by Betsy Haynes
I've also been wondering how you're getting along at school. How is everyone treating you? Okay, I hope. Remember, I know how tough it can be when everyone is jealous.
We're all keeping our fingers crossed that the producers will decide to go ahead with the TV series so that you'll be back here soon. There is supposed to be a decision in a few weeks. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything. Write soon.
Love,
Paige
P.S. I almost forgot! Raven asked for your address! He said he's going to write to you really soon!
The words in the letter hit Taffy like a tidal wave. She swallowed hard and read them again. Things just weren't the same without you. . . . We're all keeping our fingers crossed . . . that you'll be back here soon. . . . But most of all her eyes kept going back to the last two lines of the letter.
I almost forgot! Raven asked for your address! He said he's going to write to you really soon!
Taffy felt as if someone were squeezing her heart. Hollywood had been so much fun, so exciting compared to Wakeman Junior High. She was trying to fit in. And she really did like Cory, but . . . did Raven really care about her, too?
"Oh, why did this letter have to come now?" she whispered.
She heard the telephone ringing downstairs, and a moment later her mother called up to her.
"It's for you, Taffy."
Taffy folded the letter and put it under her pillow. Then she raced for the phone.
"Hi, Taffy," said Shawnie as soon as Taffy said hello.
"Oh, hi," Taffy answered in surprise. "I've been trying to call you all morning. Did you and your mom go shopping?"
"No," said Shawnie. "I was over at Kimm's. I left a sweater over there last week, and I went by to pick it up."
"Oh," replied Taffy in a small voice.
"I love going over to Kimm's," Shawnie continued. "Her house is decorated with all this neat Oriental stuff. I even learned to eat with chopsticks there."
"Great," Taffy said sarcastically. Why couldn't Shawnie understand how it made her feel to hear about Kimm all the time when Shawnie was supposed to be her best friend?
"Hey, the reason I called was to find out where you and Cory were last night. Is everything okay?"
"Sure, everything's great," Taffy assured her. "We went to a movie instead of Skateland."
"What?"
"My mom wouldn't let me go skating. She was afraid that I'd break my leg and ruin my acting career." Taffy groaned.
Shawnie giggled. "Oh, no! That's too wild. So did you guys have a good time?"
"Did we ever," said Taffy, forgetting for the moment about Kimm and about Paige's letter. "You'll never guess what happened after the movie. Cory asked me to go steady."
"Wow!" shouted Shawnie. "That's super! What did he say? Tell me everything."
Taffy closed her eyes. "Well . . ." she began, and told Shawnie all about it, not leaving out a single detail. "I couldn't believe it," she added happily.
"And when you first got home from Hollywood, you were worried that he didn't like you anymore. See? What did I tell you? He's crazy about you," Shawnie said. "So I guess you'll forget all about Raven Blaine now, right?"
Shawnie's question startled Taffy. "Oh . . . well, sure . . . I guess so," she fumbled.
"He's awfully far away, anyway," Shawnie offered.
"Right," agreed Taffy, sounding more convinced than she felt. "I mean, I'll probably never see him again."
But what do I really mean? thought Taffy as she hung up the phone. She had never felt so totally confused before. She went back to her room and pulled Paige's letter out from under her pillow, then read it once again.
I like Cory a lot, she thought. And I do want to go steady with him and fit in at Wakeman. But can I fit in? My best friend spends half her time with someone else. And I can't seem to forget Hollywood and Raven Blaine.
For the next few days, Taffy raced home every day and checked the mail for a letter from Raven. Every day she was disappointed. At first she made up excuses for why he hadn't written.
He's busy. But Paige had written they went to the beach. If he had time to do that, surely he had time for a letter.
He's lost my address. But if he got it from Paige in the first place, he could get it from her again.
Finally there was only one reason she could think of for not hearing from Raven. He doesn't like me after all, she decided.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Gradually life at Wakeman Junior High got back to normal for Taffy. Most kids seemed to forget that she was a movie star, and they stopped staring at her in the halls and whispering behind her back. Word had spread quickly that she and Cory were going steady, and now she was sure that the jealous looks she got from other girls were because she was Cory Dillon's girlfriend.
