Izzie gave her a friend a sarcastic look, “Yeah, ‘cause you asked so nicely! No, I’m going to pass thanks.” She opened the door and got out, “Have fun at the party but I’m not going. Don’t know why you’re getting so worked up anyway … it’s not like he’ll be there.”
Izzie started to walk off but Maddie yelled after her, “Who won’t be there?”
Izzie rolled her eyes and shouted back, “Don’t play dumb … Kale! Now go have fun living in your fantasy world!”
Maddie said nothing but drove away with an angry screech as Izzie went back inside the house. She couldn’t get over Maddie’s psycho mood swings; well she wasn’t putting up with it anymore – she was finished! As if she wanted to go to that party anyway, she amused herself at thinking how livid Maddie would be when she found out that Izzie was right; there was no way Kale was going to that party. Izzie may not have known him long or even know him that well but that was the one thing she was sure of. She sighed as she flopped onto her bed and kicked off her shoes; she still failed to grasp what all the fuss was about. What was so special about Kale Eddison? The thought really baffled her … it wasn’t like he was that good of an actor; his last role was the ‘hero’ in a romantic comedy! She shook her head; the world truly had gone mad if they cared so much about a guy who acted in such ridiculous and pointless films.
Izzie decided not to let this fact bother her anymore and she turned on her laptop. She really needed to do some research for the formal but she found her heart wasn’t it in. Instead she found herself reluctantly looking at one of the gossip columns about Kale. They all talked about his decision for a normal life and how he was going to cope at school. Izzie sighed and shut down her computer after reading several more; she was fed up reading, hearing about and looking at Kale. The sooner he flaked out of school, the better.
She rolled onto her back on her bed and let out a frustrated sigh; everything had gone so wrong ever since Kale had shown up – it was all his fault. He was the reason Maddie wasn’t talking to her and the reason why Jake had taken a sudden interest in her life; although the latter was something Izzie thought she shouldn’t complain about. She sighed once more and then decided to go to bed, even though it was still freakishly early, especially for a Friday night. Everything would seem better in the morning – it had to.
Chapter Five
Izzie woke up the following morning feeling a lot better; it was Saturday, she didn’t have to work (for once!) and she had formulated a plan to seek Maddie’s forgiveness – even though she really hadn’t done anything to annoy her friend. She got out of bed, she was feeling very optimistic about today; she didn’t know why exactly but she could just feel something good was going to happen. Izzie happily changed into a comfy dress, a pair of leggings and her grey boots and went downstairs to make some breakfast.
She ran into her grandmother in the kitchen who looked very surprised that Izzie was up so early on her day off and that she was looking so happy as well.
“My, someone’s full of beans!” Grandma Frank teased, “And looking very perky as well, I might add …”
Izzie laughed, “Yeah, well I’m off, the sun is shining and I’m in a good mood – so sue me!”
Her grandmother chuckled, “Ok, whatever you say … you normally don’t even crack a smile this early no matter what day it is! There’s something different …” she trailed off and looked deep in thought and then she looked at Izzie suddenly, a look of surprise crossing her face, “I knew it! I knew it! You’ve got a fella, haven’t you? You’ve been courting with some lad!”
Izzie burst out laughing at her grandma’s ludicrous suggestion, “No, I haven’t got a fella! And no, I haven’t been ‘courting’ as you put it – nobody calls it that anymore, just so you know … oh dear, next you’ll be saying ‘gentleman caller’ – listen, you can rest easy; I don’t have a boyfriend or any intention in getting one anytime soon, ok?”
Charlotte looked at her granddaughter carefully; there was definitely something different about Izzie, something had changed and she was determined to find out what it was – no matter how long it would take.
Izzie quickly grabbed a cereal bar and her car keys and headed out the door to avoid her grandmother’s curious stares. She jumped into her little Nissan Micra and turned up the heater; it was a lot colder than she had thought despite the sunshine. She glanced at her watch once she had pulled out of the driveway, 10.30 am. – Maddie definitely had to be up by now. Izzie made a few stops before she arrived at her friend’s house; she quickly ran to the door and rang the bell.
