Ruby Parker: Shooting Star

“Yeah, right,” me and Nydia said at once, rolling our eyes. All three of us laughed and the tension in the car disappeared in an instant.

“Whatever happens, best friends forever,” Nydia said.

“Best friends forever,” Anne-Marie and I agreed.

But as we walked into the house I saw Sean watching us from an upstairs window. He was waving a piece of paper at me, grinning exactly like a boy who had just found out what he needed to know.

Over dinner the parents talked and talked about the screen tests, and the other kids they had seen there, and what our chances were of getting called back for a second round of auditions, and whether or not we had a chance of getting any part in the film, never mind the leads. But us kids just ate our food and tried to talk about something else.

“You seem to be much better, Sean,” I said, looking across at him. He had been trying to get me on my own since we’d got back and so far I’d managed to avoid him.

I had decided it was no good. I couldn’t be Anne-Marie’s best friend forever and keep a secret about her boyfriend from her. Worse still, I couldn’t be her best friend and start having weird feelings about Sean. The only thing to do was to try and avoid him as much as possible. If he wanted to track his dad down then that was fine, but he’d have to do it without me until these funny feelings went away and Anne-Marie knew about the real reason he’d come to Hollywood. That was proper best friend behaviour.

“I’m not sure,” Sean said. “I think I’m getting a cough.”

After dinner we decided to watch a film in Jeremy’s huge screening room. It was a bit like a mini cinema, only it had ten great big comfy chairs that you could swivel round on. We’d been watching the film for about twenty minutes when I went to get us some more microwave popcorn, because we’d eaten the first lot before the film had even started. I was standing in the empty kitchen holding David in my arms, waiting for the microwave to beep, when Sean crept up on me.

“Boo!” he said, chuckling away as if he were hilarious. I was so surprised that I nearly dropped David, who went into a frenzy of barking and general guarding which might have been scary if he had been slightly bigger than a large mouse.

“Sean!” I hissed as I calmed David. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve got it,” he said, handing me a page he had torn out of the local directory. He’d obviously looked his father up in the Yellow Pages after all. “You were right – I didn’t need superspy skills to track Dad down. He’s here, Pat Rivers Talent Agency. I’m going to go and see him.”

“When?” I asked anxiously. I had been hoping that it would take ages for Sean to find his dad. It hadn’t occurred to me that it would really be as simple as looking him up in a phone book.

“Tonight,” Sean said, watching me intently.

“Tonight? But it’s his office address. Even if you could sneak out he won’t be there at this hour.”

Sean shook his head. “Ruby, you met my dad – when did he ever stop working?”

I thought for a second. “Never.”

“Exactly. He’s famous for his crazy working hours. Of course he’ll be there. He probably lives there, knowing Dad.”

“Well, if he does then it doesn’t sound like he’s changed much, does it?” I reminded Sean.

“Maybe not, but if I don’t speak to him I won’t know.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “Anyway I’ve worked out how we are going to get there.”

“We?” I squeaked. “As in you and me? I am not coming with you, Sean. It’s not fair of you to make me. Anne-Marie’s your girlfriend – don’t you think you should be inviting her on stupid trips across LA in the middle of the night?”

Sean pressed his lips together for a second. “She wouldn’t understand,” he said, his voice low. “You do.”

“I can’t come, Sean,” I said. “Imagine if my mum found out. I’d be grounded for the rest of my natural life.”

“Please, Ruby,” Sean begged. “I know I shouldn’t ask you, but I…I don’t have the nerve to go on my own. I need you to come with me. Please.”

The microwave pinged and we all jumped, including the dog in my arms.

“There’s a phone number on that page,” I said hopefully. “Couldn’t you just call him?” Sean said nothing as he watched me and waited. I sighed. Maybe the quicker we got this out of the way, the quicker things would go back to normal.

“What’s your plan then?” I asked him. “That address is on the other side of LA.”

“Remember when you and I were all dressed up at the film premiere and we got a cab across London to Nydia’s party?”

“Yes, it’s quite hard to forget, what with the swat team they sent after the jewellery I was wearing,” I said.

“It’s pretty much the same plan. We dress up, we sneak out, we catch a cab.”

“You call that a plan?” I asked.

“Sorry, Rubes,” Sean said, stuffing a handful of buttered popcorn into his mouth and tossing David a kernel. “Haven’t you worked out by now that I’ve only ever got one plan?”

101

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Chapter Five (#ulink_9924f13a-4427-54d6-809b-641c95ef48e1)

Sean and I went back to the screening room. We watched the film for about another twenty minutes before Sean stood up, yawned and stretched.

“I’m going to bed,” he said. “Maybe tomorrow I’ll feel OK enough to audition.”