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Authors: Kevin Brooks
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talking about. And then another series of pictures appeared, this time on the Internet, and these weren’t edited at all, and so the story just kept going and going… and all the time, Stella got more and more famous…
And Eric and Nicole despised every second of it. They were jealous, for a start, especially Nicole. She’d always hated the whole famous-for-being-famous kind of thing, and what made it even worse for Nic was that Stella had been her friend. They’d dreamed of stardom together, they’d grown up imagining what it would be like, but now that Stella had actually made it, she didn’t want anything to do with Nicole. She didn’t call her. She didn’t text. She didn’t email. She didn’t return any of Nic’s messages. She acted as if she’d never even known her.
With Eric, though, it was slightly different. Just before she’d left school, around the time she was beginning to get famous, Stella had gone out with Eric a few times. They were both only fourteen then, so it wasn’t really a relationship or anything, they just used to meet up in town, maybe go to the pictures… that kind of thing. Then one night, at an end-of-term dance at school, we were all just hanging around at the back of the assembly hall, waiting for some crappy local band to come on, when all at once a side door opened and Stella came bursting in, crying her eyes out. The side door led out to the school grounds, so we all just assumed she’d been out there with Eric, doing whatever they did, and they’d had an argument or something. But then, a few minutes later, Eric came in through the side door too, and he looked incredibly calm. In fact, he looked almost serene. Without saying a word to anyone, he walked across the hall, got up on to the stage, and went over to the microphone. Everyone was watching him now, wondering what the hell he was doing… everyone, that is, except Stella. When Eric had come in, she’d given him the most hateful look I’d ever seen, and then as soon as she’d seen him getting up on the stage, she’d just turned round and stormed out. And when Eric started talking into the microphone, I understood why.
‘I don’t know if this is the right time or the right place,’ he’d announced, his voice booming out through the speakers, ‘and I’m not trying to make a big deal out of it or anything, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m gay.’
And that, in a very big nutshell, was what Pauly was talking about in the den that night. Eric and Stella, their history, the photographs of her on the Internet, the fact that Eric was gay… all that and more, and everything it meant, it was all there in that one stupid sentence: Stella Ross, eh? I don’t suppose you’ve bothered downloading her pictures?
If Eric was offended by Pauly’s remark, he didn’t show it. He just stared at him for a moment, his eyes quietly thoughtful, then he shook his head and turned away.
Pauly looked over at me. ‘Have you seen them, Pete?’
‘Seen what?’
‘Stella’s pictures… the ones on the Internet.’
‘No,’ I lied.
He grinned. ‘I bet you have.’
‘Christ,’ Nicole muttered, passing me the joint again.
Pauly looked at her. ‘What?’
‘You…’
‘What about me?’
‘You’re obsessed with her.’
‘I’m not obsessed –’
‘Yes, you are. You’ve always been obsessed with her. Even before she started flashing her tits around –’
‘She doesn’t –’
‘Shit,’ said Nic, ‘you were having wet dreams about Stella Ross when you were twelve years old.’
Pauly wasn’t grinning any more. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he said sulkily.
Nicole glared at him. ‘Yeah, you do.’
Everything went quiet then. Pauly went back to staring at the ground, Nicole lit a cigarette, I stubbed out the dead joint, and Raymond just sat there, gazing at nothing. Eric seemed worried about something. The cigarette in his hand had burned down to a stub, but he
And Eric and Nicole despised every second of it. They were jealous, for a start, especially Nicole. She’d always hated the whole famous-for-being-famous kind of thing, and what made it even worse for Nic was that Stella had been her friend. They’d dreamed of stardom together, they’d grown up imagining what it would be like, but now that Stella had actually made it, she didn’t want anything to do with Nicole. She didn’t call her. She didn’t text. She didn’t email. She didn’t return any of Nic’s messages. She acted as if she’d never even known her.
With Eric, though, it was slightly different. Just before she’d left school, around the time she was beginning to get famous, Stella had gone out with Eric a few times. They were both only fourteen then, so it wasn’t really a relationship or anything, they just used to meet up in town, maybe go to the pictures… that kind of thing. Then one night, at an end-of-term dance at school, we were all just hanging around at the back of the assembly hall, waiting for some crappy local band to come on, when all at once a side door opened and Stella came bursting in, crying her eyes out. The side door led out to the school grounds, so we all just assumed she’d been out there with Eric, doing whatever they did, and they’d had an argument or something. But then, a few minutes later, Eric came in through the side door too, and he looked incredibly calm. In fact, he looked almost serene. Without saying a word to anyone, he walked across the hall, got up on to the stage, and went over to the microphone. Everyone was watching him now, wondering what the hell he was doing… everyone, that is, except Stella. When Eric had come in, she’d given him the most hateful look I’d ever seen, and then as soon as she’d seen him getting up on the stage, she’d just turned round and stormed out. And when Eric started talking into the microphone, I understood why.
‘I don’t know if this is the right time or the right place,’ he’d announced, his voice booming out through the speakers, ‘and I’m not trying to make a big deal out of it or anything, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m gay.’
And that, in a very big nutshell, was what Pauly was talking about in the den that night. Eric and Stella, their history, the photographs of her on the Internet, the fact that Eric was gay… all that and more, and everything it meant, it was all there in that one stupid sentence: Stella Ross, eh? I don’t suppose you’ve bothered downloading her pictures?
If Eric was offended by Pauly’s remark, he didn’t show it. He just stared at him for a moment, his eyes quietly thoughtful, then he shook his head and turned away.
Pauly looked over at me. ‘Have you seen them, Pete?’
‘Seen what?’
‘Stella’s pictures… the ones on the Internet.’
‘No,’ I lied.
He grinned. ‘I bet you have.’
‘Christ,’ Nicole muttered, passing me the joint again.
Pauly looked at her. ‘What?’
‘You…’
‘What about me?’
‘You’re obsessed with her.’
‘I’m not obsessed –’
‘Yes, you are. You’ve always been obsessed with her. Even before she started flashing her tits around –’
‘She doesn’t –’
‘Shit,’ said Nic, ‘you were having wet dreams about Stella Ross when you were twelve years old.’
Pauly wasn’t grinning any more. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he said sulkily.
Nicole glared at him. ‘Yeah, you do.’
Everything went quiet then. Pauly went back to staring at the ground, Nicole lit a cigarette, I stubbed out the dead joint, and Raymond just sat there, gazing at nothing. Eric seemed worried about something. The cigarette in his hand had burned down to a stub, but he
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