Sunset Boulevard (33 page)

Jake squinted sideways at Ash. "A total piece of shit? Three-quarters, maybe, but not total." He

worried for a split second that Ash would think the joke was lame. But Ash laughed.

"What's more than three-quarters?"

"Seven-eighths," Jake said automatically.

"Then I'm that," Ash said. "I said that I had to hang out with her against my will. Which was a

little true, at first. But then I started to like her." Ash swallowed as he imagined what Daisy

was doing now. He'd wanted so badly to protect her, and then he'd been the one to hurt her the

worst, after all her ex-boyfriend drama with that punk musician. He just couldn't seem to get

girls right these days.

"You can't not have first impressions," Jake said, pressing the brake as they got caught behind

another snarl of traffic. He smiled at the memory of Kady calling him perfect. Not perfect

enough to visit her in Prague, apparently. "I totally freaked Kady out. She says she's going to

Prague, and I'm practically booking a honeymoon suite in some old castle. Who does that?"

Jake quickly told Ash his unlikely story--that he'd crushed on Amelie, gotten in the movie, and

wound up with Kady after getting lessons from Jojo. For some reason, he didn't feel weird

telling Ash everything, even the Justin Klatch mantra.

"Well, you gotta try. And there's another girl out there," Ash said, laughing bitterly. He'd found

his other girl, and look how that had turned out. "Just don't screw it up."

Jake moved the car through an opening in the sea of brake lights, winding down the exit to

their street.

He pulled to a stop on the curb between their houses. Ash hopped out, while Jake remained in

the driver's seat. A few steps onto his lawn, Ash stopped and turned back. "Hey, want to come

inside, play some PS3?" He grinned. "The graphics are way better than that shit we used to

play on Nintendo 64."

Jake chuckled. "Oh yeah? Was it the graphics' fault that I beat your ass at Mortal Kombat?"

Ash shook his head, laughing. "No, that was 'cause you're a total freak."

Jake tinkered with the keys hanging from the ignition. A friend would be nice right now. But

he had a friend, one he had completely screwed over. One who had hunted high and low for

the perfect car that now sat lonely in the driveway. One who had begged Jake to take him to the

next big party, who never had a moment of disbelief or jealousy when Jake scored a date with

Kady, one who'd pretty much do anything for him out of friendship, not because he wanted

anything in return.

As Queen wound down the song with "You, you're my best friend," Jake knew what he had to

do. As tired as he was, it was time to pay Miles a visit. To make an apology. And to grab a

huge bag of In-N-Out burger with fries as both a peace offering and, thank God, the first starch

to enter his system in days.

"You know, it sounds good, dude," Jake said. "But I have somewhere to be tonight. And I

think you do too."

Ash nodded. "Yeah, I should probably do the whole find-her-and-tell-her-how-I-feel thing,

huh?" he said, heading to his Camaro instead of his front door. "But anytime."

As Jake headed in the direction of Miles's house, he decided that "anytime" would be sometime

soon.

PENCILS, BOOKS, AND DIRTY LOOKS

The day after the party, Amelie lugged her heavy Big Brown Bags through the corridors of the

Beverly Center. After she wrapped filming a movie or a season of
Fairy Princess
, she and her

mom always went on a shopping spree.

They passed a trio of girls about her age, all wearing nearly identical skinny jeans, high-top

Vans, and tank tops--skater girl chic. Amelie eyed them jealously, watching their bright yellow

Forever21 bags swing back and forth on their wrists. They'd probably just had more normal

teenage fun in the fitting rooms than she'd had in her whole life.

"Are you getting too old to shop with your mom?" Helen said, shoving her Aveda receipt into

her plaid Burberry tote. "Maybe you'd rather have called your girlfriends from Beverly Hills

High, or Kady?"

Amelie grinned wanly. She didn't feel too old to shop with her mom at all, though she did

sometimes wish she had a few girlfriends to call for these trips. Not only had Talia, Fortune,

and Billie swarmed Myla the second they'd realized Grant wasn't coming, they'd left Amelie

talking to the dullest adult in the room, the school principal, Dr. Nachez. They hadn't looked her

way again all night.

Her other potential shopping buddy, Kady, was headed to Prague. But, Amelie had decided,

she
was
a friend. Last night, Kady had pulled her aside just as Amelie was making her way out

and told her that she'd broken up with Jake.

"I can't do the long-distance romance thing, Amelie," she'd said. "It's just not me. And Prague

has an amazing club scene, tons of natives and backpackers just partying till dawn. If I'd

hooked up with someone else while dating Jake, I would never forgive myself."

Amelie's face had borne a mixture of pleasure and surprise. Pleasure that he was free. Surprise

that she'd be stupid enough to let Jake go. "Are you sure you want to do that?" she'd asked

Kady.

"OMG. Do you like him?" Kady had slapped her forehead like she should have seen it coming.

"I should have guessed. I'm usually good at those things. I saw your bliss face when you

kissed him. That's the kind of face a girl only gets when she's getting a Balinese massage at the

Four Seasons or is kissing a guy she's gaga for. But I guess I thought it was just acting. Still,

you should have seen how dazed he was after that kiss."

