The It Girl in Rome

by Katy Birchall

Helena x

  From: anna_huntley@zingmail.co.uk

  To: marianne@montaines.co.uk;

  rebecca.blythe@bounce-mail.co.uk;

  helena@montaines.co.uk

  Subject: Re: Rome

  As ever, thank you for this insightful chain of messages.

  With you two as our guiding lights, it is a miracle that Marianne and I have not ended up in prison.

  Love, me xxx

  11.

  MOMENTS IN MY LIFE WHEN I’ve been put in charge of a project that didn’t turn out as planned:

  1. The time Dad said I could be in charge of putting up the Christmas tree lights and then I got tangled in all the stupid wires and he had to cut me out with his pliers.

  If you ask me, I did him a favor. It was about time he made the effort to go buy some new lights rather than using ones that were so old they may have actually been present in the stable at Bethlehem, providing light for Mary and Joseph.

  2. The time Dad said I could be in charge of carving the roast lamb and I dropped it on the floor.

  Clearly SOMEONE hadn’t cooked it very well if it slipped off the plate that easily. And it wasn’t MY fault that Dog then stole the lamb, ate a chunk of it, and threw up on Dad’s antique chess set. I don’t know why Dad was so angry; we hadn’t been able to use the chess set anyway ever since Dog ate three pawns and a bishop.

  3. The time Mom said I could be in charge of the car while she popped into the shop and then I locked myself in and her out.

  I blame it on her stupid high-tech keys that have all these buttons that you press. There was no use in her yelling “CLICK UNLOCK!” through the window at me either because I had no idea which button that one was.

  4. The time when Mom said I could be in charge of ordering the food in a restaurant in Paris to practice my French and instead of saying to the waiter “Thanks a lot” at the end of my order, I said “Thank you nice bottom.”

  French is stupid.

  5. The time when the teachers put me in charge of ringing this big old fashioned bell as part of a school tradition during the school’s birthday and I hit myself in the face with the bell and knocked myself out.

  There were some serious health and safety issues here. It’s a miracle I didn’t sue the school. Lucky for them I’m a very forgiving human being.

  6. The time in Rome when I was put in charge of my group’s map and we ended up completely lost in the middle of an excavation site with a load of stray cats looking at us.

  “Who put Anna in charge of the map?” Josie wailed, after shooing away a particularly curious cat.

  “We all have to take turns and it was Anna’s,” Jess explained, crouching down in her denim shorts with her camera to get a good shot of all the cats. “I think this is really cool. It’s like the less-explored non-tourist part of Rome.”

  “Yeah, there’s a reason why this part isn’t explored,” Josie huffed. “Can someone PLEASE tell this cat to GO AWAY.”

  “It’s just a cat.” James rolled his eyes. “Relax, Josie. Anna will lead us in the right direction.”

  “Miss Lawler,” Josie whined. “Can’t you just tell us where to go?”

  “I’m as clueless as you are,” replied Miss Lawler. She shrugged happily, straightening her sun hat and admiring her surroundings. “Plus, we’re not meant to help you with these tasks. We’re here to observe.”

  “Urgh! I wish Sophie was here!”

  “What, so she could do the whining while you just nod along?” Jess asked, clicking away as Josie seethed. “Enjoy the freedom away from your master, Josie. You can actually have your own opinion without checking it’s the right one with her first.”

  “I think we need to go this way!” I said, pointing down a narrow road to our right enthusiastically, and trying to look as though I knew what I was doing.

  “Great!” Jess got to her feet. “Good going, Anna.”

  As she gave me a big thumbs-up, I felt such relief at having her in a group with me. At first I had really panicked when Mrs. Ginnwell had announced that we would be spending the majority of the trip split into groups with a list of tasks to complete each day so that we would “get the most out of this intellectually stimulating and illuminative trip.” She had started reading out the list of names for Group 1 and Stephanie’s name was called out right after Sophie’s. Stephanie gulped so loud that it echoed around the breakfast room.

  I practically whooped when she moved on to Group 2 and I could rest safe in the knowledge that Sophie and I would only be sharing evenings with each other and not daytime too.

