Tales of the Ragoon, Kate's Movie Star (7 page)

“Help work on a high school talent show?”
Runyon replied skeptically.

They were sitting on his mattress. She was
watching him mix a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

“Look, Oh Glamorous One, I know that it’s
just a high school talent show, but you haven’t got anything better
to do. Give it a try. And why are you mixing that cookie dough down
here instead of in the kitchen?”

“Because I know that if I mix it down here, a
lot of it won’t be going into the stomachs of your two starving
brothers. Besides, this way I get to test it.”

He scooped out a piece of cookie dough with
his finger and put it in his mouth. Kate watched and listened as he
hummed his contentment.

“Don’t you realize that you have raw eggs in
there? You could get salmonella that way,” she said
skeptically.

“I used processed eggs from the store. It’s
safe. Here.” He scooped out another large piece and held it toward
her. Without thinking, Kate leaned forward and took his finger into
her mouth just as she heard the shelter door open. She closed her
eyes and began sucking the batter off of his finger. She hummed her
own sound of contentment as she tasted the delicious flavor.

“Kate!”

She heard the outraged voice of her brother,
opened her eyes and glanced up, Runyon’s finger still captured by
her lips. Suddenly, it occurred to her how this must look. Her face
exploded with red, as she hastily leaned away from the actor.

Matt glared at Runyon. Runyon held up the
bowl.

“Cookie dough,” he explained weakly.

“I want to talk to you, Kate,” barked
Matt.

Kate let out an exasperated sigh. “Now?” she
asked.

“Now.”

Kate got up from Runyon’s bed. “Don’t
forget,” she said to Runyon. “Talent show. I’m telling her that
you’re going to do it.”

“I’ll talk to her at least,” said Runyon.

Kate followed Matt up the stairs, and then
out to the garage where they entered his room. She waited
impatiently as he mumbled a bit while trying to collect his
thoughts.

“Now, Kate,” he began as he scratched at the
sparse growth of black hair on his chin. “I realized that you are
not a child anymore. Still you are going to have to understand that
there are rules.”

Kate’s eyes narrowed. “Rules.” She stated
flatly.

“That’s right, rules,” Matt repeated firmly.
“And as long as you are living under our roof, you are going to
have to follow them.”

“Don’t you mean, ‘while I’m living under
Dad’s roof?’ This is Dad’s house, not yours.”

“You know what I mean. You can’t be sneaking
down to Runyon’s room to do heaven knows what. You have to use a
little discretion. You have young brothers in this house. Besides,
you’re not even old enough to be doing it. If you don’t wise up,
I’ll have to talk to Dad.”

“About what?” responded Kate angrily. “I’m
not doing anything with Runyon, in spite of your perverted
imagination.”

“Give me a break, Kate. I saw the two of you
down there. I warn you, I will speak to Dad.”

“The only thing we’ve done is kiss. And if
you talk to Dad about me, then I’ll tell him about Susan
Blanchard,” warned Kate.

Matt clucked his tongue and smiled
indulgently. “I hate to tell you this, Kate, but it’s different
when it’s a son.”

Kate smiled back. Matt’s smile dimmed a
bit.

“Okay, then, I won’t tell Dad. I’ll tell,
Susan’s father.”

“Kate!”

Matt was shocked and amazed by the threat. He
was even more shocked and amazed that Kate had thought of a threat
that would work.

“I’m not doing anything with Runyon, so there
is no need to talk to Dad. Understand?”

“Yeah, all right,” Matt muttered. “But you
could at least wait until he puts a ring on your finger.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Come on, Kate. It’s all over town. Everyone
knows that you’re marrying Runyon as soon as you turn
eighteen.”

“Are you crazy? That’s ridiculous. Who is
saying that?”

“From what I hear, you are.”

Remembering her sarcastic remark, Kate
groaned.

“Look, Matt, don’t believe everything you
hear. I’m not marrying Runyon.”

“Then why the hell are you messing around
with him?” demanded Matt.

“I’m not messing around with him!” Kate
turned abruptly, and left his room, slamming his door on the way
out.

She immediately went to talk to Juan and
Pete.

“Listen up you guys. If you hear anything
about me and Runyon getting married, it’s total bull. Got it?”

