Million Dollar Mates

by Cathy Hopkins

  ‘Kitty, you know. She does a piece in Girl in the City magazine. She does a brill blog on teen fashion.’

  ‘She can say that wetsuits are in, then,’ I said.

  ‘And look! There’s Marcus Flynn from last year’s Big Brother. Wow. And – ohmigod, I am going to die – there, standing by the bar, that’s Adrian Bailey.’

  I looked over to see that not just Adrian but all his band mates from Cursed were watching us and laughing their heads off. They were the hottest boy band in the universe. I so wished I hadn’t dressed like a prize idiot. I adjusted my goggles, thankful that at least no-one could see my face.

  ‘How come Alisha knows them?’ I asked.

  ‘They’re on a list,’ said Henry. ‘My dad told me. PR companies have lists of people who are in at the moment. They want to be seen and people pay to be seen with them. What do you think all those paparazzi were doing outside? It’s PR heaven.’

  Pia scoffed. ‘Two hundred of your closest friends, none of whom you have actually met before.’

  ‘Who cares?’ I said. ‘Two hundred people I’d really like to meet! I wonder if Cursed are going to play. That’d be awesome. Do you think we could slip away and change?’

  ‘No way,’ said Pia. ‘We stand out in the crowd.’ She undid her buttons and popped her real head out and tossed the false one onto a chair. She still stood out as she had plastered her skin with white make-up and used green lipstick. She’d also brought some plastic fake eyes which were bulbous with red veins and no eyelids. She put them in and looked hideous but it made me laugh so much that I had to pull my mask away from my face so that I could breathe.

  ‘Want to put some eyes in? I brought a pair for you,’ she asked as a male guest went past. ‘Would you like some? I’ve only got eyes for yoo-ou.’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ he replied snootily and hurried back to join his friends who were looking at us as if we were mad.

  ‘Eyes, Jess,’ Pia repeated.

  I shook my head and fixed my mask back on properly. ‘At least no-one knows it’s me under here. We stand out for all the wrong reasons. I so wish I’d worn something pretty.’

  ‘You could have worn Sakura’s cat on your head,’ said Pia. ‘He’s pretty.’

  ‘Dad told me that Cursed will be playing,’ said Henry, coming to join us again with more drinks. ‘Cost a hundred grand to get them. Whole party cost over four hundred thousand.’

  ‘Wow,’ I said. Dad told me the budget on my party would be eighty quid. Pizzas, then ice cream for everyone, and I’d thought that was generous.

  All around us, people were still staring.

  ‘You going to take off your fish mask and snorkel and eat something?’ asked Pia as a waiter passed by with a tray of bite-sized silver-and-white cupcakes.

  ‘No way,’ I said. ‘I’m going to maintain my air of mystery.’

  Pia laughed and took one of the dinky cakes. ‘Er . . . the fact that we were announced might have been a slight giveaway,’ she said, then popped the cake into her mouth. ‘But I don’t know what you’re worried about. Who cares what this snobby stiff lot think? At least our outfits show that we have a sense of humour and are up for a bit of fun.’

  Charlie and Henry didn’t seem fazed by the reaction to their outfits and even seemed chuffed when one of the boys from Cursed wolf-whistled at them, plus they appeared to be attracting attention from a couple of leggy blondes who had sidled up to them. Not surprising really, because, even in drag, anyone could see that they were a couple of very good-looking boys and, strangely, they both looked pretty good in make-up.

  I knew Pia was right about not worrying and I told myself to loosen up and get into the party mood. I tried to adopt a cool posture but it wasn’t easy dressed in a wetsuit, flippers and goggles. I was boiling. All around me were people who had just stepped from the pages of a gossip magazine. A couple of teenage celebs walked past and tried not to laugh as Pia and I stood in the corner and took it all in. Curiously, no-one came over to chat to us.

  ‘Where’s Alisha?’ I heard Charlie ask one of the blondes he was chatting to.

  ‘Arriving any minute now,’ she said. She indicated a wide screen above the bar area where there was live footage of the courtyard at the front of the apartment block. A couple of late arrivals were getting out of a limo and were being ushered through.

