Young Char. Competed in pageants and vocal competitions. Won the first round of Star Search, but ultimately lost in the second round. Performed on Show Time at the Apollo. Credits include: Commercials for South Central Bell and Barq's Soda. Extra roles on The Cosby Show, Drexell's Class, Moonlighting, and My Sister Sam. Small speaking role on Murder She Wrote. Won a singing competition at the Grand Ole Opry and got to sing with Trisha Yearwood as a prize, as well as $2,500.00. Is a regular singer of the national anthem for the Nashville Sounds baseball team.

Keshia Knight-Pulliam hates her and she doesn't know why.

Lost to LeAnn Rimes in a vocal competition. LeAnn made her pee her pants.

Met Tevin Campbell at a meet-and-greet at the Tennessee State Fair. He shook her hand, she farted. Was so embarrased she threw up on him. 


Elise "Ellie" Bridges

Won Star Search. National pageant titleholder. Miss Tennessee Teen Grand Supreme, Nationally ranked dancer. Gold medal winning gymnast. The face of Mallory Pike on the Baby-Sitters Club book covers. Credits include: featured roles in commercials for Noxema, Aqua Net, and Sun-in. Featured in a national campaign for Herbal Essence. Walk on roles on Married with Children, Full House, Family Ties, and Twin Peaks. Guest speaking roles on Murphy Brown, Empty Nest and In the Heat of the Night. Starred as the love interest in a Tommy Page music video.

Met Kirk Cameron on a plane once and he told her she was pretty.

Often gets mistaken for pop singer Tiffany. Does nothing to correct people.

Tells people that she's the third cousin of Molly Ringwald. This has not been confirmed or denied. 

Is better than you.

Young JCMember of a dance troupe. Often competes in dance competitions solo and with his troupe, more often than not taking home first place. Has no formal training, or previous experience, but it exceptionally gifted, and one of the most talented to ever audition for the MMC. He scored tens across the board in singing, acting, and dancing. 
Is the first guy in his class to make it to second base with a girl.

His nickname at school is "The Kissing King".

Once made out with a senior.

His mother often has to keep the girls away so that he can focus on his studies.

Doesn't know that he's handsome or talented.

Spring 1991

I like the way you kiss me,

When we're playing the

Kissing game....

            Music was blasting from the speakers, and the party was in full swing. Pre-teens and teenagers dancing around the perimeter of the pool, others jumping in. "Ellie, can you believe it? Can you believe we're actually here right now?!" 13-year-old Charise Wilson exclaimed, turning to her friend Elise Bridges. 

            "I know, just be cool," Elise, replied, trying to calm her own nerves. The two were in a five-star hotel in Orlando, Florida at an exclusive pool party, reserved for those who had progressed to the final auditions for Disney Channel's "All New Mickey Mouse Club". Charise and Elise were finalist, and it was all but confirmed that they would be in the group of new cast members to join the show.

            "Look around us, can you believe this our world now?" Charise asked, astonished.

            "Don't jinx it," Elise warned. "We haven't made it, yet."

            "Yeah, but this is just a formality, right? If they invite us to the pool party, they want us!"

            "C'mon let's mingle," Elise suggested, leading the way. Char followed closely behind, as they weaved through crowds of kids. Some established cast members: Josh Ackerman, Lindsey Alley, Tiffani Hale, Ricky Luna, among some perspective cast members.

            Charise and Elise made their way over to the refreshment table, and perused the snacking options; pizza, a bowl of M&Ms, popcorn, various types of sodas. "I'm too nervous to eat anything," Charise admitted.

            "Don't worry, we don't bite!"

            Charise followed the voice that she heard over her shoulder and turned around, to meet a broad, muscular chest. She looked up to the head attached the body. It was...

            "Hi I'm Damon!" Damon Pampolina, one of the most popular members of the MMC cast, and a member of the spin-off pop group The Party. Damon stuck out his hand to shake Charise's.

            "I know who you are," Charise stammered, as she shook his hand, not wanting to let it go. She'd had a crush on Damon Pampolina since she saw the premiere episode in her basement. She could not have imagined that just two short years later, she would be face to face with him.

