Unlucky Break (26 page)

Andie sat in her hotel bed. She picked up her laptop and opened an internet browser. She was shaking, and blood was roaring in her ears. Her stomach was clenched.

She typed and waited for the pages to load. She scrolled down until she found what she was looking for.

Then she opened her email and typed.

Dear Cece,

I want to be a screenwriter.

I want to go to college – hopefully Berkeley – and study screenwriting. I have to apply as soon as I get back and I need to write a script to send in with my submission.

I know this is a big ask, but the cost of college is high. I was wondering whether you’d loan me the money for a few years until I can pay it back?

I guess this also means you are going to be stuck with me for a while. Hope that’s okay.

Call me when you get this and let me know what you think.

A
x

Andie pressed send and closed her eyes.
Please let Cece like this idea. Please let her send me to college.

Andie’s phone rang within minutes.

‘I love it,’ came Cece’s voice down the line.

‘Really?’ Andie sat up in bed.

‘Really.’

Andie started to cry.

‘Are you okay?’ asked Cece, concern filling her voice.

‘Yes,’ blubbed Andie. ‘I don’t know, I’m still really emo. I cry at everything.’ She gave a half-laugh, half-cry.

‘It’s okay. Just let it out. It’s all part of the process,’ said Cece.

Andie took a deep breath. ‘So I can go to college? You can loan me the money?’

‘No,’ said Cece. Andie’s heart sank. ‘I will pay. You can stop with your silly ideas of paying me back.’

‘You don’t have to do that,’ said Andie.

‘Yes, I do. That’s what parents do,’ said Cece, so firmly that Andie thought her mother was on the end of the line.

Andie laughed. ‘Okay. We’ll talk about it.’

‘No, we won’t,’ said Cece. ‘You, young lady, need to stop talking to me and start writing a script.’

Andie laughed properly for the first time in too long. ‘Okay, I’m going.’ She hung up the phone.

Andie pulled her laptop towards her and opened a new document.
Time to start writing,
she thought.

She knew exactly what she was going to write about. And who it was for.

Andie picked up the last pages from the printer and put the stack of papers together. She had been back in LA for four weeks. She’d filled out the college application, and had just hit ‘print’ on the script.

In many ways it had been a challenge, fighting her old demons and the way they made her doubt herself. But in other ways it had been easier than she expected. The dialogue and scenes came out of nowhere and flowed onto the pages. It felt at times as though she was just transcribing the story and characters from a place where the script was already written.

At the same time, Andie had put herself back on her depression regime of movies, working her way through the best of crime, film noir, romance and comedy. Many of them she watched with Cece, who explained to her what made a great script, and then bought her stacks of books on screenwriting, which Andie devoured.

Now the script was all printed, the paper warm and heavy in her arms. Andie finally felt confident that it was ready to be read by the person she had written it for.

She found a large folder in Cece’s study to put the script in and wrote a little note, which she carefully placed in with the script.

I wrote this for you. It’s the first script I’ve ever written, so please forgive me if it’s complete crap. I wanted to do something for you and writing is all I know how to do. You mean so much to me. I love you and I want to say thank you for everything. You saved me and I am blessed to know you.

26

Jess closed the script. ‘It’s amazeballs, Andie,’ she said. ‘I’m gonna send it to Pete and get him to find us a producer.’

Andie laughed. ‘I didn’t mean for you to make it. It’s for my submission to Berkeley.’

‘Nuh-uh,’ said Jess. ‘This baby is gonna get made.’ She pulled her phone out of her shorts and dialled. ‘Pete baby, hey it’s me.’

Andie smiled at the change in Jess’s tone of voice.

‘You were about to call me? No way – and I called you! Oh my god, freaky,’ said Jess, beaming.

‘I need you to read a script and tell me what you think. Great, okay. Bye, baby.’ Jess hung up. ‘He said he’d read it this evening, when he comes over to stay.’

Andie raised her eyebrows. ‘To stay, huh?’

Jess blushed. ‘Yep.’

‘Does that mean the little virgin child star has finally grown up?’ Andie teased.

‘I don’t talk about my private life,’ said Jess cheekily.

‘Not even to your BFF?’ Andie put on a sad face and Jess laughed.

‘It’s good. It’s nice. He never pushed me – it was me who ended up tearing his clothes off,’ said Jess. She was glowing. ‘I love him.’

‘So he’s not just to further your career?’ asked Andie.

Jess shook her head. ‘Nope, I don’t even care about that now. I mean, I want his opinion, but he’s set me up with another agent in his office. He’s the best, but it’s more important that he’s the best boyfriend.’

‘I’m so happy for you, Jess,’ said Andie.

‘Ain’t love grand?’ said Jess. ‘I can’t believe Cece and Rene are going on their first date tomorrow night. How cute does it get?’

‘I know, right?’ said Andie.

Jess sat down next to her on the sofa. ‘Now we just have to find someone nice for you,’ she said. ‘You’ve been quite the matchmaker – setting up Pete and me, and encouraging Cece and Rene to go for it. You deserve a little love.’

Andie shook her head. ‘Nope. I don’t want anyone anymore,’ she said.

‘Not even James?’ Jess looked at her with suspicion in her eyes.

