Contents
1 – Here Comes Trouble
2 – Fashionista Fame
3 – Glamour and Gossip
4 – Starlight Magic
5 – Sparklyfied
6 – Definitely Dazzling
7 – The Silver Fashion Journal
8 – Star Party
9 – Mysterious Knight
10 – Science and Sparkles
11 – Designing like Crazy
12 – Hubble-Bubble Trouble
13 – Shoes, Jewellery, Bags and Baubles
14 – Galaxy of Fashions
15 – Stars of the Night
CHAPTER ONE
Here Comes Trouble
As I walked into the science class all eyes were on me. Don’t stumble, don’t say anything stupid, and don’t blush, I told myself firmly.
I wasn’t clumsy so stumbling was unlikely. If I kept my mouth shut there was no chance of anything stupid coming out, or more probably, anything blunt, as tact isn’t my best skill especially when I’m being stared at. As for the blushing…well, I’d applied a little bit of green concealer underneath my foundation to disguise any embarrassing glow. It was great for hiding blemishes and uncontrollable blushes, but I think I was cringing so much that some rosy pink was shining through. My school is okay about girls wearing make–up, just don’t wear nail polish (go figure that logic), and isn’t particularly strict about dress code unless you’re a complete mess.
My make–up was the only thing I’d had time to get right. I’d been so edgy about starting a new class that I’d hardly slept at night and ended up sleeping in. In a mad rush I’d run around my bedroom to get dressed at speed so as not to be late. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the outfit I’d planned in my head — the one that was going to complement my sleek blonde ponytail and slim but slightly gangly figure and make me appear an intelligent and cool fifteen–year–old. It was just typical. I couldn’t find my white blouse and grey sweater anywhere and had to scramble around to throw an alternative look together.
Now, I suppose I should explain that fashion is my passion and most of my clothes are…how can I put it…anything but plain? But today of all days, I really wanted to blend into the background and merge into the class without drawing attention to myself. Some hope! The pink shoes were the worst mistake.
They’re my favourite shoes, but standing there in front of a whole classroom of science nerds, I felt like I was blushing from head to bright pink toes.
I’d imagined the class it would be filled with boys. I was almost right. There were two girls who were sitting together and didn’t look like they wanted to know me. And I was fine with that. I’ve got my two best friends at school and don’t especially need any more thank you.
The part I’d got wrong was the nerdy thing. It’s funny how you can get an image fixed in your mind. The science department was tucked away in a dead end corridor and I’d never been near it. Three years at Cedar–Valmont Secondary School in Scotland and the science department was a mystery to me. I’d just assumed (wrongly) that only geeky guys would do science. Maybe they were geeks, but a few of them were really good–looking, and judging by the height of them sitting down, tall too. One in particular was gorgeous. He had dark hair pushed back from a face that looked like it was sculpted from palest marble. He had the potential to be a male model. Who knew science pupils could be so lush.
‘This is Evie Silver,’ the teacher said, introducing me to the science class. Mr Thornton was a ‘grey man’, the type of teacher that in the back of my mind I’d passed in the corridors and dining hall and hadn’t given him a second thought. All I knew was that he taught science, and his wife was the school secretary. He wore the typical well–worn and well–washed (faded) cords and jacket. His hair, face and total persona matched his clothes.
‘Evie is a pupil at Cedar–Valmont, but this year she’s going to be taking science to enhance her art and design studies, so I hope you’ll welcome her…’ Mr Thornton said, but then I found my attention wandering as I looked around the classroom. I know, it was bad of me to flick channels mentally, but this room was really interesting. Who would have thought it? I loved the gleaming star charts showing all the planets and constellations in the Milky Way. Okay, so I read too many horoscopes, and I’m totally into anything sparkly and there were silver, gold and copper things around the room. Wow!
Then I caught him (science geek with model potential) staring at me with long–lashed, blue–green eyes that seemed to see right through me. Or perhaps it was my outfit that he was looking at.
I was wearing a grey skirt, teamed with a fashionable purple top (good match with my purple blazer), and had pulled my hair into a ruffled ponytail (deliberately messy would be another way to describe it, except that it was more desperate than deliberate). But it was my funky denim bag that was getting a lot of attention. It wasn’t until I’d arrived at the school gates that I realised this was the wrong bag for today. I’d just grabbed it and ran for the school bus. The bag had numerous glitzy things dangling from it that rattled almost as much as the charm bracelet I was wearing.
I tried not to stare back at him. You know how it works. Even though you want to gaze at a boy, you have to pretend you’re not interested because if he thinks you are, he’ll never be interested in you. Complicated isn’t it? Not that I have much experience of boyfriends, in fact, I’ve not officially had a boyfriend, but we all know the rules of the game huh?
And then it happened. Everyone was silent and they were all looking at me, waiting for an answer. I could tell by the expression on Mr Thornton’s face. He’d asked me a question and I’d been so busy daydreaming I hadn’t heard a word of it. Talk about mortified.
