Katie Cox Goes Viral

by Marianne Levy

And still, no song.

  It was all there, inside me, waiting, but for some reason, it wouldn’t come out. Couldn’t come through. Like I could hear the words in the distance, but whenever I tried to get close to them, I smacked my face into a wall.

  My phone buzzed.

  Hi Katie. That’s great news but are you sure? Adrian sounded pretty certain.

  Tony was there.

  Am sure.

  I shut the book, so those blank pages would stop staring at me.

  Can we have a quick talk? Sorry, I know it’s late

  I’d barely finished reading his message before I was typing.

  Not 2 late.

  The screen began to flash. I took a breath, leaned out the window, and cleared my throat. Which seemed to just dislodge a hidden piece of something, meaning I had to clear it again, harder, and again, before I finally gave up and answered.

  “Tony, hi!”

  “Oh dear, have you got a cold?”

  “No,” I said, giving my throat another small scrape and half choking. “I’m completely healthy. And really, I mean it about the tour. It was just a mix-up.”

  “So it’s fine for you to miss school?”

  “Definitely.”

  “This is an issue though,” said Tony. “Adrian clearly doesn’t want you to go. And he is your manager.”

  “Seriously? Me saying this to you on the phone now about my life and my time doesn’t count as much as something that Nose—I mean, Adrian says?”

  “He’s your official point of contact with us. If he says one thing and you say another… Well, you can see that it presents us with a difficulty.”

  “He shouldn’t have said anything to you without talking to me first,” I said. “In fact, I sort of think he shouldn’t say anything to you at all. I didn’t choose for him to be my manager. He chose himself.”

  “Ah,” said Tony. “I see. I wonder…” I listened to him breathing for a few moments. “I wonder whether he’s what you need right now. You and he clearly have different ideas about the direction you need to be going in.” He paused. “Creative differences.”

  Of course. Of course!

  It was so obvious.

  How come I hadn’t seen it until now?

  “I’ll get rid of him,” I said. “He doesn’t have to me my manager. Does he?”

  “That’s not what I was suggesting,” said Tony. “Adrian’s a friend. An old friend.” His voice crackled, and I leaned out farther into the night.

  “No, but that will solve this. Won’t it?”

  “I want to be very clear. I’m not asking you to part ways with Adrian. I just thought you could sit down and have a discussion about what you want.”

  “Or I could get rid of him and just get someone who wants what I want. And what you want. What we want!” It occurred to me that I had literally no clue how you find a manager. “Do you know anyone?”

  “We can always find you a manager if that’s what you decide.”

  “Then let’s do that!”

  “You don’t want to talk things through with him? I’m sure he has some good ideas.”

  “I’m not,” I said. “Please. Can we get him out of the picture, and then I’ll go on tour, and everything will be like it’s supposed to?”

  “And we’ll find someone to look after you. Good stuff, Katie. You’ll tell him?”

  “I will,” I said.

  “Then how about you come in tomorrow for a chat?”

  Which would mean skipping school. And on a guitar lesson day too. Then again, without Adrian in the picture, it hardly mattered. “Great,” I said. “Around lunchtime?”

  “As soon as you can get here,” said Tony. His voice was so eager, it was like he was reaching down the phone and pulling me onto the train. “We have so much to talk about.”

  “Yes! Sorry, I know it’s silly, but I was starting to worry that… I don’t even know what I was worrying about.”

  “See you tomorrow,” said Tony.

  We said good-bye to each other, and as I hung up and pulled myself back inside, I thought how much better everything was now. I had my tour and my single. Two really good things.

  Yes, I’d have to tell Adrian.

  And ideally find a whole load of new friends to make up for the ones I’d lost earlier.

  With my duvet pulled up to my chin and the light off so that the ceiling stains disappeared into the blackness, it really didn’t seem so bad.

  I’d go to London first thing tomorrow. Momentum—that’s what Tony had said I had. We’d sit down, make a plan together. Maybe he’d give me a CD to take home.

  I’d come this far. Besides, in case anyone had forgotten, I had over a million hits.

  It was all going to be completely fine.

  It was a weird sort of a night, what with knowing I was about to go on this life-changing mega-tour of amazingness and then have a single come out. Every time I got excited, I remembered that I sort of didn’t really have any friends anymore, and went a little flat. And every time I thought about not having any friends anymore, I remembered the single and the tour and got excited again.

  So, yet another terrible night’s sleep.

  I was already a fingernail picker, a pimple popper, and a ponytail sucker; insomnia was a habit I could really do without.

  I guess I must have conked out at some point, because then the light coming through my curtains was gray and there were birds screeching, apparently right next to my head.

  Living in the country is tough.

  And there was a tapping noise coming from somewhere. A woodpecker maybe. Or a rat. Or a horse, or—

  “Morning,” said Adrian. “Can I come in?”

  “All right,” I said, trying to shake off dreams of crashing cakes and crazy laughter and something that I couldn’t quite remember involving a levitating tractor.

  “I’m sorry about last night,” he said, sitting down on the end of my rumpled bed. “I couldn’t sleep because I was thinking about it. And…I just want the best for you. You do know that?”