Still, she couldn't help feeling a little depressed at how ordinary life at Wakeman was after the excitement of the movie set.
"It's so boring. All I do is go to the same old classes at the same old times day after day," she complained to Shawnie one day at lunch. "At least when I had a tutor on the set, I could work on whichever subject I felt like at the moment, just as long as I got it all done. And I only had to spend three hours a day in school. The rest of the time I rehearsed with the other kids or shot the scenes. It was definitely a lot more fun."
Shawnie nodded. "It does get pretty boring here sometimes," she admitted. "If it weren't for Media Club, I'd go berserk." Shawnie put down the sandwich she had started to bite into and looked at Taffy. "Hey, I've got a great idea. Why don't you join Media Club?"
"Media Club?" Taffy echoed. "Why would I want to do that?"
"What do you mean, why?" asked Shawnie. "You already know that we're doing a weekly show on the local cable television station. It's called The Wakeman Bulletin Board. If you got involved, it would give you a chance to get back in front of a camera again. You'd love it. Besides, it's something we could have a blast doing together."
Taffy gave Shawnie a skeptical look.
"I can see it all now," said Shawnie, bubbling with enthusiasm. "The greatest show biz team of all time: Pendergast and Sinclair. Ta-DA! Whoops!" she added, laughing, "Sinclair and Pendergast, of course."
Taffy smiled, but then her face clouded. "I don't know," she said slowly. "It wouldn't be anything like Hollywood."
"Of course not," Shawnie conceded. "But it's fun anyway. And with your experience, I'll bet there's a lot you could teach us—Mr. Levine included."
Interest flickered in Taffy's mind. She hadn't thought of it that way. It would be fun explaining to everyone how movies are made. She might even be able to suggest ways to improve the TV show.
"Come on, Taffy, say you'll do it," pleaded Shawnie. "Come with me today. We're going to be filming this week's show."
"Well . . ." Taffy hesitated.
"Pleeeease," said Shawnie, clasping her hands in front of her as if she were begging.
"Okay," said Taffy. "I'll try it once."
The more Taffy thought about Media Club during her afternoon classes, the better it sounded. Producing a television show would be a lot more interesting than math or English. And Shawnie had been right when she'd said it was something fun that they could do together.
After school Taffy met Shawnie at her locker.
"The club meets in the media center," said Shawnie as she led Taffy through the halls. "This month I'm one of the reporters, so I won't be in front of the camera."
"On camera," Taffy corrected.
"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say," said Shawnie with an embarrassed laugh.
All conversation stopped when Taffy walked into the media center. Funny Hawthorne and Beth Barry were moving chairs around, and they froze and stared at her. Shane Arrington and Jon Smith had been standing to one side talking, and they looked up, too.
Paul Smoke was the first to speak. "Oh, hi, Taffy. We're fixing up the set so that we can film today."
"You mean, you're dressing the set," said Taffy. "That's what we
call it in Hollywood."
Her words were met with stony silence. Oh, no, she thought. I'm doing it again. I'm talking about Hollywood and and turning everyone off. Still, she thought stubbornly, I know what I'm talking about. I thought that the purpose of this club was to learn about things like that.
"Come on, Taffy," said Shawnie, tugging on her arm. "Let me show you around."
"I know everyone resents me," she whispered to Shawnie. "Did you see the looks on Beth's and Funny's faces?"
"Don't worry about it," Shawnie assured her. "They'll get over it when they see what a pro you are."
Taffy wasn't sure they would, but she sighed and followed Shawnie on her grand tour.
"Jon suggested this corner of the media center as our set," Shawnie continued. "We think it looks a lot like the Today show or Good Morning America, don't you?" Taffy looked at Shawnie in disbelief, but she didn't reply.
"And that big posterboard on the easel is the title for our show. The camera zooms in on it at the beginning of each program. We had it professionally lettered. Doesn't it look great?"
