Читать книгу Stardust and the Daredevil Ponies - Stacy Gregg - Страница 9

Issie couldn’t believe it. Angelique Adams! The girl that Sixteen Magazine called “the most famous teenager in the world” was standing right in front of her.

Angelique looked just like she did on all those magazine covers. Her long honey-blonde hair was ironed straight and she had a deep golden tan. Dressed in designer jeans, a leather vest and enormous sunglasses, she looked much smaller than she did in her movies. Issie was actually ever so slightly taller than the pint-sized celebrity.

Angelique clicked her fingers and two more people leapt out of the back of the Hummer–a dark-haired woman and a blond man.

“Her entourage,” whispered Aidan under his breath to Issie. Angelique gestured to the woman who scurried forward and handed her a coffee. Angelique took a quick sip and then thrust the cup back at her assistant as the blond man darted in and began to fuss around, fixing her hair, pulling make-up brushes out of his belt to add some blusher and a fresh coat of lip gloss.

“That’s enough, Tony!” Angelique snapped, pushing the make-up man out of the way just in time as the gang of paparazzi photographers, who had been tailing the Hummer, all leapt out of their cars. They jostled each other to get close to Angelique and began to take her picture, their motor drives whirring, cameras flashing.

“Angelique!” the paparazzi shouted to her. “Over here! Look this way. Give us a smile, Angelique!”

Suddenly there was a noise at the back of the paparazzi pack. “Lemme through!” A little man in a khaki army jacket was leaping up and down like Rumpelstiltskin, elbowing his way past the photographers. “One side, comin’ through!” he snapped as he barged his way forward. When the little man reached the front and found himself blocked by Angelique’s bodyguards he began to shout even louder. “Hey! You big apes! Yes, you! Lemme through I tell ya!”

The little man was lugging an enormous video camera on his shoulder. He was accompanied by a pale thin man carrying what looked a bit like a fluffy grey cat pinned to the end of a long stick.

“I’m with Angelique!” the man insisted to the bodyguards. “I have an access-all-areas pass. She’ll tell you, won’t you, Angelique, baby? Tell them!” he pleaded.

Angelique looked over and gave a nod to the bodyguards to let the man and his skinny sidekick through. The other paparazzi began to complain loudly at this and the little man gave them a smirk. “A-list access!” he beamed. Then he turned to the teen starlet and smiled his oiliest grin.

“Angelique! Honey!” His voice took on a crawly tone. “Great entrance, baby! Right on! But…uhhh, the thing is, we’ve had a slight technical hitch and we’re going to have to reshoot all of that.”

Angelique’s smile disappeared. The little man looked nervous. “It’s all because of Bob here,” he stammered. “He didn’t get the sound recorded right. Isn’t that right, Bob?” He shot a withering glare at his sidekick, who looked suitably guilty and didn’t say anything.

“So…we need you to do it again from the top,” the little man said. “Can you get back in the car and then drive up and do the whole arriving-on-set thing again? And make it really, you know, real.”

Angelique rolled her eyes. “All right. But this better not take all day, Eugene!” she snapped at him. “I’ve got, like, a masseuse and three beauticians waiting for me back at my trailer.”

She glared at Bob, who cowered a little, then she clicked her fingers at her assistants and climbed back into the Hummer. Her bodyguards quickly piled in after them, slamming the car into reverse as the paparazzi scrambled to get out of their way.

“Hey, you kids!” the man in the khaki jacket turned his attention to Issie and her friends.

“Who us?” Stella said.

“What? Yes, you! Of course you!” the man said. “You kids were great!” he enthused. “We’ll go once more, just like last time. Are you ready?”

Stella looked at him blankly. “Ready for what?”

“The second take of course!” the little man said. There were more blank looks from Stella and Issie. The man sighed. He didn’t have time for this.

“We’re making a documentary here, kids! The name is Eugene–Eugene Sneadly–Hollywood’s most hardworking documentary film-maker.” Eugene gestured over his shoulder at the skinny man with the cat on a stick. “This here is Bob, my sound man. That stick of his is what we call a sound boom. Hey watch it with that thing, Bob!”

Eugene cast a surly look at Bob and then continued, “Bob and I are here with Angelique Adams. She’s given us A-list priority on the film set so that we can do this behind-the-scenes documentary about her. Drama Queen–Behind the Scenes. That’s what we’re calling it. Sounds exciting, right? And it is! It’s gonna be big, big, big, baby, because everyone loves Angelique and, well, the girl just can’t help herself. Like they say, she’s a regular, real-life drama queen.”

