The whole book

this is Felicity Zimmerman in it's full (unedited) version

 

 

 

 

 

FELICITY ZIMMERMAN©

 

 

As I stood in the park, I cried. How could this have happened? Until today, I was an ordinary girl with an ordinary life. Until today, I knew who I was, but now I have not a clue. Is this someone’s idea of a sick joke or was this the truth? I was about to find out.

 

 My name is Penelope Newman; I’ve lived in England all of my life or so I thought. I’m thirteen years old and I attend Middleview secondary school. I have long dark brown hair with a slight trace of loose curls.

 

 It was a Friday afternoon and I was walking home from an exhausting day at school, thinking things couldn’t get any worse than it already was. I was wrong.

 

 When I got home, I changed into my favorite casuals’ and I went downstairs to practice my dance routine for ‘so you think you’ve got talent’ (which I was auditioning for with my best friend, Adam) and I turned the stereo up so that it reached its fullest volume.

 

 I had so much concentration on my routine that I didn’t hear the doorbell ring and I didn’t hear my mum shout my name.

 

 She had shouted a few times before finally storming into the front room, switching my music off and with the calmest expression she could manage at that moment in time, turned to face me and quietly, she said “Penelope you have a visitor.”

 “Who is it?” I asked

“Come to the door and you’ll find out.” she replied.

 

 Excitedly I rushed to the door, expecting it to be Adam, but I was greeted with an unfamiliar face. It was Lewis Logan.

 

 Lewis James Logan, who is a very famous celebrity, is also on the judging panel for ‘so you think you’ve got talent’. I almost fainted with shock. Lewis had been voted the nations cutest guy at the beginning of the year. However, it wasn’t his cuteness that surprised me the most; it was the fact he knew where I lived.

 

 I must have looked a right fool standing there, gawping in amazement. Then he spoke.

 

“Are you alright, Penelope?”

“H-H-How did you know my name?” I managed to stutter.

“Do you think we should tell her Millie?” questioned Lewis; obviously referring to my mother.

 

“Tell me what?” I asked. Lewis cautiously looked from me towards Millie, his gaze asking for the reassurance that would help him explain to me what he had came here to talk about, but she gave him a ‘sorry, I can’t help you’ look.

 

“Tell me what?” I repeated, my patience was beginning to run out.

“Well darling, if you want us to tell you, you’d better sit down first.” explained

my mum.

“Why?” I questioned her.

Now it was time for Lewis to speak. “For your own safety.” he replied.

 

Not wanting to embarrass myself in front of Lewis, I followed the instructions I had just received.

 

 “You see” he began “Millie isn’t your real mother. I soon realised my legs had just buckled. That was what the chair was for.

 

 “What do you mean?” I croaked, a thousand questions racing round my head daring me to ask them. Every question concerned the five words Lewis had just said to me. I stood there, paralyzed, not moving, not even blinking. I tried to talk, but it felt like there was a rope constricting my vocal cords after a few minutes, I finally found the courage to speak. “What do you mean?” I managed to whisper.

 

Lewis sighed a long sigh and then spoke. “You were adopted.” suddenly a burst of anger replaced the shock I had just felt and I shouted at Lewis. “Your lying aren’t you and you must think I’m stupid. Well I’ll tell you one thing I’m not stupid and I’ve lived with Millie all of my life. She even has the photos of when I was born to prove it!”

 

 

 

I looked at Millie so she could provide the evidence I needed to back up what I had just said, but I saw the guilty looked placed upon her face.

 

 “What Lewis said is true?” my voice only managing to whisper. “I’m afraid so, honey.” the anger boiled up again. “So who are my real parents then? Why did you lie to me? Why didn’t you tell me before? I consistently repeated these questions seeking answers and explanations from them both until…

 

“SILENCE!!!” Lewis bellowed. “Let me explain.” he said with a lot more hush in his voice. “You see Penelope; I’m your real father. Your mother died soon after you were born. It was such a shock and I was incapable of looking after you by myself, so I had to get you adopted.” I was about to scream something utterly nasty at Lewis, when suddenly there was the faint sound of knocking. It was Adam.

 

As Adam came into the house, he saw that I had been crying. “Did I come at the wrong time he asked gently.

 “No, no, no” I replied “you came at the right time.”

“So why are you crying then?” he mumbled.

“I tripped over, that’s all. But don’t worry about me I should be alright.” I explained.

