Lemonade Mouth Puckers Up (18 page)

“Holy crap,” Rajeev said under his breath.

I couldn’t have put it better.

We practically glowed up there. Mo looked mysterious and exotic, leaning her head on Charlie’s broad shoulder, while Wen and I were like stylish super-spies. Olivia was the centerpiece, staring straight at the camera like she had a secret she wasn’t going to tell. I don’t think I’d ever imagined us looking so perfect, like flawless specimens of teenage health and coolness. But I think that’s a big part of why, as I gaped at the sign, my fist was clenching my Mel’s cup and my blood was starting to boil. We looked
too
perfect.

So perfect, in fact, that it wasn’t really
us
up there.

The image had been altered.

Olivia’s thighs were too skinny, like Barbie-doll legs. They must have been airbrushed. I’d been slimmed way down too, and there was something weird going on with my lips. They were puffy and pursed in a way that wasn’t at all like the real me. Wen’s slight acne, which I distinctly remembered
he’d had during the photo shoot (the result of too many overheated hours in the wiener outfit), had been digitally cleared, and Mo’s brown eyes were now a striking green. Even Charlie’s uncontrollable mop had been altered. On the billboard his hair looked tidy—even (dare I say it?)
trendy
.

All of these changes were subtle, but then again, they weren’t. Not if you were familiar with what we
really
looked like.

“I don’t believe it,” I said, unable to hold back. “This is outrageous! They’ve changed us to look like perfect little spokesmannequins! They’ve turned us into plastic dolls!”

“Uh … I don’t know, Stella,” Wen said. “I think I look kind of hot.”

I rolled my eyes. “Wen, don’t take this the wrong way, but that’s not you up there. It’s not any of us. We don’t look like that. Sure, it might be a common practice in the advertising industry, but what kind of message does changing our appearance send?”

I looked around at the blank faces.

“Don’t you see?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm but failing miserably. “They’re
using
us to promote a twisted image of life just like a zillion other ads do, a world of skeletal cover girls and synthetic faces! It makes people believe they need these products because it preys on everybody’s insecurities, making real people feel like failures just because they don’t look like this warped, unrealistic ideal. Come on, guys!” I said, jabbing my finger toward the freakish glowing kids that weren’t really us. “Look at our faces! Look at Olivia’s legs! No wonder there are so many kids with self-image issues and eating disorders! Normal, healthy people don’t look like that!”

Mo’s answer was quiet and reasonable, as if she was
worried I might bite someone. “Stella, the ad is already out there. I’m sure it’s in magazines all over the country. It’s done.”

“But it’s another form of oppression! A clear case of manipulation on a grand scale!”

There was a long quiet moment after that. Rajeev shifted his weight beside me, and I could hear Olivia breathing. In the distance, a dog barked.

I was sure I knew what my friends were thinking. I could imagine them saying to themselves,
Oh no, here we go again. Look out! Stella’s about to unleash another of her wild ideas! Here comes more trouble!
And it’s true that I was burning up over this. I wanted to tear that sign down. I wanted to make my feelings known to the world somehow. But I also felt that this time my friends were right to be frustrated with me. Sure, we’d all agreed to this together, but deep down I felt like I should have been the one to say no. I should never have allowed this deal to happen in the first place, but I guess I’d let my guard down and this was the result. And now it was too late to fix it. We were powerless to fight back. How do you take on a multibillion-dollar industry?

I couldn’t ask my friends to fight a battle we couldn’t win.

I gazed again at my altered face. My alien lips. My perfect, sculpted eyebrows. A distorted version of my own eyes stared back at me, taunting me. I was furious, but I also knew that if nobody else felt this way, then it didn’t matter. From everyone’s silence, I suspected I was alone.

But I was wrong.

For the record, it wasn’t me who spoke up next, stirring up our collective emotions and setting off the hurricane of events that followed. It was Charlie.

“You know what?” he said. “I hate to admit it, but Stella’s right. I didn’t even notice it at first, but now that I do, I think it’s totally uncool that they changed us.” He gestured toward the billboard. “Sure, we agreed to let them do an ad—but we didn’t say they could do
that
.”

Everybody stared at the image again. Olivia took a step back. She studied it. After a moment she said, “I agree. What’s up there is wrong. It’s a lie.”

Mo nodded too.

“Okay,” Wen said. “But … um … what are we supposed to do about it?”

The wind picked up, a warm gust like the start of a summer storm. Everybody looked at me.