  ‘Here she is,’ someone called from the back and I looked up at the screen to see a white limo arriving at the front. Didier leapt to open the door and Alisha stepped out looking every bit the A-lister she was. She was wearing a stunning silver-and-white strapless evening dress and had a sparkling diamond tiara on her head. She looked beautiful – the belle of the ball – though I suspected that the dress, with its long, full skirt, was her mother’s choice, not Alisha’s. I wondered what was going through her head and if she’d given in happily in the end. Behind us came a sigh of admiration from the crowd. Next to me, Pia had slid down the wall laughing.

  ‘Ohmigod,’ she said. ‘Now we’re going to look more out of place than ever. Or should that be ohmicod, we’re going to look out of plaice . . . Get it? Plaice, the fish.’

  ‘I get it, Pia,’ I replied. Somehow, I didn’t find it as funny as she did.

  Alisha looked up into the camera and waved. The guests waved back.

  At the lift there was a sudden commotion and the tall door to the lobby closed.

  ‘What’s happening?’ I asked.

  ‘Grand entrance methinks,’ Pia replied and, indeed, about five minutes later, a song with the words ‘isn’t she lovely’ began to play.

  ‘Stevie Wonder,’ said Charlie.

  ‘What? Is he here?’ I asked.

  ‘No, the song is by him, dingbat brain,’ said Charlie. ‘Though it’s not an impossibility, as I heard that he’s an old friend of Jefferson Lewis’s.’

  The lights went down and, from the back of the room, silver spotlights began to swirl around the room then fixed on the doors. The lights went up, the doors opened and we saw that two lines of boys dressed in gold and wearing lions’ head were waiting by the lift. Slightly more elegant beasts than my interpretation, I thought as the boys rolled out a red carpet then began to dance to the music.

  The lift door opened. Alisha stepped out and the dancers stood opposite each other, raised their arms and made an arch for her to walk through. They showered her with butterfly-shaped confetti, then separated out and escorted her into the party, dancing by her side. Beauty and the beasts. Perfect. Alisha looked radiant as she surveyed the crowd to see who was there. She beamed at the boys from Cursed, waved at Marcus Flynn who winked back, smiled at Adrian Bailey . . . and then she turned and saw Pia, Charlie, Henry and me. Her face fell. She looked questioningly at her mother, who just shrugged. Alisha turned to look at us again. Charlie and Henry still didn’t appear bothered. In fact, they were both grinning at her like idiots.

  ‘Happy Birthday,’ said Charlie.

  ‘You look like a Disney princess,’ Henry gushed. A flash of annoyance crossed Alisha’s face.

  ‘Oscar de la Renta,’ she said, while beside me, Pia did a barfing sound which Alisha didn’t miss. She came towards us and pointed at me.

  ‘Who’s in there?’ she asked.

  ‘Jess,’ said Henry. ‘Her and Pia have come as beasts. We’re the beauties.’ He did a twirl and wiggled his hips and one of his football socks fell out of his bra.

  ‘You don’t say,’ said Alisha. She paused a moment, looked Pia up and down, then finally looked at me. ‘How embarrassing,’ she said and, with a flick of her hair, she turned and walked off towards the bar.

  17

  Cats

  After half an hour of standing around at the party like an idiot, with no-one coming to talk to me, and Pia having a great old time chatting away with Henry, I noticed JJ dancing with a stunning leggy brunette in a red shimmery short dress. That’s it, I thought. Everyone’s having a fab time apart from me. What was I thinking of, coming here dressed like a deranged
idiot? Everyone must think our fancy dress idea is so juvenile and they’re right. No wonder no-one’s been over to chat to me, like, who’d want to talk to a monster fish? Not exactly every boy’s fantasy! And if JJ does ever notice me, he’ll put me on his list of people to avoid forever. I’d better get out of here quick before he realises it’s me under here.

  I crept downstairs to change. Pia refused to give in and come with me so I left her with the boys. It was all right for her. She didn’t look too bad with her white make-up and Victorian nightdress – at least she looked more like a naughty cherub than a monster. If I’d taken off my snorkel and fish mask, I’d have looked like some mad person in a wetsuit who’d wandered in from snorkelling school by mistake.

  I put on my black trousers and red-and-black striped top, then made my way back over to the lift in the Reception area. I saw Sakura waiting with a Japanese lady. She introduced me to her mum, who didn’t speak very good English but smiled at me and nodded.

  ‘You going Lewis party?’ asked Sakura.