 

 As Adam walked into the front room, he noticed Lewis. “What’s Lewis Logan doing in your house?!” Adam exclaimed.

“What, Lewis Logan? Oh! His car broke down outside our house and the mechanic offer us discount prices if we were prepared to wait two or more hours.”

“Penelope, you’re lying!” he accused.

“Why would I lie? I don’t lie. Why do you think I’m lying?

“Penelope it obvious when you lie because a) you’re a bad liar and b) you do certain things when you lie.” then he gazed at me with his ‘come on spill the beans’ look. I couldn’t take it.

 “All right! All right! I’ll tell! Lewis came here to tell Millie something about me being adopted by him.” I confessed. “ Penelope, what are you talking about? You barely even know Lewis and he barely knows you! So why is he going to adopt you?” exclaimed Adam. “What do you mean I never said anything of the sort!” I argued, trying (and failing) to avoid the annoying questions.

 

“Quiet!” bellowed Lewis. “Both of you have got it wrong. Millie adopted Penelope but I am her biological father.” he mumbled.

“You say what?!” I exclaimed.

“I said I’m your biological father.” he growled.

“Yes. I know about that bit, but I thought you was joking.” I laughed nervously.

“Why did you think I was joking?” he questioned.

“Well it’s  not everyday that you get a celebrity telling you that they are your biological parents.” I reasoned.

“You have a point” he agreed.

“So why was I adopted?” I asked.

“You were adopted because, when your mother died, I was so distraught by my loss I became incapable of caring for you.” he said as he let out a long sigh. I felt my anger rising. “Oh yeah, because I was so hard to take care of!” I screamed as I ran out in to the silent streets. “Penelope wait!” I heard Adam yell, but I ignored his pleading and carried on towards my unknown destination. This is how I came to the park, sitting on the swings, crying my eyes out.

 

I had sat there for what felt like an hour before anyone came into the park and out of the many people who could have arrived at that particular moment it had to be him. “Why couldn’t it have been Adam?” I mumbled to nobody in particular. As Lewis neared, I got up to move.

 

“Wait!” I head him bellow. Without turning around, I stopped. As Lewis neared me, with no anger in his voice, he said “ I think we should talk so we can come to an understanding.” but all I could do was cry so Lewis put his arms around me in effort to try to comfort me.

 

“Hey its o.k. Don’t worry.” Lewis said gently. “It’s easy for you to say.” I mumbled. “Hey! Try to show some empathy.” he joked; but that just angered me.

 

 “Empathy? Empathy! How ridiculous can you get?! And I stormed off once again. I told myself don’t look back, but I couldn’t help myself and I turned around.

 

 Behind me, I saw Lewis’ face crumble, his features ruined by sadness, yet I carried on walking. “Penelope! Wait!” I heard Lewis say. “No!” I screamed as I broke into a run.

 

 

It was hours before I began to head home. I felt guilty. I shouldn’t  have been such a jerk towards Lewis and I thought after what happened he’d probably left, so I got a shock when I arrived at the street I lived in and saw Lewis’ limo still parked outside my house.

 

 My feet refused to go any further. What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to say? I need to stop procrastinating. I came up with a  proposition. I would go inside and apologise for my actions and words then I would let him speak. Sorted. So with my heart in my throat I strode towards my house.

 

Lewis was relieved to see me and understood the situation I was in. “I’m glad you understand.” I mumbled and ran upstairs towards my bedroom.

 

 A few minutes later, Lewis found me bawling into my pillow.

“Penelope” he whispered “I know this is probably the wrong time to mention this but I was wondering if you would like to come to my house for a week in the half term.”

 “where is your house?” I sniffled.

“well I have several.” was the reply I received. “ I have one here in England one in Barbados, one in Las Vegas and one in Beverley hills. So you choose.”

“But what about Millie? I can’t just up and leave her behind! I’ve been here for so long!”

“Don’t worry, I’ve talked to Millie and she said that she it’s your birthright to be with your true family.”

“Can I just talk to her quickly?”

“Sure.”

 

When I spoke to her she said exactly the same thing Lewis told me. Maybe I should stick with Lewis Logan, I mean he was my biological

 

In the end, I choose to go to Barbados. I had two weeks left of school to endure before the luxury of spending one whole week with Lewis Logan.

 

My weeks at school were full of various people of all ages coming up to me to try to persuade me  to get Lewis’ autograph and to ask me questions. I told them it was related to ‘so you think you’ve got talent’ and they soon dropped the subject. I also had the press on my tail, wondering why a young girl like me was going to spend a week in Barbados with Lewis but I didn’t cooperate with them and soon everyone just gave up.