A few minutes later and Maddie appeared; she was slightly bleary eye and her curly hair was sticking up all over the place but at least she was dressed, even if it was only in old tracksuit bottoms and a hoodie. Izzie couldn’t read the expression on her friend’s face but she didn’t look like she was about to attack so Izzie thought that was a good sign at least. She smiled and waved the pastry bag at Maddie’s nose.
“I brought the croissants from that bakery you like, can I come in?”
Maddie grabbed the brown bag and nodded, “Sure, let’s go into the living room.”
Izzie breathed a sigh of relief, followed Maddie down the hall and flopped down onto the comfy brown sofa. Maddie didn’t say anything as she tucked into the warm croissants but Izzie could tell her friend was on the verge of forgiving her; the slight smile on her face was evident of that. After Maddie had devoured the last one, she lay back and looked at Izzie. “You have no idea how much I needed that!” she sighed to Izzie.
Izzie grinned, “Call it a peace offering. So, rough night then?”
Maddie laughed, “Ok you’re forgiven … oh Iz, talk about a crazy night!”
Izzie smiled, “That good, eh? What happened? Anything exciting that you remember?”
Maddie giggled, “I look that bad, huh? Yeah, I definitely enjoyed myself then but I’m feeling it now – hangovers are no fun … no more vodka for me! You missed a great night but there really isn’t much gossip … well, only that Jake seemed kinda pissed that you weren’t there.”
Izzie was intrigued despite promising herself not to care anymore, “Oh? How come? Was he really mad?”
Maddie shook her head, “Nah, he wasn’t ‘mad’ pissed, more like ‘disappointed’ pissed – if I didn’t know any better I’d say he likes you Iz!”
Izzie laughed and blushed slightly; she knew she shouldn’t get giddy just because a guy appeared to show the slightest bit of interest in her but she couldn’t help it. “So, did he say anything specific?”
Maddie smirked, “Well he just said something like ‘I wish Isobel could’ve made it, I even told her to bring someone if she wanted to.’ I told him next time I’d make sure you’d come. Oh, that reminds me, I’m really sorry about going nuts on you … I really didn’t mean to fly off the handle – I was just so hyped up thinking that Kale would turn up and that I wouldn’t get a chance to talk to him – but you were right.”
Her expression suddenly turned serious, “As much as it kills me to admit it but you were right; he didn’t show but I had a good night anyway but it still doesn’t mean that I had the right to treat you the way I did … so, sorry.”
Izzie was quite shocked; it was very rare indeed when Maddie admitted she had done something wrong – in fact it wasn’t rare, it was never! “It’s ok, what are friends for? So what are the plans for the rest of the day then?”
Maddie smiled at Izzie, “Give me ten minutes and we’ll go shopping and then for lunch, my treat.”
Izzie grinned, “Ok, it’s a deal.” Maddie got up while Izzie remained on the sofa wondering about the sudden change in Maddie’s behaviour; usually she would huff for days until Izzie practically begged her to be friends again – maybe she was finally growing up. What Izzie didn’t know was that she was very, very wrong.
When the girls sat down to lunch sometime later, Izzie was beginning to get suspicious about Maddie’s suddenly super nice behaviour; first buying bra
celets that Izzie had admired and now treating her to lunch … something was up – Izzie was sure of it. Interrupting her thoughts, Izzie realised that Maddie was asking her something, “You want dessert? You have to get dessert.”
It had occurred to Maddie earlier when Izzie had shown up at the door, that no matter how mad she was at her, she could use Izzie to get closer to Kale. She hadn’t liked telling Izzie she was right about Kale’s ‘no show’ at the party the night before but if she wanted more time together with Kale, she figured she would have to grit her teeth and do what was necessary; after all, Kale seemed to stick around longer when Izzie was there. Maybe after a while though, Maddie hoped, maybe he’d stick around when Izzie wasn’t there. But for now she would have to endure Izzie’s company if she wanted even the smallest amount of time with Kale; she would have to suffer but hopefully it would be worth the pain when Kale realised how great a girlfriend she, Maddie, would make. Maddie just couldn’t believe how easy it had been to get Izzie to think Jake was interested in her; he hadn’t even mentioned Izzie at the party but what Izzie didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her … Maddie needed her to get to Kale so she had to do what was necessary and she knew Jake was Izzie’s Achilles Heel whether she’d admit it or not.
