‘That looks fun,’ a sarcastic voice said behind me.
I looked around from the whirring, wheezing photocopier to see Ava towering next to me again, her long, lanky arms crossed over her skinny frame.
I shrugged. ‘It’s okay.’
‘So, did you hear? Rae’s asked me to escort Billy and his crew to the photo shoot. Meet them, show them around, be their personal assistant for the day. Like, his personal assistant.’
‘Are you sure that’s a good idea?’ I blurted out.
‘Jealous?’ She raised an eyebrow.
‘No, I just … No, of course not, why would I be?’ I said, returning to the photocopying. ‘Anyway … so … you’re still not wearing your engagement ring. Is everything okay?’
Ava’s jaw tightened. ‘Everything’s fine. I just left it at home.’
‘Oh? I thought it was at the jewellers getting cleaned?’
‘Yeah, it was,’ she said, rubbing at her naked ring finger. ‘It was filthy. You’d know what I mean if you ever bothered to get your hands dirty around here.’
‘Excuse me?’ My jaw dropped, thinking back to the number of times Steph and I had cleaned, sorted and dusted the fashion storeroom while Ava ‘helped with a beauty shoot’ or ‘inspired Rae and the fashion department with her modelling portfolio’.
‘Anyway, I’d better go to the shoot — Billy probably needs me.’ She sighed. ‘Oh, and one other thing. Billy’s girlfriend, Kara — you know, the one he’s having a baby with — is around the building, too. Just thought you should know.’
She strode off, flicking her voluminous red hair. I turned back to the photocopying and suddenly it didn’t seem like such a boring task. My palms sweated, my brain was punctured with the same thoughts on repeat: What if Kara recognised me from the photos? Worse still: what if she recognised me before I recognised her and I didn’t have a chance to hide? In the past few weeks I must have seen more than two hundred photos of her on the internet. She had long jet-black hair, blue eyes and flawless pale skin. I was sure of it.
I would have spent the rest of the day stressing about Kara but Eloise came to my rescue. More accurately, I came to hers. Eloise had done her best to hide a raging hangover, but since Rae, Liani, Ava and half the editorial team had gone to the studio, she couldn’t hold it together any longer: she wanted junk food, and she wanted it now — she was just too seedy to venture outside.
Happy for the distraction, I walked the two blocks to the closest takeaway store and ordered two cheeseburgers, large chips, a chocolate sundae — and twelve nuggets. Eloise really stressed that part to me. It turned out magazine girls did eat more than carrot sticks and fresh vegetable juices after all.
The pimply-faced kid behind the counter gaped at my enormous paper bag for so long I couldn’t tell whether he was repulsed or impressed.
Back at the office, Eloise groaned with excitement when I plonked the greasy food on her desk. ‘I could hug you right now,’ she said, yawning and rubbing her temples. ‘Did you get something for yourself?’
‘No, I wasn’t hungry.’
That was a lie; I was always hungry. I didn’t mind though: walking to the shops for hangover food was more fun than photocopying, sorting through the mail and tidying up the office combined. Plus, chatting with Eloise like this made me feel included in the Sash team, like I was one of the features girls.
‘Don’t be silly,’ Eloise scoffed, emptying the chips onto a paper plate and pushing them toward me. ‘Have a chip. Have ten chips.’ She tore open the first burger wrapper and took a bite.
I heard a voice cry ‘Ewww’ and turned to see Steph walking over.
‘Is that a plastic burger?’ asked Steph, learning forward to take a closer look. ‘Surely that’s not real — it looks like a toy!’
‘That’s my plastic food, thank you very much.’ Eloise grinned. Red sauce oozed out of the bun, coating her fingers. ‘You’d think you’d never seen a burger before.’
‘Do curried mushroom sliders in Thailand count?’ said Steph, balancing between cheeky and downright pretentious. With her cute little face, fun energy and worldliness, she pulled it off.
Eloise wiped sauce from her lips. ‘Okay, you two, this has been fun, but I’d love to enjoy the rest without judgement. And between you and me, before Rae gets back from the shoot. Maybe go and see what the art team are up to, yeah?’
‘Okay,’ we chimed at the same time.
‘And Jose?’ she went on. ‘Take a sneaky cheeseburger with you. I think I’ve over-ordered.’
I couldn’t help but agree. Steph sniggered as we loaded the plate with the untouched burger and soggy fries. We were walking toward the art department when I heard Ava’s shrill voice again.
‘Where have you been, Josie?’ she said. ‘I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Rae needs to see you immediately.’
‘See me? Again?’ My heart pounded. This was the final straw in a long line of straws. I knew it. ‘Where? Her office?’
‘No, the shoot. She said it’d only take a second. I offered to pass on a message but she specifically requested to see you.’
My palms dampened. ‘No, she wanted me to stay away from the shoot.’
‘That’s weird.’ Ava shrugged. ‘Oh well, do what you like. Just don’t blame me if you get in trouble again. I know how much you hate that.’
‘Okay, I believe you. What level are the studios on again?’ I asked. ‘Four?’
‘No, that’s Marilyn mag,’ said Ava. ‘Try level eight.’
‘I’ve heard the Marilyn girls have hair straighteners set up at their desks and check each other’s clothing tags to make sure they’re wearing designer gear. Do you think that’s true?’
