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  “Yes,” I told her. “Because something else happened too.”

  “What else can happen to you?” Nydia exclaimed. “Don’t tell me you’ve been abducted by aliens and are calling me from Mars.”

  “Even stranger,” I said. “I think I fancy Danny Harvey! I mean, I know I fancy Danny Harvey. It’s like, he’s really sweet when you get to know him – funny and kind and he’s got this sort of slow smile and really intense eyes and I looked at him today and I got butterflies.”

  “Danny Harvey?” Nydia sounded confused. “I mean, I know he came to rescue you from the pizza place, but up until then he’s always been grumpy, up-himself, Mr too-cool-for-school Danny Harvey.”

  “I know!” I said. “But he’s not like that at all really. Just like Anne-Marie wasn’t really evil at all. It makes me wonder if I really know anyone…”

  “You know me,” Nydia said glumly. “No exciting surprises here.”

  “Well good,” I said. “Because you’re the best person in the world and I don’t want that to change. Anyway, it’s all pointless. I go from fancying one person who doesn’t like me to another person who doesn’t like me in five seconds flat. How sad is that?” I watched the ant disappear into a crack in the paving and wished I could follow it.

  “How do you know he doesn’t fancy you?” Nydia said blithely. “Come to think of it, he’s always looking at you at school.”

  “He is not!” I said. “Is he? And anyway, I know because, before, he just gave me this look and it was total loathing. So back to square one on the crush front.”

  “Oh, Rube,” Nydia said. “Never mind, mate. At least you’ve still got your part in the show.”

  “Mmmmm,” I said.

  “Mmmmm?” Nydia said. “What does mmmmm mean?”

  “Ruby, two minutes!” One of the runners shouted at me and I waved back, squinting at him.

  “I’ve got to go, Nydia,” I said. “I’ll call you when I get back tonight, OK?”

  We said our goodbyes and, waiting just a second longer before I went back to work, I closed my eyes and turned my face into the warmth of the sun.

  When I opened them Danny was standing there! And he was smiling, which was pretty unusual for Danny. Then I realised. He must have heard me talking to Nydia.

  “Oh, no,” I groaned. “How much did you hear?” He sat down beside me.

  “Well, most of it, I think,” he said with a rueful grin. “I’m sorry, it’s sort of hard not to listen in when you hear your name.” I dropped my head into my hands. I knew from experience that was true.

  “Oh, God,” I said. “Let’s just forget about it, OK? Pretend it never happened?”

  Danny laughed.

  “You know, you were brilliant in that scene with Justin,” he said.

  I forced myself to look up at him.

  “Yeah?” I said. At least he wasn’t laughing outright in my face. (I was right about him being sweet.)

  “Yeah, you really had me convinced. I thought you didn’t have to act at all.” I shrugged.

  “I didn’t think I was going to. I thought, ‘Oh no, this is my first kiss – it’s got to be perfect or else my whole life is going to go wrong from this moment on if I fluff it!’ But I was wrong. It wasn’t even my first kiss.”

  Danny’s brow furrowed slightly.

  “No?” he said.

  “No, it was Angel’s.”

  He smiled, that sweet slow smile again.

  “Ruby, did you mean what you said before? On the phone? About liking me.”

  I swallowed and bit my lip. “Well, yeah, but it’s OK because I’m used to liking people who don’t like me…”

  “But I do like you, I really do,” Danny said, speaking slowly as if the words were hard to get out. “I’ve liked you since the school play. I always thought you were cool and different from the other girls. And, well, one of the reasons I went for this part is because I thought if I was on the show we might get to know each other a bit better…But then it all kept going wrong and it was obvious you fancied Justin. And then when we had lunch the other day I sort of thought maybe then…but, well…I do like you – that’s what I’m trying to say.”

  I stared at him for a long moment before I realised that that probably wasn’t my most attractive look.

  “Say something!” he said, laughing nervously.

  “I…it’s just I’ve never had anyone like me back before. It’s a bit of a shock.” I made an effort to bring my eyebrows back down to the middle of my forehead.

  “Ruby! Liz is waiting for you!” One of the runners clattered through the fire door and hollered at me.