After lunch, Izzie left Maddie home and had to be quite abrupt to get away from her; Izzie really wanted to get home and think over some things but Maddie seemed adamant at doing something else. In the end, Izzie had to lie about her mother wanting her to help her with some cleaning. She felt bad about it; what kind of person was she if she lied straight to her best friend’s face? However, she really felt that something odd was going on. As much as she hated thinking it, she just had a gut feeling that something was not right; Maddie was up to something. Sure she had been chuffed when Maddie had told her about Jake but hadn’t she already decided that he was only interested so he could get all friendly with Kale? Izzie really didn’t understand why Kale seemed to have taken an interest in her – if anything she thought it was because he knew it annoyed her and he pestered her deliberately – but it was not ideal. Maddie was turning into somebody she failed to recognise as her friend and everyone was sure to ask her favours in regard to Kale, once they all found out that he liked to talk to her. Izzie sighed, she figured she’d just have to be extra careful of everybody and make sure Kale stayed well away from her.
Later on, when Izzie had eaten dinner, she decided to do something relaxing; she had been busy all week and she deserved break – Kale had said she never seemed to relax so here was her chance. Her parents were due to go to some event hosted by the charity her father supported so it would just be Izzie and her grandmother.
“Hey Gran, how do you fancy doing something tonight?” Izzie called into the living room while she packed away the last of the dishes from the dishwasher.
Izzie heard the familiar shuffle and her grandmother appeared in the kitchen, “Well what did you have in mind dear?”
Izzie shrugged, “Dunno, you choose – I really don’t mind.” She saw her grandmother look pensive for a moment and then shuffle closer to Izzie.
“I know what we can do,” she whispered to Izzie; a look of mischief on her face.
Izzie was intrigued, “What? Why are you being so secretive?”
Her grandmother chuckled softly, “I don’t want your mother to overhear and besides an old woman like me should know better than to lust after a lad that’s young enough to be my grandson.”
Izzie rolled her eyes, “Uh, not you too Gran … of all people!”
Her grandmother looked at her innocently, “What? If I want to stare at Dean Jameson on the big screen, I will. Humour an old woman, would you? We’re going to the cinema to see his new film whether you like it or not!”
Izzie felt herself redden, “Oh, sorry Gran, I thought you were talking about someone else. That’s ok but you do know that he’s like forty so he’d hardly be young enough to be your grandson – son maybe – but not grandson.”
Her grandmother laughed loudly, “We’ll that actually makes me feel better … I’m only twenty years older than him then! Come on, I think the next showing’s in half an hour, if we hurry we’d make it.”
Izzie did as she was told and quickly grabbed her bag and car keys. They arrived at the cinema with fifteen minutes to spare which was just as well since there was quite a queue. Izzie joined it to get the tickets while her grandmother got them some drinks and popcorn. The queue moved quite slowly and Izzie was ticked off by the amount of giddy teenage girls who were there to see the new Kale Eddison film; she recognised them as mostly the second years from Hartside.
Finally the queue moved along and Izzie was next in line when the cashier announced that the Dean Jameson film, ‘Rising Suns’ was sold out for the rest of the evening. Izzie groaned and her grandmother battled her way through the crowd to reach the ticket booth where Izzie was standing.
“Now what do we do?” her grandmother moaned, “I’ve bought the drinks and everything.”
Izzie shrugged and moved closer to the booth since she was next to be served, “What’s left?” she asked the cashier behind the plastic window.
The cashier looked very bored and uninterested in what Izzie was asking; she had bleached blonde hair, too much make-up on and was chewing gum very crudely – slapping it about in her open mouth. She sighed and pointed to the board to Izzie’s left which had now been updated. Izzie and her grandmother looked up at it and saw that only 2 films were not sold out; a children’s film called ‘Harry’s Horses’ or ‘Midnight Kiss’ with the one and only Kale Eddison. Izzie sighed and her grandmother looked disappointed that she wouldn’t get to gaze at her hero for two hours.
