Ruby Parker: Musical Star

“What are you going to wear?” Nydia asked.

“This,” Dakshima said uncertainly. “I’ve got a couple of dresses but this is the sparkliest most “fabulous” thing I could think of. It’s my sister’s and if she finds out I’ve borrowed it I will be dead, so don’t let me spill anything on it.”

Dakshima held up a two piece Indian trouser suit in a rich deep purple that was decorated with gold thread and beading all around the neck and sleeves.

“Wow!” Nydia said.

“It’s a bit more Bollywood than Hollywood,” Dakshima said, a little uncertainly.

“It’s amazing,” Nydia said. “Ooh, this is going to be a good party, I can feel it.”

“I hope so,” I said, as Mum called us from downstairs. “Otherwise Anne-Marie will never shut up about it.”

“Rubes,” Nydia laughed, “whether it’s the best party in the world or the worst, there is one thing we know for sure…”

The two of us looked at each other and laughed. “…Anne-Marie will never shut up about it.”

I was quiet in the car while Nydia gave Dakshima the lowdown on Anne-Marie’s place. I was feeling nervous and not only because I’d be seeing all of the Academy kids again for the first time since the Valentine’s disco. I’d be seeing Danny too, and he was bound to be there with Melody. Anne-Marie had told me that despite her policy of inviting everyone she even vaguely knew, whether she liked them or not, she was happy to uninvite Danny and Melody if I wanted her to. And I had wanted her to, but I told her it was fine. I knew that they all still hung out with him at the Academy so it would have been silly for Anne-Marie not to invite him. Besides, I wanted him to see that I didn’t care any more, even though that was a total lie; he seemed to be stubbornly sticking around in my head despite my best efforts to get him out of it. Even a Valentine’s kiss for Hollywood High hunk Hunter Blake (as Teen Girl! Magazine called him) hadn’t dislodged Danny from my daydreams, which was highly inconvenient. I decided to try a bit of method acting to see if that worked. I thought if I acted like I didn’t give him a second thought for long enough, then pretty soon it would become true.

It was funny that no matter how much I tired to give up acting, there was always a little part of me still doing it.