‘Fucking balls. Hmm. I think I have them already, and I think you know that.’
Laura hears a light laugh from Bo and she smiles at their interaction.
When Bo speaks again she has mellowed. ‘Jack, my documentary was never supposed to be a fly-on-the-wall documentary, not a reality show or a behind-the-scenes reveal. It will not be some StarrQuest spin-off. It’s an in-depth look at her life. From the inside, not the outside, and if you won’t let me talk to her, then I can’t gauge how she’s feeling.’
‘You live with her,’ he laughs. ‘You can’t gauge it from that?’
The toilet flushes beside Laura and she’s annoyed she misses Bo’s answer.
‘I’ll talk to Curt,’ he says, ‘if you go to dinner with me. This would be favourable to me seeing as the giving up smoking for your attention is really hard work.’
‘Jack,’ Bo laughs, ‘you’re impossible. I have a boyfriend, remember?’
‘Ah yes, the long-haired Prince Charming with the bad temper. But isn’t he away right now?’
‘Jack … please … What I’m trying to say is that I make feature film documentaries. You are compromising my art – you of all people should understand that. How often have you had to fight for what you wanted in your music? I brought Laura to you. I need to be more present. You can’t cut me out of this.’
The hand-drier blocks out the rest of what Bo is saying and then Bianca bangs on the bathroom door, giving Laura the fright of her life. Her next interview is waiting. It’s a game called Come and Have a Go If You Think You’re Hard Enough for the StarrQuest spin-off show, Execution or Freedom. Apparently it involves the contestants smashing a half-dozen hard-boiled eggs against their foreheads. The loser will be the person who discovers they drew the uncooked egg … as it smashes and dribbles down their face.
Laura loses.
Laura won’t appear in the semi-final until the following week. There is one more live audition show this weekend and then the following Monday will mark the start of a week of nightly semi-finals, where one of five acts who perform each night will go through to the final. The live audition show that followed Laura’s drew twice as many viewers, thanks to Lyrebird’s worldwide publicity, the viewing figures overtook the Nine O’Clock News, traditionally the most-viewed TV show on the network. However, the demand for Laura to remain in the public eye is clear, from both the media and from StarrQuest, who recognise that interest in Lyrebird means increasing viewing figures for the show. The crowd of fans gathering outside the studios grows daily; they camp out, hoping for a glimpse of Lyrebird. News stations and other media report on both Lyrebird and the public’s growing obsession with Lyrebird, which grows because of the media’s obsession. Each feeds the other. Requests pour in from the US, UK, Europe and Australia on a daily basis for an interview with Lyrebird, or an appearance of some sort. An offer comes from Japan for Lyrebird to promote a new soft drink. After lengthy negotiations, headed by Curtis, they collapse due to a fee disagreement.
There are also requests for Lyrebird to do private events, corporate events, charity events. Agents and agencies are vying to represent her, PR agencies want to help promote her. Lyrebird needs an agent, and she has one: in accordance with the contract Jack had her sign, she falls under the StarrGaze Entertainment agency, meaning Bo has unwittingly relinquished control of her subject.
Bo phones Solomon, who’s still away filming Grotesque Bodies, and complains, ‘I’m afraid all these ridiculous Lyrebird interviews will cheapen the documentary. I’m used to spending years on a project before displaying it to the world, taking my time, editing, researching, shaping it. But this is moving so fast. I was the one to find Lyrebird, I was the one to hear her personal story first, and I’m afraid it’s going to get out before I get to tell the story. And please don’t say I told you so, that’s not what I need to hear right now.’
‘Well then I’ve got nothing else to say,’ he says, fuming.
She sighs, annoyed. Solomon’s negativity is not helping, she delayed sharing her reservations with him until now for that very reason, but now she needs help, she needs somebody to talk it through with.
It’s only been a week since the initial audition and Lyrebird frenzy is already at fever pitch. But how long will that last? By the time Bo’s documentary is ready, Lyrebird could be old news. Worst-case scenario: there could be a Lyrebird hangover, in which case nobody would want to touch the story. Bo’s afraid that, despite the fact she found Lyrebird first, she’ll be last when it comes to telling the story. She hates that it feels like a race; she has never worked this way.