Ava shrugged. ‘Makes sense to me. I’ll meet you there.’ She stalked away, flicking her hair (the girl seriously belonged in a shampoo commercial).
I threw the junk food I was carrying in the bin, hopped in the lift and, moments later, was up on level eight, where the fluorescent lighting was so harsh I wished I’d worn safety goggles. Several beauties walked past me, some holding notebooks, others nursing large bags of goodies, most likely from PR agencies.
I found a sign directing me to Studio 8B, and on my way there passed Jeremy the photographer.
He waved. ‘Well, hello you. How have you been? Enjoying the internship?’
‘It’s great,’ I replied. ‘Hey, have you seen Rae?’
‘She’s through there.’ He pointed toward a door. ‘We’re on a break. Want a coffee? I’m getting a double shot.’
‘No, thanks.’ I smiled, enjoying the warmth of chatting in the corridor for once. Many of the people in the building — guys and girls — were like plastic robots with the personalities of flat diet lemonade. Jeremy’s phone rang so he said goodbye and walked off.
They were on a break. That was probably why Rae wanted to see me now. Billy and Kara were most likely tucked away in a VIP dressing room, feeding each other grapes and getting massages or something equally lavish. I took a deep breath and opened the door.
The studio looked like a zoo as usual. There was a king-size bed in the middle of the room, with luxurious-looking sheets and pillows, all glowing pristine white under the lighting. Two girls fluffed the pillows and messed up the sheets, creating a sexy just-slept-in look. A bright red motorbike was parked in a corner of the studio; across the room, a litter of puppies played in a large cardboard box, yapping and nuzzling each other. I nearly OD’d on cuteness.
Rae, Liani, Esmeralda and some of the crew had their backs to me as they chatted to a busty woman with a parrot tattoo down her arm. She was talking hoarsely about ‘hair energy’ and how ‘we don’t want him to look lifeless’. Rae appeared to be listening but her arms were folded over her chest; defensive and ready to strike as always. I couldn’t see Billy — or anyone who looked like Kara — anywhere. Billy’s manager was nowhere to be seen either. Phew.
I took a shaky step toward the group.
‘Josie, Josie, Josie,’ a slick voice drawled behind me.
I turned to see Billy, arms folded across his chest and smirking (of course). He wore a tight black T-shirt and dark denim jeans, and his usually floppy hair was slicked into a sharp twenties style.
‘Billy,’ I muttered, lowering my eyes. ‘I should leave … I thought you’d be gone.’
‘It’s cool. Stay and chat. Did you see the puppies?’
‘Puppies? What’s the matter with you? Stop pretending that everything’s cool,’ I whispered, narrowing my eyes. ‘I thought you were better than this. The lies you’ve been spreading about me —’
‘Calm down. It’s not like we spent the night together.’
‘No, but you wanted to.’
‘It was a kiss.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘One kiss. And stop acting like you didn’t enjoy it.’
‘What gave it away? The slap or the fact I vomited afterwards?’ I snapped.
‘It’s you,’ I heard a soft, feminine voice say. I turned to see a girl with jet-black hair, green eyes and tanned skin (not pale, as I’d thought) staring at me, her lip trembling. Her right hand cupped her swollen belly. ‘You’re the girl from the club who kissed Billy — I recognise you from the photos.’
‘I … I …’ My hand raced to my hair. Why did I choose today of all days to repeat Steph’s style?
‘You threw yourself at my boyfriend,’ Kara said, her face hardening to reveal strong cheekbones and a prominent jaw.
‘No, no, I promise,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘It’s complicated. He was the one who —’
‘Save it. I don’t know what Billy was thinking when he let you kiss him,’ Kara said, rolling each word off her tongue for added effect.
Anger bubbled inside me, winding its way from my toes, around my ankles, jetting up my thighs toward my mouth. ‘Let me kiss him? I don’t know what lies he’s fed you, but you’ve got it all wrong. Billy asked me to go back to his hotel room.’
‘How dare you!’ Kara snapped, stepping forward, her left palm raised.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed hold of my arm and yanked me away, sending a painful jolt through my upper body.
‘What are you doing here?’ Rae hissed, towering over me. Her hand gripped my arm like a vice. Nearby, Billy was trying to console Kara, who was pushing him away. ‘Josie, I told you to stay in the office. Now look what you’ve done.’
‘I know, but then Ava told me to come and —’
‘What on earth were you thinking?’
‘It’s just that it wasn’t my —’
‘Oh, it’s never you, is it?’ Rae snapped. ‘It’s never your fault. Never your problem.’
‘There’s been a misunderstanding —’
‘No. You’re the one misunderstanding. I’ve got more important things to deal with than this. I’m trying to run a goddamn magazine. I’ve had it, Josie. Your internship is over.’
‘What? No, Rae. Please.’ This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening.
‘Check the guidelines — you’re dismissed. Now get the hell out of here.’
Lips trembling, I glanced around. Billy and Kara now stood next to each other, holding hands in silence. The busty red-haired woman was picking at her fingernails, bored. I didn’t dare look at Liani or Esmeralda; the shame was too much.
‘I really am sorry,’ I spluttered. I spun on my heel and raced out of the studio.