THE REST OF THE MORNING goes by excruciatingly slowly. My first three periods are the worst. Chem, math and physics. The deadly trio.
The fact that I'm still feeling down about the concert doesn't help matters.My next class is art, which I actually like. Plus it's one of the few classes I have with Jamie, Grace and Zee.We usually meet up at our lockers before walking out to the arts building together, so I'm not surprised when I hear Jamie's voice as I'm about to turn the corner by our lockers. She sounds upset.I stop dead in my tracks when I hear her say my name.I'm not totally sure what it is that makes me press my back against the wall and stand listening, concealed around the corner where they can't see me. I'm only a few feet from them, and they could leave the lockers and turn the corner at any time, and this would be very weird to try and explain to them.I don't usually randomly eavesdrop on my friends. But there's something in Jamie's voice. I need to hear what they're saying about me."I'm just tired of everyone treating her like a freaking porcelain doll the whole time. And it's getting seriously old defending her. She needs to pull herself together.""She's depressed, Jamie." Grace's voice. "She'll get better. She just needs time"."Yeah, well, maybe she needs to see someone. She's getting worse, not better."I wait for someone to defend me. Zee can't have arrived yet. No way would Jamie say stuff like this in front of her."She's trying Jamie," Grace says so softly I can only just hear her."Is she really though? If she really wanted to come tonight she'd get over her issues. I mean, isn't she the one that's always saying how she wishes she could give something back to them? I know we all love Fable, but Ashling basically lives for them. And now she's going to miss out just because of a bit of claustrophobia?""Claustrophobia? You think that's what's wrong with her?" Turns out I was wrong. Zee's part of this conversation after all."I can't believe what you're saying Jamie. Have you forgotten what she's been through? Just give her a break."I thank Zee silently."Ok fine, something really lame happened to her –" Jamie begins.Zee cuts in. "More than something lame... It was literally a tragedy.""She's right Jamie." Grace."Ok, whatever, a tragedy," Jamie says. "But how long is she going to let something that happened two years ago rule her life? She's gotta get over it at some point."Even though I can't see Zee right now, I can tell just by the low, cold tone of her voice that her face is bright red with fury."She is getting over it. At her own pace. She just doesn't want a repeat of what happened at the Zara Quinn concert. None of us do.""Yeah, but she's missing Fable," Jamie answers. "FABLE! Seriously."I've had enough. I turn around and walk back the way I came from. The worst thing is, I know Jamie's totally right.I'm irritated with all of them for the rest of the day. Even Zee and Grace, though I don't know why exactly – they were defending me, after all. But I just hate that they were discussing me behind my back.How often do they talk about me like that?I try not to show how upset I am, and they don't seem to pick it up. They probably just think I'm a bit down about not going tonight.My bad mood is amplified by all the happiness and excitement around me.It's a Friday, so there's the usual pre-weekend buzz. On top of that, it's not just any Friday – it's the second last Friday before summer vacation starts. Add to that the concert tonight, and the whole school seems to be smiling.Everyone except me.AFTER SCHOOL I WALK to The Night Owl. Most Fridays the girls come with me. Everything's on the house for us – the Night Owl, along with the restaurant upstairs, is owned and managed by my parents.Ever since they met and fell in love at chef school in Seattle (pretty romantic I guess), they dreamed about starting a business together.The only complication was that my dad wanted a haute cuisine restaurant and my mom wanted a cozy little coffeehouse.So when my gran offered to put money down on a building, they decided on a compromise. Fine dining restaurant upstairs, coffeehouse downstairs.When they first moved in eleven years ago, the building had been abandoned for ages. I was only five years old, so I don't remember much – but whenever I look at it now I can still see the blanket of moss and ivy growing all over the facade so thickly you could barely see the walls.Today a small group of tourists in flannels and hiking gear are standing outsid
UPSTAIRS IT'S CHAOS AS usual. Biblio only officially opens at six for dinner, but the preparations start in the early afternoon. There's inventory to take, plates to wash, stock to prepare, gelato to freeze.Every time I walk into Biblio's entrance I love to imagine the first impression diners get of it.It's massive – a double vaulted ceiling with chandeliers illuminating tapestries and old paintings. Oak bookshelves crowded with books bought in second hand stores line most of the walls.The cleaner is changing the roses and candles on each table, while a waiter stacks menus on the bookshelf at the entrance. The menus are inside old book covers to keep with the library theme.I consider going into the kitchen to say hi to mom and dad, but I know they have their hands full.So I spend the rest of the afternoon in the back room working on my school assignments.Even though I have a couple of solid hours uninterrupted, I still only manage to finish
