Secrets of My Hollywood Life (19 page)

"It is strange," Nadine agrees absentmindedly. I can hear her jotting notes in her bible. "But I think you're overreacting."

I feel my palms begin to sweat again. "I don't think so. I think this proves she snagged my Sidekick." I say, getting hyper.

Nadine pauses. "She could have taken your Sidekick. But if she had, she would have leaked it to the press by now to snag the Hutch role. She's always so quick to call the tabloids. Why would she sit on something this juicy?"

"I don't know." Now I'm getting
really
nervous.

"You're just anxious about seeing Austin tonight," Nadine soothes. "But I tell you what. If it makes you feel better, I'll call your mom and Laney and tell them about Sky. I'll call you back if we think there's a problem. Just get through your classes and go over to Liz's to get ready."

"Okay," I say, trying to be calm. Nadine's right. I'm sure I'm just looking for a problem. But I can't help feeling jumpy when Nadine texts my Sidekick II.

Friday 4/16 6 PM

FUTUREPREZ: Spoke to Laney. The only call she got about U is 1 from
Celeb Insider
asking 2 do a piece on U being up 4 the Hutch role.

PRINCESSLEIA25: U swear?

FUTUREPREZ: Yes. But your mom, Laney, and I aren't taking chances.

PRINCESSLEIA25: R U worried?

FUTUREPREZ: No. Just prepared. Rod and I r coming W/U to make sure nothing goes wrong..

PRINCESSLEIA25: How?

FUTUREPREZ: U'll see. Just give Liz a heads-up.

"Rachel, who are you texting?" Allison asks as she paints her nails bubble gum pink.

"Oh, just my Mom." I quickly drop my Sidekick II in my bag.

"Well, stop texting her and go get ready!" Beth exclaims, waving her mascara wand. "We've got to leave in an hour!"

At
6:55
PM, Angelina, Halle, Lindsay, and I, the fake Kaitlin Burke, are finally ready. All that's left to do is meet Liz's date, Josh, who is being dropped off at her house at seven. I've never seen Liz look so nervous. She keeps playing with her hair extensions and double-checking her fake tattoos to make sure they haven't smudged.

"Liz, you've outdone us all," I say in awe, admiring her strapless black leather gown and laced-up strappy heels. I peer over the upstairs landing and see a guy below holding a pink corsage box. He's pacing the marble tile floor. "He's here," I whisper. Liz pushes the hair from her extension behind her ear and takes the lead down the entrance hall's ten-foot-wide pink marble staircase.

"Hey," Josh murmurs, clearing his throat at the sight of Liz looking so bootylicious. For his Brad Pitt look, Josh is wearing beat-up jeans, a stained gray tee over his muscular upper body, and is sporting bluish bruises on his arms and face.

"Wow, who did your makeup?" Beth asks him. "Those bruises look awesome."

"They're real," Liz explains proudly. "Josh won our kick-boxing championship on Wednesday night." Josh blushes slightly, the pink hue matching his strawberry blond hair.

"Hi, girls, Josh," Mr. Mendes greets us, walking by the staircase as he throws on his coat. "Have a good time." He's wearing a leather jacket, and black shades cover his bald head, even though it's nighttime. Mr. Mendes gives me a little wink. I wink back. He's the only other person outside my camp who knows my secret. Laney thought my lawyer was a good person to inform, in case of emergency.

"Wait, Dad -- aren't you driving us?" Liz asks.

"Actually, I have a better idea." He grins and opens the front door. We look outside. In the large circular driveway is a deluxe black Hummer limo. Standing in front of it, wearing a tux, is none other than Rodney. He's not used to dressing so formally and looks uncomfortable with the top button of his shirt done up.

"Rod!" Backup has arrived.

"Good evening, ladies." Rodney cuts me off before I can put my foot in my mouth. "I'm Rodney. I'm going to be your driver for the evening." He tilts his hat forward and bows.

Allison laughs. "This is so cool. I bet no one else is arriving in a limo tonight."

"Other than Sky," Beth reminds her.

"Have fun, ladies." Mr. Mendes winks at me and Liz again. "And Josh, make sure you get my daughter home on time tonight."

"Yes, s-sir, Mr. Mendes," Josh stutters. Mr. Mendes gives Liz a peck on the check and jumps into his red Jag. He's probably off to have dinner with Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani.

When Rodney opens the back door to the limo, I can't believe my eyes. Out pops Nadine wearing a crisply tailored cream-colored pant suit. She has a digital camera dangling from her neck. She strides over to Liz, never once looking in my direction.

"You must be Liz." She shakes her hand firmly. "I'm Nadine. Your dad asked me to take professional pictures of you as a memento of the evening."

