Diary of an Ugly Duckling by Langhorne, Karyn (general ebook reader .txt) 📕

an-

other call rolled Audra’s line. “You should probably

get that. I told you earlier that we’ve been getting re-

quests from all kinds of media. All the morning

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shows want to interview you and Dr. Goddard. To

talk more about color consciousness in the black

community and—”

“I’m not answering that damned phone,” Audra

snapped. “I don’t want to talk about color con-

sciousness in the black community. I don’t want to

be on the morning shows or—”

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to, Audra,”

Shamiyah said in a voice that had more than a little

of Camilla’s hard edge to it. “I’m sorry, but you’ve

got a contract with this show . . . and it includes par-

ticipating in show promotion. These interviews are

the perfect lead in to the Big Reveal in two weeks.”

She paused, her voice becoming steely with deter-

mination. “And you will do them.”

“And if I won’t?”

“Well,” Shamiyah dropped any pretense of the

enthusiastic, bubbly woman Audra had come to as-

sociate with her name. “I think you can expect some

serious legal consequences. Not the least of which

might be the bill for all the professional services

you’ve received, gratis, from Ugly Duckling. Last I

heard, the tally was close to two hundred thousand

dollars in surgeries and consultations, airfare,

lodging—”

“Those papers I signed can’t be any good!” Audra

shouted. “You manipulated me! You talked me

into—”

“Nobody talked you into anything,” Shamiyah

snapped back. “You were all too eager to do it. You

were the one calling herself fat, black and ugly . . .

and when we offered you the chance to be some-

thing else, you jumped on it like a crack addict to a

DIARY OF AN UGLY DUCKLING

349

pipe. If you’d had even a little of the self-respect

you’re claiming we took, you’d have done what the

others did and refuse to have anything to do with

the whole thing—”

“Others?” Audra frowned into the telephone.

“What are you talking about . . . others? I thought

out of all the tapes, I was your pick. I thought you

wanted me because I was the perfect messenger—”

Shamiyah’s laughter echoed around her as

though piped in by speakers and amplified to the

point of pain.

“Oh, Audra, Audra,” she chuckled. “The perfect

messenger is anyone willing to deliver the message.

We’ve been looking for an African-American

woman willing to do the skin lightening procedure

since last season. We must have flown two dozen

women out, put them through the same procedures,

offered them the same arguments—and all of them

refused. They had too much pride in what they

were: strong, black women.” She sighed with the

memory. “Camilla was ready to scrap the whole

thing, but it was my concept, my idea, and I wasn’t

going to give up that easily!” she said vehemently.

“By that time, my job was on the line and I knew if

I didn’t get someone to sign on, Camilla would fire

me, bad-mouth me in the industry and my televi-

sion career would be finished.” She paused. “And

then you came along . . . and saved my life. Do you

realize already this show has had more buzz than

all the prior episodes of Ugly Duckling put together?

With all the press this episode’s getting, we’re an-

ticipating the Big Reveal to have a shot at being one

of the most watched events on television this sea-

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Karyn Langhorne

son. And that’s because of you, Audra. You’ve made

my career—I’ve been pitching this success around

town and I may even get my own show out of it,

thanks to the controversy and the media exposure.

Hell, I don’t know what you’re complaining for:

You’ve got a good chance to walk away with the

grand prize.”

“What?”

“Aren’t you watching? The votes are in. You just

made Top Three! Congratulations—”

“I don’t want it.”

“Well you got it. See you in three weeks,”

Shamiyah said calmly. “And Audra, don’t even

think about skipping the interviews or not showing

up for the Big Reveal. You’ll be on the Today show

and the others tomorrow. You’ll do the interviews

and, when the time comes, you’ll get on that plane

to join us for the Big Reveal, Audra . . . or there will

be legal hell to pay, I promise you.”

“But—”

“Ciao,” Shamiyah said brightly and hung up be-

fore Audra could say another word.

“We’ll just have to bust up that contract,” Edith was

saying for the thousandth time.

The last of the guests were long gone, slinking out

in embarrassment for Audra, Edith and the whole

situation. Penny had escorted Kiana to bed with the

promise of a story and now Edith and Art joined

Audra in the kitchen, as she tried to sort through her

options.

Audra sighed, feeling as though a big steel cage

had been dropped over her head, windowless and

DIARY OF AN UGLY DUCKLING

351

without air enough to breathe. She wanted to protest,

to argue, but mad as she was at Shamiyah, she knew

well there was no one to rave her fury against but

herself.

They’d had to turn off all the phones, since

they were ringing incessantly—and not with well-

wishers. It seemed every angry black person in the

five boroughs of New York had looked up their

number and decided to call. Although there was se-

curity in the building, Audra was grateful for Art’s

presence: There were certainly more than enough

crackpots in the city to make it possible for one or

two to attempt to express their anger in person.

So this was the concept, the concept Shamiyah had

been so vague on from the beginning: a dramatic

makeover show about a black woman who wanted to

look white. And with a little tweaking and twisting

of the facts, the girl had definitely accomplished her

goal: Here stood one Audra Marks, once a dark-

skinned woman, now a light-skinned one. And the

complex personal reasons for that transformation

had been completely eliminated, painted over in

simple black-and-white.

“We can talk to a lawyer, but . . .” Audra shook

her head and sighed. For the first time in months,

she longed for an Oreo, could almost taste its

creamy goodness on her tongue. “I’m