“Perhaps we should just go home?” Izzie suggested; she really didn’t want to look at Kale’s face more than necessary.
Her grandmother shook her head, “No dear, we came all this way and I’ve got the popcorn, why not go for that Midnight one? The lad in it looks quite a hunk!”
Izzie couldn’t help but laugh, “Gran! You really shouldn’t say things like that at your age.”
“Hold your tongue Miss Isobel, just ‘cause I’m old doesn’t mean I don’t know when a man’s attractive or not. We’re going to that one; I won’t mind looking at him for two hours.”
The cashier rang in two tickets and Izzie shook her head in disbelief at her grandmother while she handed the girl the money. They walked along to the appropriate screen and found two vacant seats at the end of one of the middle rows.
“So why are you so against seeing this one dear? As I said, the main lad looks very handsome – even to an old bat like me! I’m surprised you’re not secretly pleased to be looking at that hunk for a few hours – you should aim for someone who looks like that!” she chuckled and squinted at her granddaughter in the dark.
Izzie laughed, “Gran, you’re not an old bat … yeah he’s attractive but I just don’t like the guy acting. And as for aiming for someone who looks like him – no thanks. I have to look at his mug enough in school thanks very much!”
“What?” her grandmother shouted so loud that the couple in front turned around to give her an evil glare. “Yes, what are you staring at? The screen’s up there.” She pointed and the couple quickly turned back again but not before shooting daggers at Izzie; clearly they trusted her to keep her grandmother under control.
“Gran, shush, the film’s starting soon.” Izzie whispered, praying her grandmother dropped the subject.
“There’s still another trailer yet, now what do you mean you have to look at him in school?” By the tone of her voice, Izzie knew her grandmother wouldn’t give up.
“He’s attending Hartside, didn’t you hear? He’s in all my classes and seems to relish annoying me.” She heard her grandmother gasp and take a few seconds to process this information.
“How come you didn’t tell me? A famous film star – I’ve never been this excited since the time your grandfather and I broke up and I dated Carl Bennington for a while �
�� now that man was a looker – like that Dean Jameson - and oh, he was a charmer too. I remember this one time he took me to this secluded little spot on the beach and we –”
“Gran!” Izzie cut in before her grandmother could finish, “I really don’t want to hear this. The film’s starting now anyway so be quiet.”
Her grandmother sighed, “What I was getting at was that how often is it that you actually get to meet a famous film star? Not very often so I say soak up his attention, it’s not his fault he’s attracted to you Izzie … cut the young man a break.”
Now it was Izzie’s turn to laugh, “What?” she said very loudly that the couple in front stared again. Izzie avoided their glares and whispered to her grandmother, “What do you mean attracted to me? I don’t know why he chose me to bug but it’s not ‘cause he fancies me and I certainly don’t fancy him.”
Her grandmother merely went “Uh huh” and shushed her, “The film’s starting Iz so be quiet.”
Izzie was infuriated but did as she was told and turned her head towards the screen where the opening credits announced that Kale Eddison was starring as ‘Jake Redwood’ – many of the young girls let out shrieks of delight while Izzie was disgusted, ‘Please Lord, kill me now’ she thought desperately and sighed when Kale’s face appeared on the screen … it was going to be the longest two hours of her life!
Chapter Six
Izzie had to admit, albeit slightly reluctantly, that sitting the two hours of the film was not total torture. She actually found herself caught up in the romantic comedy; Kale wasn’t half bad but the story had been predictable all the same. However, Izzie felt that she hadn’t wasted her time seeing it – not that she would ever dream of admitting this fact to Mr Eddison himself – and her grandmother had seemed to enjoy it too; judging by her smile at the end of it and the many times she elbowed Izzie and whispered, “See, he’s some hunk … you could do worse Izzie.” Izzie had dutifully ignored this and pretended that she hadn’t heard her grandmother until she was forced to change the topic.
... not in love with Kale Eddison Page 4