... not in love with Kale Eddison (24 page)

“Well?” Izzie
was on the edge of the bench eagerly waiting for Kale to spill it
all.

Kale still
looked to be in shock, “He said the job’s still mine if I want it.”
He looked at Izzie now and she grinned at him.

“Oh my God …
are you serious? Well you have to take it.” Izzie flapped at him,
“Please tell me you agreed to it?”

Kale looked to
be more alert now, “I told him I’d have to get back to him; he’s
given me 48 hours and then he’s finding a replacement.”

Izzie gaped at
him, “What are you waiting for? Call him back! Tell him you still
want it … go on!”

Kale shook his
head, “I don’t know Iz, we’ve just made some progress here … I
don’t want to mess this up before it’s even had a chance to become
something.”

Izzie glared at
him, “Kale Eddison, you are too good an actor to turn this down. I
know I always criticised your acting ability but I confess … I
realised during the play that you’re great. You were born to play
this part and I have every faith in you that you can do it justice.
It will be the start of something great for you … I can feel
it.”

Kale tried to
protest but Izzie stopped him, “Don’t argue … tell Sam you’ll be
there.”

Kale nodded,
“Ok, I feel bad leaving again but ok; I’ll phone him back.”

After Kale had
hung up, Izzie nodded at him in approval, “There … that wasn’t so
hard … was it?”

Kale sighed,
“Not as hard it will be to leave you … again.”

Izzie rolled
her eyes, “It probably wouldn’t have worked out anyway …”

Kale smirked,
“Yeah, you’d have killed me after a week.” Izzie laughed at this
and then Kale turned serious, “Seriously though, I think we
could’ve made it work … still could.” He looked hopeful and Izzie
smiled.

“Kale…” she
laughed but continued on, “it’s not exactly the ideal situation, is
it? I think we should remain friends … it worked well before.”

Kale agreed,
“Ok … I’ll still hold on for something more though … you know I
will.”

Izzie
half-smiled and changed the subject, “You should get going … your
flight leaves in a few hours.”

Kale knew this
was true but he still wanted to stay, “I know, I know.”

Izzie smiled
sadly, “Hey, just know I’ll only be a phone call away … just incase
you need me.”

Kale nodded, “I
wish I wasn’t in love with you so much; it would make this a whole
lot easier.”

Izzie laughed,
“Come on Kale, perk up … no more mushy talk. Get going … I’ll talk
to you soon, yeah?”

Kale gave in,
“Yeah, ok … I’m going … I just …” he trailed off and looked into
Izzie’s eyes and she felt herself melting; damn him for making this
so difficult.

She sighed and
tried to break the eye contact between them but she didn’t get the
chance; Kale pulled her towards him and they shared a long,
farewell kiss.

Izzie tutted at
him when they broke apart and scolded him; “That’s
not
making it any easier Kale.”

He smirked, “I
just wanted to say goodbye properly this time.”

Izzie grinned;
how could she be mad at that? She laughed as she shooed him off and
she watched him disappear in a waiting car a few minutes later …
then she felt her heart break all over again.

March

April

Chapter
Eighteen

It was half-way
through May now and Izzie was still miserable. The past two months
without her grandmother had been hard enough but coupled with the
fact that she hadn’t heard from Kale at all … well she was down in
the depths of a deep depression. It was like she was on auto-pilot
everyday: go to school, go to work, do homework, eat and then go to
bed. Izzie failed to remember the last time she laughed or even
felt happy; sure she put on a brave face when surrounded by her
parents or anybody at school but the truth was that she felt
incomplete. She had this huge black, gaping hole in her heart … but
nobody could see it; only she knew it was there.

Izzie sighed to
herself as she finished off yet another essay and then turned her
attention to the clock on her desk: 12 midnight; yet another day
without Kale and it still wasn’t getting any easier. She yawned and
decided to go to bed; she hoped tomorrow would be the day that she
finally started to get over Kale; it was rather silly of her to get
so upset over something she never really had but it still hurt.
Izzie sighed again and miserably crawled into bed; she wondered
what Kale was up to at this very minute … she strongly suspected
that – wherever he was – one thing was for sure; she was, most
likely, the last thing on his mind.