            "But I don't know who you are," Damon replied. "Mind telling me your name? And you can let go of my hand now."

            Charise hadn't realized that she still had his hand. "Oh, sorry," Charise laughed nervously pulling her hand away. "I'm Charise, but everyone calls me Char."

            "Oh, you're Charise," Damon replied. "I remember seeing a glimpse of your audition. You're the on e that sang that Mariah Carey song, right?"

            "Yeah, And You Don't Remember," Charise replied, smiling earnestly.

            "Well, you surely made an impression. That whistle note at the end blew me away. It blew us all away!" Damon smiled down at her, which made Charise blush. "I'm sure we'll be working together pretty soon."

            "Hi, I'm Elise, but you can call me Ellie," Elise interjected. Charise had almost forgotten that she was there.

            "Hi Ellie, I'm Damon," Damon responded, introducing himself.

            "You might remember me from my backhand springs," Elise said confidently.

            "I, uh," Damon stammered. "Maybe I missed that one, but I'm sure you were great."

            Elise huffed.

            "Well, it was nice talking to you ladies. I'm sure I'll see you around?"

            "Sure," Charise smiled, as Damon walked away. Once he was out of sight, both Charise and Elise let out a squeal. "Can you believe that?! We just talked to the Damon Pampolina!!!"

            "I know, I'm totally buggin'!" Elise exclaimed.

            "See, even you're not too cool for school!" Charise teased her friend, as she chipped away at her icy façade.

            "Oh whatever," Elise replied, rolling her eyes, feigning indifference. She pulled off her MMC '91 T-shirt revealing her black two-piece swimsuit. "I'm getting in the pool, wanna come?"

            "No thanks," Charise replied, shaking her head. Her mother had just spent three whole hours fighting with a hot comb, to press out her curls. It's taken a lot hair grease, and smoke but she'd finally gotten her desired straight and silky tresses and she wasn't about to mess it up.

            "Fine, suit yourself," Elise said as she strutted toward the pool, pulling the attention of every pre-pubescent boy in sight.

            Charise had always been jealous of Elise's confidence, and self-assuredness. She wondered what it was like to never doubt your talent and abilities. Ever since the two were little, Elise had always been the star of the duo. She'd always gotten the lead in dance routines at their home dance studio in Nashville. She was always the title winner in the pageants they would enter together, with Charise always coming in as first or second runner up. Elise had just always had a certain charisma, and she knew it too. Elise had gotten kissed first, got a bra first, she had even gone to second base with a high school boy! With her flowing, naturally loose wave of fiery red hair, winter green eyes, porcelain skin, and freckles that lightly kissed her skin, she looked like the perfect Irish princess. If Elise were to tell someone that she was a cover model, no one would ever doubt her. Elise seemingly had everything that Charise wished to possess. All but one thing.

            A voice. One area in which Charise's confidence never wavered, was in her vocal ability. That was one thing that she'd always had over Elise. Charise had the ability to make her voice sound instrumental. Her mother Diannah, having been a in a singing group with her sisters, had taught her daughter how to sing from a young age. By the time she was two, Charise could sing in perfect harmony, and by five she was singing solos in church. Singing was her superpower, and no one could take that away from her, although Elise would often try. While Elise was a dynamic, and talented performer, she didn't have the voice that Charise had. While Elise became a decent singer and was able to carry a tune after years of vocal coaching, she could never match Charise's innate ability. Charise could learn dance steps, and while it always took her a bit longer to master a routine, she could eventually perform it up to Elise's standard, while Elise could never match Charise vocally. Since she knew her vocals lacked, she always made sure to overcompensate. Maybe it was an extra shimmy or hair flip in a dance routine, or certain wave or wink at the judges during a pageant. Elise knew how to work with what she had and use it to get what she wanted. A skill acquired at only the age of thirteen.

