by Paige Toon
That’s exactly what happens a few days later when Sienna and I finally make it out for our shopping trip.
We’re in a gorgeous little boutique called Elodie K on Melrose Place and Sienna is holding up a pair of black stiletto-heeled boots with gold butterflies coming out of the back of them.
‘These Sophia Websters would look amazing on you.’
‘I’m not sure I could carry them off,’ I say with trepidation.
‘Are you kidding? Of course you could,’ she insists. ‘You should try them on.’
I shrug and take them from her. I don’t suppose it could hurt. Sienna has great taste, but she’s into high-end fashion, whereas I’m more of a rock chick.
‘And these,’ she says, passing me a pair of red stiletto sandals with a lace, fanned detail around the heel and ankle.
‘They’re not very me,’ I say. ‘Why don’t you try them on?’
She checks the price. ‘Why not?’
I take a quick look at the price of the boots and gulp at the sight.
How much money? I hope Johnny doesn’t think I’m taking the mick.
‘Your dad can afford it,’ Sienna says drily, seeing my expression. ‘Mine too, for that matter.’
‘What does your dad do?’ I ask, as we take a seat on a padded black sofa and wait for the shop assistant to come back with our size.
‘He’s a talent agent.’
‘Is he very successful?’
‘Not as successful as my mom.’ She notices my quizzical look and shrugs. ‘My dad owes me. He wasn’t around for a lot of my childhood.’
Suddenly she’s on her feet and making a beeline for a sparsely filled clothes rack. I watch as she flicks through the pieces hanging there. She pulls out a tiny dress with a white puff skirt and colourful dragonfly wings printed onto it. The bodice is fitted and strapless.
‘This?’ she asks me.
‘It’s pretty, but I can’t think when I’d wear it…’
‘What about Gina’s launch party?’ She holds it up against her body and cocks her head to one side.
The launch party for Season 3 of Blood Ten, the crime drama that Gina stars in, is this Saturday. Gina cornered me outside my locker this afternoon and said that an invitation from the show’s publicity team would be making its way to me via Johnny’s PA. She said she was only inviting a few people from school, so not to mention it to anyone else. I felt very honoured, even if Agnes is right about her just liking the publicity of this whole teen girl squad thing.
‘It is kind of cool.’ I stand up and walk over to Sienna, my heels clipping across the polished dark-wood floor. The lighting in here is like an art gallery and the merchandise works of art. There are only a few pairs of shoes and handbags on the glass shelves. I hold the dress up against myself and look in a mirror.
‘Sure, I’ll give it a go,’ I say.
Half an hour later, we walk out of the shop. It’s sunny again, despite being early February. Sienna slips her glasses back onto her nose and hooks her arm through mine.
‘Paps,’ she whispers, grinning. She swings her shopping bags and broadens her smile, then acts as though the paparazzi are not even there as she continues to chat merrily away to me. I follow her cue, ignoring them, but right behind me is the big bear of a man that is Sam.
Why is it that so few of my friends have bodyguards? Even Margarita and Gina get to walk around pretty much unaccompanied unless they’re going to be in crowded public places. I suppose it’s a testament to the level of Johnny’s fame that even his ‘part-time daughter’ chalks up a need for security.
Sometimes I want to ask how much of it is really necessary, but then I remember that someone tried to kidnap me last year and that shuts me up.
Johnny is back late that night after tour rehearsals, but he hunts me out soon after he arrives home. I’m in my bedroom, messing around with melodies on my Yamaha. I still can’t believe Jack bought it for me.
‘I thought you weren’t taking it any further with Sienna,’ Johnny says, pulling a chair out from my new desk and sitting down to face me. Annie ordered the desk earlier in the week because the downstairs office isn’t always quiet or private enough for me to do my homework. Sometimes she has to work late to make phone calls abroad.
‘How did you kn—?’ My voice trails off. Of course he knows. Sam or Annie would have been onto him immediately. ‘We just went shopping,’ I say instead. ‘I like her, Joh— I mean, Dad. She’s nice. She’s not like Dana.’
His eyebrow twitches even at the sound of Dana’s name.
‘I’d prefer you to stay away from her,’ he says, folding his arms and sitting back in his seat.
