Super Star

by Cathy Hopkins

  She gasped. ‘How do you know that?’

  Yoram didn’t reply. He turned to the next girl. ‘Marie Wilson. White Cottage, Harford Road.’

  She also looked shocked.

  ‘And finally, Keira. You’re at five hundred and sixty-seven, Wilmslow Street, Hammersmith.’ He made the gesture that Keira had made to me only weeks ago, two fingers up to the eyes then he pointed those fingers at Keira. ‘Yes. I know where you live. And yes, I will be watching you, but you won’t know it.’

  ‘You don’t scare me,’ said Keira.

  Yoram stood very close to her. He took off his shades and looked directly at her. ‘Think again,’ he said. ‘You might find that you change your mind about that.’ She tried to stare back at him but after a while, she looked away, down at the pavement. ‘My friend here and I are both ex-SAS and take the protection of our residents very seriously. Keira, don’t ever use that tone when speaking to an adult again. This is a warning. You only get one. Now get out of here and if I ever see you hanging around here again, I, my friend here and the police will take action. Have you got that?’

  The girls nodded.

  ‘And, Keira, I suggest that you don’t ever try to contact Jess again by phone or Facebook. Don’t forget I know where each one of you lives and how to find you. Now, get out of here before I change my mind and have you locked up and believe me, I could do that. We don’t even have to go to the police, we have our own lock-up at Porchester Park.’

  The girls didn’t need to be told twice and scarpered fast.

  ‘How did you know about Facebook and the texts?’ I asked Yoram.

  He tapped his nose. ‘It’s my business to know everything that goes on in Porchester Park.’

  ‘And do we really have a lock-up room?’

  Didier grinned. ‘Of course not, but they don’t know that.’

  ‘Now,’ said Yoram. ‘The next few weekends. Saturday mornings. What are you doing?’

  ‘Oh, schoolwork probably as we start back in a week. Maybe a bit of time chilling. Usual stuff.’

  ‘Wrong,’ said Yoram. ‘You and Pia will meet me or Didier in the apartment’s gym. You can bring your brother too.’

  ‘What for?’

  ‘Self-defence classes,’ he said. ‘Didier and I will give you some pointers to make sure you can look after yourself in the future.’

  They both sprang into martial art positions and play fought. I’d never seen them larking about like that.

  ‘Ten o’clock sharp, next Saturday,’ said Yoram as he sprang back.

  The gym is only for residents, I thought. The rules are no staff are allowed to use the facilities. I decided not to say that. Yoram was making an exception and I wasn’t going to argue.

  I saluted. ‘Yes, sir! I’ll be there!’

  Yoram gave me a withering look. ‘Don’t push it, Hall,’ he said.

  I gave him a hug. It was like embracing a tree, he was so stiff. ‘Thanks, Yoram. You’re a real pal.’ I turned to Didier and gave him a squeeze. He cuddled me back. I glanced at Yoram’s face. He looked quite touched, but quickly assumed his unreadable expression.

  ‘I mean it, thank you. I don’t know what I’d have done without you today,’ I said.

  Yoram gently shoved me towards the side gate. ‘You’d have been OK. You’re tougher than you think. Now go inside and take it easy.’

  20

  Moving On

  I never did call Connor back, and after a while his texts stopped. I didn’t want to hear his voice, I thought it would hurt too much, but I did send an email saying that I wished him happiness. I did. He was a nice guy and maybe it was a question of right boy, wrong time. Which seemed to be the story of my life. Sad for me but there was little I could do about it and after a few crying sessions, I picked myself up and moved on.

  I didn’t hear from Keira again either after the day Yoram had confronted her and I also noticed that she had taken herself off Facebook. I wouldn’t have cared if she’d stayed on. I’d never let someone like her bother me so much again.

  ‘So I’ll be starting school as a single girl,’ I said to Pia the next day as we sat in her lounge. I’d brought my happiness notebook ready to write up my thoughts from the summer. ‘And Stephanie says the future’s looking good for me. I have Gemini rising which means I am a good communicator and apparently loads of people who write and who are in publishing or journalism are either Gemini or have Gemini rising, so that looks good for me pursuing writing as a career option. Stephanie also said I can expect the unexpected when it comes to romance. So, it’s all looking good.’

  ‘Do you believe in astrology totally now?’ Pia asked.

  I shrugged. ‘Well, Stephanie said you can’t let it rule your life, you still have to go out and make things happen. I think the stars can give you some guidance as to what to expect – like a bumpy patch or a star-studded phase. She said my horoscope shows things are going to get better after a bumpy time, especially romantically.’

  ‘Well, that’s good,’ Pia said. ‘And you’re in a great position to start the Sixth Form. I’d envy your new single status if I didn’t like Henry so much. You know that there will be loads of new boys from other schools come to do their A-levels. New term, new possibilities.’

  I put the back of my hand up to my forehead and said in my best Shakespearian accent, ‘Mine is a high and lonely destiny and in the end . . .’ (I paused for dramatic effect) ‘it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.’

  Pia threw a cushion at me. ‘You’re not even sixteen yet. You have a whole load of relationships ahead of you and will have boys queuing up for you once they know you’re free.’

  ‘Maybe but I don’t want just any old boy. JJ was really special and Connor was too. I miss them both. Love isn’t always easy, is it?’

  Pia shook her head, though she didn’t look very convinced. She and Henry seemed to have a really easy time.

  ‘No one’s ever happy, are they?’ I commented. ‘You’re jealous of me starting Sixth Form free and single and I envy you because your boyfriend is close by.’

  Pia glanced down at our notebooks. ‘I think happiness is all in the head. It’s a state of mind, that’s my conclusion. It’s not a situation that makes you happy, it’s how you react to it.’

