How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come Tr - By Sarah Strohmeyer Page 0,7
. . for a better chance to win the Dream and Do grant.”
The Dream & Do grant was the big perk of being a Fairyland summer intern. While high school summer cast members weren’t compensated with more than free room and board, at the end of the internship, two of us—a boy and a girl—who’d showed “exceptional Wow!™ spirit” would each receive twenty-five thousand dollars in cash, along with a chance to enter the Fairyland Executive Training Program at Fairyland’s parent corporation—Die Über Wunderbar—in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Jess and I didn’t talk much about the Dream & Do grant since, obviously, we couldn’t both win the big cash prize. Of course, being ever sweet, Jess insisted she wanted me to win, so I could pay off Mom’s lingering medical bills, but I knew she was counting on the money for college, and I couldn’t blame her.
NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, the first step in Jess’s dream to become an actor, didn’t come cheap, and financial aid was slim. Since the Swynkowskis were currently broke, Tisch would be totally out of the question without some cash to offset the student loans.
In my opinion, this was a no-brainer—Jess had to win this grant—though, she was right, being cast as Red Riding Hood didn’t help.
RJ nudged her with his elbow. “It doesn’t matter what role you get. It matters how you play it and if you show that Wow! spirit.”
Jess sighed. “I highly doubt that. Everyone knows the grants always go to the princes and princesses.”
“Maybe you’ll be the first to break the mold,” he said. “I was a summer intern last year, so I know what Management’s looking for: cast members who put their all into playing their parts because, to them, Fairyland is more than a place to work, it’s a family.”
Jess plucked a few blades of grass, thinking. “Well, I guess it’s not the worst part in the world to get. I could be a . . .”
“Watch it,” warned Karl, whom we’d assumed was asleep.
“. . . little pig,” Jess added. “Certainly I’d be thrilled to be a wolf. And Zoe, you always said I looked fabulous in red.” She batted her lashes.
“Better you than your bank balance.” Which I hoped wasn’t hitting too close to home, since Jess’s checking account had been overdrawn a lot lately.
Manic clapping on the part of Andy the Summer Cast Coordinator forced us to quit talking and pay attention. “We have a lot to do today, cast members, so let’s get started,” he announced. “Listen up, because this is important!”
After breakfast we were to divide into our character groups and then we were going to take a quick tour through the underground tunnels—or “funnels,” as he called them—that led from secret doors in various exhibits around the park down to Our World, where cast members hung out, ate, dressed, etcetera. After that we’d unpack, get settled, and start our official training.
“And now, some ground rules.” Andy put up a poster:
THE FAIRYLAND KINGDOM FIVE COMMANDMENTS
1) There is no such answer as “I don’t know” in the Fairyland Kingdom. If a guest asks you a question and you don’t know the answer—find it. Conversely, if a guest asks you, “When is the five o’clock parade?” respond politely.
2) Make a “no” moment into a “Wow!™” moment. Your job is to spread joy and glee for all to see! So if you spot a guest who’s not having fun, turn that frown upside down!
3) Pointing is ALWAYS done with two fingers and an open palm. Remember: Give a thumbs-up for Fairyland!
4) If a guest gives you trouble, fold your arms genie-style and security will come to your aid. Do not argue, threaten, challenge, or intimidate guests. Guests are RIGHT until proven otherwise. Remember: In Fairyland Kingdom THE GLASS SLIPPER ALWAYS FITS!
5) Finally, and most important, TO FAIRYLAND ALWAYS BE TRUE. Fairyland is your family away from home, so pitch in and help out. We’re all in this together!
Then he explained why princes and princesses needed to learn to look, act, talk, and—when it came to autographs—even write alike so kids wouldn’t figure out that, for example, the Cinderella greeting them in the park in the morning was different from the one waving good-bye at night.
“Think back to that awful day when you first realized the Santa Claus at the mall wasn’t the same as the Santa Claus on TV.” Andy shook his head as if this were a tragedy of epic proportions. “We don’t want that to happen