Andie bit her lip. ‘That ship has sailed, I think.’

‘Is he on a ship?’ asked Jess, screwing up her nose.

Andie hugged her. ‘I love you,’ she said.

Jess smiled. ‘Love you, too. Hey, I have a favour to ask.’

‘Sure, ask away,’ said Andie, happy to change the subject.

‘I was thinking – I might unpack those bags in the hallway. Would you help?’ she asked. ‘Since you’re always going on about it.’

Andie clapped her hands. ‘Oh my god, finally! Jesus, yes. Now! Let’s go.’

Jess laughed and followed Andie down the stairs.

‘I haven’t shopped since London,’ she said. ‘I haven’t wanted to.’

‘Good on you,’ said Andie as she walked into the foyer. She started picking up the abandoned shopping bags. When she had an armful, she carefully opened the front door and started walking them to her car.

‘Where are you going?’ cried Jess.

‘I’m unpacking the bags,’ said Andie.

‘Into your car?’ Jess ran in bare feet over the gravel towards Andie. ‘Ouch, ow,’ she said, and hopped back to the front porch.

Andie stopped and turned to her. ‘Did you, at any time, look at anything in these bags since you bought them?’

Jess paused to think and then shook her head. ‘No,’ she said in a small voice, looking down at her feet.

‘Bring me more bags,’ said Andie.

Jess pouted, but did as she was asked. Soon the boot of Andie’s car was filled with shopping bags in every colour of the rainbow.

‘Where are you going with it all?’ asked Jess, worried.

Andie smiled at her. ‘I’m returning it,’ she said, slamming the boot shut. ‘It’s for your own good. Think of all the money you’ll get back. Not to mention the hall space.’

‘You can return all of this?’ asked Jess, her eyes wide.

‘Well, most of it. Especially if it’s you returning it. I’m sure it’ll be fine. How about I act as your assistant for the day and get you some money back?’ asked Andie.

‘Okay,’ Jess said. Her eyes filled with tears. ‘Thank you.’

‘No probs,’ said Andie, smiling at her friend.

‘I never really wanted any of it,’ said Jess. ‘I just got this … feeling, when I bought something. But by the time I got it home, the feeling was gone.’

Andie was thoughtful. ‘Mmm … And now, do you ever get the same feeling?’

Jess nodded. ‘When I made the film in London. When I see my boobs back to normal in the mirror. When I’m with Pete.’ She smiled shyly.

‘Shopping used to be your drug of choice. Now
lurve
is,’ Andie said cheesily. ‘You’ve got the trifecta – you love your job, your body and your boyfriend.’

Jess grinned. ‘Just don’t return Pete, will you?’

Andie laughed as she got into the car. ‘No returns on used goods, sweetie.’

She waved Jess goodbye and drove into town. Most of the receipts were in the bags, and within hours Andie had returned almost everything. She’d found a pair of red leather Zanotti boots that she thought Jess would like, so she kept them as a reward. There was a black tutu skirt from Dolce & Gabbana and a few other things that had been on sale and couldn’t be returned. She dumped the clothes in a charity bin.
There’ll be some well-dressed hobos in the area
, Andie thought, chuckling at what Jess would say if she knew.

It was twilight when she drove up to Jess’s house. She pressed the security code to let herself in the gate, and saw Pete’s Mercedes parked out the front.

‘Hey, guys,’ she called when she opened the front door.

Pete walked out of the living area. ‘Hey, Andie. Jess is just in the shower.’

‘Hey, Pete,’ she said slightly awkwardly. Seeing him reminded her of James.

‘You cleared out the foyer,’ he said.

‘Yep, got her refunds on pretty much everything. A few credit notes, which I might hide from her for a while. Oh, and these, which I thought she’d like.’ She waved the boots at him.

‘Great. Hey, thanks for doing that for her.’ Pete looked truly grateful.

‘No worries,’ she said, turning towards the door. ‘Tell Jess I’ll call her later. Nice to see you, Pete.’ She turned the doorhandle.

‘I read your script,’ he said.

Andie froze.

‘I liked it.’

Andie said nothing.

‘I want to show some people. Make some calls. It would be a great piece for Jess.’

Andie nodded. ‘I wrote it for her.’ She was trying not to get too excited about what he was saying. She knew films were notoriously difficult to get made, even when they seemed promising.

Pete paused. ‘I think James would be great in the male lead.’

Andie looked down. ‘I don’t think he’d want to do it.’

Pete shrugged. ‘I don’t know – work’s work. Especially when there’s a great script. I could show him.’

Andie shuffled her feet and shrugged. ‘Do what you need to do, Pete. Yes, he’d be great for the part. Just do me a favour?’

‘If I can,’ said Pete.

‘Don’t tell him I wrote it,’ said Andie. ‘I don’t want my name on it. Make up a name.’

‘Why?’ asked Pete. ‘You could be famous if it was a hit.’

Andie looked at him steadily. ‘I don’t want to be famous,’ she said.

She turned and walked home to Cece’s house. To her house.

27

Andie was dreaming. Her mother was alive and she was tickling Andie’s face, the way she used to before she got sick.

‘Andie … Andie,’ she heard.

‘Mum,’ she murmured, opening her eyes. Cece was sitting on the edge of her bed.