  “Well, I do like you, a lot. I think you’re great, Ruby,” Danny said. “And well, I thought…I was wondering if you might, you know – be my girlfriend? That’s if you meant what you said.”

  I looked over my shoulder at the door I should be going through right at that moment. I had never once been late on set in all the years that I’d worked on the show – even when I’d been so into Barbies I’d had six of them in my dressing room. I looked back at Danny.

  “I’d really like that,” I said.

  And then I think time stood still.

  I couldn’t hear anything and the world around us just sorted of melted away. Taking my hand in his, Danny leaned towards me and kissed me. And my heart leaped and my stomach fizzed with butterflies. And it was perfect. My first kiss was perfect.

  “Ruby…?” It was Liz’s voice that broke the spell. “Ruby—Oh!” She disappeared inside quickly. Danny and I broke apart.

  “I have to go,” I said, grinning like a maniac.

  “OK,” he said. “I’ll wait, shall I, until you’re finished?” I almost couldn’t believe this was happening to me, that this was really happening to me and it wasn’t just a scene that someone else had scripted for me.

  “Yes please,” I said happily. “Wait for me.” And then I ran into the studio, pausing at the door to look over my shoulder, and I saw the one thing I thought I’d never ever see Danny Harvey do.

  He was tap-dancing down the auction house steps.

  Chapter Twenty

  As we all filed into the hall for first assembly of the new school year, I looked over my shoulder and caught Danny’s eye. He winked at me and smiled and my tummy did a little jump. Danny Harvey was a great boyfriend, a funny kind and sweet boyfriend who I could actually talk to. Even Nydia thought so after we all went bowling together: her, me, Anne-Marie and Michael Henderson (she never did chuck him). The rest of the summer break went so quickly after that first kiss with Danny. Too quickly.

  When we got back to school, I thought there’d be dramas about me and Danny and Anne-Marie suddenly becoming friends with Nydia and me. But there hasn’t been. After Nydia and I spent hours and hours practising our catty comebacks and writing them down in a notebook so we wouldn’t forget them like we always used to (Nydia’s idea), we didn’t need any of them at all. It wasn’t as if Jade and Menakshi and the gang suddenly all wanted to hang out with us and paint our nails, but they didn’t make nasty comments about us every time we saw them or write stuff about us in their exercise books. All those months of feeling isolated and peculiar just vanished as if they’d never been there in the first place. And it seemed to me that everyone was rather glad about that – almost relieved. After all, it takes up a lot of energy being nasty all the time. It might have been because they saw the light and realised what great girls Nydia and I are. It might have been because Anne-Marie flits between their group and ours, gradually drawing us all closer together.

  Or it could be because I left the show at the end of the series and I will never be going back (Liz says she will always keep a door open for me anyway) and so I haven’t been going on about it all the time.

  Dad was fine about it. He was the first person I told (after Nydia and then Danny – oh, and Anne-Marie) because I knew how Mum would react and I wanted to talk it over with him first. When I went round to his flat I felt a bit guilty, lik
e I was going behind her back or something, but then I realised that if he had still been living at home, I would have talked to him first anyway and that he was still my dad. I was still allowed to confide in him.

  He’d handed me a glass of orange juice and listened to me as I explained why I wanted to leave.

  “It’s just that I think I need a change, Dad, a challenge. I think I need to go through what everyone else at the school is doing. Going up for auditions, even if I don’t get them. Experiencing different things and learning more. I’ve been on the show so long I’m almost stuck there.”

  Dad furrowed his brow.

  “Well I agree with you, Ruby, but are you sure this is your idea and not this ‘Danny’s’?” He said Danny’s name cautiously. I smiled to myself. You see, I knew Mum would be fine about Danny and terrible about me leaving Kensington Heights, and I knew that Dad would be exactly the opposite.

  “Yes, it’s my idea,” I told him firmly. “It’s what I want.” Dad nodded.

  “You know, some people leave soaps and are never heard of again by the public. That could be you, you understand that?” I nodded.

  “Yes, Dad, but it’s better to take the chance, don’t you think? It was more or less luck that got me the job on the show and I was too young to even know it. I want it to be talent that gets me my next job.”