I have to hand it to Nadine. She's sneaky enough to run for office.

"Wow," Beth exclaims. She looks at her watch. "We don't really have much time though...."

"Actually, I'm going to be riding along with you," Nadine informs us. "I can hang out with Rodney here and take pictures of you and your dates afterwards too." Liz looks shyly at Josh.

"Yeah, no date here," Allison announces wryly, pointing at herself.

"You've got me." Beth links arms with Allison.

"Rach, she can take a picture of you and Austin," Allison offers.

"Aww, you guys are going to look so cute together," Beth teases. "I can't believe how much you look like Kaitlin Burke." She stands back to admire my vintage green silk Oriental dress by So Chic. It's Sam's from a dinner party episode. I wore the dress home one night after a late shoot and forgot to bring it back. I don't think anyone even realizes it's missing.

HOLLYWOOD SECRET NUMBER SEVENTEEN: Costume designers make several copies of a crucial outfit. If it's something the actor has to wear all the time, they can't risk it getting damaged during filming, so they buy more than one. When you go to Planet Hollywood and see Superman's cape, just remember, there are several more just like it sitting in a studio warehouse. On
FA,
we have about ten copies of Sam's cheerleading uniform.

The hardest part about my Kaitlin costume was the wig. I had to put a cheap pale blond synthetic wig over my own blond hair. I locked myself in Liz's bathroom to do it and crammed my short brown bob under Liz's sink.

"Thanks, Bethie. You look better than Halle yourself." Beth smiles at me. She's got her hair pinned back smoothly and is wearing a gorgeous taupe bridesmaid's dress that she wore to her sister's wedding. The crushed satin gown looks a lot like something I saw Halle wear to the SAG Awards last year. Allison looks good too in a pin-straight long red wig and a skin-tight black mini-dress that shows off her dancer's legs.

Josh takes Liz's hand and helps her climb into the limo, then turns around and helps Beth and Allison. As they each giggle and disappear into the dark cabin, I can't help but feel a little guilty. Beth and Allison have been so nice to me. Well, the fake me. I wonder what they're going to think when Rachel leaves Clark.

"Rach, or should I say, Kaitlin, are you coming?" Allison asks, sticking her head out of the shiny stretch. I take Josh's hand and climb inside. At least I won't forget my name tonight. I sit down, and the green sequined clutch resting on my lap begins to vibrate. I pull out my cell phone and look at the screen. It's Laney.

"Hi,
Mum,"
I answer.

"FEEL BETTER ABOUT TONIGHT?" Laney shouts. I hear cheering in the background and the sound of cameras going off. She must be at a movie premiere.

"Yes,
Mum."
I look at Liz and Nadine. "You should see the limo and photographer Liz's dad got us. They're amazing."

"NADINE'S IDEA. NOT THAT YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. THE ONLY CALL I'VE GOTTEN TODAY IS FROM
CELEB INSIDER.
THEY WANTED TO DO A PUFF PIECE."

"Good." I breathe a sigh of relief.

"BUT REMEMBER -- SHOULD ANYTHING GO WRONG, GIVE REPORTERS THE
MARIE CLAIRE
STORY."

"Nothing's going to go wrong," I reassure her.

"FIRST SIGN OF TROUBLE AND RODNEY AND NA-DINE ARE UNDER ORDER TO WHISK YOU OUT OF THERE," Laney warns me anyway.

"Deal," I agree.

"I WON'T START WITH YOU NOW, BUT YOU KNOW THIS IS A SIGN YOU SHOULD START WRAPPING THE SCHOOL THING UP."

Across from me, Beth and Allison are giggling as Nadine takes a picture of them wearing each other's wigs.

"I know," I say sadly.

"YOU SHOULD START PREPPING FOR THE HUTCHIE FILM. I'M SURE YOU'RE GOING TO GET IT."

Next, Nadine takes a picture of the three girls together, all wearing opposite wigs. God, I hope they don't ask me to take off mine. "We'll talk about wrapping it up this weekend, okay?" I agree, watching them.

"OKAY. HAVE FUN," Laney orders. I hear muffled voices in the background yelling the word "Julia." "HOLD ON. GUYS, WRAP IT UP," I hear Laney bark. "JULIA HAS TO GET INSIDE ... KAITLIN, I HAVE TO GO."

"Okay. But did you just tell me to have fun?"

She chuckles. "WHY NOT? I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE SCHEDULED FOR YOU TONIGHT."