Devoted followers, I confess that I, your own normally outspoken Sista Stella, had no answer to give. What’s more, I was too overwhelmed even to talk. I could hardly believe what I was hearing, the direction everybody seemed to be going in, even without me urging them on. Waves of emotion were welling up inside me. My band mates, my
friends
—they
got
it.

How could I ever have doubted them?

“All right, so we don’t know what we can do about this yet,” Charlie said, “but we’ll think of something, right? The point is, they say they want a revolution, so let’s bring it to them. Are we all in?”

Rajeev took my hand and squeezed it as, one by one, everybody raised their Mel’s cups into the air. Not only was I still unable to speak, but by then I was too choked up to even make a sound.

This is big. My house is closest, so we all head there to think things through. Maa and Baba have already gone to the store and Madhu’s at an overnight with a friend, so the house is empty. As soon as we step through the front door, Rajeev announces he’s got letters to write. It’s obvious he’s just making an excuse to give us space, and that’s nice of him but not necessary. Everyone tells him he’s welcome to join us, but he disappears anyway. The rest of us sit around the picnic table in the backyard, where I set out cheese sandwiches, little bowls of rice and reheated rogan josh left over from last night’s dinner. The aroma of spice fills the air, even outside.

Our first idea is simple: we talk to Mr. Decker, tell him we don’t want to be a part of this sponsorship deal anymore and ask him to help us figure out how to get out of it. It won’t be an easy conversation, of course, but there’s no other choice. We don’t have a Plan B.

As it happens, Mr. Decker is in Germany with Tommy Bellclanger and the Ringtones—one of Decker and Smythe’s biggest clients—for the kickoff of their giant new European tour. It takes a few calls to his office and some waiting around, but at last we manage a video link to his laptop in the lobby of his hotel.

Mr. Decker is not sympathetic.

“Guys, calm down,” he says, frowning into the screen as we all stand around the computer on Maa’s cramped little desk. “There’s no backing out of this. Zephyr Stick is putting up big money for you. They’re gonna front a lot of the cost for the August tour, where, need I remind you,
Lemonade Mouth is scheduled to do ten already-sold-out shows opening for Too Shy to Cry. We don’t want to rock this boat. Your debut album is coming out, and that ad goes a long way toward building your presence. It’s a gift straight from promotions heaven.”

“Yes, Mr. Decker,” Stella says, obviously trying her best to stay composed and tactful despite herself, “but it also sends out a bogus subliminal message that exploits kids and ignores the fact that there are lots of different ways to be beautiful. We never agreed to be part of that. It’s a sham.”

Mr. Decker strokes his scruffy beard. He checks his watch. “Look, you know I admire your spirit, guys. It’s part of what makes your band what it is. But that doesn’t mean any of us can change the way things work. The world spins the way it spins, and you should consider yourselves lucky to be on the side of the people who happen to have their hands on the wheel.”

Over his shoulder we can see a youngish, slick-haired man in an expensive-looking suit. He’s been talking on a cell phone, but now he steps closer and whispers into Mr. Decker’s ear.

“One second,” Mr. Decker says to him in a low voice, and then to us he says, “Listen, I gotta end this. The Lord Mayor of Heidelberg is throwing a meet-and-greet with Tommy and the boys. I’m already late for—”

“But the ad—” I start to interrupt. I can’t believe he’s about to cut us off. There’s so much more we still want to say! Mr. Decker holds up his hand, though, and for an instant I’m almost sure I see irritation flash in his eyes.

“Sorry, out of time, kids,” he says. “Just remember this: there are zillions of unknown bands out there, and out of all of them, yours is getting a measure of recognition across the
country. With my help, Lemonade Mouth is about to take the world by storm. Believe me, it’s gonna happen—I have it all planned out. I’ll be back in the office in a couple days and then I’ll fill you in.” He’s reaching toward the keyboard now.

“Mr. Decker, this is important. Wait!”

“Good luck with Chet Anders tomorrow night,” he says as if he doesn’t hear us. “Tell him I said hello.”

And then he’s gone.

The five of us are left gaping at the screen. My neck muscles are tense, and Olivia’s face is turning the color of overboiled beets. Lemonade Mouth has been changed into something we never wanted to be, and it’s clear we can’t rely on Mr. Decker to help us set things right again.

One of the things about Lemonade Mouth that people don’t always seem to realize is that if it hadn’t been for the support of the people around us, our families and friends, the things that happened could never have played out the way they did. For example, we couldn’t have signed with Decker and Smythe in the first place if our parents hadn’t let us. It couldn’t have been an easy decision for them, but in the end every single parent gave us the freedom to see how far this band thing could go, at least for the time being. And we all appreciated that.