by Dave Warner
The atmosphere was akin to a funeral. Joel stabbed a finger at the screen.
'New York is down eighteen per cent.'
'We've still got the mid-west.' Tommy tried to remain upbeat. 'Sarah-Jane always does well in –'
His voiced slowed to a despondent crawl at the figure from Illinois just flashing up. 'Chicago. Down thirty per cent? That can't be right.'
A banner scrawled across the screen: 'CORRECTION'. Tommy brightened.
'Told you.'
But the new figure was 'down thirty-one per cent'.
Joel Gold moaned. Feathers, perched above them in his cage, felt a lump in his stomach. This had been his chance for stardom but the Leila replacements just weren't up to it.
As if reading his thoughts, Joel Gold said, 'We're not blaming you, Feathers, your audience approval ratings were solid.'
Feathers puffed out his chest.
Mr Gold's intercom buzzed and Sophia, his P.A., came on.
'Mr Gold. I have a call from a Miss Charlotte Richards in Australia.'
'I don't know her. How did she get my number?'
'She says she rides Leila. She's from a place called ...'
'Thornton Downs. Yeah, put her through.'
On the other end of the line, Charlotte had never been so nervous.
'Hi, Charlotte, it's Joel Gold. How can I help?'
Leila had prepped her to cover the mouthpiece. Leila whispered the answer.
'It's more how I can help you.'
Charlotte's voice trembled. Riding away from loggers was one thing, talking to movie producers was quite another.
'It's more how I can help you, Mr Gold.'
Miss Strudworth sat at her desk in the gloom, staring up at the portrait of Princess Anne.
'Life isn't fair, is it, Your Royal Highness? You know that more than most.'
There was a knock on the door.
'Come in.'
Charlotte edged in. She was surprised to find Miss Strudworth sitting at her desk without any lights on.
'Yes, Charlotte, what is it?'
'I believe I might have a way to save Thornton Downs.'
'Even if we had the hottest cake stall in Mumbai, I doubt we'd get the funds.'
Charlotte took a deep breath.
'Leila.'
'Leila?'
'She's a movie star.'
Strudworth caught a glimmer of where Charlotte was going with this.
'Was a movie star. She attacked her producer and director.'
'They are willing to give her another chance. In fact they are prepared to pay a million dollars for her to act in their next movie.'
Charlotte saw Strudworth flip backwards out of sight. There was a loud thump as she hit the floor.
'Miss Strudworth?'
Two hands gripped the desk and Miss Strudworth pulled herself up.
'Did you say ...?'
'A million dollars. As you are Leila's owner, Mr Gold is also prepared to offer you, in addition to the upfront fee, three points of the back end if it grosses more than forty-five million U.S. dollars.'
This was word for word what Leila had told her to ask for when she had been negotiating terms.
'You spoke to Mr Gold yourself?'
Charlotte shrugged, 'I had a little insider help. Somebody I know spent some time in Hollywood.' Charlotte leaned over and placed Joel Gold's personal number on the desk.
'He's expecting your call.'
It had seemed like a good idea at the time but now Leila wasn't so sure. She was trotting by the border with Milthorp, an excited Charlotte on her back.
'So Mr Gold said yes?'
'Yep. You're going to be a movie star again. What's the matter? Isn't this what you wanted?'
'I gotta be honest, Charlie. I've been out of the game a while. Maybe I've lost my edge.'
'You'll be better than ever.'
'You know, L.A. can be fabulous. The pool parties, the free canapés. But there's pressure too. You're always worried your next film might be a turkey. And if it's not, that means more pressure the next time.'
'You'll be fine.'
Something else was worrying Leila.
'Say it goes well. They might want to keep me.'
Charlotte smiled, 'No way. They've agreed that after the film you come right back.'
'But the film takes six weeks to shoot.'
'Time for you to catch up with Feathers and the rest of your pals.'
Leila blurted it out.
'But by the time I come back, you'll have another mount.'
'They're going to shoot in our holidays.'
That mollified Leila for a moment. But then she got scared of six weeks without Charlotte. She'd been a wreck without her for just six days.
'I'll miss you too much.'
'No, you won't.'
Leila hated that. Here she was being genuine and Charlotte was dismissing it.
'I will too. I know I can be a difficult princess at times, but I have a heart. I'll miss you like anything.'
'You won't. I'm coming too.'
Leila couldn't believe her ears. She did a little skip.
'What?'
'Yes, after you turned crazy and bit them last time they decided you needed a handler. I'm coming. And so is Miss Strudworth.'
Leila really had a spring in her step.
'In that case, I'm showing you the town. We're going to Disneyland. I got a pal, Romero, he works at Frontierland and he can sneak us in the back way for free. And Universal, I can get passes. And there's a place on Sunset near Vine that does the best pancakes. You wait till you try those. Heaven. And we have to go shopping on Rodeo Drive ...'
Leila was still jabbering as they disappeared into the bush.
Charlotte had never been out of the country before and, in truth, she was more than a little scared at the thought of going to America, but if she and Leila could help save Thornton Downs then she didn't have a choice. Besides, if it meant being with her best friend, she'd gladly ride to the end of the earth.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Zoe Walton, Chris Kunz and Ashleigh King, along with all the other hard-working Random House stable-hands, for grooming Leila and Charlotte and turning them out so nicely for show; Fiona Inglis for her astute training; Rick Raftos for his dedication at the early morning workouts; and Nicole, Violet and Venice, for always cheering on Leila and Charlotte from the sidelines.
Charlotte and the Starlet 3
Hooray For Hollywood
The third book about the hilarious misadventures of an
outback girl and a Hollywood horse.
When Thornton Downs Academy is sued by one of the Evil Three, there is only one solution: Leila must return to her beloved Hollywood and make a movie to save the academy. But Hollywood has its own problems – snobby stars, rival film-makers, disgruntled employees, and the lure of glamorous parties to tempt Leila. Who has kidnapped Sarah-Jane, and why? Charlotte, Todd, Leila and Miss Strudworth have to find out before the film is cancelled and the academy is shut down.
Available at all good retailers in April 2009