Juan looked at Pete. Pete looked back at
Juan.

“We understand, Kate,” said Pete with a sly
smile. “You are not marrying Runyon. That’s the word. Don’t worry.
No one will ever hear it from us. We’re cool.” Juan nodded and
smirked.

“Uh, thanks,” said Kate.

Later, in Runyon’s room, she related her
conversations with her brothers to him.

“Matt doesn’t believe me, and I don’t think
that Pete or Juan believed me either,” she grumbled. “You’ve got to
do something.”

“I sorry that this has gotten out of hand,
Kate,” Runyon offered. “But I have to admit that it’s been great
for me.”

“Why?” she asked mystified. “Why would you
want people to think that we are getting married?”

“The first night after people found out that
I was here, I got about a million phone calls,” explained Runyon.
“First on your landline, and then Juan gave out my cell number.
Most of them were from girls, and almost all the rest of them were
from mothers that wanted to introduce me to their daughters. After
the word got around that I was taken, the phone calls dropped way
down. So you are really doing me a big favor.”

“Oh.” Kate thought about that. “Yeah, I could
see how that would be annoying.” She thought about it some
more.

Resigned, she sighed, and then gave him a
warning look. “All right. I won’t bother correcting everyone who
says something. But when this is over, you are going to clear up
this whole mess, got it?”

“Of course,” agreed Runyon, and he gave her
his trademarked smile. She glared at him.

When Runyon pulled up to the high school, the
next day, Kate opened the door and said, “Come on, she’s waiting
for you.”

Runyon grimaced. “Can’t we do this another
time?” he asked. “I was going to look for a new pair of shoes this
afternoon.”

“What’s wrong with that pair?” asked Kate,
glancing at his shoes as she dragged him out of the car.

“Are you kidding? These are the shoes that I
bought for spring. I need to shop for a fall pair.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” replied Kate rolling
her eyes and shaking her head. “You are living in Livingston, not
Hollywood. Get real.”

They argued all the way to Mrs. Doolittle’s
room. When they got there, a student informed them that Mrs.
Doolittle was in conference with the principal, but that she would
be back shortly.

“Waiting for me, huh?” muttered Runyon as he
perched on one of the desks. Kate watched as he drummed his fingers
against his thigh.

“What are you so nervous for?” she asked.
“It’s just a high school talent show.”

“I’m not nervous,” replied Runyon sharply as
he drummed his fingers even faster.

The truth was, he admitted to himself, he was
nervous. He always got nervous when he was discussing a new
project. It didn’t matter how small it was. He was just that way,
always afraid that he would fail, always wondering if he would ever
measure up to his mother.

Mrs. Doolittle hurried into the room.

“Sorry, I’m late,” she said
apologetically.

She did not mention that the principal was
having doubts about the desirability of having Runyon participate
in the talent show project. She had pointed out that the school
would not get this opportunity very often, if ever.

“I really don’t know how I could help,” said
Runyon. “I’ve only done live theater a few times. I don’t even know
what kind a script that I would use.”

Mrs. Doolittle smiled. “Oh, I’m not looking
to use your acting abilities.”

Runyon looked confused. “You’re not?”

“No,” the teacher replied. “I would like you
to be in charge of the show. Essentially, you will be the director.
I’ll have final say, of course, but that should be just a
formality. This way, I can concentrate on the teaching portion of
the project and let you handle the production details.”

“I see,” answered Runyon thoughtfully. “Well,
I can’t say that I’ve ever done that kind of work either, but I see
where you are coming from. I’ve certainly been around enough
productions to know what the basic setup is.”

“I thought that you might have,” said the
teacher beaming at him. “I would so appreciate it.”

“All right,” said Runyon, coming to a
decision. “I’ll do it.”

Mrs. Doolittle coughed and cleared her
throat. “There is just one other thing, I should mention,” she said
as she glanced at Kate.

“What’s that?” asked Kate before Runyon could
speak.

“It’s just that the principal was a little
concerned about your public relationship.” Kate gaped at her.

Runyon grabbed Kate’s hand and headed toward
the door. “Not to worry. I promise that we will be very discrete,”
he said over his shoulder.

