Sugar Secrets…& Flirting

by Mel Sparke

  “Well, could you ask him for an autograph?” Maya explained, pulling a pen and a piece of paper out of the small drawstring bag she had slung over her back.

  “Sure!” Cat nodded. “I’ll ask him later.” She was more than happy to have another excuse to get close to Ben, even if it didn’t seem like Maya’s style to ask for an autograph.

  “Cat - can you get into position, please?” Daniel called suddenly from inside the launderette.

  As she shot off, Sonja called after her. “Hey, Cat!”

  “What?” said Cat, pausing in the doorway.

  “Now that we’re actors,” grinned Sonja, “does that mean we get an invitation to this fancy party tomorrow night?”

  “No!” Cat replied archly.

  “Hey, Cat!” Sonja called out again, making her stop in her tracks once more.

  “What now!” grumbled Cat.

  “Your wig’s gone wonky!”

  To the sound of her friends’ laughter, Cat sighed, straightened her wig and disappeared.

  CHAPTER 17

  ANNA MISSES OUT

  “…it was so spooky - it’s just that that is what Cat could look like in fifteen years time, if she let her hair go back to its natural colour!” exclaimed Sonja as everyone crowded round the pub table.

  There was still half an hour to go before The Loud took to the stage and the lads were in no hurry to go to their dressing room. For once, swapping tales about the events of the day was far more interesting.

  “Yeah, but what are the chances of Cat ever giving up her addiction to bleach?” joked Matt, sitting with his arm around Anna. Like Kerry, Billy, Joe and Meg, he’d missed out on the chance to be in Ben Fitzpatrick’s TV drama, but he was enjoying hearing about it anyway.

  “But are we actually going to see any of you on the telly?” asked Billy. “I mean, how close was the camera?”

  “Well, we had our backs to it,” Andy grinned. “All except you-know-who - who got his mug right in there!”

  “I couldn’t help it!” Ollie protested. “That guy Daniel just told me to stand there like that!”

  “You should have been wearing a T-shirt with The Loud’ written on it,” commented Andy. “The band could’ve got a free plug on TV!”

  “Hey, maybe we could offer to do the theme music for the programme!” Ollie suggested enthusiastically.

  “Yeah, talk to Cat about it when she turns up,” said Billy, getting carried away with the idea. “She could give that Ben a tape of ours!”

  “She’d love that!” laughed Sonja. “It’d be yet another excuse to talk to him!”

  “Yes - when I asked her if she could get Ben’s autograph for Sunny, she was more than happy to help out,” Maya grinned.

  “Is your sister a fan of Ben’s?” Meg asked Maya.

  “Is she? She nearly cried when I gave her the autograph!” smiled Maya, still reeling from the genuine thanks she’d got from Sunny when she’d handed over that little surprise earlier in the evening. Having Sunny show gratitude towards her was even more shocking than seeing Cat in a dowdy wig.

  “Right - I’m going to the bar,” announced Matt, getting to his feet. “Who wants what?”

  “I’ll give you a hand,” said Anna.

  “What’s up? You’ve been a bit quiet…” Matt remarked as he and Anna squeezed through the crowd hanging around the counter.

  “Oh, I’m all right,” Anna smiled. “I’m just feeling a bit sorry for myself and it’s stupid really…”

  “Hey, come on!” said Matt with concern, wrapping his arm around her waist. “What’s up? You can tell me anything - even if it is stupid!”

  “Well… I ended up feeling a bit like Cinderella today,” shrugged Anna.

  “How come?” asked Matt.

  Anna scrunched her nose up as if what she was about to say was embarrassingly silly. “It’s just that when Cat came into the café and asked if any of us could come and be in the filming,” she began, “Cyndi was all for Ollie going over with Andy and the girls. It was like, ‘Go on, Ollie! Go an’ have fun with the other kids. Me and Anna’ll manage here!’”

  Matt could see why his girlfriend felt upset.

  “Whether she means it or not, Cyndi makes me feel like a second-class citizen!” Anna sighed, wrinkling her nose again and looking downhearted. “D’you know what? I don’t even have a set of keys for the café any more. Cyndi ‘borrowed’ mine the other day - and she’s never given them back.”