  He smiled at me. “I’m happy for you, Ruby, I really am. You make me very proud.” He gave me a little hug and then coughed and looked a bit embarrassed.

  “Now about this Danny…”

  “Oh, Dad,” I rolled my eyes. “I’m thirteen, not completely mental, OK? I’m not going to jump into bed with him, I’m not going to elope with him, I’m not going to smoke or do drugs or rob a bank with him, OK? He’s just a really nice boy and I like him; we have fun.” My dad looked like he was about to say something and then he closed his mouth.

  “OK,” he said reluctantly. “Bring him round some time.”

  “I will,” I said.

  Mum tried to talk me out of it.

  “But, Ruby, you are the luckiest girl in the world. Do you know how lucky you are? Millions of girls would kill to do what you’re doing. All the girls in your school would.”

  I thought of Anne-Marie secretly hating me for being so smug about Kensington Heights.

  “How many times do you think you’ve asked me that altogether, Mum? I think I know,” I said. “But…I need a change, Mum.” I told her all the things I told Dad, but she didn’t seem to see.

  “But you’re secure there,” she insisted. “You needn’t worry about getting rejected and Liz said she’d do anything to keep you on.” I shrugged again and looked at Everest. He winked at me (or possibly my sandwich).

  “I know but…” A thought crossed my mind. “Do we need the money?” I asked her. “For us and the school fees, I mean?”

  Mum shook her head quickly and sat down at the table. “No, no, love. It’s not that. There’s enough for you to stay there until you’ve done your exams. It’s not the money. It’s you I’m worried about. You have what most actors dream of – steady work. Out there in the big world there’s rejection after rejection. It’s tough, Ruby, and it hurts. Do you really want that? And why now?”

  I looked into her eyes.

  “I don’t know.” I thought for a moment. “No, I do know. I used to want things to always be the same, and I couldn’t wait to be grown up and be in control of my own life. But now everything’s changed and I realise it’s going to be OK. Maybe even better. I know you and Dad aren’t together and it’s hard and sad and different, but I also know we’re going to be fine. I want to make some of my own changes. This is what I want – and besides…” I left the bit I knew she’d like the best till last. “I want to put school first for a bit anyway.” I smiled at her. “And if I do get knocked back, I’ll just keep on going. That’s the thing about dreams, isn’t it, Mum? You have to follow them, right?”

  Mum smiled and picked up my hand.

  “Ruby Parker,” she said, “you are an amazing girl.”

  And that was it, I thought as I settled down to listen to Sylvia Lighthouse lecture us for the millionth time on dedication and determination. All the ups and downs, all the roller coaster rides of the last few weeks were gradually flattening out. Things were going to be nice and quiet and just normal for the foreseeable future. Ruby Parker hits the small time.

  “Students.” The murmur in the hall died as Sylvia Lighthouse began to talk. “I have an announcement to make. Usually I would do this sort of thing in private, but on this occasion I think it merits an announcement.” Sylvia Lighthouse looked around the hall with her gimlet eyes. I wondered if she was going to expel someone: you could never tell until the last minute if she was pleased or cross with you. “Yesterday I spoke with a Mr Art Dubrovnik…” A murmur swept around the hall. I looked blankly at Nydia, who shrugged, and looked back at Syliva Lighthouse. Neither one of us knew who he was. “As you may know, Mr Dubrovnik is one of Hollywood’s leading directors with two academy awards under his belt.” Nydia and I exchanged an impressed look. “Later on this year he will commence filming his latest film to be set in London. It will star Imogen Grant.”

  “Imogen Grant!” Nydia’s eyes widened. “A real, proper movie star!” she whispered along with everyone else in the hall.

  “Quiet please!” Sylvia Lighthouse’s tone stopped the murmur dead.

  “Mr Dubrovnik wishes to cast a young girl between the ages of twelve and fourteen to play alongside Ms Grant in the film. I’m afraid I don’t know very much about the part yet, but all will be revealed, I’m sure. Now, there will not be open auditions as there is limited time, so Mr Dubrovnik has asked me to pick six girls from this establishment to screen-test for him. There will also be twelve more girls from other…sources.” Syliva Lighthouse wrinkled her nose with distaste at the thought of other stage schools. “It was a hard choice, you are all very talented, so please don’t be disappointed if you’re not on the list.” She coughed and all the girls in the school aged between twelve and fourteen sat on the edge of their seats.

