“This magazine stinks!” spat Carlotta. “You all deserved what you got.”
Again, Angel’s words were quietly spoken, but Carlotta’s reply was shouted.
“I should have got the job!” she yelled. “I’m worth ten of her. And that pathetic student…”
Flynn took Ellie’s arm and guided her away. “I think we’ve heard enough,” he said. “Angel wasn’t far wrong. Carlotta does seem to have a huge chip on her shoulder.”
Carlotta came back out, slamming the door behind her. She caught sight of Ellie and scowled. “Nasty little sneak!” she said, before pushing past.
“Pay no attention,” said Flynn.
“I won’t,” said Ellie, but even so, the venom in Carlotta’s voice had upset her. No one liked to be called a sneak. “Do you think anyone would mind if I went down to help Sophie instead of going back into the office just now?” she asked him.
“I’m sure they won’t,” he said. “Come on, let’s go together. The IT Department can spare me for another five minutes.”
“Thanks,” said Ellie, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. “This has been a bit more stressful than I’d anticipated.”
Down in the basement, Ellie helped Sophie frank some mail. Francesca had rung down at Angel’s request, to find out if she was there, and make sure she was all right. It seemed the Editor cared a bit more about her young work placement student than Ellie had thought, which was nice to know.
Ellie was just putting the franked mail in a sack, feeling much calmer, when she heard a voice she thought she recognized, speaking to Sophie.
“I was told I’d find Ellie Ixos here,” it said.
Ellie looked up. “That’s me,” she said with a smile. “And I think you must be my Uncle Patrick.”
The man smiled. “Well deduced,” he said, offering his hand for her to shake. “I’ve spoken to you on the phone a few times. But I haven’t seen you in years. Goodness, you’ve grown up to look like your dad!”
“You look like my dad too,” said Ellie, thinking of a photograph she had.
For a moment they simply looked at each other, and then Uncle Patrick cleared his throat. “I was wondering,” he said, “if you were free for lunch?”
It had been a brilliant day at school. Ellie had the latest copy of Heart in her bag, but she hadn’t needed to take it out to show anyone. All her friends had bought copies and it seemed they had all brought them to school. Even Ellie’s English teacher had read and enjoyed the article.
“I am so jealous!” squealed Kate. Her copy of the magazine was opened at the double-page article about the Lowther twins.
“You and POP!” shrieked Lizzie.
Ellie put her hands over her ears. “I was sooo lucky,” she said modestly.
Hannah stabbed her finger at a picture of Ellie standing between the two Lowthers. “You look so cool. That dress! Where on earth did you get it?”
“It was my gran’s.”
“Wow.”
Now Ellie was walking up the path to her flat, happy at how fortunate she was to have friends who were pleased at her success, not sour and jealous like Carlotta had been. As she opened the door the phone was ringing, so she dropped her bag on the floor and ran to answer it. It was Uncle Patrick.
“Hi!”
“Hi!” said Ellie.
“I like your article. I’ve got it here. Well done!”
Ellie glowed with pleasure. “Thank you. And thanks again for getting me the work placement. I couldn’t have done it without your help.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” he said with a laugh. Then his voice changed. It sounded a bit awkward, even shy. “Ellie?”
“Yes?”
“Is your mum in?”
“No. She doesn’t get in from work for another hour.”
“Oh.”
Ellie couldn’t tell if her uncle was pleased or sad.
“Look, would you tell her I called, and say I’d like to speak to her. We need to meet, and talk. It’s been a long time…and…well I hope we can be friends. I really do. Will you let her know?”
“Of course I will.”
“I’ll ring again. I promise.”
Ellie put the phone down, and looked at herself in the hall mirror. Her excited face, with her hair all tangled from the windy weather, gazed back at her. She wondered what her dad would have thought of all this. She was sure he’d have been happy to think of his family being back in touch again. She hoped he’d have been pleased with, and proud of, her ambition too. A bit of her felt sad that he wasn’t here with her, but she had his notebook, with his wise thoughts inside it to help her on her way.
She took off her coat, and went to hang it up. Then she noticed the post, sticking through the letter box. She pulled it out and took it through to the kitchen. While the kettle boiled she sorted through it. There were two pizza offers and a couple of letters that looked like bills for her mum. There was also, unusually, a letter for her. She turned it over and noticed that it had been franked in the Heart post room. Who could be writing to her from the magazine?
She sat down with a mug of coffee and opened the letter. There was the familiar headed paper that she had had such trouble folding on her first day. This page had been folded immaculately, and she wondered, with a giggle, if Piano had been asked to do it. She glanced to the bottom of the letter, and saw to her surprise that it was from Angel.
Dear Ellie, it said. I am sorry that your time with us was coloured by an unfortunate chain of events. However, I wanted to thank you officially for your role in putting things right, and to assure you that your time with us hasn’t gone unnoticed.
I have decided that I would like to offer you the opportunity to work with us again. We realize that you have school commitments, but would be pleased if you would call into the office during your next holiday. We can’t promise to give you all the celebrity interviews, but we can offer you the opportunity to hone your skills until you leave school and decide whether you want to pursue journalism as a career. If you would like to do this, please ring the office and arrange a time to call.
Yours, Angel Makepiece
Editor in Chief
Ellie read the letter. Then she read it again. It was wonderful! She would be able to go back, to see Sophie and Flynn again, and to be a proper journalist – almost. How fantastic!
She couldn’t wait to tell Hannah and the rest of her friends, but even more she could hardly wait for the next few weeks to pass, so that she could catch the bus, walk up the road, and go back to work at Heart, the magazine to die for!
For wannabe journalist, Ellie, doing work experience at her fave teen magazine is a dream come true. Check out the other titles in this stylish series…
Boys, blues and shoes
Ellie’s thinks she’s going to miss out on meeting her favourite band – until she finds herself on a photo shoot with some very special ‘extras’…
ePub ISBN 9781409537632
Search for a star
Can the Editor’s pampered pooch help Ellie track down the star she’d love to interview?
ePub ISBN 9781409537724
Best friends rock!
Ellie’s fallen out with her best friend and an interview with the son of a rock star is a disaster. Will things ever go right this summer?
ePub ISBN 9781409537755
For more stylish reads check out
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First published in 2011 by Usborne Publishing Ltd., Usborne House, 83-85 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8RT, England. www.usborne.com
Copyright © Cindy Jefferies, 2011
The right of Cindy Jefferies to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
The name Usborne and the devices are Trade Marks of Usborne Publishing Ltd.
All rights reserved. This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed
or used in any way except as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or loaned or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ePub ISBN 9781409537601
Batch no. 02345-05
A Dream Come True Page 9