  “C, mere, Cinders, Prince Charming wants to kiss you,” he grinned, pulling her close.

  Anna had just wrapped her arms around Matt’s neck, when an insistent coughing began behind them. She ignored it, but it started again - louder. Breaking apart from their kiss, they turned to see who was trying to attract their attention.

  Cat gave them a ‘caught-you!’ smirk. “Sorry to butt in - but that was looking like an X-rated snog and this pub is only PG-rated, I’m afraid!” she teased.

  “Thanks - nice timing!” groaned Matt.

  It was then that Anna noticed the boy standing by Cat’s side. She recognised him vaguely, but couldn’t quite place him. Or maybe she just thought she recognised him because he looked a little bit like Ollie, with his friendly grin and scruffy fairish hair.

  “Anyway, if you two can keep your hands off each other long enough to be polite, I want to introduce you to Daniel here,” Cat replied.

  Ah, the lad with the clipboard! Anna thought to herself, now placing the face.

  “Daniel’s the production assistant on the shoot,” Cat explained for Matt’s benefit. “And Daniel, these are my friends, Anna and Matt.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” Daniel smiled, his hands - without a clipboard to clutch - shoved deep into his trouser pockets.

  “Same here,” nodded Matt. “So Cat managed to persuade you to come and check out the band tonight, did she?”

  “I suddenly thought of it, when I realised it was Thursday,” Cat jumped in. “But Daniel was the only one who was up for it!”

  Anna felt Matt squeeze her hand - he was obviously thinking the same thing as her: Cat had issued a general invitation in the hope that the lovely Ben might take it into his head to turn up too. But that didn’t seem to have happened.

  “Yeah, it’s good to take an evening off for a change,” nodded Daniel, glancing around the pub and letting his eyes settle on the stage. “And I got talking to one of the guys in the band after shooting today. He invited me too.”

  “Who? Ollie?” frowned Cat. It was the first she’d heard of it - she thought Ollie had scurried back to the café as soon as their scene was over.

  “No - the lad with the black hair.” explained Daniel.

  “Oh, Andy,” shrugged Cat. “Well, anyway, come over and meet some of my other friends…”

  With an apologetic look over his shoulder at Matt and Anna, Daniel found himself steered away, towards the table where Joe, Billy and the others were sitting.

  “She’s loving this, isn’t she?” Matt whispered. “Showing off the fact that she’s swanning around town with someone from a TV crew!”

  Anna smiled. “Yeah, but I think she’d rather be snogging the star!” she giggled.

  “I’d love to be at that wrap party, wouldn’t you?” grinned Matt. “I mean just to watch her in action. Cat going for the flirt of her life!”

  “Well, us ordinary mortals don’t get invited to flashy parties like that though, do we?” Anna smiled up at her boyfriend. “Though I know Sonja tried to get Cat to wangle an invite for everyone!”

  “But no luck?”

  “No luck,” laughed Anna. “So… while Cat’s living it up tomorrow night, what will we get up to? Pizza and a video?”

  “Hey, I think we can do much better than that!” said Matt, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

  “What’s that then?” asked Anna.

  “Well, Cat’s got her flash party, so I think the rest of us saddos who didn’t get invited should have our own flash party!

 
“Where?” laughed Anna, trying to work out what was going on in his mind.

  “Your place!” announced Matt.

  “My place?” she giggled, thinking of her tiny flat above the End. “You couldn’t even have a normal party at my place, never mind a flash one!”

  “You never think big, Anna, that’s your trouble,” Matt grinned, giving her a hug. “Leave it to me, you’ll see…”

  Anna could tell by the enthusiastic expression on his face that Matt wasn’t about to let her say no.

  CHAPTER 18

  NOT THE WRAP PARTY

  “Hey, Kez, I couldn’t believe what Billy was telling me last night. Astrid’s covering for Joe as drummer for The Loud?” Sonia gave her best friend an earnest look as they made their way along Station Road on Friday evening. “He says you’re cool about it. Are you, really?”

  Kerry grimaced. “I don’t know about cool exactly, but she was good, Son. And there was nobody else. You know how much The Loud means to Ollie - it would fall apart without a drummer.”