This makes me angry. As if I don’t have enough on my plate! The one time I get to do something as ordinary as shopping, he has a go at me!
‘Seriously, do you know how ridiculous you’re being? Sienna doesn’t even speak to Dana! I need to let my hair down. She’s nice to me. She’s funny. We get along. I’m so busy at the moment with school and GCSEs. God, why am I even bothering with GCSEs? It’s crazy!’
‘OK, OK,’ he says, holding his palms up and looking taken aback. ‘Forget I said anything. Fine, if you’re sure about her. Just be careful.’
‘I will be. You have nothing to worry about.’
‘I won’t bring it up again,’ he promises, but he’s still eyeing me with trepidation.
‘Good.’ I let out a frustrated sigh and press the off button on my Yamaha. I’ve had enough for one day.
‘Did you have a good time with her?’ Johnny asks, raking his hand through his hair.
‘It was great,’ I reply reluctantly, only slightly appeased by the change in his tone.
‘You looked like you bought a lot of stuff.’
My face falls.
‘Samson Sarky,’ he adds, to explain how he knows. Pictures of Sienna and I must already be online. That was quick.
‘Do you mind me spending your money?’ I ask warily.
He pulls a face. ‘Of course not.’
My shoulders sag with relief, but then he adds, ‘On one condition.’
‘What?’ I ask cautiously, tensing up again.
‘I don’t want you to quit doing your GCSEs.’
I sigh. ‘Why do you care about that? You didn’t even do A levels.’
‘I didn’t, no, but I do care about your schooling and Stu does, too. You should do it for him, if not for me, if not for yourself.’
My mind shows me a mental image of Stu’s face, his eyebrows pulled together over the top of his horn-rimmed glasses. He would be so disappointed if I quit.
‘Fine,’ I say morosely. ‘Guess I’d better get on with some studying, then.’ I nod at the desk he’s sitting at and he gets to his feet, giving my shoulder a sympathetic squeeze before leaving my room.
But the first thing I do when I open my computer is check out the online celebrity gossip sites. I can’t resist.
I snort with amusement at the sight of Sienna and me walking laughingly along the pavement, arms hooked together as we swing our shopping bags. She’s wearing a minidress and is absolutely stunning with her blunt-cut dark hair, big sunglasses and tanned legs, but I don’t look so bad myself with my tousled blonde hair, jeans and heels. She’s wearing flats so luckily she doesn’t completely dwarf me.
Seeing myself in pictures like this and on online gossip sites is very surreal. It’s like I’m not looking at me, only my public persona. It would be easy to get caught up in that persona, but I think I’m doing a pretty good job so far of staying true to myself. I hope so, anyway.
Chapter 15
A few days later, Davey drives me into West Hollywood, where Gina’s launch party is taking place.
I’m meeting Sienna there and I’m nervous about arriving on my own. I was shocked on Thursday afternoon at band practice when I found out Agnes hadn’t been invited. I know Gina asked me not to mention it to anyone, but I couldn’t believe Agnes wouldn’t be on the guest list so I casually asked if she and I could head there
together. She was a little taken aback that I was going and she wasn’t – I felt so bad.
I told her I’d text her and Jack later, thinking that maybe I could swing by theirs on the way home, although Jack did say he’d meet me in town instead. I loved this idea, until Johnny told me I had to stay put in the venue if I wanted to go without Sam.
The party is taking place in the penthouse suite at hip hotel The London. A red carpet has been laid out at the front and a huge crowd of people lines the barriers, screaming and shouting for autographs and selfies with celebrities. At the other end of the carpet is a roped barrier, behind which a horde of photographers is snapping off shots.
I’m wearing the dragonfly dress with my hair in a loose, tousled bun, high up on my head, and as I walk down the red carpet, trying not to slouch, I spy Sienna at the end with Rafael – the male model from our class who’s just landed the CiaoCiao campaign. She’s wearing a fitted dark-red dress and is staring sultrily at the cameras while she hangs off Rafael in his well-cut black suit. He’s tall, tanned and gorgeous and has the most gravity-defying cheekbones I’ve ever seen. He and Sienna look amazing together – they’re totally working the cameras.
