Games or quiz night.
Candle-making.
Charity ball.
Guess the age of your teacher.
Guess the number of coins in a jar.
Calendar sale.
Sport’s tournament (good chance to get boys involved).
Recipe books – including teachers faves etc.
Spelling competition.
Shootout (football goals).
Book sale.
Cake sale.
Kiss-o-gram.
Invite a guest speaker to the school and sell tickets.
Face painting (be careful to use hypo-allergenic products).
Art sale. Best of some Year’s work.
‘The good news is that King Noz have agreed to play for free at the DDD, Diamond Destiny Dance,’ Izzie announced as we sat round the table at her house after the jumble sale to go over plans for the next couple of weeks.
‘The bad news is that we’re back to school tomorrow and we still have forty nine thousand pounds to raise,’ I said. ‘And still only a third of the tickets sold.’
‘Do the dopey Doreens know about our unspectacular start?’ asked Lucy.
‘Nope. And nor does Miss Watkins. I told her it was all going brilliantly. And if anyone tells them otherwise, I will have to kill them,’ I replied. ‘I couldn’t bear to hear them saying, I told you so. No. Come on! We’ve got almost two weeks left. We will raise the money. We will.’
‘Right,’ said Izzie.
‘Right,’ said Lucy.
‘Right,’ said TJ.
Not one of them looked like they meant it. And if I was really honest I was beginning to have doubts myself. But I couldn’t let that happen. It would mean letting Eleanor down. It would mean letting the hospice down. And it would mean letting William down. We’d been texting regularly since his e-mail from the Internet café and he seemed genuinely touched that we were bothering to try and raise the money. He’d also asked when I was going to put him through his ‘test’.
Lucy must have picked up on my thoughts as she looked over at me and asked: ‘Heard anything from your lover boy lately?’
‘Yeah. He texts me every other day or so. I think we’re becoming mates.’
‘Only mates?’ asked Izzie. ‘Are you still being cautious because he’s Luke’s friend and you don’t know if you can trust him?’
I shook my head. ‘No. I think he’s on the level, not like Luke at all so the fact that they know each other isn’t a problem . . .’
‘Then why just mates?’ asked Izzie. ‘I mean is that all you want after that snog at the jumble sale? To be mates?’
TJ laughed. ‘Ah, but there are mates and mates aren’t there? I mean there are mates like, say, Lucy and Tony . . .’
Lucy blushed. ‘Well, we are.’
‘Mates who snog a lot,’ said Izzie.
‘Yeah,’ said TJ. ‘And there are mates who you just hang out and have a laugh with but wouldn’t dream of locking lips with. So what kind are you and William going to be?’
‘Um . . . not sure,’ I said. I wasn’t sure. After our first kiss, I knew that I wanted to be a lot more than mates but didn’t know if he felt the same. It had been great texting him while he’d been away but I knew that he’d got back yesterday and part of me had hoped that he’d get in touch straight away and maybe even come over but I hadn’t heard anything. I’d purposely not texted or called him so that he wouldn’t think that I had been counting the days until his return. Even though I had. And I was beginning to realise that anything might have happened with Eleanor. She might have taken a turn for the worse.
Or maybe William was simply feeling low and not in the mood for talking. People often are when they come back from holidays and have to get back into their routines. Maybe he was feeling down because Spain might have been Eleanor’s last holiday. I had no idea what was going on in his head. Maybe he wasn’t that interested in me and the snog at the jumble sale had just been a one-off. ‘I did say to him that I’d e-mail him a questionnaire . . .’
Izzie laughed. ‘Questionnaire? Like you fill in when you want a job?’
‘Yeah. To see if he is worthy of my attention.’
‘Cool,’ said Lucy.
‘Anyway, with all the activities lately, I haven’t had time to work it out, so I need you guys to help me.’
‘Find out what star sign he is,’ said Izzie. ‘Put that as question number one then we can find out if you’re compatible or not. Some star signs are much flirtier than others.’
‘Like which?’ asked TJ.
