Free Sunset Boulevard by Zoey Dean Page B

guys

leaned back on the grass, casting sideways glances at the girls camped out for Grant. Laughter
    and chatter echoed against the looming front of the high school, before bouncing into the
    cloudless blue sky.
    Where other kids her age fantasized about her life, to Amelie, this was the fantasy. Normalcy.
    And she'd always be standing on the steps, like she was now, watching instead of taking part.
    Amelie was about to trek to her trailer when the two blond girls and the pageboyed brunette
    who'd been tailing Grant stopped outside her door, the brunette holding a cashmere throw.
    One of the blondes spoke first, extending her slender arm to shake Amelie's hand. "Amelie
    Adams? I'm Fortune Weathers," she said, tossing a buttery lock of hair over her shoulder.
    "This is Billie Bollman and Talia Montgomery." She gestured to the other horsey blonde and
    the brunette, who gave tiny finger waves.
    "Um, hi," Amelie said. She recognized them as friends of Myla Everhart, the daughter of
    Barbar, who even an outsider like Amelie could see ruled the school. She was glad to not be
    wearing Class Angel 's crazy-person halo. She already felt like enough of a conversationally
    challenged freak, not even able to eke out a decent hello.
    "We've been wanting to properly introduce ourselves," Talia said, checking her off-theshoulder Rebecca Beeson sweater for invisible lint.
    "We've been so rude not to try to meet you sooner," Billie sang, dramatically punctuating her
    comment with a light slap of her forehead. "You must think we're awful."
    Amelie suppressed a smile. They'd been so ardently tailing Grant, she was surprised they didn't
    leave strands of drool behind. "Not at all," she finally said. "It's nice to meet some real
    students."
    "So," Fortune cut in, all business, "let's sit in the shade, because, hello, skin cancer!" She said
    this despite the fact that her tan was clearly 100 percent natural. She pointed to a patch of shade
    directly beneath Grant's trailer.
    "Oh, are you... inviting me to sit with you?" Amelie said, feeling even lamer than she already
    did. What surprised her was how badly she wanted to sit with them. She was too smart to
    believe Myla Everhart's friends would be genuinely interested in her; befriending a sheltered
    child star didn't seem like their kind of thing. Still, it was better than sitting alone in her trailer.
    "Of course we are," Billie said, waving at Amelie to follow them. Talia carried the blanket to
    the area beneath Grant's trailer window. She spread it out, straightening the edges in an OCD
    way, keeping her eyes on the window.
    "I wanted to tell you, I L-O-V-E-D what they did with your hair for that scene in the cafeteria,"
    Talia said, pulling one of Amelie's red curls. "The bun with the wispy pieces around your face?
    You should do that all the time. It softens your eyes. So romantic."
    "Thanks," Amelie said, looking for something of Talia's to compliment. "I really like your
    necklace," she said awkwardly. As a star since practically birth, Amelie was great at working
    rooms of adults, from top-tier executives to agents and directors, but she'd never really had
    girlfriends her own age. Unless you counted girls like Kady, who'd probably never notice
    Amelie if they hadn't been thrown together on a movie.
    Talia's hand shot up to her diamond-coated star pendant. "You can totally borrow it."
    Billie rolled her eyes, fluffing her three-tier Rag & Bone striped miniskirt. "Talia, look at her."
    She gestured to Amelie's dress. "Does she look like she needs your accessories?"
    There was a slight edge to Billie's voice. The three of them were all competing to be the best
    ass-kiss, with Grant as a living, breathing door prize.
    "We're planning outfits for the big football game scene," Fortune said, looking to Amelie like
    she was sitting on a throne. "We thought it would be really cool to actually be in the shot."
    A few of the girls on a blanket not far away twittered amongst themselves. Amelie