I smile fondly as I approach, enjoying the opportunity to watch my model classmates in action. I’m preparing to walk straight past into the venue, but, to my surprise, one of the paps calls out my name. As soon as one person says it, others join in, and then Sienna notices me and her eyes light up as she beckons me over. I stand between her and Rafael and try not to look like all my Christmases have come at once.
Our photo session is over pretty quickly because Joseph Strike arrives. I force myself to walk inside, resisting the overwhelming urge to throw myself at his feet, screaming hysterically, but my heart is hammering with adrenalin. I never did pluck up the courage to quiz Meg about what Agnes had said: that she and Joseph used to date. She and I don’t really have that causal sort of relationship – not yet, anyway. Maybe I can ask him, I think with a cheeky smile. As if I’d be able to get anywhere near him without dissolving into a gooey mess…
Sienna, Rafael and I take the lift up to what claims to be LA’s largest hotel penthouse suite. Sienna tells me that the interiors were designed by Vivienne Westwood, and you can see her kooky style everywhere you look.
There’s a large, open-plan living room with quirky gold-and-white floor lamps, and an enormous geometric-patterned turquoise-and-grey rug covers much of the marble floor.
I try not to gawp at all of the recognisable faces in the room. Blood Ten started out with a cult following, but now it’s so big that it’s become mainstream and everyone wants a piece of it.
The show is rated 18 and is extremely gory, but that didn’t stop my friends or me from watching it. I gulp as I walk past one of the lead actors – he’s short and stout and his bulging eyes would look more appropriate on a pug dog than a person. He stars as an evil lawyer who gets people to do nasty things, but right now he’s gaily laughing his head off and affectionately tweaking the cheek of another sexy-as-hell actor who plays a gruesomely violent drug lord. It’s a bizarre business.
‘Let’s go to the roof,’ Sienna says as Rafael veers off to talk to someone he knows. I follow Sienna through the crowds to the far corner of the room where stairs lead up to the outdoor terrace.
The roof terrace is open to the sky, which is a deep mauve colour above our heads, changing to pale orange the closer it gets to downtown’s jagged skyline. There aren’t as many skyscrapers here as in New York – the earthquakes are the main reason for that – but the view is still awesome.
Sienna barely bats an eyelid as she leads me to the marble counter where barmen are busily mixing cocktails.
There are so many famous people up here that I’m trying not to stare. Gina is chatting away happily to her onscreen mother not far from us and I feel a surge of pride for her. I’m so lucky to have such interesting, talented friends.
Guilt pricks my conscience as that thought crosses my mind. I’ve barely spoken to my old friends back home in weeks. I’ve been so busy. Libby rang me a week ago and I haven’t even had time yet to call her back. I remind myself to do so tomorrow.
We grab a couple of drinks and make our way over to the glass balustrade, standing beside a large potted palm and chinking glasses.
‘You and Rafael looked amazing downstairs,’ I tell her. ‘I’ve never seen you in work mode before.’
She grins. ‘Can you keep a secret?’
‘Of course.’
She leans in close. ‘I’m in line to be the next CiaoCiao girl. I’ll be working alongside Rafe.’
‘No way!’ I squeal. ‘That’s amazing!’
She beams at me, her blue eyes sparkling. ‘Thanks! I’m so excited.’
‘So you’re going to have to get up close and personal with him, then?’
CiaoCiao is known for its sexy young models wearing surprisingly little clothing considering it’s in the business of selling them.
She shrugs and grins wickedly. ‘I guess so.’
‘It’s a hard life! I find it difficult enough to concentrate in English.’ Rafael sits one table in front of me to my right, and his profile is very distracting.
She pulls a face. ‘No. We have chemistry, sure, but I don’t like him like that. Anyway.’ She arm-bumps me. ‘You only have eyes for Jack Mitchell, remember?’
I narrow my eyes at her. ‘True, but we’re still a secret so—’
‘My lips are sealed,’ she finishes my sentence.
‘I was really surprised Gina didn’t invite Agnes,’ I say, now that we’re on the subject of the Mitchells.
She cocks her head to one side, thoughtfully. ‘I’m not,’ she says at last.
‘Why?’ I ask with a frown.
‘Gina and Margarita are all about the publicity,’ she tells me bluntly, echoing what Agnes said. ‘They like what’s in fashion. I don’t think that,’ she adds quickly, seeing my appalled expression at the idea of friends being somehow unfashionable. ‘I adore Agnes, but, you know, her dad is a washed-up rock star.’