Taffy nodded mutely. The Media Club was far more professional than she could ever have imagined.
"Well, hello, Taffy," said Mr. Levine. He had been looking over the script when the girls approached, and now he glanced up and smiled cordially.
Before Taffy could return his greeting, Shawnie said, "Taffy wants to join Media Club. Isn't that great? She'll be able to teach us all kinds of things."
Taffy was sure she heard someone groan behind her, but she pretended not to notice.
"We're certainly glad to have you," said Mr. Levine. "You might just want to watch today and see how we run our operation."
Shawnie pulled over a chair that had been moved off the set and motioned for Taffy to sit down, then perched on the arm beside her. "Paul Smoke and Tim Riggs are co-anchors, and Beth's the director this month. I was director last month. It's a hard job, but it's fun to boss everybody around," she said, giggling.
Taffy narrowed her eyes and watched Beth motion for Paul to scoot his chair a little closer to Tim's. Some director, she thought. Beth doesn't know the first thing about the job. My director, Jerry Lowenthal, would have noticed right away that half of Paul's face will be in shadows. She glanced toward Jon Smith, blinking in amazement when she noticed that he was focusing an ordinary camcorder that rested on his shoulder.
"He's filming with that?" she asked in astonishment.
"Hey," Shawnie protested. "This is a low-budget show."
"But . . . but . . ." Taffy sputtered. She was picturing the set of Nobody Likes Tiffany Stafford, where massive cameras moved around on wheels, and the lighting equipment and reflectors created the right mix of lights and shadows, and the sound booms were carefully placed to pick up the slightest noise.
"Where are the gaffers and the grips?" she wondered out loud. "Aren't you going to block out the movements of the cast?"
"Gaffers and grips? What are those? Jokes and props?" asked Shane, and everyone laughed.
Everyone but Taffy. She could feel her face turning bright crimson. She knew everyone was watching her, so she took a deep breath and said as calmly as she could, "Gaffers are the people in charge of the lighting equipment, and grips are the workmen who move it around."
"And I suppose that blocking out the movements of the cast is like blocking out football plays?" said Tim.
"Right," confirmed Taffy, glad that at least one person knew what she was talking about. "It's really important so everyone feels comfortable on the set before the cameras roll."
"Well, this isn't exactly Hollywood," Beth said sarcastically.
You can say that again, Taffy thought, but she didn't say it. Instead she looked around at the corner of the junior high media center that was doubling as the set, and at the hand-held camcorder Jon was going to use to film the show, and at her old enemy Beth Barry—the director—who knew absolutely nothing about directing, and her heart dropped into her shoes.
"No," she whispered to herself, "this really isn't Hollywood at all."
CHAPTER NINE
"I just couldn't believe how amateurish the whole thing was," Taffy complained for the hundredth time. She was talking to Cory on the telephone and had spent the past ten minutes filling him in on the after-school Media Club meeting she had gone to.
"So don't join," said Cory. "After all, you're big-time. You don't owe them anything."
"I know," Taffy said slowly. She twisted the phone cord around a finger and considered. "But it might hurt Shawnie's feelings if I don't join, and there really is a lot I could teach them. I'm going to think it over some more before I decide."
"In the meantime, why not come over to my house Saturday afternoon and listen to The Dreadful Alternatives rehearse," offered Cory. "We won't tell Kimm why you're really there," he added with a sly laugh.
A thrill raced through Taffy. Singing with Cory's band couldn't compare to Hollywood, but it would be a lot more fun than the Media Club.
"But what about Kimm?" she wondered aloud. "And the guys, too? Won't they think it's a little funny that I'm there?"
"Naw," Cory assured her. "Craig usually invites Shawnie to rehearsals on Saturdays. That's how Shawnie and Kimm got to be friends."
So that was it, Taffy thought, frowning. She had wondered how the two of them had gotten so friendly while she was in Hollywood. Keeping an eye on Kimm was another good reason for her to accept Cory's invitation.
"I'd love to go," said Taffy, "and if Shawnie's going, we'll ride over together on our bikes."