‘Libras are the biggest flirts. Gemini’s not far behind,’ replied
Izzie. ‘And Leo’s are pretty bad too.’
‘Nothing wrong with being a flirt,’ I said as I wrote down Izzie’s question as number one.
‘I’d ask him what his idea of a perfect first date is,’ said TJ. ‘I think you can tell a lot about a boy by how he treats you the first time he takes you out.’
‘True,’ I said and wrote that down as number two.
At the end of the hour, we had ten good questions which Izzie typed into her computer.
‘Have you got his e-mail address?’ she asked.
I nodded. I knew it off by heart.‘[email protected].’
She typed it in.
‘Oh God,’ I said as we heard the ping that told us that the e-mail had gone. ‘No going back now. I hope he doesn’t take it the wrong way or anything. Or think I’m being too serious about it.’
‘Doubt it,’ said Izzie. ‘Anyway, I think all boys we meet from now on should be asked those questions before any of us go out with them.’
‘And it’s too late to worry now,’ said Lucy.
‘What if he replies?’ asked Izzie. ‘Are you going to go on a date with him?’
‘Yes. Sure. Eleanor asked me to cheer him up.’
‘Yeah but what about you?’ asked Lucy. ‘How do you feel about him?’
‘I haven’t seen him for weeks,’ I said. ‘So. . . I don’t know. I’ll see how I feel when he gets in touch.’
That’s if he gets in touch, I thought.
We went over the plans for the following week again and it was obvious that even if everything went without any more disasters, the likelihood of us raising all the money that was needed was pretty well impossible. For William or not, I thought, I do want this to work.
‘It’s not too late,’ I said. ‘What we need is something brilliant to bring in the crowds. So let’s think. We’ve got King Noz for the show?’
Izzie nodded. ‘And a good disco. A mate of Ben’s, DJ Diggie said he’d do it for nothing.’
‘Cool,’ said Lucy. ‘He’s supposed to be really good. Some people will pay the price of the ticket just to see him.’
An idea began to form in my head. ‘I know. I know what we need. Not so much a dance as an event. Not so much an event as a show . . .’
‘Meaning?’ asked TJ.
‘What Lucy said. People will come to see DJ Diggie. So let’s give them some more things to come and see.’
‘Like what?’ asked Izzie.
I had a sudden flash of inspiration. ‘I know! What about combining the dance with a fashion show?’
Lucy nodded. ‘Go on . . .’
‘You could make up some new designs, Lucy,’ I said. ‘Plus, we could use some of the ones you’ve already made.’
‘And we could ask DJ Diggie to put some sounds to a catwalk show,’ I said.
‘Yeah,’ said TJ. ‘We could ask some of the local clothes shops if they’d like to contribute. It could be good advertising for them.’
‘But we need something else,’ I said. ‘Something to really draw in the crowds.’
‘Such as?’ asked Izzie.
‘Such as – a supermodel,’ I said.
‘Yeah, right,’ said Izzie. ‘Like a supermodel is going to come to some backwater dance to model clothes – no offence, Lucy – made by a schoolgirl when she could be modelling Chanel? Get real, Nesta. The
se girls are used to modelling Gucci, Armani, Prada. They model in Milan, Paris, New York. Didn’t one of them say she didn’t get out of bed for less than ten thousand pounds? So why would one of them want to come to a hall in East Finchley?’
‘Because we are going to ask them,’ I said.
‘But who? How?’ asked TJ.
‘Lucy. What was the name of that model you read about in Vogue?’ I asked. ‘The one who does charity work?’
‘Star. Star Axford,’ said Lucy.
‘And didn’t you say that she lives in London?’ I asked.
‘Yeah. Notting Hill, the article said.’
‘I am going to find her and beg her to come to our dance and what’s more, I’m going to ask her to model some of Lucy’s clothes. She’s bound to say yes – she sounded so nice from the article you read about her, Luce. How could she refuse such a good cause?’
‘Excellent idea,’ said Izzie.