 

The two long weeks of school finally came to an end and the second the bell, I was one of the last out into the bustling noise of the playground.

 

 I turned to face the open gates and right outside it was a long black limousine. Leaning against the side of the limo in a very cool manner was Lewis.

 

Dark sunglasses covered his deep brown eyes and I think it was because of this that I- and many of the other girls surrounding me- saw him before he saw me.

All of a sudden, the playground, which was normally quite peaceful at that point of the day, was immediately filled with the sound of dozens of screaming girls racing across the playground so that they could get an autograph.

 

 It didn’t surprise me to see a look of horror and fright upon his angelic face. Almost immediately, I looked for a way to try to help him.

 

 Because of my sheer determination to rescue Lewis, I beat the crowd of screaming fans, ardent  to meet their heart-throb idol.

 

 I ran faster than I had ever done in my life, just to save Lewis from being mobbed. By the time I reached Lewis’ side, every one else was far behind me. Lewis was staring in the direction of the crowd, still searching for me. I had to scream his name. “Oh, there you are! Thank god I found you!” He was lost for words as he gazed at me.

“Quick get in the limo!” I cried. The moment Lewis clambered through the door, the limo shot off.

 

Lewis was apprehensive for my safety because, for the rest of the journey he consistently asked me “Are you alright? Are you hurt? Do you feel ill? Are you sure?” repeatedly, I had to answer “Yes, no, no, yes.” but soon I got sick of him asking me questions, so I screamed “Just stop asking me such idiotic questions, alright!” then I watched the hurt expression fall onto his face and I felt guilt fill my body.

“Oh Lewis, I’m sorry.” I sighed.

“Don’t worry about it.” he mumbled, but I knew he was.

Most of the journey was filled with a painful silence until I decided to speak. “Are you alright?” I asked, my voice scarcely louder than a whisper.

“yeah I’m…fine.” he sighed

“what’s up?” I questioned, curiously.

“I just told you I’m fine.” he growled.

This is going to be one heck of a week.

 

Through out the day, although Lewis’ temper cooled, I remained invisible in his eyes; I was getting tired of this consistent behaviour, so I worked out what I had to do.

 

In the early hours of the next day, I woke up with the blazing sun glaring in my eyes. I was glad that the cook and Lewis are really good friends, so she knew what types of gifts he liked. So I went to the shop with the small hope that I would return before Lewis rose; I also hoped that the gift I was about to get for him would penetrate the silence that had grown between us.

 

When I got back, Lewis was still asleep, so I sat on the couch to read and prayed that Lewis would rise soon.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, so I braced myself for the task I was about to do.

“Good morning Penelope.” Lewis remarked with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. I felt a shocked expression appear on my face.

“Are you alright?” Lewis questioned.

“Yeah, I’m just a bit shocked, that’s all.” I whispered.

“Why are you…Oh yeah; I wasn’t speaking to you and I’m sorry about that.”

“But why weren’t you speaking to me?” I asked.

“Well” he replied “I thought… you hated me.” he sighed and stared at the floor.

“Oh Lewis I giggled “I’ve waited all my life to meet you and you think I hate you?”

“Umm…yeah.” he replied, still keeping his gaze on the floor. I sighed and went to give him a hug. Before I could, he asked me “So where’s this mystery gift you brought me then?” I pointed at the small brown coffee table. I had brought him a selection of extremely rare model cars I happened to find in the charity shop earlier that morning.

“Oh my! They are marvellous. thank you. One question though; where did you get them from? because I’ve searched all over the place for years trying to find them and you stumble across them in less than an hour of searching.” his mouth began to shape as if he wanted to say more than that but he didn’t, he just stood there, staring at me with emotion blazing in his eyes. Then he hugged me.

 

A few minutes later, Lewis’ butler, who said I had a call, interrupted us. It was Adam; He had been crying yet refused to tell me why.

“Please tell me, Adam.” I pleaded.

“Ill tell you when you get back.” He replied.

Before I could say anything else, he hung up. I knew I lost that argument.

“What did he want?” Lewis asked.

“Oh, nothing. He was just telling me how things are back home.”
“Really?” Lewis asked, suspiciously. I’m glad I’m a good liar.

“Yeah, he said that things are O.K and nothing much has happened since we left.”