My mouth drops open.
‘Again, it’s not me who’s saying that!’ She looks alarmed and places her hand on my arm, trying to reassure me. ‘But you can’t deny the facts: Johnny Jefferson and Courtney Victor are still cool.’
It’s weird hearing her refer to my dad and her mum like this. They don’t sound like real people, let alone normal, everyday parents.
But then they’re not normal, everyday parents. Johnny is Johnny and Sienna’s mum is a supermodel who hit the big time over ten years ago as an underwear model and is still working the catwalk today.
I suppose Sienna’s right, but I really don’t like the thought of anyone calling Jack and Agnes’s dad a washed-up rock star, even if he hasn’t done anything in a while. A long while. Well, OK, she’s got a point; there just must be a better way of putting it.
Talking about Sienna’s mum makes me think of her dad again.
‘What’s your dad like?’ I ask her. ‘If you don’t mind me asking,’ I add.
‘Not at all. He’s, well, he’s…’ She wrinkles her nose. ‘I don’t really know him that well, to be honest. He left my mom when she got pregnant with me. Mom ranted about it once when she was drunk.’
Oh. ‘So he and your mother had an affair?’ I remember Johnny saying this.
‘Yeah, for five years. My dad’s still married to Dana’s mom. They live in a ranch in Montana, but Dad comes to LA to do business. He has an apartment here. Sometimes we’ll grab lunch, but his wife is insanely jealous so he tries to keep his relationship with me pretty quiet.’
‘That’s sad,’ I say.
‘I’m used to it now,’ she says lightly.
‘Still, it must hurt.’
I see her swallow and wonder why I’m pushing her. ‘Yeah, it sucks,’ she admits in a choked voice. ‘I don’t know why I didn’t just come out and admit that.’
‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.’
>
‘It’s OK.’ She gives me an uneasy look.
‘What is it?’
She sighs. ‘I wasn’t going to say anything, but I don’t want to lie to you so I should probably tell you that my sister has been in contact with me.’
‘What?’ My stomach contracts.
‘She’s always been a total bitch to me, but yesterday she called me out of the blue and said that maybe we should get together and have a coffee or something. She sounded OK, you know? I think that maybe she wants to be friends.’
‘Oh. Right.’ This makes things tricky.
‘You look worried,’ she says.
‘I am a bit. I mean, this shouldn’t affect me or our friendship at all.’ And it really shouldn’t. ‘But my dad was really worried that we were friends, because of your sister.’
‘My sister is my sister. She’s not me and I’m not her, so why should that impact on our friendship?’ Her dark brows have pulled together.
‘You’re right, it shouldn’t,’ I say firmly. ‘So are you going to catch up with her?’
‘Yeah, later this week. She’s in town meeting up with her record label so she said she’d swing by after school and take me out for a coffee.’
‘Good luck.’
‘Thanks.’ She takes a sip of her drink and scans the crowd.
‘I didn’t know Dana was still making music,’ I say casually.
‘She’s had some time off, but I think she’s got her shit together now so hopefully she can get back to being the Next Big Thing.’ She shrugs and grins at me.
The next couple of hours fly by. When my phone buzzes to let me know I have a text, I’m surprised to see that it’s already ten o’clock. I’m also surprised to see that it’s from Jack, telling me that he’s in the bar downstairs.
My heart jumps. I’m desperate to see him, but Johnny told me I had to stay put, otherwise he’d send Sam with me tonight. Surely I’m still staying put if I’m in the same building, though?
I text him back to say that I’m on my way, grabbing Sienna to tell her of my intentions.
‘Perhaps I’ll see you down there later,’ she says.
Jack is sitting on a gold stool at the white marble bar of the cocktail lounge. The bottles of spirits on the glass shelves behind him sparkle like jewels in the low-level light, making me think of old Hollywood as I walk towards him. He’s wearing a slim-fitting black blazer tonight over skinny black jeans and, with his dark hair partly falling down across his forehead, he looks like he should be on the big screen. My pulse starts to race when he looks over his shoulder, a lazy smile tipping the corners of his lips as he sees me approaching.
