Read Online One In A Billion by Anne-Marie Hart - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Anne-Marie Hart
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showed me a series of video clips.
'I don't suppose he called?' I asked hopefully.
Sophia shook her head. 'He will', she said.
'I'd probably leave it a while too', Tad said. 'You know, a day, maybe two. It's part of the game isn't it? To show that you're not overly keen.'
'He did give me his number, and I did leave it a week. Maybe I left it too long. I had to leave an answer-phone message.'
'I know', Tad said, 'Soph said.'
'Forget about it for now', Sophia said.
'You want to hang with us tonight?' Tad said. 'I think we're going to go and graffiti some shit on the road outside Tescos.'
'That's tempting', I said, 'but I think I'll pass, thanks though.'
'Sure', Tad said with a smile.
'I'm going to take a shower and chill out for a bit', I said. 'Put my life into order.'
What I meant by that really was panic a little bit about whether Devizes was going to call, and start to read through Fallen Away again, just in case he did, and I needed to adjust or change anything before presenting it to him.
I showered, scolding myself and freezing myself in equal measure, before I headed back to my room and dug a cardboard box out of the closet I hadn't revisited in over a year. It was a box filled with copies of my book I'd done absolutely nothing with, after ordering them proudly upon writing it.
My first novel. The cover showing a young boy and girl holding hands and walking through a park covered in a blanket of snow had cost me almost five hundred quid. I had to pay for a professional photographer to compose it, desperate to have something that perfectly represented the story, and a graphic designer to handle the layout. I must have thrown over a grand at the book in total, with hardly any success. A thousand pounds and maybe a thousand hours of writing. Ten times that to live it.
I didn't know how I felt about it now. It kind of felt like a burden, an embarrassment. A mark of shame in a career littered with other examples of failure, except I couldn't really call it a career, because I'd never been paid to do it. Maybe my parents were right, maybe I should give up and concentrate on something else.
I lay back in bed and opened it up. 'Fallen Away' by Alice Cartwright, dedicated to my mother and father, for whom love has always had a special meaning.
I smiled. I don't think either one of my parents really understood what I meant by that statement, intentionally masked as it was to be ambiguous. I folded back the spine, always a pleasure on a new book, even more so on one of your own, started at chapter 1, and began to read.
When the phone rang, it woke me up. I must have fallen asleep without realising it, but as soon as I heard the ring-tone, I leapt out of bed completely confused, wondering what the hell was going on. At first I thought it was an alarm for the morning, and then I realised it was someone calling me. The phone told me two things, it was just after ten o'clock, and the caller ID was protected.
'Hello', I said, as I answered it.
'Alice', Devizes said in a silky smooth voice that made him sound like a professional voice-over artist. 'Sorry to call you so late.'
'That's ok', I said. 'It's not late.'
'I've had a busy day, and couldn't get back to you earlier. Listen, how about dinner tomorrow night? Are you still free?'
'Dinner? Sure, I'm still free', I said. 'That sounds amazing.'
'Great. Shall we say eight o'clock?'
'Ok', I said.
'Excellent. Text me your address, and I'll send a car round to pick you up.'
'Erm, ok.' I said.
'Bring your book, and dress smart', he said. 'It's quite a fancy restaurant.'
'Smart', I said. 'How smart is smart?'
'Smart', Devizes said again. 'Think red carpet rather than playboy bunny.'
'Ok', I said, already panicking about what to wear. 'Got it.'
'Good', he said. 'See you tomorrow then. Don't forget to text me your address.'
'I won't forget', I said. 'See you tomorrow.'
Devizes clicked off, I took a deep breath and that was that. I had a date lined up
'I don't suppose he called?' I asked hopefully.
Sophia shook her head. 'He will', she said.
'I'd probably leave it a while too', Tad said. 'You know, a day, maybe two. It's part of the game isn't it? To show that you're not overly keen.'
'He did give me his number, and I did leave it a week. Maybe I left it too long. I had to leave an answer-phone message.'
'I know', Tad said, 'Soph said.'
'Forget about it for now', Sophia said.
'You want to hang with us tonight?' Tad said. 'I think we're going to go and graffiti some shit on the road outside Tescos.'
'That's tempting', I said, 'but I think I'll pass, thanks though.'
'Sure', Tad said with a smile.
'I'm going to take a shower and chill out for a bit', I said. 'Put my life into order.'
What I meant by that really was panic a little bit about whether Devizes was going to call, and start to read through Fallen Away again, just in case he did, and I needed to adjust or change anything before presenting it to him.
I showered, scolding myself and freezing myself in equal measure, before I headed back to my room and dug a cardboard box out of the closet I hadn't revisited in over a year. It was a box filled with copies of my book I'd done absolutely nothing with, after ordering them proudly upon writing it.
My first novel. The cover showing a young boy and girl holding hands and walking through a park covered in a blanket of snow had cost me almost five hundred quid. I had to pay for a professional photographer to compose it, desperate to have something that perfectly represented the story, and a graphic designer to handle the layout. I must have thrown over a grand at the book in total, with hardly any success. A thousand pounds and maybe a thousand hours of writing. Ten times that to live it.
I didn't know how I felt about it now. It kind of felt like a burden, an embarrassment. A mark of shame in a career littered with other examples of failure, except I couldn't really call it a career, because I'd never been paid to do it. Maybe my parents were right, maybe I should give up and concentrate on something else.
I lay back in bed and opened it up. 'Fallen Away' by Alice Cartwright, dedicated to my mother and father, for whom love has always had a special meaning.
I smiled. I don't think either one of my parents really understood what I meant by that statement, intentionally masked as it was to be ambiguous. I folded back the spine, always a pleasure on a new book, even more so on one of your own, started at chapter 1, and began to read.
When the phone rang, it woke me up. I must have fallen asleep without realising it, but as soon as I heard the ring-tone, I leapt out of bed completely confused, wondering what the hell was going on. At first I thought it was an alarm for the morning, and then I realised it was someone calling me. The phone told me two things, it was just after ten o'clock, and the caller ID was protected.
'Hello', I said, as I answered it.
'Alice', Devizes said in a silky smooth voice that made him sound like a professional voice-over artist. 'Sorry to call you so late.'
'That's ok', I said. 'It's not late.'
'I've had a busy day, and couldn't get back to you earlier. Listen, how about dinner tomorrow night? Are you still free?'
'Dinner? Sure, I'm still free', I said. 'That sounds amazing.'
'Great. Shall we say eight o'clock?'
'Ok', I said.
'Excellent. Text me your address, and I'll send a car round to pick you up.'
'Erm, ok.' I said.
'Bring your book, and dress smart', he said. 'It's quite a fancy restaurant.'
'Smart', I said. 'How smart is smart?'
'Smart', Devizes said again. 'Think red carpet rather than playboy bunny.'
'Ok', I said, already panicking about what to wear. 'Got it.'
'Good', he said. 'See you tomorrow then. Don't forget to text me your address.'
'I won't forget', I said. 'See you tomorrow.'
Devizes clicked off, I took a deep breath and that was that. I had a date lined up
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