“That’s good to know.” Lewis smiled weakly, like he didn‘t have the strength to do anything else. I was relieved that I got off that easily.

 

I giggled then raced up the stairs. There was something strange about the way Lewis acted around me, so I spent about two hours pondering the answer.

 

After thinking about, I decided to write it down in my diary. I wrote: ‘Today is beginning to become completely and utterly weird. Lewis has been behaving very differently towards me but I only noticed that today, but now I’ve realised he was like that yesterday. The way he looked at me, the way he-’ I was interrupted. By Lewis as he called me back downstairs.

 

“Are you O.K?” Lewis questioned.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Are you alright?” I replied causally.

“I’m fine, but I need to tell you something.” he stated.

“Tell me what?” I asked.

“Well…umm…I was wondering if you would like to…” he paused as if to rethink the last part of his proposal, before I could ask of him why he had paused, he spoke again. “I was wondering if you would like to live with me permanently.”

I was speechless but after the shock had passed through me, I managed to string together the few words Lewis wanted to hear.

“I would love to! When can I move in?!” I exclaimed.

“This week.” he whispered and at that chosen moment, I fainted.

 

I woke up in what felt like a few minutes with Lewis sitting by my side, gently stroking my face.

“Where am I and what time is it?” I mumbled tiredly.

“You’re in your bed and it’s 10pm. You’ve been out for eleven hours.” I groaned because my stomach hurt, but Lewis thought I was in pain so he got up to go and get me a painkiller. I leant up to try and stop him from leaving and that’s when I realised how much pain I was actually in, because at that moment, a sharp pain ripped through my shoulder blade and I screamed. Lewis rushed around panicking, asking me if I wanted a doctor and a pain killer. “yes, yes!” I cried as I tried to lie back down. Almost immediately, he shot of in search of what I had just requested. He came back a few minutes later with a pain-killer and a cup of water in one hand and he pressed the phone to his ear with the other.

 

“The doctor will see you for an emergency appointment in twenty minutes.” he announced.

When it was time for my appointment the doctor told me that my shoulder was badly bruised but other than that I was fine. He gave me a week’s supply of pain-killers and told me to come back in a week’s time to make sure that there was no more damage. When we got back, Lewis helped me to bed.

 

Lewis felt really guilty and rushed around to my every command.

“Lewis you really don’t have to do this.” I exclaimed.

“But I do.” was the whispered reply

“Why?” I asked

“Because… I was the one who let you fall.”

“What?!” I sat up using my uninjured arm for support. I ended up giggling at what Lewis had just said to me and I only stopped when I saw the redness in his cheeks.

“Oh Lewis.” I sighed as I leant over and pecked him on the cheek, which made him go even redder.

“I…have to go.” he mumbled as he hurriedly walked out of the room. I decided that since I had nothing else to do I could finally get to sleep. It took me a while to find a position that wasn’t painful, but I did and almost immediately fell asleep.

I woke up in the early hours of the next day to the smell of bacon and a familiar voice. “Rise and shine, I’ve made you breakfast.” said Lewis, seeming like he did not want to be near me. I thanked him and he dashed out of the room. That’s when I knew we had to talk, so I headed down the stairs.

 

“Why are you avoiding me?” I questioned Lewis the moment I saw him.

“It’s because I’m nervous.” he whispered, which instantly soothed my temper.

“Nervous of what?” my tone was cool and calm.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m fine now. Do you want me to help you back up stairs?” he said, as he draped his arm around my neck.

 

“No!” I yelled as I tried to push his arm away and immediately saw the pain on his face. I felt chagrin fill my whole body.

I had done it again, hadn’t I? I had broken the promise I had only made little more than three days ago. I promised myself that to encourage my relationship with Lewis, I wouldn’t hurt his feelings but I had just ripped that promise in to shreds.

“I have to go.” I whispered, almost dissolving into tears.

 

Despite all the pain I was in, I managed to run up the stairs and collapse on my bed in floods of tears.

 

After a few minutes, I heard a soft knock on my door and Lewis walked into my room. I was going to scream “go away!” but I remained silent. Lewis came towards me and sat on the end of my bed. I became tense.

“Penelope, have I done anything wrong?” Lewis whispered. At first I tried to hold my reign of silence, but gave in after a few moments and began to pour my heart out to Lewis. I apologized for all of the trouble I had caused him and how I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t want me to live with him any more.

 

“Don’t worry about it, it’s all in the past now.” he tried to reassure me with his cooling words, yet I wasn’t convinced.

