you.”
    “Dude, calm down, would ya?” Corey wanted to laugh. Jimmy was kind of cute when he got all pissed. “Before you storm out of here, at least let me finish telling you what I was trying to say earlier.”
    “I already told you, I’m not interested in nothin’ you got to say.”
    “You were totally right about what you said,” Corey said, plowing ahead with his explanation in spite of Jimmy’s objections. “I should not have let my