  Danny was put in Group 3 and his eyebrows furrowed as the other names in his group were called out.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Your group isn’t too bad.”

  “None of you are in it.” He shrugged, causing Stephanie to go “aw” and peck him on the cheek.

  I wondered if Connor would have been in my group if he had been here.

  “Don’t worry, Dan,” Jess said, picking up his hand and cradling it in hers. “I’m sure everyone in your group will appreciate your lectures as much as we do. The one you gave us yesterday on the history of Vatican City thrilled me to the core. That King Julian guy did an excellent job sorting out that whole Brazilian situation.”

  “Pope Julius II,” Danny corrected through gritted teeth, pulling his hand free, “and it’s St. Peter’s Basilica, not Brazilian!”

  Mrs. Ginnwell moved on to Group 4, which was made up of everyone who hadn’t been called out yet, including myself and Jess, who winked at me as Mrs. Ginnwell announced both our names, but then did a gagging motion as Josie’s name was read out.

  Josie aside, my group was quite a good one, and although I was sad that we wouldn’t be going around the city completing all the tasks with Danny and Stephanie, I would have Jess next to me, and James was with us too.

  “I think you’re right, Anna,” James said, pointing at the map and interrupting my chain of thought. “We must have just taken a wrong turn at some point.”

  “And ended up in the land of cats.” Josie scowled, pushing her large black sunglasses up her delicate nose. “Gross.”

  “I told you guys I shouldn’t be put in charge of the map. Maybe you should take over, Jess,” I suggested hopefully, holding it out for her.

  Miss Lawler jumped in. “No, no, Anna, your turn isn’t up yet. It’s a very important life skill and it’s all part of the fun.”

  Josie let out a loud “HA!” and then under her breath went, “Some fun THIS is,” kicking the dust out of her sandal and straightening her far-too-short summer dress.

  Miss Lawler ignored her. “Lead the way then, Anna. Soon we’ll all be at the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, and you will be amazed at the wonders and delights you will discover there. The interiors are really quite something.”

  James smirked at me as Josie made a face that plainly showed she couldn’t care less about the interiors of a church. But there was something inside this one that I was really excited to see.

  We finally made it to the church and I wandered in, stopping among the beautiful wooden pews to take it all in, awe-struck by the peacefulness.

  “It’s not bad, huh? Guess Miss Lawler was right about those interiors,” James whispered. My eyes scanned the ancient columns and archways. “What are you looking for?” he asked. I gasped when I spotted what I was after and he followed my eyeline. “Whoa, what is that? It’s massive!”

  “Here,” I told him, dragging him toward a large, round sculpture. “La Bocca della Verità.”

  I gestured for Jess to come and join us and pointed at the face of a man carved into the large marble stone, his mouth a big gaping hole. “You have to take a picture of me next to this!”

  “It’s kind of creepy,” Jess observed, and then grinned at me. “Is there a reason why you look like you’ve just won the lottery? It could be the heat, but you’re practically glowing.”

  “Guys, this is extremely famous. You haven’t heard of it?”


  They both looked at me blankly. “The story goes that if you put your hand in his mouth and told a lie, your hand would get bitten off.”

  “Right,” Jess nodded. “That’s even more creepy.”

  “But more importantly, it is in a famous moment of cinematic history!” I enthused.

  “Ah, that’s why you’ve heard of it, Film Geek.” Jess grinned.

  “Not too loud, Anna,” Miss Lawler hushed, coming over to us. “Ah, I see you’ve found the Bocca della Verità. This sculpture might have been part of an ancient fountain, I believe. Beautiful, isn’t it?”

  “You guys know the film Roman Holiday, right? With Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn?”

  Jess and James looked at me blankly but Miss Lawler nodded, smiling. “It’s one of my favorites.”

  “Is this one of your weird old movies that you go on about?” Jess asked.