"Thanks,
Mom."
I sigh. "I'll talk to you tomorrow." I hang up just as we pull up to Clark's stone wall gates. Rodney drives the limo across campus and parks in the packed gymnasium parking lot. As we begin to exit the Hummer, I notice through the covered gym windows red and blue lights from the DJ booth pulsing to the faraway sounds of the Black Eyed Peas.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to escort you all inside," Rodney announces. "I promised your father I would," he adds, looking at me.

"Thanks, Rodney," Liz says, holding Josh's hand. "Will you be here to pick us up after?"

"Yep. In the same spot," he tells her as we walk towards the door. "Your father said to take you anywhere you want to go."

"Maybe we can get something to eat afterwards," Liz suggests, looking at Josh.

"Yeah, if Rach plans on joining us," Beth teases. "We may not be able to pull her away from Austin."

"Ha, ha." I poke her in the ribs.

"Hey, what is that van from
Celeb Insider
doing here?" Allison asks as we get closer to the gym's double doors. A white van with electrical wires poking out of the door and winding into the school is backed up to the gym steps.

"Oh, that must be for Sky," Beth comments absently. "She told me she may have some press here to cover her participation."

"That would explain why
Hollywood Nation
is here too," Allison adds, pointing to another van located a few parking spots away.

"I thought you said it was just a magazine reporter," Liz exclaims.

"What's the difference?" Beth shrugs.

I look at Nadine and Liz. Nadine looks from me to Rodney.

Nadine never gets ruffled, but now she looks a little nervous. She walks in front of us and blocks the doorway. "Why don't we get a few more pictures of you guys before you go inside?" She motions to Rodney. "Rodney could you get my assistant
Laney
on the phone?" He quickly pulls his cell out of his tuxedo pants pocket and begins dialing.

"We can take more pictures later," Beth says, pushing ahead of Nadine and opening the door before I can stop her. "I'm dying to see how the gym looks filled with people." She grabs my hand and Liz's free one. "Come on, you guys."

Beth pulls Liz, Josh, and me through the open double doors before Nadine can stop her. I look around the crowded dance floor nervously. I see Tom Cruises, Paris Hiltons, and a lone Johnny Depp, but nothing out of the ordinary. As Beth pulls me along, I turn around and look for Nadine. She's standing in the doorway talking animatedly on the phone. I must look nervous because when Nadine looks up and sees me, she smiles weakly and motions to Rodney, who appears to be tracking me at a distance.

"Are you okay?" Liz frees her right arm from Beth's grasp. "I'm sure everything is fine." I nod. "We'll be by the photo booth if you need us." She squeezes my bare arm and walks off with Josh and Allison.

"I want to introduce you to Sky," Beth squeals, tugging me along.

"Actually, I have to go meet Austin," I tell her, and free my arm. "I'll meet her later."

"It will just take a minute," Beth insists, looking around the packed gym. But before she can grab my arm again, Rob Murray walks up dressed as Will Smith. He smiles at Beth shyly. That distracts her.

"I'll be right back with Austin," I apologize, hurrying off. I peer over people's bobbing heads and see The Ivy across the room. I try to hurry through the dance floor, but it takes forever. Every few feet, I see someone I know and wind up chatting about costumes. (I have to keep from laughing when people ask, "You're dressed as who?")

When I finally make it over to The Ivy, I see Austin standing alone in front of the crowded café. He looks cuter than Trevor ever could, I think as I take in his seersucker pants (a bad Trevor trademark), white Lacoste shirt (I don't think Trevor knows what Lacoste is), and black aviator shades. Austin sees me and breaks into a wide grin. My stomach drops to the floor. And that's when I realize -- despite everything going on at the moment, all I care about is reaching him and telling him how much I like him. Could it be that Austin feels the same way? He strides towards me, never breaking eye contact, and I feel my cheeks burn hotly. I'm a few feet away when someone grabs my shoulder.

"I found Sky," Beth exclaims excitedly as Rob bounces to the Mariah Carey tune behind her. "She really wants to meet you." Before I can protest, Beth yells, "Sky over here!"

"What do you mean she really wants to meet me?" I demand, whirling Beth around so fast that her pearls whip her in the face. She and Rob look at me surprised. "She's been asking me all kinds of questions about Clark Hall," Beth says. "She wanted to know all about you guys -- especially you, Rach."

Sky wanted to talk about someone other than herself?

"Is that so?" I try to remain calm. "Why is that?" I turn my head to the left and see Sky strutting straight towards us with two bodyguards at her side and a
Hollywood Nation
crew following close behind her. She's causing such a commotion a crowd has formed around her, including Lori and Jessie, who are dressed as Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. I turn around desperately and search the crowd for Rodney. I see him barreling towards Sky. Two more bodyguards appear and start pushing him back. Oh man, this isn't good.