She passed around two clipboards together and told us there were two separate forms to sign. The first were the liability/publicity release forms that let them put us on camera. The second was a serious-looking nondisclosure agreement that said I wouldn’t talk about being a seat filler at this particular show. Well, given that my mom would only be vaguely interested and my best friend was sitting beside me, I figured it was fine to sign, as I had no one else to tell. Especially since Allan signed his without hesitation. The meeting of hers dragged on for what felt like an eternity since so many people were actually reading the releases, so I ended up watching the monitors behind her instead.
They showed the red carpet, and I saw various entertainment reporters and television hosts arriving and joining their crews. Some of them seemed famous enough that they were taking pictures with the fans who were sitting in raised bleachers along the red carpet. The whole area buzzed with excitement and anticipation.
Then the celebrities started to arrive, and you could tell every time one of them got out of their SUV or limo, as a muffled roar went up from the fans. We could hear it all the way backstage.
Although I wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone else, I was watching for Noah. Celebrities came in two by two, but no Noah. A jealous twinge went through me at the idea that he was going to bring a date. I wondered if it would be the same woman as last time. The one he claimed he wasn’t dating.
As I pondered those possibilities, where time had been lagging, now it seemed to speed up. Allan went off to join his mother and go over seating charts, and I listened to the nominees and members of the Academy entering the theater and finding their seats.
At some point Allan called Shelby over and left me to Noah-watch alone. Most of the other men in his category had already arrived, and I told myself I was ridiculous for sitting here and doing this. Somebody started putting the folding chairs away, clearing a pathway. The sound level in the auditorium got louder and louder as more people arrived.
Was Noah waiting until the last minute to make some kind of grand entrance? That thought made me question why I felt so . . . I don’t know, desperate to see him again. I was the one who’d said I wasn’t interested. So why did I care? Wouldn’t it be better for me to just spend the evening backstage and then go home to finish off my crystallized ice cream?
It was like I didn’t even know myself anymore.
The orchestra was warming up when Allan found me. “I’ve got an assignment for you.”
“Already?” Last time the first seat fillers hadn’t been sent out until about twenty minutes into the ceremony, and only then to fill in the seats of the people who had won awards.
“My mom was told someone who was scheduled to come didn’t make it, and to be honest, you’ll probably have to sit in that seat the whole night.” He took me by the elbow and walked me over to the curtain that separated us from everyone else.
“You’re going to be orchestra center, in row A, seat nineteen. Got it?” he asked, and it was only then that I realized Allan looked awfully pleased with himself. It was a weird look on him. Usually he was either stressed about work or making googly eyes at Shelby.
Row A was the first row, right next to the stage. Wow. At least I wouldn’t have to climb over anyone. I wondered if someone had been stuck in traffic. Why else would they be late to their front-row seats?
It wasn’t just seat nineteen that needed to be filled. Seat twenty was empty, too. It reminded me so strongly of the last awards show and Noah that I had to take a deep breath. I wondered if Allan’s little smirk had been because he was going to send Shelby to keep me company until the seats’ owners arrived.
A very pregnant and very pretty blonde was seated in the chair to my right. She looked vaguely familiar, although I couldn’t place her. She caught my eye as I walked to my maroon-covered seat and she said, “Hello.”
“Hi.” She was wearing what looked like a very expensive pair of silver-sequined high heels, and I wondered how she managed not to fall over,