‘Worth a try but how do we find her?’ asked TJ.
‘How do you find anyone?’ I said. ‘Um. I’ll ask my dad.’
Questionnaire for Boys
1)
What is your star sign?
2)
What is your idea of a perfect date?
3)
Your girlfriend is out of town for a weekend and the school hot babe makes a play for you. Do you:
a)
Let her seduce you. What your girlfriend doesn’t know won’t hurt her?
b)
Reject her advances. You would never be unfaithful to your girlfriend?
4)
Your best friend is a love rat and cheats on his girlfriends do you:
a)
Stay out of it and mind your own business?
b)
Tell the girls what is going on?
5)
How many girlfriends have you had?
6)
Are you still a virgin?
7)
Describe your ideal woman?
8)
What turns you off a girl?
9)
What’s your favourite chat-up line?
10)
What is the best way to break up with someone?
a)
By text?
b)
Get your friend to do it for you?
c)
By phone?
d)
In person?
‘Models Five,’ said a lady’s voice. ‘How can I help you?’
Dad had been brilliant when I told him about my idea to get Star Axford on board. He’d made a couple of phone calls and soon came back to me with the number of Star’s model agency.
‘I . . . Hello. I . . . I need to get in touch with Star Axford,’ I said as I gave the girls the thumbs up on Monday after school.
‘Who may I say is calling?’
‘Nesta Williams.’
‘From where?’
‘Er . . . From North London.’
‘No, I mean from which company?’
‘No company. It’s a private call.’
‘Are you a friend?’
‘No.’
‘Are you family?’
‘No.’
‘Can I ask what it’s regarding?’
‘I have to ask her something.’
‘I’m afraid Miss Axford’s agent isn’t here at the moment but I can pass on any messages. Would you like to leave a message?’
‘No, I mean yes, please,’ I said, then I left my number.
That was Monday after school. I tried again on Tuesday and told the lady that it was urgent. She promised to pass the message on. Wednesday still no reply from them. And no reply from William.
‘It’s not going to happen this way,’ I said to Tony as we had breakfast together on Thursday.
‘Let me try,’ he said.
‘Like Star’d speak to you,’ I said.
Tony raised an eyebrow at me. ‘Just give me the phone and prepare to watch the Master.’
He went through the same routine. No result.
‘Ha,’ I said. ‘Big Head. Not as easy as it seems is it?’
‘Give me the phone again,’ he said. ‘Winners never quit and quitters never win. Only losers give up.’
Once again I passed him the portable, he dialled and my jaw dropped open in amazement as he went into an Oscar winning performance.
‘Ciao. Si. Thees is Antonio Costello. I phoning from Vogue Milano. I needa to be in touch with a Star Axford,’ he said in a thick Italian accent (which isn’t too hard for him as Dad’s Italian). ‘Si. No. No need leave message. We have shoot next week. I need to know, is she on location out of the country or is she there in England at the moment? I fly there next week. If she no available, I find someone else. No problem. Si. Thank you. Oh? She at Olympia? Today? Oh si, si. Of course. I knew. I forget. And she there next week? Thank you, thank you. I ring you back immediately.’ He put the phone down and grinned. ‘She’s doing a show at Olympia.’
‘Wow. You really are the Master,’ I said. I was impressed. I think even I would have been taken in by his act.
‘So get on the Net. Look up what the show is at Olympia and get the details. Find the times and get down there,’ said Tony.
A quick look on the Olympia website told us that there was a three day show on this week. Today was the first day and there were two shows: one at two o’clock and another at four. There was no way I could make the early one because of school but I might make the end of the four o’clock one if I left as soon as we got out.
As soon as the girls heard that I was off to Olympia, they insisted on accompanying me. Sadly, it seemed that everything was conspiring against us. Mr Johnson was still giving out our English assignment way after the bell at the end of class so in the end, Izzie stuck her hand up and said, ‘Look sir, normally we don’t mind staying behind but we have urgent work to do this evening.’