  “What about Ollie? She freaked him out before didn’t she, with her psycho tendencies? I mean, d’you remember those roses and that Valentine’s picture that she left on his doorstep? If I was Ollie I’d be dead scared she was just trying to get close to me again,” Sonja said.

  “Sonja, don’t put weirdo thoughts in my head. I’m trying to stay rational.” Kerry put her arm through Sonja’s. “We talked it through, on our own - and, although it’s a bit bizarre, we decided it was worth a try. She swears she’s changed.”

  “Oh well, I guess she knows we’ll all be watching her pretty hard at first,” Sonja nodded, giving Kerry’s arm a squeeze. “Still, I bet Ollie’s going to feel a bit freaked the first time she sits behind him, armed with a pair of drumsticks!”

  “You should have seen his face when Astrid admitted she enjoyed drumming because it helped her get rid of all her aggression! I thought he was going to leg it,” Kerry giggled. “And the rest of the lads looked pretty fazed too. They were probably thinking - next time it could be me… Still, they’ve told her it’s only for a trial period and that Joe takes over whenever he comes home. I’m sure it will be fine…” She trailed off into an uneasy silence.

  “What time is it?” Sonja asked, sensing she needed to change the subject. “I forgot to put my watch on after I came out of the shower.”

  Kerry glanced at her wrist. “Just after nine so the café will be shut now.”

  “I hope they managed to get everything tidied away early tonight so that everyone can chill out!”

  “Well, it was Anna’s night off anyway. And Ollie will have worked like crazy to get everything finished on time - ‘specially since there’s a party as an incentive!”

  “Well, however busy he is, I hope he’s going to get changed,” said Sonja. “After all, if the rest of us are all going to the bother of getting dressed up for this party - like Matt suggested - then I don’t want to sit opposite your boyfriend dressed in his usual scruffy T-shirt and—EEK!”

  Sonja gasped and giggled as a warm summer evening breeze blew along the street and lifted up her short, wispy sundress.

  “That’s the good thing about long straight skirts - they stay put!” laughed Kerry, watching her best friend struggle to keep the pale blue material from drifting upwards and giving the world a glimpse of her knickers.

  “You look lovely in that sarong,” said Sonja, nodding her head towards her friend’s rust and bronze-coloured skirt.

  “Thanks. Anyway, what do you think Cat will wear to her party tonight?” Kerry wondered.

  “It’s got to be something amazing, hasn’t it?” grinned Sonja. “After all, this is her last chance to pull Ben Fitzpatrick!”

  “You’re right there,” nodded Kerry. “But it’s a shame she’s not coming along to Anna’s party tonight. It’ll be kind of strange not having her there.”

  “Do you think she’ll care?” Sonja laughed. “She’ll be too busy prowling after her precious Ben to think about us for a millisecond.”

  “Oh, don’t be mean, Son!” Kerry said, pulling a face. “It’s just that I know Matt suggested this party for a laugh ‘cause none of us got invited to the TV do, but I still think it’s kind of special, y’know - it’ll be one of the last times we’ll all be together before… before…”

  Kerry hesitated, her voice suddenly sounding a little hoarse.

  “Hey, don’t go all soppy on me!” Sonja gently chided her best friend. “Just ‘cause me and Joe are leaving Winstead, it doesn’t mean the end of everything. We’ll all be just as good mates as ever!”

  Kerry nodded, but her head was facing down, her long curls hiding her face. Sonja stopped, a couple of metres away from the front door of the End-of-the-Line café, making Kerry pause too.

  “And, Kez…” said Sonja.

  “What?” Kerry blinked at her.

  “Whether we live one street away from each other, or hundreds of miles from each other, we’ll always be best mates…”

  The two girls looked at each other, eyes glistening.

  “C’mere, you!” laughed Sonja, pulling Kerry close for a hug.

  “you’ve got to stay in touch, all right?” Kerry gulped, trying her best not to cry.

  “Absolutely!” exclaimed Sonja, though the wobble in her voice showed that tears weren’t far away either. “You and Ollie will have to come up and stay with me and Owen as often as you can! And Ollie’s got e-mail, hasn’t he? I’ll get an e-mail address and you’ll be able to tell me how your teacher training course is going, and how annoying my darling cousin’s being, and everything!”

  Kerry nodded, her voice lost for a second.

