... not in love with Kale Eddison (6 page)

“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.

They made their
way out of the darkened room and were momentarily blinded by the
sudden brightness of the corridor ahead of them. As their eyesight
adjusted, Izzie looked at her grandmother, “So you aren’t too
disappointed you didn’t get to see ole Dean, are you?”

Her grandmother
laughed, “Not at all, that Kale is easy on the eyes too.”

Izzie rolled
her eyes and threw her grandmother a weary look to which her
grandmother told her, “Don’t be like that, I never said
anything!”

Izzie chuckled,
“You don’t even have to say what you really mean, I can read you
too well; I know exactly what you are trying to get at! Just drop
it Gran, let’s talk about something else.”

Her grandmother
gave a defeated sigh, “Fine but first I need to tinkle dear. I’ll
be back in a minute.” Izzie watched her grandmother make her way to
the Ladies and wait in the short queue. Izzie propped herself
against the wall while she waited and rested the back of her head
against the cold hard concrete with her eyes closed.

A minute later,
she was being poked – very painfully – in the arm by someone.
Izzie’s eyes flew open and saw nothing; nobody seemed to be left in
the corridor. Then she looked to her right and jerked back when she
found herself in close proximity – too close for comfort– with
Kale.

“Hey, fancy
seeing you here.” Kale flashed his Hollywood smile at her and Izzie
found herself momentarily stunned by how handsome he looked. She
mentally shook herself before she answered.

“Oh, it’s you –
again. What brings you out to the ever-so-exciting cinema? Come to
see yourself in action? As if looking at yourself in the mirror all
the time isn’t enough.”

Kale smirked,
“Ooh touché … you are a very witty girl! No, as much as I wanted to
watch myself act badly … I was actually here to watch the new Dean
Jameson movie.”

Izzie looked at
him with raised eyebrows; she was very sceptical that this was the
truth. Nevertheless, she attempted to look interested, “Yeah, we
were looking to see that one but had to make do with the crap one
you were in. How’d you manage to snake a ticket to ‘Rising
Suns’?”

Kale smiled,
“The ticket cashier was very persuasive when I gave her an
autograph. Although, I now regret that we didn’t meet in the queue
since I could have saved you from my terrible acting. You and the
other member of your ‘we’ could’ve sat through two hours of some
fine acting … that Dean really nails the ‘one tear anguished look’
that I strive so hard to perfect.”

Izzie couldn’t
help but laugh, “Wow, you really talk some rubbish, you know that?
Though, I have to agree that your acting was terrible ... but my
Gran didn’t seem to mind. Think you may have gained another fan in
her but you can definitely count me out!”

Kale looked
amused, “Ouch, well I did say I loved your honesty … harsh as it
may be! So the ‘we’ you were referring to was your grandmother
then?”

Izzie looked at
him like he was stupid, “Uh yeah, that’s what I said, didn’t I?
Why, you think taking your granny to the cinema is lame?”

Kale shook his
head, “No, I don’t. I actually think that’s sweet, not many people
our age like hanging out with their grandparents.” He looked quite
serious as he said this so Izzie didn’t say anything. Kale smiled
at her and sighed, “So, where is your grandmother? I’d love to meet
her.”

Izzie nodded to
the bathroom, “She had to go to the Ladies but she’ll be back in a
minute or two – just don’t go giving her a heart attack!” She
laughed and found Kale chuckled too.

“Don’t worry,
I’ll try not to! So, not to be nosey but I thought you were here
last night with your friend – Maddie, right?” He looked at her
curiously and Izzie found herself looking into those baby blues of
his and answering him honestly; she had every intention of lying to
him but found she couldn’t – weird!

“Oh,” she
began; trying to look nonchalant, “Maddie found out about Jake’s
party and wanted to go to it instead but she didn’t tell me until I
was in the car. She got really mad that I hadn’t predicted that she
had changed her mind so I just stayed in and she went on ahead. Why
do you care anyway?”

Kale shrugged,
“No reason. Your friend seems to be a bit of a mercurial girl
though – not that it’s a bad thing but she doesn’t have the right
to flip out at you for something so insignificant.”

Izzie nodded,
“Fair point but that’s just Maddie. What did you do last night
then? Since you want to invade my private life … I’ll invade yours
a little. So, was it practising your ‘one tear anguish look’ in the
mirror or reading about yourself online?”