“You just got lucky, kids,” Eugene went on, barely pausing for breath. “This is gonna be your big moment. You can all be in my documentary. So get ready to go wild because…Angelique Adams is about to arrive!”

“But she’s already arrived,” Stella protested. “We just met her.”

The little man sighed. Then he raised his hands to the sky and began talking to himself. “Oh, Eugene, Eugene! Why are you working with amateurs here?” He looked back at Stella.

“I know she’s already arrived, sweetheart,” he said through gritted teeth. “What I’m saying is, let’s pretend and do it again, shall we?”

The girls and Aidan all nodded at this. They weren’t sure what Eugene was up to, but it seemed easiest to agree and go along with it.

“And…action!” Eugene shouted, waving his hand frantically at the Hummer in the distance.

The chrome-yellow car drove down the road and pulled up in front of the stables for a second time. The doors opened and Angelique appeared, looking every bit as fresh-faced and eager to meet everyone as she had the first time round.

“Hi!” she smiled sweetly. “Nice to meet y’all. I’m Angelique Adams!”

The girls and Aidan were dumbstruck as the paparazzi bounded after her and started snapping wildly once more and Angelique grinned and waved.

“Perfect! Perfect!” Eugene yelled out. “Got it! Great work, Angelique.”

As soon as the cameras stopped rolling Angelique abruptly stopped smiling. “That’s it, Eugene! I’m outta here.”

“But, baby, Rupert ain’t even here yet. He wants to meet you. They start shooting tomorrow,” Eugene said.

“Y’all can wait for him if you want, Eugene. I’ll be in my trailer gettin’ a spray tan!” Angelique snapped. She hopped back in the Hummer, obediently followed by her assistants and bodyguards who slammed the door and promptly floored it.

“Angelique, cupcake! Wait! We’re coming too!” Eugene cried. He and the paparazzi made a dash for their cars. Clouds of dust and gravel flew up from the road as the Hummer sped off with a line of cars following closely behind.

“I thought the security guard at the gate was supposed to keep the photographers out,” Issie said to Aidan.

Aidan shrugged. “I guess Angelique let them in. Maybe she likes the paparazzi following her everywhere. You know, taking her picture for all those magazines.”

“I still don’t believe we just met Angelique Adams!” Stella said. “She is soooo famous!”

Natasha sighed. “Yeah, she seemed real thrilled to meet you too, Stella. She couldn’t wait to get away! Didn’t you notice how fast she got out of here?”

Natasha glanced around. “Not that I blame her for wanting to get away from this place,” she muttered under her breath, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

Aidan ignored Natasha and picked up her bags. It was clear that he was going to have to carry her luggage since the snooty blonde still refused to do it herself.

“Grab your bags,” he instructed the others. “I’ll show you to the barracks.”

“What do you mean ‘barracks’?” Natasha said as she followed along behind him through the white courtyard of the stables. “Surely we all have our own private trailers? Aidan? Aidan!”

They walked straight through the golden stables and on the other side they found themselves standing in front of a row of makeshift wooden huts.

“These really were army barracks once,” Aidan explained. “Rupert, the director, bought them cheap and had them moved on to the site to use as accommodation for the crew.”

Aidan pointed to the left. “That building over there is where the props department and the set builders live. And over there are the sleeping quarters for the Elerian horsemen–that’s where I’m staying.” He pointed to the right. “Those two silver trailers are the costume department and make-up and that white building next to the trailers is the main dining hall where we all meet for meals.”

“This is your barrack.” Aidan gestured to the building directly in front of them. “Palomino wranglers’ quarters!” he grinned. “Come on inside.”

The wooden barracks turned out to be much plusher inside than they looked. The lounge was really cosy with lots of colourful beanbags, plump sofas and a wide-screen TV. Beyond the main lounge was a hallway with three doors leading off. Each doorway opened on to a bunk room.

“The room at the end is Hester’s,” Aidan explained. “That leaves two rooms for you guys to share.”

Stella stuck her head round the corner of the first bunk room. It had three single beds. “I bagsy this bed!” she cried, flinging herself on the best bunk underneath the window.

“I’ll go here then!” Kate said, heaving her bags up on to the bed closest to the door.

That left one more bunk in the room. Issie looked at it. Then she looked over at Natasha. The snooty blonde was milling about out in the hallway, pretending she wasn’t even slightly interested in the sleeping arrangements.

If Issie took the third bunk, she realised, she would be sharing a room with Stella and Kate, which was great. But that also meant Natasha would be left out, all by herself in the other room. Issie picked up her bag. “Hey, Natasha?” she said. “Do you want to come with me and check out our room?”

