I'm A Star! 

While I was living with Nana, Grandpa Dewey, and Alfonso and dating Alfonso’s friend Cody, I made some television commercials.  No kidding.  I literally starred in my very own TV appearances.  Literally.  And I got paid to make these commercials, too.  Cody Wagner’s dad owns Bargain City Auto Mall.  Anyway, Mr. Wagner said I was “cute and bubbly and perfect for the camera,” and so he hired me to make commercials. I dressed like a cheerleader, waved pompoms, bounced around, and shouted slogans like,

 

“Red, blue, yellow, pink

Even if your credit stinks,

We’ll approve you for a loan

So you can drive a nice car home!”

 

“Your two feet won’t take you far,

Come see us and buy a car!

Even if your credit’s bad,

Our easy terms will make you glad.”

 

“Summer’s here,

Let’s hit the road

In a car

That’s good as gold.

Bargain City

Will make you smile,

We always go

The extra mile!”

 

“Is your present car

Old and sassy?

Need a new ride?

Come see Cassie!”

 

“If your credit’s

Kind of yucky,

Come see us for

A car or trucky.”  (I wrote this one myself.  Pretty good, huh?)  

 

I looked so cute and adorable dressed like a cheerleader.  And I loved performing in front of a camera while everyone gathered around to watch me.  I love attention.  I like knowing that all eyes are focused on me.  And after the commercials went live, strangers began approaching me and asked, “Aren’t you the used car cheerleading girl on television?”   I can’t tell you how many autographs I signed.  I literally became a celebrity overnight. Literally.  Eventually, Cody’s dad replaced me with a singing juggler, but for a time, I was the most famous person in Ortonville, Mississippi. 

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Nana was not impressed by my television dayview, but was I surprised by her negative reaction?  No.  You see, Nana never has anything good to say about me.  According to her, I can’t do anything right.  When my first commercial aired, she stared at the screen with a look of disgust and disbelief and complained, “Once again, you’ve made a damned fool of yourself, Cassie.  You’ve got pompoms for brains.  And who picked out those skimpy outfits?  You look like a hooker.”

 

Grandpa Dewey came to my defense.  “Don’t talk bad to the girl, Erlene. Cassie looks adorable decked out as a cheerleader.  I think she has a future as an actress or a model.  Instead of belittling her, how about giving your granddaughter some encouragement?”

 

Nana folded her arms and said, “Will you shut your mouth, Dewey?  You’re just like all the other dirty old men who pant and drool as you count Cassie’s freckles one by one.  It’s not right for old men to stare at young girls.”

 

Grandpa Dewey looked hurt. “How can you say such a thing, Erlene?  Cassie is my granddaughter.  You surely don’t think that I would even…”  Here he stopped.  Nana was giving Grandpa Dewey a hard time because she once saw us sitting alone in his pickup truck after dark.  Things weren’t the way they may have looked, but as always, Nana assumed the worst.  On that particular night, I was feeling really sad and alone and Grandpa Dewey was only trying to make me feel better.  Nana got the wrong idea and things began heating up from there.  Of course, Nana practically accused me of doing the same thing with her son.  I am Nana’s scrapgoat.  Nana simply does not trust me.  Whenever something goes wrong, she’s ready to point her finger at me.  She may have the most suspicious mind of anyone in our family.  All I can say is that my conscience is perfectly clear.