The words had cheered Amelie exponentially. But what would she do? Call him? And she

fretted about all the changes his recent fame had wrought. Would he ever like her if he became

the Next Big Thing? What chance did they have for a normal relationship?

Instead of answering her mom, Amelie grabbed Helen's wrist and steered her into the Ben

Sherman store. A song from the new Shout Out Louds' album was blaring, as salespeople

milled around modeling the label's punk rock-meets-prep school aesthetic. It was all very Kady,

and Amelie wanted a reminder of her friend after she left. She wanted to be as brave and as

open as Kady. A little less wild, though "wild" was probably not in Amelie's makeup, but more

willing to do things because she wanted to, and not because it was what someone else expected

of her.

Amelie began scanning the racks of sweaters, jumpers, skirts, and dresses, picking out a gray

miniskirt with angled zippers along the sides and a funky blouse with white cuffs and a tuxedo

ruffle down the center. She could wear black eyeliner in the smudgy way Kady had taught her,

and get blunt bangs cut. Bangs were the mark of courageous girls, Amelie had decided after her

days of studying BHH's student body.

Helen came up at Amelie's side, a blazer draped over her arm. It was navy, very prep school

style, with a Union Jack crest embroidered on the left pocket.

"Try this on," Helen said, holding out the hanger, blowing a wisp of hair out of her mascaraed

lashes.

Amelie studied the coat. "I have so many jackets, though."

"Just try it. For me." Helen took the coat off the hanger and handed it to Amelie. Her mom's

hazel eyes watched expectantly as Amelie slid out of her cardigan and threw the jacket on over

her dress. It was cute, with a nipped-in waist, and double vents so it rested perfectly over her

hips. Amelie turned side to side in the mirror, appeasing her mom.

"That looks great on you, love," called out a salesguy whose hair had been plastered with so

much product his scalp might crack.

Helen nodded approvingly. "I think it would be perfect for your first day of school."

"What do you mean?" Was this a joke?

Helen took a step closer and put a hand on each of her daughter's shoulders. "I think I was too

quick to turn you down," she said. "It was selfish of me. I got a call this morning, from Dr.

Nachez."

Dr. Nachos,
Amelie thought, suppressing a giggle.

"I guess he spoke to you last night and was really impressed," Helen said, beaming. "He said

you're very levelheaded for a girl who's been in this business for so long, and said you

expressed a real interest in academics."

She had? Amelie remembered listening politely--a skill acquired through tons of eternal chat

sessions with the middle-aged at parties--as Dr. Nachez talked about test scores, student-toteacher ratio, and the benefits of an education that covered the arts
and
sciences. Amelie barely

remembered it now, but she'd probably rattled off some of the facts and viewpoints she'd

learned at many an education fund-raiser.

"He said BHH could use a role model like you," Helen continued. "And promised me he'd do

his best to help you maintain your career. You'd probably work a little less, or maybe just do

Fairy Princess
. Kidz Network said you could shoot full episodes on weekends."

Amelie couldn't believe all the details were already worked out. Apparently, Helen was a better

momager, and mom, than she'd ever realized. "So you're going to let me go to school?" Amelie

said, filled with pleasant jitters. She'd have real textbooks, not just tutoring worksheets. And an

English class where she could answer questions about her favorite literature. She wondered if

they'd read
Jane Eyre
yet. She'd have a locker. She pictured Jake leaning against it, waiting for

her between classes.

Helen nodded. "I enrolled you this morning. You're now a BHH Knight. You even get a

sweatshirt, because I made a booster club donation."

Amelie couldn't believe it. She was going to BHH. She was going to be
normal
. As normal as

a girl could be at a school like Beverly Hills High, anyway. She stared at her face in the mirror.

No bangs. She wanted to look studious. Maybe she'd trade contacts for glasses, the darkframed kind that made her look smarter.

She squealed and spun around, grabbing her mom in a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank

you!"

Helen squeezed her tight. "You're welcome," she said. "But remember, this isn't something to

take lightly. This is about education. Dr. Nachez said you seemed more levelheaded than the

rest of the student body. So I don't want to hear that you're putting off homework to chase

boys."

Amelie knew she wouldn't be chasing boys. Boys plural, anyway.

For her, there was only the one.

EX-DIVAS' SWAN SONGS

Jake stuffed the last of his textbooks into his straining backpack, each heavy addition bringing

him more back down to earth.

It was amazing what a weekend could do. He was grounded, for his tantrum and for sneaking

out. His Escalade had been returned and the lease canceled. The bulk of his
Class Angel
money

had been placed in his college fund. He was single. But at least he and Miles were friends

again, though he could tell Miles was still a little hurt. As soon as his grounding was up, Jake

was going to take him comic shopping and buy him a little peace offering.

He was definitely out of the movie business. After Jake's little episode last week, his mom had

put out an all-points bulletin to every agent she knew, telling them and their colleagues that

Jacob Porter-Goldsmith was not allowed to have representation or any further film offers. He

had been offered a one-episode gig on
Bromance
, as a clueless underling that Brody Jenner