Kale
half-smiled, “None of the above … just read some scripts and
arranged with my assistant, Alicia, the best way to come here
undetected.” He looked a little guilty admitting the last part.

“Ah,” Izzie
nodded, “I wondered how you avoided the screaming fans and the
microphone and camera brigade. Though why do you look so guilty for
wanting some privacy?”

Kale shrugged,
“I guess because without the fans and the media … I wouldn’t be
where I am today and it’s like an unwritten rule that you have to
appreciate the fans and whatnot. I feel it’s my duty to be
constantly signing autographs and giving interviews.”

Izzie shook her
head in disbelief; she actually felt a little sorry for him, “But
you can’t expect that of yourself. I mean everyone is entitled to
privacy – famous or not! You’re not a machine Kale; everyone needs
a break once in a while – even egotistic superstars like you.”

Kale chuckled,
“And there I thought you were actually being nice to me for once!
You really think I’m egotistic?”

Izzie was saved
from answering as her grandmother finally exited the toilets.

“Oh Izzie,” she
exclaimed, “sorry I took so long but the toilets were absolutely
disgusting, I had to thoroughly clean one before I even thought
about using it! I hope you weren’t waiting too long – oh,” her
grandmother paused as she caught sight of Kale, “I needn’t have
hurried back, I didn’t realise you were busy.”

Izzie threw her
a warning look when she noticed her grandmother eyeing Kale and
then look at Izzie approvingly. “No, we’re not busy. Come on Gran,
Kale was just leaving.”

Kale smiled at
Charlotte Frank and she found herself getting giddy, “Hey Mrs –” he
paused and Izzie watched her grandmother smile.

“Mrs Frank dear
but you can call me Charlotte.”

Kale smiled,
“Ok, Charlotte, I heard you’re a big fan. Did you enjoy the
film?”

“Why yes I did
Kale, and may I say how well-mannered and pleasant you are … to
hear Izzie you’d think you were a rude little -”

“Gran!” Izzie
cut across, “Kale needs to be going and so do we … come on.”

Kale watched
the two of them amusedly and smiled as Izzie and her grandmother
abruptly left the cinema; the latter waving pleasantly at him. Kale
had been quite pleased that he had ran into Izzie; she wasn’t
afraid to tell him what she thought and could be downright rude to
him at times but she was brutally honest about his performances and
Kale actually liked this about her; he actually felt like he was
Kale; regular guy not Kale Eddison the mega film star. It was
refreshing and he hoped to talk to her again in school – if she let
him. He smiled to himself and figured she would; after all, they
had all the same classes so she couldn’t escape from him and he
assumed she wouldn’t want to be rude when he gave her the
personalised autograph for her grandmother on Monday. He had really
liked her grandmother and hoped to see her again; maybe if he
stayed on the right side of Izzie, he just might.

On Monday
morning, much to Izzie’s annoyance, Kale was waiting by her locker.
What the heck did he want now? She sighed as she swung open her
locker with more force than necessary; she was secretly hoping to
hit that perfect face of his but he ducked out of the way at the
last second. Disappointed, Izzie ignored him and packed her books
into her bag while she waited for him to speak. It didn’t take him
long to take the hint that he was to make the first move.

“So, did you
have a good weekend? How’s your grandmother?” Kale cringed at
himself; he really thought he could have come up with a better
opening than that. He was an actor; he was meant to be brimming
with confidence and be able to think of something intelligent to
say but Izzie seemed to strip him of these powers for some reason
that was unknown to him.

Izzie
reluctantly looked at him; she figured she’d have to throw the poor
bloke a bone; after all, he was being perfectly pleasant to her.
“Yeah, it was ok and Gran’s fine, thanks.”

Kale smiled,
“That’s good … I have something for her. It’s just an autograph; I
figured she might like it.” He handed her the picture and watched
her put one last book in her bag along with the autograph and slam
her locker closed.

“Thanks, I’m
sure she’ll love it. So, you have a nice weekend?” Izzie felt she
had to show him the same courtesy he had shown her, though she
regretted not being able to conjure up something a bit wittier.

Kale shrugged,
“Same old, same old; read through scripts and hung around the
house. The life of an actor is not that exciting contrary to what
people believe.”

Izzie nodded,
“Hm, so how do you manage to escape the paparazzi every morning?
You must have one hell of an assistant.”