Mr Johnson looked at her wearily. ‘Oh, something you don’t want to miss on the telly, Miss Foster?’
‘No, sir. We have charity work to do,’ said Izzie in as important voice as she could muster. ‘We have to go and enlist the services of a celebrity guest.’
Mr Johnson didn’t look as if he believed a word of it but he relented. ‘Oh very well, then. Go on. I’ve had enough of you all for one day anyway’
Izzie, Lucy, TJ and I got up and ran for it. Raced to the bus, raced to the Tube and all was going well until it decided to stop at Camden.
‘All change,’ said a voice over the tannoy. ‘This train will terminate here.’
‘Oh no,’ I said. ‘We’re never going to make it and the four o’clock is the last show.’
We got off the Tube and it seemed an eternity before the empty one moved off and another one arrived and at last we were on our way again. A quick change at Embankment onto the District line, another change at Earl’s Court and at last we were at Olympia.
We ran to the entrance where a security guard asked to see our tickets.
‘Tickets? Oh God,’ I said. ‘I didn’t think. Tickets.’ I’d been so focused on getting there, I hadn’t thought about getting in. ‘How much are they?’
‘Fifteen pounds each but that was for the whole event. You’ve missed most of today. Not worth it for the last ten minutes,’ said the guard.
We each found our purses and looked to see how much money we had between us. I had a fiver, Izzie had three pounds, Lucy one pound fifty and TJ only fifty pence. Not even enough to get one of us in.
‘We could always do a Florence,’ said Lucy with a grin, referring to the time when we were on our school trip in Italy and we got stranded with no money so we tried busking.
‘No way and no time,’ I said as I racked my brain for what to do next. It felt so frustrating that Star was only a stone’s throw away and yet I couldn’t get near her.
‘No, don’t do a Florence,’ said Izzie. ‘Do a Tony’
I’d told the girls how Tony had got the information from the model agency this morning
and like me, they had been well impressed.
‘Yeah,’ said Lucy. ‘If he could blag his way into finding out where Star was by pretending to be a photographer, you could blag your way in by pretending to be a model.’
‘Yeah,’ said TJ. ‘People are always saying that you could be one if you wanted to be. Go for it.’
‘Yeah but . . .’
‘Come on, Nesta,’ said Izzie. ‘Now’s the time to find out if what people said was for real.’
‘I ca–’ I was about to say I can’t but in the same breathe, I decided I could. What had I to lose? But I had to act quickly before I lost my nerve. I pulled the girls away from the steps and round a corner out of sight of the main entrance and security people.
‘I need to tart up a bit,’ I said. ‘Lucy. Lip-gloss.’
Lucy handed me some lip-gloss which I quickly applied.
‘Izzie, hair brush.’
Izzie quickly brushed my hair.
‘TJ, eye make-up.’
‘Haven’t got any.’
‘Don’t worry, I have some,’ said Lucy handing me a wand of mascara and a stick of soft grey liner to smudge around my eyes.
Two minutes later, I was ready but as I went to go back round the corner, I felt my stomach turn over with nerves. ‘Oh God, I can’t do it,’ I said.
‘Why not?’ asked Lucy.
‘I’m shy’
‘Too bad,’ said Izzie. ‘This is important!’
‘Yeah, we’ve come this far,’ said Lucy. ‘You can do it. I know you can.’
‘Pretend that you’re a character in a movie,’ said Izzie. ‘That usually helps you be brave.’
‘Right,’ I said. ‘Who?’
‘Er . . .’ Izzie replied. ‘Er . . . Um. Braveheart? James Bond?’
‘They’re men!’ I said.
‘OK. Uma Thurman in Kill Bill,’ said Lucy. ‘I haven’t seen it but my brothers said she was a spectacular heroine.’
‘I have seen it,’ I said. ‘And it’s probably not the best role model for this situation as she kills just about everyone who crosses her path. I’m going to try and find Star not kung fu the security guards and then wipe out the audience in a blood bath on my way to her.’
Mates, Dates and Diamond Destiny Page 10