Shawnie was ecstatic at school the next morning when Taffy mentioned she'd be going to the rehearsal that Saturday. "That's terrific," she cried. "I knew he'd ask you to come. You won't believe how much fun the rehearsals are."
"I'll come by for you on my bike," Taffy volunteered.
"Great," said Shawnie. "Then we can ride over and get Kimm."
Anger flared in Taffy for an instant, but she tried not to let it show. She didn't want Shawnie to know she was jealous.
"You like Kimm a lot, don't you?" she asked cautiously.
Shawnie nodded. "So will you when you get to know her better. She's really nice, and besides that, she's . . . well, she's interesting."
"She seems like an ordinary person to me," Taffy grumbled.
Shawnie thought for a moment. "She is an ordinary person. At school she seems like everybody else. But didn't I tell you that one of her grandmothers came to this country from China and I learned to eat with chopsticks at her house? I've never known anyone like her before. She's fun to be around. Just wait, you'll see."
Taffy was glad that the bell rang then. They headed for their lockers, Taffy trying to figure out why Shawnie thought Kimm was so fascinating. So what if she was partly Chinese and ate with chopsticks at home? What had she ever done that was as special as making a movie? Maybe going by for Kimm on Saturday was a good idea after all, Taffy decided. It would give her a chance to look Kimm over more closely.
When the phone rang Saturday morning, Taffy heard her mother answer it and then continue talking. Disappointed that it wasn't for her, she started upstairs to her room but stopped midway when she heard her mother calling her.
"Taffy, honey. Good news. Merry Chase is holding a special acting class this afternoon, and she said you absolutely have to be there. Channing Crandall is in town, and he's going to be there, too! Isn't that wonderful?"
Taffy blinked in surprise. Channing Crandall was the Hollywood casting director who had auditioned her for the starring role in Nobody Likes Tiffany Stafford. What on earth was he doing in town?
Before she could ask, her mother went on, "I'll bet he has news about the TV series. Won't it be wonderful if he wants you to come back to Hollywood right away?"
Taffy nodded, but deep inside she wasn't sure. She missed Hollywood terribly, but things were going so well here now that . . . Cory! Taffy jumped as if she had been stuck with a pin. How could she have forgotten about Cor
y and about going to The Dreadful Alternatives' rehearsal this afternoon?
"Mom, I'm—"
"You'll have to forget about any plans you have with your friends this afternoon," Mrs. Sinclair interrupted as if she had read Taffy's mind. "This is much too important."
Taffy raced up to her room and slammed the door behind her, sprawling across her bed. She needed time to think. What if there was going to be a television series based on the movie? And what if she was chosen to play Tiffany Stafford again? It would mean living half the year in Hollywood and half the year at home.
"I almost lost my best friend when I was gone for only six weeks," she said aloud. "What would happen if I left for six months?"
She closed her eyes tightly and pulled the pillow over her head, not wanting to think about such a possibility.
"On the other hand," she argued a moment later, tossing the pillow aside and sitting up, "maybe Channing Crandall just happened to be in this part of the country and decided to stop in and say hello. After all, he travels all over the United States looking for talented actors and actresses."
Reluctantly Taffy went to the phone and called Cory, telling him she would have to miss his rehearsal.
"It's some kind of special acting class," she explained, being careful not to mention Channing Crandall or what his presence might mean. "I have to go. Mother laid down the law. Maybe I can come to rehearsal next Saturday," she added hopefully.
"Sure," Cory said without much enthusiasm.
Next Taffy called Shawnie, giving her the same story.
"Gosh, that's too bad," said Shawnie. "I know you would have had a blast. I guess Kimm and I will have to go without you."
Taffy started to say good-bye, but Shawnie spoke again.
"Are you sure you can't get out of going to acting class?" she asked.
"Positive," said Taffy. "Why?"
"Well," Shawnie said slowly, "I may be wrong, but I think that Kimm has a crush on Cory."
Taffy put down the receiver a moment later and stared into space. Now what am I going to do? she thought.