One of the girls spoke up. ‘Maybe the question was too difficult for her, Mr Thornton,’ she piped up.
Snide prat! She knew I was squirming.
‘Perhaps she’s a bit deaf,’ the other girl chimed–in.
They exchanged a smirk.
That did it. ‘Maybe you should seriously consider plucking your one big eyebrow and making it into two,’ I said, glaring at the first girl’s excessively gross eyebrow that met in the middle of her forehead. ‘And teenage spots is no excuse for having a stomach–churning pimple that size on your face,’ I sniped at the other girl.
There was a humungous gasp in the classroom followed by utter silence. It was cringing. The first words out my mouth in a new class were vile insults. I’d done what I’d told myself I definitely would not do. But it was done. I waited for the flack.
‘Why don’t you sit beside Hunter,’ Mr Thornton said, breaking the silence. He pointed towards him. ‘Hunter’s new here too. He only started at Cedar–Valmont last week, so the two of you can encourage each other with your studies.’
The penny dropped. That’s why I hadn’t seen him before. I would surely have noticed. Cedar–Valmont was a large school but someone like Hunter would’ve been talked about.
As I headed towards the empty desk beside Hunter, one of the girls (eyebrow girl) snapped at Mr Thornton. ‘Are you going to allow her to talk to me like that?’
He smiled smoothly as he replied, ‘Remember the first rule of science, Lilian. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. You made a snide remark about Evie and she reacted by giving a snide remark back.’
I couldn’t believe it, and judging by Lilian’s expression, neither could she. Mr Thornton had stuck up for me. This man had hidden depths.
The other girl collected her stuff and stood up to leave.
Mr Thornton wasn’t pleased. ‘If you take action by walking out of this class, Rebecca, my reaction will be to give you a week in detention.’
Rebecca sat back down.
I sat beside Hunter. We didn’t look at each other, and no way was I going to talk to him first.
‘Right,’ said Mr Thornton. ‘This morning, we’re going to deal with the science of lies. Yes, I can tell from you’re expressions that you don’t know what I’m yapping about, but I’ve brought a lie detector machine in with me.’ He reached over and lifted a strange–looking box thingy from his desk. ‘I’ll need a volunteer to demonstrate how it works.’
He was smiling at me. My heart sank. A lie detector? This wasn’t how I imagined science class. I thought I’d be mixing weird coloured liquids and testing bendy metals.
‘Ah, Evie’s going to help me,’ he said, again in that bright voice you couldn’t refuse. And he had let me insult two of his pupils, so I guessed I owed it to him.
I got up and went over to the machine. He pulled out a chair and I sat down. He gave me a metal rod to hold, flicked the machine on and it beeped into life.
‘First question,’ he said, hardly giving me time to breathe. ‘What are you doing in a science class when you want to work in fashion?’
I hesitated. I thought he knew. I assumed he’d got a note from my school career advisor, Miss Adams.
I answered anyway, trying not to sound nervous. ‘Miss Adams said that if I wanted a career in fashion or cosmetics and jewellery, I needed to do science as well as art and design.’
‘And why is that?’ he prompted me.
‘Because science is used in the fashion and cosmetics industries. Chemistry is important if you want to work in cosmetics, or even fabric design and jewellery making.’ It wasn’t a lie, just a variation on reality. I’d tried to talk my way out of having to do science (it’s just not my thing), but Miss Adams said I really needed to have some knowledge of chemistry and stuff.
I waited for the machine to react. Nothing. No objections from it.
‘So things like soap, perfume, lipstick and,’ he glanced at my charm bracelet, ‘jewellery–making rely on science?’
‘Yes,’ I said.
‘Good, next question,’ he said. ‘What do you know about our solar system, Evie?’
I looked at the star charts for inspiration. And then I remembered something I really did know. ‘I can name all the planets in our solar system starting with the one nearest the Sun. I’ll include Pluto even though it’s no longer a main planet.’
‘Go on,’ he encouraged me.
‘Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.’
‘Correct.’ He sounded pleased. The others seemed less impressed. They probably knew everything about every planet under the sun. But I didn’t care. I’d done okay by me.
‘Most people have a method to help them remember the names of the planets and what order they’re in,’ said Mr Thornton, fishing for my trick of recalling them. So I told him. On hindsight I should have kept my mouth shut but…
‘Make–up, Vogue, Earrings, Models, Jewellery, Shoes, Underwear, Nails and Perfume.’
The teacher almost choked. And so did Hunter. The others were in two minds what to think, maybe because they didn’t understand what I was talking about. But that’s how I remembered the planets. Mum and I and my friends like reading our horoscopes and you pick up these things if you’re interested in your star sign. I’ve got the Sun in Venus in my birth chart and it’s supposed to be a sign of fame and fortune. Unfortunately, I’ve got Uranus somewhere else and it’s said to make me a magnet for trouble.