The Hollywood Effect (27 page)

Dan shook his head. “He has way more patience than me. I’d be telling them to get lost and leave me alone.”
 

“Probably a good thing he’s the one with the profile and reputation to maintain and not you then.”
 

“Probably,” Dan echoed. I could see him watching me out of the corner of my eye. “You okay? Really?”
 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Really.” Well, I would be.
 

I waved goodbye. Liam and Dan both grinned at me and waved back. Camera flashes went off from somewhere. I frowned slightly, and then told myself to ignore it.
 

I turned to see exactly where I was meant to be lining up. When I glanced back at Liam, he was surrounded by a mob of hyperventilating girls. Dan had been pushed to the side. I felt like rolling my eyes, but then remembered how star struck I’d been meeting some of Liam’s friends, especially Lily. I guess I couldn’t really blame them.
 

“Welcome home!” Sammy and Mel grinned at me. I smiled wanly back. I was so tired. I’d barely slept a wink on the plane, despite the oh so comfortable seats in First Class. It would be hard, facing Economy Class
 
seats again, that was for sure.
 

I wrestled my suitcase into the boot of my car and climbed into the backseat.
 

“Do you want to drive? Or even the front seat?” one of the girls asked. “It’s your car after all.”
 

“Too tired,” I groaned.
 

“Too tired to tell us how your trip was?” Sammy wheedled.
 

“It was good.” I yawned and closed my eyes. Liam’s face flashed through my mind.
 

“We need to get some coffee into you, stat,” Mel said.
 

“Or a bed,” I groaned. For some reason I didn’t want to tell them about the whole first class thing. It just felt a bit weird. Although I belatedly realised Sammy had probably flown at least business class more than once. Her parents weren’t exactly the type to shlep it in economy. I’d met her folks a couple of times. They were lovely people, but it was still hard to reconcile the free loving hippie that was their daughter with the conservative free-market loving parents. Just being a spectator on Sammy and her father’s debates was entertaining and eye-opening.
 

Sammy drove us back to her house. They peppered me with questions the whole way, my answers getting shorter and shorter.
 

“Why didn’t you update your Facebook?” Sammy asked. “We had to venture into parts of the internet I’ve never been and never want to go again to get some of the pictures of your trip. That must have been weird, being photographed all the time.”
 

“Yeah, it was. I dunno how he puts up with it. I kind of thought they’d stop after he and Holly were done…”
 

“Your kids will think you’re famous,” Mel said. “And you looked wonderful at the premiere.”
 

“Thanks, I had a lot of help. Oh, guess who I saw over there! Kat from uni! Did you know she’s with Nico Campana?!”
 

“What?!” Sammy exclaimed.
 

Mel looked between us, a bemused look on her face.
 

“You didn’t know?”
 

Sammy and I both shook our heads.
 

“You two fail gossip 101, obviously. She was having an affair with him back at uni. I heard all about it then.”
 

“Oh…”
 

“How did I not know this?” Sammy shook her head.
 

I sat back and listened to them banter and judge. Another reason I knew I’d made the right decision. I could just imagine old acquaintances gossiping
 
and speculating about me, and my famous lover/friend/whatever we were, and the thought made me burn with humiliation.
 

Sammy turned to me after they seemed to get bored with the Kat and Nico topic.
 

“Hey, did you hear from Will at all?”
 

I shook my head. “Nah.”

“Oh… he said he really liked you and you had a good time before you left. I think he wants to see you again.”
 

“This feels so high school, you running messages in between us,” I said with a laugh. To be honest, I’d been so wrapt up in Liam, I’d barely even given Will a second thought.
 

“Yeah, we had a nice day. I think he’s an even bigger nerd than I am. It was nice,” I continued.
 

“So do you want to see him again? Like for a date?” Sammy asked.
 

“Wait, what happened with Liam?” Mel turned around and demanded. “He looked pretty enthralled with you on some of those red carpet photos and videos.
 

“He did?” I shook myself. That was before… No, don’t go there, I told myself.
 

“Yup, totally,” Mel said.
 

“So did anything happen?” Sammy asked curiously, her eyes flicking to mine in the rearview mirror.
 

I paused, and then shook my head slowly.
 

“No. Like I keep saying; we’re just good friends.”
 

“Riiiiight.”
 

I closed my eyes again. My heart had started pounding again for no reason and I felt a bit clammy.
 

“So, back to my marvellous friend Will…”
 

“You’re so pushy,” Mel laughed.
 

“I know, I know. But do you want to see him again?”
 

I watched the city skyscrapers coming closer. I had had fun with him. He was a nice, decent, normal bloke. No dramas there, or crowds forming wherever we went.
 

“Yeah, I think I would like that.”
 

“Excellent. I think he’s free this afternoon.”
 

“This afternoon?” I yelped.
 

“Well, when else? You’re about to disappear back to the countryside. Who knows when you’ll venture back to the big bad city?”
 

“But… jet lag… I’m so tired.”
 

“Well, when are you going home?”
 

I yawned, covering it up too late.
 

“Well I was planning on driving today, but maybe I should wait until tomorrow. I probably shouldn’t drive in this state.”
 

Sammy nodded. “How about you relax today at my place, see Will in the morning for a coffee, and then drive back to the middle of nowhere?”
 

I thought for a moment. “Yeah, all right then.”
 

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Sammy demanded. “Send the poor man a text.”
 

Will frowned at me. “You never told me your friend was Liam Burns.”
 

I squirmed.
Yikes
. We’d barely gotten the polite hellos and how are you’s out of the way. We hadn’t even reached the cafe yet. “Yeah. Sorry. I don’t usually bandy it about.”
 

“It was a bit of a shock to see your photo in the paper.”
 

“I was in the paper?” I hadn’t realised.
 

