The minute I walked through the gates, I was pounced on by EVERYONE. Students from every year group ran over and surrounded me, shouting questions and taking pictures. It took me about half an hour to get to the door of the main building, I was so in demand.
I should have been expecting the fuss; the picture of me, Sky and Ethan Duke sitting front row had spread across social media like wildfire. TheDaily Postannounced I was ‘a new face on the social scene’ and a fashion blogger referred to me as ‘the hotel heiress with asuitesense of style’. I like what she did there.
When I left the hotel to get to school, all the photographers, who were usually waiting for Sky or someone, leaped into action and started taking photos ofme, asking how long Skylar Chase and I had been friends for, and whether I would be joining her at any more events while she was in London. I didn’t answer any of them but my jaw was aching from all the smiling by the time they left me alone. I would have to check those photos online later and hope that my school uniform didn’t look too hideous.
I had spent most of the weekend trawling through websites, analysing every picture there was. I concluded that they were all acceptable but I should have spent more time on my eye make-up; it looked a bit smudged in the photos, but then, according to fashion bloggers, I was sporting the ‘smoky-eye’ look, as opposed to the ‘did-my-mascara-badly-in-a-rush’ look, so I think I got away with it.
Sky was performing at the O2 over the weekend, so I didn’t see her, but she did leave a bouquet of flowers for me at reception, with a note saying how sorry she was that she’d got me into trouble. She even left a bouquet for Mum too, explaining that she’d encouraged me to go with her to the fashion show and she intended to apologise in person when she saw her. I watched Mum reading the note. She definitely looked impressed, and for a fleeting moment I thought that it might be enough to persuade her to forgive me. But no such luck.
It looked like I would have to go through with Audrey’s suggestion after all.
‘There you are!’
Grace was practically jumping up and down on the spot when I got to my locker, where she was waiting with Ella. I couldn’t help but smile as Grace beamed up at me.
‘So,’ Ella said, moving aside to let me open my locker door, ‘we have a LOT to talk about.’
‘I know.’
‘Olly – where do I even start?’ Ella swooned. ‘He’s amazing.’
‘Olly?’
I was confused. Didn’t she mean Ethan?
‘That’s what he prefers to be called,’ Ella explained, twisting a lock of her hair. ‘We talked all night.’
‘And theysnogged,’ Grace mumbled as it dawned on me that we were talking about her brother.
‘Did you know he writes the band’s songs as well as playing the guitar?’ Ella continued. ‘He is so talented. And it’s only a hobby; he doesn’t actually want to be a musician when he’s older. He wants to go into politics or law.’
I attempted to look impressed but, HELLO, had she been under a rock this weekend? Hadn’t she seen the pictures? Who cared aboutOlly?
‘Cool,’ I said, indulging her. After all, I guess I had stolen her thunder at her party so it was only fair that I let her be the centre of attention for a bit.
‘Anyway, Flick,’ Grace began, clearly keen to move the conversation away from lovey-dovey rubbish about her sibling. ‘You have to tell us everything! I can’t believe you went to Lewis Blume’s show. He’s like the biggest designer ever!’
‘I haven’t heard of him,’ Ella remarked, examining her cuticles.
I looked at her, baffled. Literally last week she’d been boring me about how much she loved his stuff and boasting that her mum was going to buy her one of his coats for her birthday.
‘Is it true you’re dating Ethan Duke?’ Grace said, gripping my arm, distracting me from Ella’s comment.
‘Well, I –’
‘Obviously not, Grace!’ Ella interrupted. ‘They only met that day.’
‘We actually met before,’ I corrected her. ‘We had dinner in the hotel. Not just us two, with a group of Sky’s friends. I was going to tell you.’
‘You call her Sky!’ Grace squealed. ‘That is so cool! You’re proper friends.’
‘Anyway,’ Ella said breezily, flicking her hair behind her shoulders, ‘I’ve got to go. I told Olly I’d meet him before class.’
Grace watched her stalk off and then turned to me with a reassuring smile.
‘Well,Ithink it’s cool, anyway.’
‘Thanks, Grace.’