            With Elise off in the pool, Charise wandered around the party aimlessly. While everyone was nice, Charise was slow to come out of her shell. Being surrounded by so many talented people, she felt she was way out of her league. Thousands of kids from around the country had auditioned, and somehow, she had made it to the final round. What did Matt Casella see in her? Completely lost in her thoughts, Charise hadn't realize that she was about to take a tumble into the pool, ruining all the hard work that her mother had put into her hair earlier that morning. Trying her best to steady herself, she could feel herself falling, but couldn't do anything to stop it. She dreaded the inevitable cold splash and felt her heart dip in her chest.

            All of a sudden, she felt a strong pull in the opposite direction, and instead of falling into an abyss of  cold water, she could feel her body collide with another's, as they both tumbled to the ground.

            "Woah, that was a close one!" She heard a voice say. She tilted her head up and realized that she was in the arms of a boy. Not just any boy, she followed the upper half of his body, to meet the eyes of the one holding her. It was him! The guy that she had been auditioning with. "Are you okay?" He asked, his arms still wrapped around her.

            "I should be asking you the same thing," Charise replied, locking her brown eyes with his gorgeous blue ones. She may not have remembered his name, but she could never forget those eyes. Or that hair. That silky raven colored hair. His chiseled features. He looked like an actor form those Old Hollywood movies that she watched with her grandma. She didn't think they made guys that looked like that anymore. "You saved my life!" She exclaimed. "Okay, well maybe not my life, but definitely my hair!" She patted her dry hair, still not believing that it was intact. Realizing that she was still on top of him, Charise gently rolled over onto the ground. The handsome boy rolled over on his side and stood up. He reached out his hand to Charise and helped her off the ground.

            Charise took his hand and stood up. "Hi, I'm Charise," she said introducing herself.

            "Oh, I knooow," the boy replied. "Everyone knows who you are!"

            "Really?" Charise asked, obliviously.

            "Yeah," he stated, very matter-of-factly. "Everyone knows who you are, you're the one to watch!"

            "Seriously? Nuh-uh, you're just being too nice," Charise said shyly.

            "Okay, so you're wicked talented, and incredibly humble..."

            "Me?" Charise scoffed. "What about you? I mean the way you sang that Richard Marx song..." Charise could feel her heart start to race at the thought of hearing his voice.

            Now it was his turn to blush. "Geez, I don't know about all that," he said, looking down and scratching the back of his head.

            "You must think I'm the biggest idiot, but I can't seem to remember your name. Don't take it personal though, I'm just bad with names in general," Charise said.

            "No worries, I'm Joshua, but you can call me Josh," he replied.

            "And you can call me call me Char," Charise said. She stared at Joshua for a few moments. "Genuine Joshua," she finally said.

            "Huh?" Joshua asked confused.

            "Alliteration. It helps me to remember people's names. It's a trick I learned at Drama camp," Charise explained. "You seem like a really, nice genuine person, so it fits, Genuine Joshua. I'll never forget you now!"

            "Well then, I guess I should call you Shy Charise," Joshua said.

            "Shy?" Charise asked. "Why Shy?"

            "Because you're too darn humble to accept that you're the most talented person here," Joshua responded, locking eyes with her.

            Those eyes. He had to stop doing that. It made her knees all week. "Wow..." Charise stammered. "I-I don't know what to say..."

            "Say you'll hang out with me, so I don't look like the only loner at this party," Joshua proposed.

            "Well, I'll definitely take you up on that offer, seeing as how my friend completely ditched me." Charise pointed in the direction of the pool, where Elise was flirting with Ricky Luna.

            "Great, now I officially have the honor of having the coolest girl in the room by my side," Joshua looked down at her smiling.

            Charise could not stop smiling. "Geez Josh, I don't know what to say to that either."

            "You don't have to say anything, just accept it," he smiled.

            "Fine," Charise said begrudgingly. "This is me, accepting it. Now what?"

            "Now, we hang out together. Let's get to know each other a bit, as I feel we'll be spending a lot of time with each other," Joshua suggested.

            "Sounds like a plan!" Charise replied, as they left the pool section of the hotel. "So Genuine Joshua, tell me a little bit about yourself..."