  “Hey, what are we wasting time out here for,” Sonja suddenly announced, “when there’s a party about to start?!”

  Right on cue, they heard music drifting over from behind the café.

  “C’mon!” grinned Sonja, turning into the alley that ran between the second-hand record shop and the End-of-the-Line café. At the end of it, she pushed open the green wooden door that led into the back yard of the café.

  “Wow!” Sonja exclaimed, staring at the long table - surrounded by chairs - in the middle of the yard. In place of a tablecloth, it was draped in vivid red and gold sari material, with loads of flickering night-light candles in clear glass jars dotted down the middle of it.

  “Oh, Ollie!” gasped Kerry as she followed behind Sonja and stared up.

  “Good, isn’t it?” beamed Ollie from his perch atop a stepladder, where he was securing the last of a string of coloured lights to the telephone pole.

  At his feet, holding the ladder steady, was Billy, while a little further away Matt was busy positioning a speaker.

  “Hi, guys!” Matt called out.

  “This is beautiful!” sighed Sonja, leaning her head back and gazing at the canopy of bulbs strung this way and that above their heads, and wrapped all the way up the metal staircase to Anna’s front door.

  “You wouldn’t think it was the same scrappy little yard, would you?” Matt commented.

  “Mainly ‘cause I was here all day sorting it out!” Ollie pointed out. “As well as making tons of food for tonight, as well as feeding the normal customers!”

  “Round of applause for Ollie!” Billy joked, slapping his hands together. Sonja, Kerry and Matt joined in, giggling as Ollie took a bow at the top of the stepladder.

  “And a wolf whistle too for you boys - look at you!” laughed Sonja, taking in the highly unusual sight of Ollie and Billy in smart, short-sleeve shirts. But the compliment was mainly aimed at Matt, who was wearing a trendy black suit with a wide-lapelled Cuban print shirt underneath.

  Matt did a twirl then stopped with a hand under his chin, striking a catalogue model pose. “Not too shabby, is it?” he grinned. “And may I just say you girls are looking pretty gorgeous yourselves.”

  “Thanks, Matt!” Kerry giggled. “So where’s Anna?”

  “Just getting herself gorgeous too,” Matt repli
ed, nodding his head towards the open front door at the top of the stairs. “She’ll be down in a second.”

  At that moment, Nick and Cyndi stepped out of the kitchen doorway. “Hi, girls!” said Nick cheerfully. “Hey, Matt - we’re off now. Anna’s got the spare keys to lock this place up once you’re finished with the kitchen.”

  “Thanks, Nick!” Matt grinned, giving Nick the thumbs-up. “And thanks again for letting us use the yard and everything!”

  “No problem. I got this dump of a yard tidied for nothing, didn’t I?” the café owner laughed.

  “Oh, honey!” exclaimed Cyndi, suddenly. “Don’t you look pretty!”

  Everyone in the yard turn to stare as Anna came down the metal steps from the flat. Her long brown hair hung loose and silky smooth down her back. Her dress - a knee-length, baby-blue, silky halter-neck - showed off the creamy skin of her well-toned arms and legs.

  “Thanks, Cyndi,” said Anna shyly, suddenly self-conscious with everyone’s eyes glued to her.

  “Wooh-hoo!” Matt called out appreciatively, moving towards the staircase and holding his hand out to help her down.

  “Look how pretty your hair is, now you haven’t got it all scraped back like you usually do!” cooed Cyndi, clasping her hands in front of her chest. “Oh, an’ that reminds me - Anna, honey, can I ask a favour?”

  “Of course!” said Anna, swapping a quick glance with Matt that said ‘maybe things aren’t so bad? Maybe I could get on with Cyndi?’

  “Well,” said Cyndi, putting on a puppy dog expression, “can you just make sure you’re on time in the morning because I’m not gonna be around to look after things - I made an appointment at the hairdresser’s first thing and Nick’s out too, aren’t you, sugar-pie?”

  Matt watched as Anna’s shoulders sagged.

  “Yes, no problem…” Anna replied, mustering a limp smile, but inside she was seething. How dare she? I’m never late to work in the morning! How does she think we managed before? Well, she can stuff her badge and her cheesy photos. I’ve had enough!

  CHAPTER 19