Honey on Your Mind by Maria Murnane Read Free Book Online Page A

applause, shall we?”
    She stood up and clapped, and the audience cheered along with her. I stood in my tracks until I heard the director say Go . Thank God, my legs obeyed.
    Don’t freak out. Don’t freak out!
    Hoping it wasn’t obvious how rattled I was, I smiled and waved at the audience as I walked gingerly across the stage toward Wendy. She was still standing up in front of her plush couch, and when I reached her she air kissed me on both cheeks, something she’d never done before. I sat down next to her and smoothed my dress, then exhaled and interlaced my hands on my lap.
    She smiled brightly, and for the first time ever, she actually looked interested in me.
    “Waverly, I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that you decided to join us. I just know our viewers are going to adooore Honey on Your Mind. ”
    I smiled back. “Thanks, Wendy, I’m honored and excited to be a part of the show.”
    She gestured toward the audience. “Before we unveil your first segment, can you give us a little background on how Honey on Your Mind came to be? I think it’s such a fun story.” I’d never seen her act so friendly, at least to me.
    Maybe this won’t be so bad . I smiled back at her and shifted in my seat. “Well, it all started with a line of greeting cards I created called Honey Notes . They’re all-occasion cards for women to send each other, just for fun.”
    “Can you give us an example?”
    I nodded. “Sure. One of my favorites says, T HEY S AY L AUGHTER I S T HE B EST M EDICINE? on the front, and the inside says, H ONEY, TOSS IT IN WITH GIRLFRIENDS AND WINE, AND YOU’VE FOUND THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH .”
    “Oh, that’s sweet,” Wendy purred to the audience. “Isn’t that sweet?” The audience ahhhd .
    I sat up a bit straighter “But they’re not all sentimental.”
    “They’re not?”
    I shook my head. “Nope, some of them are funny. For example, a popular one says, S O, HE DUMPED YOU? on the front, and the inside says, H ONEY, HE WAS UGLY ANYWAY .
    Wendy laughed, and then turned to the audience. “Who hasn’t been there ?” The audience erupted in laughter, and I wasn’t sure if they were laughing at the Honey Note or Wendy’s comment. But they sure seemed to be having fun, so I didn’t care. Laughter was a whole lot better than silence.
    Wendy looked at me again, still beaming. “So you started this fun line of greeting cards, and then what happened?”
    I cleared my throat. “Well, the Honey Notes sort of took off, and then one day I got a call from the San Francisco Sun asking me if I wanted to write an advice column based on the cards. I decided to call it Honey on Your Mind , and well, fast-forward, and here we are.”
    She clapped her hands together. “I love it! What a faaabulous story.” She looked out at the audience again. “Isn’t that just faaabulous ?” The audience cheered.
    I smiled, finally feeling comfortable. “Thanks, Wendy.”
    She put her hand on my arm and winked, then turned toward the audience once more. “So what do you think, everyone? Are you ready to see what Waverly’s done with Honey on Your Mind for TV?”
    “Yes!” shouted the crowd.
    “Are you sure ?” Wendy said.
    “Yes!” the audience shouted even louder.
    I had no idea who this Wendy was, but there was no doubting that she was good. TV Wendy was very, very good.
    “OK then, let’s see it!” Wendy twirled her finger in the air and pointed behind her. An enormous flat-screen TV appeared out of nowhere. Suddenly, my smiling face came up on the screen. Thefirst thing I noticed was that I had a huge underground zit on my forehead.
    Darn .
    I inhaled deeply and hoped for the best.
    I also hoped no one noticed the zit. What a way to shatter a girl’s confidence.
    But then I was distracted by the familiar yet unfamiliar sound of my own voice.
    “Hi, everyone, I’m Waverly Bryson, and I’ll be hosting a semiregular feature for Love, Wendy called Honey on Your Mind . Given that I’m brand new