  “Gregory Peck is a reporter and he’s hanging out with Audrey Hepburn, who is a princess, but they’re both lying about who they are. Anyway, they come to this very church!” At this point I was so excited I was practically hopping up and down on the spot. “And then Gregory Peck tells her about putting your hand in this sculpture’s mouth and the tale about it being bitten off. Then he pretends suddenly that his hand is bitten off and she screams! It’s a really famous scene!”

  “Well, this will make a great picture. Anna and James, put your hands in and pretend they’re getting bitten off.”

  Jess lifted her camera as we both stepped forward, ready to slide our hands into the gaping marble hole. I made a face and hunched slightly as though in great pain, and after he’d finished laughing at me—“You look like you’re trying to be a gargoyle”—James did his own version too.

  “Now put them all the way in so you can say that you’ve done it!” Jess urged.

  We leaned forward, and James squeezed in his hand. His skin was warm next to mine in the cold stone hole. I looked up at him, ready to take the cue for our next silly faces but he was actually looking down at me, very intently.

  Jess’s camera clicked.

  And suddenly James jerked back and pulled his hand away. “Sorry.”

  “That’s okay!” I laughed, a bit confused. “Do I have cold hands?”

  “Terrible circulation,” he confirmed, nodding mock seriously.

  “Perfect!” Jess announced, examining the shot on her camera’s display screen.

  “A real movie moment,” Miss Lawler sighed. “And who knows the English translation for Bocca della Verità?”

  I did. “The Mouth of Truth.”

  From: anna_huntley@zingmail.co.uk

  To: connorlawrence1@zingmail.co.uk

  Subject: Me again!

  Hi, did you get my message yesterday? Maybe there was something wrong with that stupid Internet café and it didn’t get to you. . . . The computers did look as though they had been bought in the Stone Age!

  So, anyway, today was fun. . . . Me, Jess, Josie (unfortunately), and James saw the Bocca della Verità—you know, the sculpture that’s in Roman Holiday!!

  I was so excited but no one else was that bothered about the whole movie link. If only you’d been there!

  I was in charge of the map for a bit and got us completely lost but that was kind of fun too, like a weird adventure. Jess has taken a BILLION photos so you’ll be able to see loads when we get back.

  How’s the comic book coming along? Any developments?

  Missing you xx

  From: connorlawrence1@zingmail.co.uk

  To: anna_huntley@zingmail.co.uk

  Subject: Re: Me again!

  Hi Anna, I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you right away, the craziest thing has happened. . . .

  An agent contacted me today. AN AGENT. Can you believe it? That means that they think I have potential, right?

  They said that it didn’t matter that I was still at school, that my age might even work in my favor as a good selling point! They said, and I quote, that they think I have a “great future in the graphic-novel world.”

  Can you believe it? My mom is taking me out for a big meal tonight to celebrate so I’ve got to rush off, but I wanted you to be one of the first to know. After all, you inspired the whole thing. Wish you could be here to celebrate with me!

  Great you had a good day—I hope James and Josie weren’t too cliquey. Can’t wait to see all Jess’s photos when you’re back. You been to the Trevi Fountain yet? Be sure to make a good wish. . . .

  Connor

  X

  He meant us, right? A good wish about us? That means a LOT. It completely cancels out that he only put one kiss this time. Not that I’m reading into stupid stuff like that. And, without saying it, he definitely implies that he misses me too: Wish you could be here to celebrate with me!

  That means WAY more than the fact he hadn’t had time to e-mail me back.

  12.

  When Anna’s in Rome!

  By Nancy Rose—Daily Post

  Fresh from her Comic Con drama, it seems British It Girl Anna Huntley is not content to lie low for long, as she’s been spotted out and about having fun with friends on the streets of Rome, the Daily Post can reveal. Despite rumors that the young socialite has been dating the young man from her school with whom she was spotted at Comic Con earlier this month, Anna—the teenage daughter of journalist Nick Huntley, due to marry actress Helena Montaine this summer—has since been seen enjoying Italy without him. Showing her fun side, the young It Girl was photographed jumping out from behind Italian landmarks in an attempt to scare her friends. “Anna deserves a break,” a source close to the family can reveal. “She has had a difficult few weeks and needed to get away from her critics.” By the look of the smile on her face, the sun-kissed Anna has put her troubles behind her! When in Rome!