ON THE WAY OUT I stop to say goodbye to Jade.Jade looks up from the latte he's making."What are your plans for the rest of the night?" He asks."Home. YouTube. Dinner," I answer. What I don't mention is that by YouTube I mean I'll be lounging around in my pjs crying over Fable music videos. And by dinner I mean pistachio ice cream. Probably a whole tub.With mom and dad working in the kitchens until late every Friday, I basically have free reign. "Sounds fun. That reminds me though..." he leans across the counter, tucking a loose strand of sandy blonde hair behind his ear. "Why didn't you go with your friends to the concert? I thought you loved Fable. Like, a die-hard super fan."There's no sarcasm in his voice.One of the things I admire most about Jade is how he's so accepting, and he actually makes an effort to see from other people's point of view. I doubt he listens to Fable – he told me once that he mostly listens to old retro stuff
FOR A GOOD TEN seconds, all I can do is stare. This can't be happening.Finally I feel my lips move. "Felix... Lockhart?""In the flesh," he says.I take in the familiar features, looking for some difference which would prove he's just some lookalike having a laugh.I take in the beautiful, perfect face, vampire-pale skin, high cheekbones framed by dark hair. It's his eyes however that banish any doubts – they're recognizable anywhere.Intense hazel green with a ring of brown around the pupil, with a few gold flecks near the rim. Cold and cat-like, predatory even – but somehow too beautiful to be real. I've always wondered if they're actually contacts, but up close I can see his eyes are perfectly clear.No contacts. No Photoshop."They're real," I murmur. "Wow"."What's real?" He asks.I just stare.Felix Lockhart is here, standing right in front of me. The real deal, totally legit. Living, breathing, not just in the mag
INSIDE, THE LIMO IS cool and softly lit. I slide across the leather seat until I'm sitting opposite Felix.There's a cold, fluttery feeling in the pit of my stomach.Felix places the guitar case on the floor between us. He stretches back, crossing his long legs out in front of him at the ankle.I notice he's wearing the same outfit (a dark top, black jeans and navy blue converse sneakers) he was wearing in one of Lyall's Instagram updates from earlier in the day.It's all just so surreal.I look down at my own outfit and realize we're wearing practically the same thing. I didn't change after school, so I'm still in my skinny jeans, converse and a red hoodie.I'd give anything to be wearing a pretty dress right now. Or some killer lipstick or even just eyeliner. I can see Jamie's logic in wearing makeup 24/7 now.But there's no way when I was rushing to get dressed this morning I could have known I'd be going to the concert, escorted by none other t
AS WE PULL INTO the stadium parking lot, I realize that the screaming is coming from a huge crowd of girls hanging around outside.Zee, Grace, Jamie and everyone else who has a ticket will be inside by now.These are the fans who didn't get concert tickets in time.Most of them are standing around waving signs that read "FABLE FOREVER" OR "ENFABLER4LIFE", singing, screaming, showing their support even though they won't get to see the actual show.When Fable first started getting popular, their fans were mostly teenaged girls. The press were quick to label them as a boy band, even though they play their own instruments, and their sound is closer to rock than pop. As they started winning awards and earning respect, the press changed their tune. They were the band that "brought rock back". The cherry on top was when David Bowie, dressed head-to-toe in his Jareth costume from Labyrinth, joined the boys onstage during a performance of Déjà Vu at Central
"THIS WAY," TODD SAYS, walking down the corridor at a fast pace.As I follow the security guard past several sets of frosted glass doors, I remember Beth boasting that her dad got her a suite.If she was telling the truth, it means she and the other Bs are probably somewhere nearby on the same level of the arena.I might even run into them.Oh hell no.Although even if that were to happen, it’s no big deal. Nothing could ruin my good mood. This is shaping up to be officially the most amazeballs night EVER, and it’s only going to get better. I still can't believe I'm going to meet the rest of the band after the show.I'm not too nervous about meeting Lyall or Elliot, because everyone knows that Lyall's a total sweetie and Elliot's super nice. Ben has a bit of a "hothead" image going on but he's really fun, and Alastair is... Alastaire.I have no clue what I'm going to say to them.Todd finally stops in front of a brightly lit room w
THE MOMENT THAT KITTY leaves the suite, the three angels swoop down on me.I shrink back from the cloying semi-circle of bleached blonde hair, fake tan and too-sweet perfume.They look a few years older than me, possibly seniors at another school.I was so worried about running into the Three Bs, and instead I've ended up with another (possibly worse) trio of angels.Unfortunately it's not as coincidental as one might think.Alastaire's fans always seem to travel in packs. All Enfablers are like a big family, a sisterhood that spans the globe – but the angels take it to the extreme.Angels stick together with one goal in mind. Their sole aim is to get chosen. To get noticed by their idol, and to have the honor of being one of the special angels that "Alastaire takes up to heaven" after each concert.That's what the rumors online say, and it looks like there might be some truth to them.The girl in the sparkly gold top is smiling