  ‘I am.’

  ‘Lucky you,’ said Sakura.

  The lift arrived and we stepped in.

  ‘Hey,’ said Sakura. She pointed upwards. ‘We up above party floor. You want come meet cat sister?’

  ‘I can’t think of anything I’d rather do than meet cat sister,’ I replied. It was infinitely preferable to going back to the party, where I’d probably just be standing on my own in a corner.

  We got off at the sixth floor and walked a short distance down the corridor. Mrs Mori let us in. I hadn’t seen this apartment before, although I knew it was one with two storeys. I was surprised to see two fabulous curved staircases leading up to a galleried area. How they had done that, God only knows. They must have taken out the ceiling – it looked like the kind of entrance you’d find in a stately home.

  Sakura led me into a wood-panelled room to the right of the hall.

  ‘Chichi’s mm . . . Dad office,’ she said. To the left of an ornate desk was a tartan-covered sofa and on it was a huge bundle of fur: one white cat and one golden cat curled up around each other. I rushed over and the two cats perked up. They had such funny squashed faces and Chu appeared to recognise me because he nuzzled my hand with his nose.

  ‘Brownie one Miyu, mean mm . . . beautiful moon,’ said Sakura.

  ‘She has a face like a moon,’ I said as Miyu turned on her back and wriggled. I tickled her tummy and she purred loudly. Sometimes I much prefer animals to people, I thought as I remembered the scene upstairs. These beasts have nothing to prove and love unconditionally.

  ‘You like drink something?’ asked Sakura.

  I got up and shook my head. ‘No, my friends will be waiting for me, but thanks so much for letting me meet the cats.’

  ‘You come anytime,’ said Sakura. ‘Can see you like and they like too.’

  ‘I do,’ I said. ‘I like very much.’

  Back on the fifth floor, the party was now in full swing. Cursed were playing up on the stage and people were dancing. I looked around for Pia. She was on the dance floor with Henry, while Charlie was doing the Highland fling with a pretty blonde girl. He’d taken off his wellies and she was wearing them. Hmm, looks like he’s scored there, I thought. As soon as Pia and Henry noticed the Scottish dancing they joined in, flinging themselves around like maniacs. Alisha was also up dancing but in a group of people on the other side of the room. She didn’t look happy. I didn’t feel like dancing, so I edged myself into a corner in the hope that no-one would notice me.

  ‘Hey, Jess,’ said a male voice to my right. ‘Awesome costume earlier.’

  I turned to see JJ. He was looking very handsome in a black suit and the requisite subtle devil’s horns.

  ‘Oh! You knew it was me, then?’ I asked, as Pia saw that I’d returned, waved and came over. Thankfully, she’d taken out the plastic zombie eyes.

  ‘Oh yes. I knew it was you,’ JJ replied. ‘Hey, where did you get the wetsuit and flippers?’

  ‘My swimming club,’ I said. ‘But I wish I hadn’t. Not only did I look like a prat, I was boiling!’

  ‘You looked cool . . . funny. And at least you didn’t look like the rest of them,’ he said as he indicated the room with a sweep of his hands.

  ‘That’s what Pia said, but you can see by her face that she is mentally deranged,’ I said as, on cue, Pia made her eyes cross.

  JJ laughed. ‘So, do you swim, Jess?’

  ‘She was our school champion last year,’ said Pia. ‘Jess doesn’t just swim. She’s like a fish in the water. She’s up for the national school competition next month doing the crawl. She practises every day.’

  JJ raised an eyebrow. ‘So you’re good, huh? Where do you swim?’

  ‘Local baths,’ I said.

  ‘There’s a great pool here,’ said JJ. ‘Have you seen it?’

  ‘She swam there until she was told she couldn’t,’ said Pia, who seemed to have taken over my voice. I pulled on her arm to try and get her to shut up, but she was making an even stranger face than the one before, like she was trying to tell me something.

  ‘Why not?’ asked JJ.

  ‘Staff,’ I said. ‘It’s um . . . residents only.’

  JJ looked serious. ‘Is that right?’

  ‘Yes, that is right,’ said Alisha, suddenly appearing alongside her brother. I realised then what Pia had been trying to tell me – that Alisha was right behind us. ‘If all the staff swam in our pool, it would be public, wouldn’t it?’