“I knew that I could count on you, Kate,”
said Mrs. Doolittle beaming at her.

Kate fumed all the way to the store.

“This is ridiculous, Runyon. How can people
actually believe that I’m your girlfriend? It’s idiotic. I’m
nothing like the bimbo’s you date.”

“I don’t date bimbo’s,” protested Runyon.

“Oh, so I guess Miss S is secretly a rocket
scientist who just absent mindedly forgot to wear her panties to
your last cast party,” stated Kate sarcastically.

Runyon looked startled, and then he smiled.
“So you’ve been googling me, huh, Kate?”

“No,” she denied, and then she muttered, “I
binged you.”

Runyon laughed, and then he said, “FYI, Kate,
that girl is super smart. That incident had nothing to do with
absent mindedness or bimboness. It had everything to do with
publicity and her career.”

Kate was appalled. “You mean, she
deliberately exposed herself for the publicity?”

“Yes,” replied Runyon, “And the reason that
she did it, was so that she could extort more money from the men’s
magazine that she’s negotiating with to do a spread for. And I do
mean spread.”

Kate shook her head in disgust. “That is so
gross.”

Runyon shrugged. “It’s part of the game,
Kate. And Kate…,” he paused and looked around.

They were in a secluded aisle with high
shelves full of shoes. Runyon took Kate’s head between his
hands.

“The people who think that you are my
girlfriend aren’t idiots, Kate,” he murmured as he brought his face
close to hers. They just think that I’m attracted to you. They
think that I’m attracted to the smartest girl in Livingston. And
they are right.”

She should pull away, Kate thought, as his
lips pressed against hers. Nothing good will come of this, she
thought, as his lips caught her lower lip and gave it a little
squeeze. Oh, wow, she thought as his tongue slipped between her
lips. After a few seconds he withdrew, and she allowed her tongue
to follow his into his mouth. She explored.

“Ahem!”

A loud clearing of a throat came from behind
her. Bemused, she looked around to see a middle aged female clerk
frowning at her. Hastily Kate pushed Runyon away, as her face
flamed.

The clerk turned her attention from Kate to
Runyon. Her expression lit up. “Mr. Silverstar, it is such an honor
to have you in our humble establishment. Please, let me help
you.”

The helpful clerk hovered over them until
Runyon found a pair of shoes that he liked. She led them to the
checkout counter and rang up the sale.

Runyon gave her his trademarked smile.

“Thank you,” he said. The clerk practically
melted.

“You are so welcome,” she gushed with a sigh
of longing.

“Thank you,” said Kate politely.

The clerk glanced at Kate, sniffed and
mumbled something under her breath that sounded like, ‘bimbo.’
Before the outraged girl could respond, Runyon quickly dragged her
out of the store.

Runyon started attending meetings of the
talent show production group every day. They were held after
school. Annoyed, Kate realized that now she could either ride the
bus or wait for Runyon. Kate thought that she was kind of old to be
riding the bus with the younger kids, especially now that she had a
ride. So she had to wait for Runyon. Of course, this convinced
everyone that he was, indeed, Kate’s boyfriend.

She thought about telling everyone the truth,
that the Ragoon had actually given her to Runyon and that,
technically, she was his property. She decided that she would
rather have them think that she was his girlfriend.

Occasionally, she found herself pressed into
service during the meetings of the production group, but more often
she was forced to wait impatiently until Runyon was free. She often
found herself sitting next to a young boy with sandy hair and a
light complexion.

“I’m Luke,” the boy explained. “I’m in the
seventh grade. I have to walk over here after school and wait for
Ashley and Britney to give me a ride home. My Mom and I live in
Modesto, but she works here in Livingston. She doesn’t get off
until late.”

“Wow, you have to walk over a mile and a
half?” exclaimed Kate.

“Yeah, I’m suppose to stay on the main roads,
but I usually cut through Arakelian Park,” the boy replied. “Ashley
has a car and she takes me home. But now she’s in the talent show
thing, so I gotta wait for her and Britney to finish.”

“So does your mom pay Ashley to drive you
home?” asked Kate.

“Yeah. Ashley and Britney are sisters, even
if they don’t look like it. They have the same dad, but they have
different mothers,” said Luke.