  ‘True that,’ I said and wrote down what she’d said.

  When I got home, I turned on my computer to edit my happiness ideas and the Skype phone rang.

  It was JJ. ‘Hey, cyber-girl.’

  ‘Hey, cyber-boy.’

  He looked great, better than I’d seen him for ages, like a weight had lifted off his shoulders. ‘How you doing?’ he asked.

  ‘So so. You?’

  ‘Just so.’

  I laughed. ‘God, I miss you, JJ.’

  ‘Me too. Miss you, I mean.’

  ‘You seem very chirpy.’

  ‘Yeah. I’m feeling better than I have in a while. Gramps is much more stable now. He even got out of bed a few days ago and is mobile again. The doctors are really pleased with his progress.’

  I suddenly noticed the room he was calling from. It looked very familiar . . .

  ‘Your room over there looks like your room here.’

  JJ grinned. ‘Guess why that is?’

  ‘Same decorator?’

  JJ shook his head. ‘Nope.’

  ‘Why then?’

  ‘Because it is my room here. Mom wanted to come over to check a few things and see Stephanie so I’m back with her.’

  I gasped. ‘No way. So you’re here in the UK?’

  JJ nodded. ‘I am. I wanted to surprise you. I’m here for a week.’

  ‘A week?’

  ‘Yep. And I believe you have just a week before term starts.’

  ‘I do, term starts a bit later than the other years because I’ll be going into Sixth Form.’

  ‘You got any plans?’

  ‘Nope.’

  ‘So. Let’s not waste any time. See you in five?’


  ‘Make that two and a half. I’ll meet you halfway!’

  Twenty minutes later, I was curled up on the sofa up in the Lewises’ apartment. Mrs Lewis and Stephanie were out for the afternoon so it was just JJ and me. After chatting and catching up, we just sat, basking in the lovely feeling of being back together. It was pure heaven.

  ‘Do you feel it too?’ asked JJ.

  ‘I do,’ I replied.

  ‘It’s been a funny old summer,’ he said as he pulled me in closer to him.

  I laughed. ‘Understatement. Not what I had in mind at all. Not any of it.’

  ‘What’s that saying? Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making plans.’

  ‘Makes sense,’ I replied.

  ‘But here we are,’ he said. ‘Still together.’

  ‘Yes but—’

  JJ leant over and kissed me, a really long deep kiss. When we drew apart, he looked right into my eyes and I felt the connection we’d always had. ‘No buts,’ he said. ‘You’re part of my life, Jess Hall, and though I tried to let you go, I’ve realised that I don’t want to. We’d only just got started and there we were saying goodbye. It just didn’t feel right. I feel we owe it to each other to see where this thing takes us.’

  ‘But you’ll be in the US and I’ll be over here.’

  ‘There are holidays and . . . I spoke to Mom. She knows how I feel about you. If you’re willing and haven’t met anyone else, I’d like to come over when I can and Mom said you can visit us.’ He paused a moment and looked anxious. ‘You haven’t met anyone else, have you?’

  ‘I . . .’ I wasn’t sure whether to tell him about Connor. It didn’t feel like the right time. ‘I tried to put a wall up and block out my feelings for you,’ I said. ‘It was too painful to think I wouldn’t be seeing you again or sitting here like this. But I can assure you, there are no other boys in my life and you will always be my number one.’ It was the truth. I might tell him about Connor at a later date because I didn’t want there to be any secrets between us. But for now, what was there to tell? I’d lost my way for a while but now I was back where I belonged, in JJ’s arms.

  JJ grinned then reached over to the coffee table and picked up an envelope. ‘In that case, I want to give you an early birthday present. It’s from all of us. Mom, Pop, Alisha and me.’

  I took the envelope. ‘Can I open it now?’

  JJ nodded so I ripped the envelope open. ‘Oh my God!’ It was a return ticket to America for the half-term holiday.

  ‘Like it?’ asked JJ.

  ‘Love it,’ I said. ‘It’s the best birthday present ever.’

  Project for Mrs Callahan Jess Hall’s Thoughts on Happiness

  Snapshot moments of happiness from the summer

  * Being with family at Gran’s, eating and chatting.

  * Being with my cat, Dave, as well as having long conversations with him.

  * Sitting on a train, staring out of the window as the world flashes by.

  * A sweet dog giving me his paw to say hello.

  * Flirting with a boy and feeling that there are possibilities.

  * Sinking your teeth into a warm, freshly baked cookie.

  * Being tucked up on a sofa with my little cousins who are fresh from their bath and smell of soap, watching kids’ TV with them and eating crisps.

  * Sitting on a beach at sunset in a warm breeze, looking out to sea.

  * Doing the mop dance with Pia.

  * Getting good GCSE results and sharing the news with friends who’ve done the same.

  * Being given an airline ticket for the half-term holidays to go and visit my boyfriend and his family in the States.

  Happiness is contrast:

  * To get warm when you’ve been cold, cool down when you’ve been hot.

  * A lie-in when you’ve had a run of early mornings.

  * Time off when you’ve been busy – like the feeling on the last Friday of term. Yay.

  * A project when you’ve been bored.

  * A boy you didn’t think you were going to see again turning up to surprise you. Double yay.

  Happiness is being with the right boy who gets you.

  Happiness is knowing that friends and family are well and happy.

  Happiness is a state of mind.

  Best of all, happiness is time spent with great mates (boys included) who are there for you and you for them. That has to be the best feeling in the world.

  Who am I?

  A Sagittarian.

  A bundle of changing and evolving feelings.

  A loyal friend who is thoughtful about others.

  I like writing and would like to pursue this as a career.

  Two lessons I’ve learnt over the summer:

  Everything changes.

  Never say never.