  ‘Well, I don’t swim there any more, so you don’t need to worry,’ I said.

  I hated the way she made me feel, like I would contaminate the water or something. And I hated the way that she’d said ‘public’.

  ‘Having a good time?’ JJ asked his sister, changing the subject.

  Alisha looked like her face was going to crumble. ‘Actually, no,’ she said. ‘This so wasn’t what I wanted.’

  Not what you wanted? I thought. A dress to die for, a chance to make an entrance like a fairy princess, a room full of glam celebs – the whole thing was totally A-list, including the drinks and canapés!

  ‘What more could you possibly want?’ I blurted out before I could stop myself.

  Alisha gave me the filthiest look. ‘Well, I don’t expect you to understand,’ she said.

  ‘Hey, come on, Alisha—’ JJ started, but Alisha stomped off and out of the party room.

  JJ turned to me and Pia. ‘I apologise for my sister. She’s been in a total strop about this party right from the beginning.’

  Pia linked her arm through mine. What Alisha had said had hurt. How could she expect me to understand? That was harsh. Just because I wasn’t rich? Just because I wasn’t one of the A-list?

  ‘Is she always like that?’ Pia asked.

  JJ sighed. ‘No. Not at all. She’s a good kid. Least she was until we moved here. I’m not trying to defend her behaviour – actually, yes, I am. See, this move has been tough on her. When we lived in California, Dad was the one who travelled when he had a movie and Mom, Alisha and I stayed home – I mean, yeah, we’d visit him on set when we could, but Mom wanted us to have a stable base at home for school and stuff.’

  ‘So why the change?’ asked Pia.

  ‘Dad’s going to be working on his new movie over here for the best part of a year. He wanted to set up a base here so we could all be together. You should have seen Alisha the day we left. She was trying to put a brave face on it for Mom and Dad but she was in pieces. She had to leave all her friends behind, and she had some good ones back home, a tight bunch who she’d grown up with. That’s why she’s found it so hard meeting you guys. You’re such good mates. She can see that you have what she has lost and you remind her of what she misses most.’

  ‘I thought she meant I wouldn’t understand because I’m not . . .’ I gestured round the room, ‘one of the in-crowd.’

  ‘Nah. Doubt it. Not that. Knowing Alisha, she meant she didn’t expect you to understand because you have yo
ur friends close by. How would you know what it’s like to be lonely, away from the people you love?’

  Pia glanced at me.

  ‘I think I understand more than she realises,’ I said.

  Maybe I’d got Alisha wrong, I thought. Had I misjudged her? I imagined she had it all but maybe, underneath, we were more alike than either of us realised.

  18

  Sleepover

  ‘So you’re not going to invite her?’ asked Pia as she plastered paint onto her bedroom wall. The colour that she had chosen was fuchsia, most of which had gone all over her face and T-shirt.

  Her house was similar in layout to ours but already it looked different with all the bright colours that Pia and her mum had chosen. Jade green in the bathroom, deep gold in the living room, lilac in her mum’s room and this vivid pink in Pia’s bedroom. She wants to go for an Indian theme, with bright red and orange cushions and purple curtains. I didn’t think it would work but already I can see that it’s going to look exotic and warm.

  ‘No,’ I said, as I sloshed on another dollop of paint. ‘I thought about it, and then I remembered the way she was that day we went shopping. She was so mean about my mum, as well as acting like a spoilt princess, so no. It’s my birthday. I get to choose my own VIPs this time and that’s you, Flo, Meg, Tom, Josh, Henry and Charlie.’

  ‘A boy each, then. Cool.’

  ‘Let’s have a game of spin the bottle, then I can spin it and get it to stop at Henry so you can snog him.’

  Pia blushed the same colour as the paint. ‘As long as you don’t stop it at Josh. Bleurgh.’

  ‘Meg likes him, so you don’t need to worry.’

  ‘She must be mental, but I suppose someone’s got to like him. And Flo likes Charlie and you like Tom. Sounds like a party to me!’

  ‘Exactly,’ I said. ‘So who needs an odd one out messing things up? Though Meg and Flo would love to meet her . . .’

  ‘And will madam be having a theme for her birthday, à la Alisha’s?’

  I nodded. ‘Maybe. How about a Spanish theme and we could do some dancing?’