  “You jumped out at Josie . . . from a tomb?”

  My dad sounded puzzled on the phone. I’d just been getting ready to go down to breakfast when he called to read out the reports that were being printed in the English press about me.

  “My personal favorite has to be the one Marianne e-mailed me. Here, listen to this part: ‘Often under the watch of her strict father at home, Anna has been given the opportunity to spread her wings abroad.’ ”

  “At least they’ve got one fact right.”

  “I hope you’re not referring to the strict-dad comment,” he said, clearing his throat. “So, your taste of freedom involves frightening the life out of girls in your class?”

  “We were at the burial site of Keats and Shelley.”

  “A perfect opportunity for practical jokes . . .”

  “It wasn’t planned! And I didn’t realize anyone was taking photos.”

  “Continue.”

  “Well, our task was to find what’s written on their stones and so on and so forth, and Josie was going on about how her idea of a vacation was not going to a boring cemetery. Anyway, I mentioned to James—you know James—that I felt that Josie was starting to upset Miss Lawler a bit because, you know, Miss Lawler’s so enthusiastic and she looked so down when Josie wouldn’t stop complaining. She’s been complaining nonstop for DAYS. So James thought it might be fun to try to make Josie smile. You know, get her to lighten up and stop spoiling it for everyone else.”

  “And his idea to make Josie ‘lighten up’ was to jump out from a tomb and give her a heart attack?”

  “It was hilarious, Dad, honestly,” I giggled. “I wish Jess had gotten a photo of Josie’s expression. She screamed so loudly I thought my eardrums had burst! But it was worth it just to see her face.”

  “I can imagine. I’m pleased you’re letting your hair down, Anna, as long as you’re not getting into trouble.”

  “I promise I’m not. James and Josie are friends so she did laugh in the end. James gave her a big hug and she just relaxed. It worked! Miss Lawler was grateful, not angry. I don’t think Josie will be very happy with me this morning though.”

  “I can’t imagine why.”

  “I
t’s actually nothing to do with the tomb. Last night we went to learn circus skills with Italian performers—seriously, Dad, the teachers have gone all out to make sure we experience everything here—and it turns out that I’m not a natural when it comes to spinning plates.”

  “Please don’t tell me that I need to send apology flowers to Josie’s parents again?” He groaned.

  “No, I didn’t set her on fire or hit her in the face,” I said proudly. “But I did almost take her head off with a plate when it flew off toward her. She’s getting better at ducking! Anyway, she stood up straight and went, “STOP. TRYING. TO. KILL. ME.” It was terrifying, but everyone else found it hilarious. Well, Jess, Danny, and Stephanie anyway.”

  “Poor Josie.” Dad laughed.

  “And Jess got a good picture of me doing the Hula-Hoop. I could actually do that one.”

  “Let’s hope that doesn’t get in the press. I hope no one is bothering you too much.”

  “Hardly at all.” I yawned, fiddling with the coils of the phone cord. “Like I said, I didn’t even notice people taking photos of me at the tomb.”

  “Now there’s one, though, more will follow. Just be aware, okay?”

  “Sure. You okay, Dad? You sound kind of . . . serious all of a sudden.”

  “Yeah, I’m okay. We haven’t been having an easy time of it here, if I’m honest with you, Anna-pops.” He sighed.

  “What’s wrong?” I sat up straight, panicking. “Is it Dog? Did he eat another set of keys again?”

  “No, no, Dog is fine. It’s to do with the wedding.”

  “The wedding?” I physically relaxed. “Dad, stop worrying. It will be fine. Fenella has got it all under control.”

  “I’m not so sure. The press are following me everywhere. I can’t do one blooming thing without them shouting in my face. It has become very intense. It’s making me not want to leave the house.”

  “It was always going to be worse around the wedding,” I said, my stomach tightening at how down he sounded, and trying not to think about Josie’s gloating on celebrity relationships. “You’ve just got to get on with things as normal. That’s what you always tell me, right?”