  “Scarlett James.” One of the girls in the year below us screamed.

  “Silence, please!” Sylvia Lighthouse bellowed. “Any further commotion and none of you will be going. Do you understand?” The whole school held its breath. “Now, the remaining five: Anne-Marie Chance, Nydia Assimin, Selena Rivers, Olivia Green and Ruby Parker.” Silence echoed throughout the hall.

  “Will those six girls please come and see me in my study at break.” Sylvia looked at all of us. “You may applaud.”

  Anne-Marie and Nydia and I flung our arms round each other and screamed.

  “Me! She picked me!” Nydia said. “I’ve been picked! Something has happened to me!”

  “It’s amazing,” I said laughing. “All three of us! It’s a miracle!”

  “I know – and not because of my dad, either!” Anne-Marie laughed.

  “We’ll be up against each other, though,” I said as we walked out of the hall, our arms around each other. “Only one person will get it. It might not even be one of us.” Nydia linked her arm though mine and then Anne-Marie’s.

  “I know,” she said. “But we get to try, don’t we? We get to try!”

  “And whoever gets it, we’ll all be happy, right?” Anne-Marie said. Nydia and I nodded. “Even if it’s none of us.”

  The bell rang for first period and Danny ran up behind us and took my hand, drawing me a couple of paces back from the others.

  “So, next stop Hollywood, hey, Rube?” he said with a smile.

  “Who knows?” I said, smiling at him. “And to think I thought I was going to have a quiet life.”

  Teen girl! magazine

  our best issue ever!

  Inside:

  Exclusive interview with ex-Kensington Heights star, Ruby Parker…

  pop gossip!

  cute new looks!

  top tips!

  teen girl! Magaxine’s 60 Second
Interview talks exclusively to TV’s most popular teen actress Ruby Parker now that she has left hit show Kensington Heights.

  tg: Ruby, you’ve recently announced that you’ve left Kensington Heights – what’s in store for you next?

  rp: Well, I’m not really sure yet – and that’s what’s so exciting. I mean, I know I’ve got a lot of hard work to do at school – that never changes. But as for my next acting job? Well, like you, I’ll have to wait and see.

  tg: Any big auditions coming up?

  rp: (Laughs) Maybe – I can’t really say anything at this stage.

  tg: So, what TG readers really want to know is – are the rumours true about you and fellow Kensington Heights actor Danny Harvey? Is he your boyfriend? He’s gorgeous!

  rp: (Laughs again) Danny and I worked together on Kensington Heights and we go to the same school – so yes, we are very good friends, and that’s all I’m saying!

  tg: OK. Look, hundreds of our readers would love a career in acting and TV, and want to be just like you. What advice would you give to all of those girls?

  rp: I’d say follow your dream, if that’s what you really want. It takes a lot of hard work and determination. There are ups and downs, rejections as well as success, but if you work hard and you have talent, there’s no reason – no reason at all – why you couldn’t be just like me.

  Ruby Parker Film Star

  Sneak preview…

  Chapter One

  “If there’s one thing I know about this business we call show business,” Sylvia Lighthouse told me when it was my turn for her inspirational pre-audition pep talk, “it’s that success is never down to good fortune alone – you do realise that, don’t you, Ruby?” I nodded. I did know, mainly because I knew exactly what she was going to say next. She had been seeing all of us girls who were about to audition for a part in the Imogene Grant movie, The Lost Treasure of King Arthur, individually and in alphabetical order. I was last because poor Selena had chicken pox really badly and hadn’t stopped crying since she found out she wouldn’t be allowed to audition. (I don’t blame her, I would cry too if I discovered I was missing out on such an important audition because of chicken pox, even if at that moment a nice warm bed, a pile of DVDs and a bottle of Lucozade did seem like more fun.) Anyway, it meant that I was last, so Nydia, Anne-Marie, Olivia and Scarlett had already told me what she was going to say, complete with dramatic pauses and eye rolling.