Will nodded. “You looked nice,” he said after a minute.
 

“Oh. Thanks. I hope you don’t expect me to look like that ever again,” I tried to laugh. “I had three people help get me ready to look like that.”
 

“Are you two a thing?” Will stopped walking and turned to face me. “I hate to be so blunt, but I like you, Jen. And I suspect this has the potential to develop into something more. I just need to know if I have to compete with Liam Burns.”
 

I stood there, speechless. After a minute, I realised my mouth was hanging open. I shut it with more force than I’d meant to.
 

Rubbing my jaw, I said, “No competition.”
 

“Are you sure?” he asked earnestly.
 

I nodded. I wasn’t though. I wasn’t sure about anything anymore.
 

Another day done and dusted. The end of the year was in sight. The kids had made me laugh more than once today. Not always for the best of reasons, but laugh nonetheless.
 

I don’t know why it had taken them so long, but some of the Year 9 girls started asking how old I was. I’d already had this conversation with my other classes, so I supposed it was inevitable.
 

“Miss? How old are you?” Tayla (not to be confused with Taylah in Year 8 or Taylor in Year 11) asked while handing in her assignment. A few of the other kids sitting nearby perked up (probably anything to distract them from researching their questions about the Battle of Frommeles).
 

“How are your maths skills?” I quipped back. Can’t make it too easy for them. “I was born in 1990.”
 

“You’re thirty-five?! Wow! You look young, Miss!”
 

I felt a very strong desire to bang my head against my desk. The girls next to her sniggered. Tayla’s friend Aminah came to her rescue and whispered in her ear.
 

“Oh…. Oops. Yeah, I failed my last maths test,” Tayla said, blasély. I felt like banging my head against the desk again. Tayla would have to be one of the most immature high schoolers I’d ever met.
 

“So, Miss, are you and Liam Burns together now?” Marnie asked me breathlessly. I jumped, almost spilling the box of dictionaries I’d checked out from the library. I was really getting sick of students asking me what words meant, or if they could use this word instead of that word. The had amazing computers at their fingertips, yet they asked me, the person at the front of the room who had a memory like a sieve. To hide that deficit, I’d started telling them to look it up in a dictionary (which was a good habit to develop anyway), but to my consternation only two of the kids even had dictionaries. When I’d told them to look it up on their phones (seeing as they were doing
everything else
on their damn phones - like I really can’t tell somethings up when you’re grinning at your crotch!) they would claim they didn’t have internet access. So, old fashioned dictionaries it was.
 

“Hello, Marnie,” I said guardedly.
 

Marnie just looked up at me expectantly. I stared flatly back.
 

“Do you really think that’s an appropriate thing to ask your teacher?” I said after a moment.
 

My words seemed to wash right over the young girl.
 

“You looked beautiful in the pics with him,” she said.
 

“Uh, thanks, Marnie…”
 

“So, are you going to go to more? Is he your boyfriend now? Are you going to get married?”
 

“Woah, steady on. Marnie, you really need to learn how to mind your own business.”
 

Marnie rolled her eyes and walked off. I shook my head.
 

There was an email from my sister waiting for me when I got back to my desk. I felt a twinge of guilt. I’d flown all the way across the Pacific Ocean and not bothered to do the relatively quick flight up to Vancouver to see her.
 

Hello sister dearest of mine,
 

What’s up? I saw some photos of you and Liam at something formal the other day - you guys both looked great. I wish you’d had time to pop up to Vancouver to see me though! All the way across the Pacific, and you don’t even visit your dear old sister. Tsk, tsk. How was your trip anyway? I assume Liam’s moved since the last time I visited him.
 

Everything’s pretty good up here. Ryan says hi. We both got new jobs within the past month or so, and by pure coincidence our offices are just around the corner from each other. It’s nice. We have lunch together and it’s all very pleasant and sappy. The new job is good - bit more fulfilling that the last one, although a few of the women are a bit bitchy. Don’t believe the propaganda - not all Canadians are nice and polite! Speaking of jobs, how is the old school treating you?
 

I rang Dad the other day. He seemed okay. Is he? I’ll have a few week of leave banked by his birthday (and the anniversary… I think I need to be around for that) in March, I thought I might try and plan a trip for then. Damn you teachers and your long holidays! I only get 3 weeks! Which is better than the 2 weeks I got at the last company, so I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much.
 

Let me know when you’re free and want to chat, and I’ll give you a call. Been too long since I heard your stupid voice.
 

Take care, and give Dad a big hug for me.
 

Lots of love,
 

Steph xox

 
—

I looked at the pile of assignments I’d collected from the Year 9’s. Replying to my sister certainly seemed like a more pleasant option than correcting those.
 

Hey Steph,
 

Thanks for the email.
 
I wish I’d had time to come visit you up in Canada as well, but alas. I will try and come over again soon, this time without a movie premiere to go to!
 

Congrats on the new jobs. To Ryan as well. Where’s he working? Hopefully the bitchy women ease up. I know what that can be like, but thankfully everyone’s actually pretty nice at school at the moment. To me, at least. I’m keeping my head out of any of the politics. Trying to keep a low profile, if you will.
 

Which has been a bit harder when Liam keeps turning up, and now the premiere. Oh well, I’m sure it will all blow over soon. The Year 8 girls are rather obsessed though, and keep showing me when a story pops up (usually on some stupid tabloid) about me and Liam. Or Liam and Holly. Or Liam and his pet dog. He doesn’t even have a pet dog! Not yet, anyway. I think I’m going to have to discourage them a bit more - it’s so weird, seeing pictures of yourself, and finding out all of this information about your life that you had no idea of! If you happen to see the story where Liam and I eloped two months ago and I’m pregnant with twins, you can safely ignore it.