The next day,
Izzie came to the conclusion that she had been right; an article
about Kale had appeared in the paper – after nearly three months of
nothing, there it was; black and white proof that Kale had
apparently forgotten about her already.

Tess Drudger,
the local reporter, had been most disappointed with the lack of
gossip surrounding Kale those last few months but she had appeared
to get over this fact very quickly now; there was an entire two
page spread on Kale and all the gossip from the set of the ‘Sam
Oliver movie’.

Izzie; mad at
Kale but also curious, quickly flicked through to find the
article.

‘‘
Kale
Eddison fans rejoice!’

Ok hardcore
fans … calm yourselves. Yes, you have indeed read this correctly;
our Hollywood Golden Boy is back on the radar! As you know, these
past few months have been extremely quiet on the Kale-front; one
minute he was attending his High School classes and the next he had
disappeared back to America without so much as a ‘goodbye’. We all
know he left Ms Izzie Frank behind to pick up the pieces but what
she didn’t know was that – instead of being heartbroken or pining
for his love – he has been living it up when he is not on the set
of his new film, ‘Bad Times’.

It has been
rumoured that our Kale has been seen out partying with numerous
women, boozing all night and even getting caught up in drunken
brawls. What – I hear you cry – has gotten into our favourite
Golden Boy? Don’t despair young fans! Our reporter has the pleasure
– or should that be horror – of being able to inform you all of
what exactly is going on.

It has come
from a reliable source that our Mr Kale Eddison has gone off the
rails! These past few months, he has been acting out of character
and has been accused of being downright rude. It has also been
suggested that he has been fired from his latest movie project for
his despicable and unacceptable behaviour. So, all you fans out
there, there you have it. Kale has not – as we presumed – turned
into a recluse; he has been exhibiting some unsuitable behaviour
and generally acting like an idiot.

Frankly, I
think that after this article, Kale Eddison will find himself
losing many of his precious fans and – most certainly – the
affection of Ms Izzie Frank in the process. Kale – if you’re
reading this (i.e. you’re not on a bender somewhere) – not a smart
move buddy; you’re only going to end up hurt and all alone. That
said, the question everyone is bound to be asking is, “What on
earth is going through Kale Eddison’s head?”’

Two more weeks
had passed since the article and Izzie found herself forgetting all
about it; she was too preoccupied by the fact that school was
beginning to draw to a close. She had other things to worry about
and it seemed to be that Kale had moved on. Her final year was but
a mere three weeks away and she wondered how it had sneaked up on
her so quickly. She sighed as she made her way into school and was
not best pleased when Stacey Johnson stopped her in her tracks; not
improving her already foul mood.

“Isobel! About
time you showed up; there’s a committee meeting in half an hour …
bring all the details with you.” She stalked off and left Izzie
standing, open mouthed.

Izzie felt
quite sick; how could she have forgotten about all the preparations
that needed to be done for the Formal? She started to panic; she
hadn’t completed one task! She had been too wrapped up in her
heartache that she had forgotten all about it. Izzie felt panic
wash over her and sweat break out on her forehead; she had just
realised – out of all the tasks Stacey had left her to do – she had
forgotten to sort out a band and the Formal was due to take place –
she glanced at the poster stuck to the wall to her left –
this
Friday night … two days away! Izzie could only think of
two words for a situation like this … ‘Oh shit’.

Naturally,
Stacey had been pissed at Izzie; she had yelled, screamed and even
threw a foot-stamping tantrum. Izzie had been quite scared and
everyone on the Committee had backed away quickly to avoid her line
of fire. In the end, Stacey had told Izzie that it was her sole
responsibility to fix it … or else. Izzie had been pulling her hair
out ever since; she had managed to sort everything else out – with
the help of her mother – but the one thing she couldn’t sort out
was the most important … the band. She had tried and failed every
band listed but none of them were available at such short notice;
in other words … she was screwed.

Izzie sighed;
it was now Thursday night and she was in full panic mode. She
desperately flicked through the phone book and decided to try some
DJs that were listed; she crossed her fingers, grabbed the
telephone and typed in the number to the first name on the list; DJ
Jeff.