  “I know that,” I said. Not that it helped.

  “So I thought we’d go back to Top Music and say that you can tour when school’s not in session if you want. And if they don’t like that, we’ll look for another label. And we’ll talk to Zoe, be honest with her this time, tell her all about it. We’ll make it work, Katie.”

  “Adrian—”

  “Yeah?”

  I focused on his huge furry feet. “I don’t think you should be my manager anymore.”

  He didn’t say anything.

  “I just figure it’ll be better for me to have someone else who’s a little more in tune with what I need. But thank you for all your hard work. And everything.”

  He stood up. “You’ve decided?”

  “I’ve already told Tony,” I said. “So, I guess, yes. I officially have.”

  What was I expecting? Probably some yelling. Definitely a lecture of some kind.

  Instead, he simply got up and left.

  So I guess he didn’t care that much after all.

  • • •

  An hour later, I was all ready for my secret London mission.

  Remembering the just got out of bed and not in an attractive way look I’d been sporting last time I’d gone to Top Music, I made sure to wash and dry and brush my hair. Then I packed my gray boots with the too-high heels, a black top, and my good denim skirt. Plus, a lipstick I got free with a magazine, to get the look that Lacey called Big Red Mouth.

  The twenty that Amanda kept in her makeup bag would just cover my train fare, and I made sure to eat an especially big breakfast since clearly there wouldn’t be time for lunch. Amanda gave me a bit of a look as I went for Cocoa Puffs bowl number three, but I just ignored her.

  Adrian was nowhere to
be seen. Since our early-morning conversation, I’d been braced for the interrogation from Mom, a whole load of “What did you say to him?” and “How dare you, young lady?” In fact, there was nothing. She just got ready for work while we listened to Florence and the Machine on the radio.

  Which gave me a good chance to fine-tune my secret plan. Not that it needed much in the way of fine-tuning, seeing as how it was an awesome plan to begin with. Like all the best plans, it was daring and ambitious, and at the same time really simple and hard to mess up.

  So long as the world left me to myself, I’d definitely get away with it.

  Given that my current friend count was approximately zero, it didn’t seem too unfeasible.

  Jaz was already at the bus stop when I got there. Funny how she had skipped school most days for the past year until I started riding the bus, then suddenly she'd become Student of the Year.

  I nodded in a way that I hoped she’d realize meant, Please leave me alone.

  Message undelivered.

  “You are so crazy these days, you know that?”

  Today she was wearing a full school uniform, only with knee-high lace-up spike boots and her hair in a full beehive.

  “You’re one to talk,” I said, thinking vaguely that I’d never have spoken to Jaz like that a month ago.

  Her lips twitched, but I couldn’t tell whether it was with laughter or something else. “I’m not the one who blew up at Savannah’s party.”

  “That was an accident.”

  “Same difference.”

  “Look,” I said, “I am not you, Okay? I have good reasons for what happened last night. I am about to become a pretty major celebrity and—”

  At which point Jaz doubled over with laughter.

  “What?”

  “You had a tiny taste of fame,” said Jaz. “You couldn’t let it go, so you’re spinning out this fantasy—”

  “My record deal is not a fantasy,” I said. Then, “I didn’t have you down as automatically believing what everyone else thinks.”

  She liked that, I could tell. “All right. Prove it.”

  “I’m going to London today, to talk to Tony Topper who is the head of Top Music, which is a huge record label. We are going to discuss my tour and my single. Lend me your phone, and I’ll send you a picture from outside the building if you want. Although I don’t know how I’ll send it to you. I guess I could send it to Nicole or something. Or, actually, I’ll just take the photo and then I can give it back to you tomorrow. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that first.”

  Jaz’s mouth opened like a Venus flytrap that had just finished chomping a fly and was getting ready for more. “You’re skipping school to go up to London? Today?”

  So much for my secret plan. “Tell the whole universe, why don’t you?”

  “You think I’m mad,” said Jaz, “but I’ve never been to London instead of going to English.”

  At which, I have to say, I felt a little bit of pride. I’d out-Jazzed Jaz! Or, at least, I was about to.

  The bus came, and I sat apart from the others, up at the front, thinking that I’d shared quite enough of today’s plan, seeing as how it was supposed to be classified information and all.

  Nicole was attempting to wax her nostrils with masking tape as Jaz came and sat in front of me, melting the little man who had been sitting there with one quick blast of her laser stare. Genuinely, I think he just turned into a puddle because one second he was there, and the next it was Jaz, leaning back to face me. She smelled of toothpaste and extremely strong perfume, which surprised me, since I’d always thought she looked like she needed to wash her face a little.

  “What time are you going, then?”

  “I don’t have to tell you,” I said.

  “No, but you want to.”

  Correct, as ever. How did she know this stuff? “I was going to change on here, get off a stop early, and walk to the station.”

  “So not even go to assembly?”

  “No. You never do.”

  Jaz seemed pleased that I’d noticed. “Yeah. If you turn up and then leave, they’ll only come looking for you.”