Natasha looked at Issie with grateful eyes. “OK,” she said cheerfully. She grabbed her bags and began to walk ahead of Issie down the hall. Then she turned back and added, “But don’t get any ideas because I’m having the bunk by the window.”

As Issie unpacked her bags and filled the chest of drawers next to her bunk, Natasha opened the windows for some fresh air and fussed about the state of the bed linen, which was “cheap cotton, not proper Egyptian like at home” and the bunks, which were “like concrete and totally impossible to sleep on”.

“You didn’t have to come, you know!” Issie snapped, but as soon as she said it, she wished she hadn’t.

Natasha stopped unpacking. She glared at Issie. “Why did you ask me then?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why did you ask me to come? Was it just because you needed another rider?” Natasha sneered. “You must have been desperate. I know you and Stella and Kate don’t actually like me, so it’s not like you asked me because I’m your friend or anything…”

“Natasha, no, it wasn’t like that…” Issie began, but Natasha cut her off.

“I know what you all think of me, you know. I’m not stupid. You think I’m stuck up just because I go to a private school.”

“Well…” Issie began, uncertain what to say to this.

“I know you say horrible things about me,” Natasha insisted. “Well, not you so much. You aren’t so bad, I suppose, Issie. But Stella is always being mean to me.”

“But, Natasha!” Issie protested, “you always say mean things to her too! You kind of bring it on yourself, you know.”

Natasha shrugged at this. “Anyway, you don’t have to share a room with me. I don’t care. Go ahead if you’d rather be with your friends.”

Issie shook her head. “No. It’s OK, honest. I don’t want to move,” she said. “I like this room. I think it’ll be fun to share together.”

This seemed to cheer Natasha up a bit and she began to unpack her clothes, laying them carefully into the drawers.

“I’m glad your mum let you come,” Issie said.

“Oh, Mummy was desperate for me to come!” Natasha said. “She couldn’t wait to get rid of me.”

“What do you mean?” Issie was confused.

“You mean you don’t know?” Natasha looked shocked. “I thought everyone had heard about it.” She began to pull random things out of her bag, throwing her T-shirts violently into the drawer. “My parents have split up. They’re getting a divorce. They’re so busy arguing with each other, they barely notice that I’m in the room.” Natasha’s face was flushed with embarrassment. “I thought that was why you asked me to come. I thought your mum made you ask me because of the divorce.”

“No,” Issie said. “No, I didn’t know. Mum didn’t make me ask you–I just thought, well, I thought we might have fun.”

Natasha seemed to perk up a little at this. “You know,” she said as she arranged her hairbrush and lip gloss on the dressing table, “it will be fun! It’ll be like a sleepover.” She was smiling. “I’ve got loads of treats like chocolate fudge in my bag for us to share. We can eat lollies and tell ghost stories and…ohmygod! Argghh!”

Natasha leapt up on to her bunk squealing with fear as three enormous dogs suddenly bowled into the room; their claws scratched against the wooden floorboards as they ran about panting, sniffing and slobbering.

“Ewww! Get them away from me!” Natasha howled.

“Strudel! Taxi! Nanook! Lie down!” Issie ordered. The dogs obeyed immediately and dropped down on the floor, lying perfectly still with their heads on their paws.

“Aunty Hess?” Issie called out. “Is that you? I’m in here!” Through the doorway behind the dogs came a glamorous woman with shoulder-length, curly blonde hair, dressed in black jodhpurs and a crisp white blouse.

“Isadora! My favourite niece!” Hester beamed as she grabbed Issie in an enormous hug. Issie found herself squished in her aunt’s arms, drowning in the familiar scent of Chanel perfume.

“Aunty Hess! It’s so good to see you again!” Issie said. She turned to Natasha. “Aunty Hess, I want you to meet my friend Natasha from pony club. She’s a really good rider.”

“Hello, Natasha. How terrific to have you here!” Hester smiled.

Natasha smiled back stiffly. “Thank you,” she replied.

“And these are Hester’s dogs,” Issie said, finishing her introductions. “This is Nanook,” she explained, pointing to the shaggy black Newfoundland, “and Strudel,” she said, patting the golden retriever. “And this one is Taxi,” Issie said, scratching the black and white cattle dog behind the ears.

Natasha looked nervously at the dogs and still didn’t get down off the bunk.

“Good boys! Outside now!” Hester instructed the dogs–and the three of them leapt up immediately, tearing off out the door.

“Are you girls unpacking? There’s time for that later. Right now you’re coming with me,” Hester said firmly. “Go and get the others. It’s time to meet the horses.”