After numerous
phone calls, Izzie was at her wits end; there was only one name
left and if he wasn’t available … well then her life wouldn’t be
worth living when Stacey got hold of her. Izzie wearily typed in DJ
Chill’s number and waited for someone to pick up. After a few
rings, Izzie was relieved when a male voice answered the phone.

“Yeah, what
up?”

Izzie cringed
but ploughed on with her plead regardless, “Hi, DJ Chill? I was
wondering if you were able to play for the Hartside High School
Formal tomorrow night? I know it’s short notice but … you are
literally my last hope. Can you do it?”

She heard the
voice chuckle throatily, “Ok, ok, since you sound desperate; I’ll
do it. It’s gonna cost you extra though.”

Izzie sighed in
relief, “Oh my God, thank you so much. That’s fine, whatever it is
… consider it a deal.”

After a few
negotiations about the price and details about where the Formal was
being held, Izzie hung up ten minutes later feeling optimistic;
yeah, it wasn’t the band that everyone had agreed on but at least
it was some form of musical entertainment. She yawned; exhausted by
her frantic phone calls and decided to take an early night; after
all, she required some beauty sleep for tomorrow night … even if
she was flying solo.

Izzie was
thankful that, when Stacey had interrogated her earlier today, she
could tell her with complete confidence that she had the
entertainment booked; she neglected to mention who it was but
Stacey had seemed pleased so Izzie decided not to venture the
details. It was hard to believe that tonight was the Formal and
Izzie had been double-checking everything all day; if she managed
to pull it off without a hitch, there was a small chance that
Stacey might not kill her.

When the final
school bell rang, Izzie made a break for it; she would have to get
ready quite early as she had been told by Stacey to go to the venue
as soon as possible before the Formal started to make sure
everything was perfect. Izzie sped down the road and rushed into
the house like a whirlwind. She flung her dress – the one her
grandmother had given her at Christmas – onto the bed as well as
all the accessories before jumping into the shower.

Half an hour
later and Izzie was transformed; her hair was styled into soft
curled tendrils complete with hair band, her face had the barest
hint of make-up and her dress looked even better on than it had on
the hanger. She was ready and actually felt a little excited about
the Formal; she let her mother take the necessary pictures before
she was out the door again in a flash.

Izzie arrived
at the venue – a local hotel – just after four-thirty and inspected
the hall; it was quite spectacular. There were lots of silver and
light blue balloons floating above each table where the meal would
be served; in one corner, a stage had been set up to accommodate
the DJ when he arrived and beside it; a rather large wooden dance
floor. Everything looked to be in order; there were chair covers
decorated with silver ribbons and scattered across the room were
fancy arrangements of white roses decorated with ribbon and ornate
butterflies. All in all, Izzie was very pleased; Stacey wouldn’t be
able to find fault with anything.

Soon it was
time for everyone to start arriving; Izzie checked to see if the
photographer had arrived and was pleased to find him already
stationed by the hall entrance. She smiled at him and then gladly
flopped down onto one of the dining chairs to rest before the rest
of her year turned up.

Stacey was
first to arrive with her date – a boy Izzie didn’t recognise – and
Izzie noticed how she looked everything over and nodded her
approval over at Izzie, who breathed a sigh of relief. Next, Maddie
appeared with Jake and neither glanced Izzie’s way which suited her
just fine; Maddie had been a terrible friend and Izzie remembered –
with a jolt of pain – that it had been Kale who had shown Izzie the
light in bringing out Maddie’s true colours. Izzie pushed all
thoughts of Kale out of her head and promised herself not to think
about him again for the rest of the night.

By 7.30pm, her
whole year was sitting down to a delicious three-course meal.
Everyone was in high spirits and talking animatedly amongst one
another … everyone – that is – except for Izzie. She was sitting at
the table with the least amount of people and hadn’t bothered to
socialise with them all throughout dinner; she just wanted to be
left alone. When the last dessert plate had been cleared away, most
people made their way to the bar while others circulated around
different tables.