  “Exactly.”

  “What time are you planning on getting there?”

  “Around twelve, I guess.”

  “You’ll never make it if you walk to the station. Takes way too long.”

  “Does it?”

  She gave me this pitying look.

  “So what do I do?”

  “Easy,” said Jaz. “We’ll hitchhike.”

  “What?” I said. And then, I really digested what she’d just said. “We?”

  People I did not want to come to Top Music with me:

  • Adrian

  • Ms. McAllister

  • Jack the Ripper

  • Mad Jaz

  Honestly, I tried everything to make her go away. Which included looking awkward, having big silences fall between us, and in the end, literally telling her to go away.

  It was like I was speaking French or something. Not only did she not seem to understand, but she also didn’t seem to care. That had always been Jaz’s attitude to French, and maybe explained why her foreign-exchange partner had to go back to Paris a week early.

  To start with, the hitchhiking thing was totally terrifying.

  “Jaz, we can’t. Suppose we get kidnapped?”

  “No one would want to kidnap you, Katie.”

  Harsh. “They might want to kidnap you.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “There is no way anyone is kidnapping me.”

  And actually, she was so scary that I kind of had to agree with her.

  We went and stood down by the main road, Jaz sticking her thumb out as though she’d done this a thousand times before, and I thought, This isn’t real. I really am in a movie. Which then made me wonder what kind it was. Thriller? Maybe. Uplifting comedy? Probably not. Disaster movie? Definitely.

  That’s when a car stopped and a man rolled down his window.

  “Take us to the train station, Okay?”

  “I’m not going that way,” said the man, but by that time, Jaz was already in the passenger seat.

  “What are you waiting for?” she asked.

  We didn’t get snatched in the end. In fact, he was quite sweet and promised he would buy my single for his goddaughter. Although as I said to Jaz, one not-murderer doesn’t mean that everyone else is a not-murderer too.

  By this time we were on the train, and as I finished talking the woman opposite us said, in a loud and bossy voice, “Shouldn’t you ladies be in school?”

  Jaz’s reply made it very clear that she was not a lady.

  I guess I should have known from our time on the bus that she wouldn’t be the most-relaxing travel companion. Her feet went straight onto the seat across from us (which is when the bossy woman gave up and went away), and she played Slipknot at top volume on her phone. Then, when she got bored with that, she went through all her ringtones one by one. I’d have strangled her except that she’d have killed me for it. And all the time, she kept giving me these little glances, like she was challenging me to something—only I didn’t know what.

  Then we were at Liverpool Street and the subway.

  “Covent Garden,” I said. “That’s the Central Line and then one stop on the blue one.”

  And then she stopped trying to swipe gummy snakes from this candy stand and stared at me. “You’re really serious, aren’t you?”

  “Of course.”

  “I thought you’d have given up by now.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “So…” Jaz couldn’t have looked more surprised if I’d grown a tail. “We’re going to this music place. To talk about your tour.”

  “I’m going,” I said. “I’d really prefer you didn’t thoug
h.”

  “Huh,” said Jaz. “You were telling the truth. This is going to be even better than I thought.”

  • • •

  The woman at the reception desk wasn’t nearly as smiley as last time, probably because Jaz had picked up a stack of magazines and was asking, “Can I keep these?” while I said, “It’s me!”

  “Who?” said the receptionist.

  “Katie. Katie Cox. I’m here to see Tony Topper.”

  “Is he expecting you?” said Ms. Frosty.

  “He said to come anytime today.”

  “Hold on.” She picked up her phone and dialed.

  “How come she doesn’t know who you are?” said Jaz. “I thought you were their supercool new singer.”

  “I have a Katie Cox here to see you.” The receptionist nodded. “Yes.” Then she smiled at me. “Sixth floor.”

  “Thanks,” I said. Then, to Jaz, “See!”

  The turnstile opened and we stepped into a waiting elevator. There was a huge mirror on one side, and I couldn’t help but notice that my face was completely white with excitement. This was really and truly happening.

  I pushed my hair behind my ears. Maybe Lacey had been right about me needing bangs. No. No, she hadn’t.

  “Nicole? Yeah, it’s important. I’m with her. In London. The music stuff—it’s true. We’re going in now. Tell everyone.” Jaz saw me staring and turned around from her phone. “What?”

  “Jaz, I’m skipping school. It’s maybe best if she doesn’t tell everyone—”

  Then the door opened and there was Tony.

  “Katie! Come on into my office. That’s right this way…”

  “Hi!” I looked meaningfully at Jaz, so that she’d be sure to hear everything we said. “I’m here! To talk about my tour and my new manager and my single and my album and everything.”

  “Of course!” He looked so happy.

  “Like you said, keep up the momentum!” I knew I was babbling a little, but hopefully he hadn’t noticed. He was looking at something to my left.

  “I’m Jasmine,” said Jaz.

  “She wanted to come,” I said, feeling like I should add something but not knowing what. “And now, here she is.”

  “Here I am,” said Jaz, her head swiveling like crazy as she took it all in—the posters, the spotlights, all that glass.