“But it’s not in the past” I cried “Because every time I do or say something wrong, the pain shows on your face. It hurts me to know that I’ve hurt you, but no matter how hard I try I can’t stop doing it and I‘ve broken my promise.”

“What promise?” Lewis asked, with a perplexed look on his face.

“I promised myself that I wouldn’t hurt you anymore.” I explained.

“Forget about the promise.” He mumbled.

“I can’t!” I moaned.

“I can help you forget.” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

“But how?” I cried as he leaned in and kissed me on the lips. Bad move because now I wanted to take it a step further.

 

 I leaned in closer and wrapped my arms around his neck. I kissed him with all the intimacy and love that had been bubbling inside of me for years; all pain my worries and pain were flung out of the window.

It was now that I realised how much I loved him, how much I wanted to be with him. By the time I had contemplated this thought; Lewis was pulling away and getting up to leave.

 

“Wait!” I exclaimed, which made him stop. I had to resist the temptation to kiss him.

“What?” he sighed.

“Please don’t go, I love you.” I admitted and, at that, he kissed me again.

Man, this was so wrong but it felt so right.

“I think I better go now.” Lewis whispered and for the first time, I agreed.

“Wait, Lewis can I ask you something?” I questioned.

“Sure.” he replied

“Well I was wondering if you love me.” and without hesitation he replied

“Of course I do Penelope.” and with that he hugged me.

 

“Listen Penelope, we have to go out later.” Lewis explained.

“Where are we going?” I questioned, excitedly.

“Oh, you’ll see. And it’s all for you.” he answered, with a smug look on his face. I tried to worm it out of him, but the words I wanted to hear refused to pass his lips.

“Don’t make me kiss it out of you.” I threatened.

“Oh, I’m so scared.” he said in such a manner that dared me to accomplish what I had just threatened. I stood on tiptoes and leant towards him, my lips puckered but he leant backwards and I fell. Even though he managed to catch me, he had a grip on my bruised shoulder, so although he was apologizing for leaning backwards, I couldn’t hear him because I was whimpering with pain.

 

It was a while before Lewis actually realised that he was causing me pain, but when he finally did, he lifted me up, placed me on my bed and went downstairs to get my medication.

 

In his absence, I contemplated what had happened in the past half an hour. It’s so weird. I mean, he’s my dad and I’ve been crushing on him for ages and now I find out that he loves me back. But this is really awkward  and I am beginning to hate him, yet I still love him. I’m so confused. At that moment, Lewis appeared in the doorway with the pain relief in one hand a glass of water in the other.

 

Soon after I had taken the tablet, the pain in my shoulder virtually disappeared. To make sure that I wasn’t fooling myself, I pulled myself up gently  onto my injured arm and, to my disbelief, I felt no pain. Then a thought came into my mind. Since I had arrived on this island paradise, I had argued with Lewis (twice), and injured my shoulder, therefore I’ve had no time at all to explore this marvellous house and the area surrounding it and I still hadn’t been to the beach yet! Before I could make any plans to go anywhere, Lewis poked his head around the door to tell me to get ready so that we could go out.

“Where are we going?” I called out, yet I received no answer. But I assumed that if he had  he’d say “You’ll see.” so I dropped the subject and began to get changed.

 

It was not long before I heard the sound of the limo horn and I took that as my cue to go downstairs. Sure enough, the moment my feet touched the bottom step, Lewis was already walking out the door.

“Come on!” he said, seeming eager to get to our destination.

“I’m coming!” I said as I ran to catch him up.

 

When we arrived at our destination, I began to get excited. And when the door of the limo was opened, I peered out and staring me right in the face was a dance studio.

“Let me guess, my surprise is a dance lesson.” I sighed, feeling that the intensity of my surprise had been overrated.

“Not just a dance lesson. It’s much bigger than that.” he grinned.

“Then what is the surprise?” I questioned, trying to figure out what else it could be.

“The whole studio belongs to you, and there’s a bigger surprise inside.” he announced.

 

I ran out of the limo and up to the glass doors of the studio, all the while wondering what the other surprise was. When I peered in, the first thing that caught my eye was a young boy-about my age- pacing around. When he looked up, I instantly recognised him. It was Adam.

 

When he caught my gaze, Adam ran towards me. I opened the door and he caught me in his sweet embrace.

“Oh Penelope, I’ve missed you so much!” he cried.

“I’ve missed you too, Adam.” and we held each other for a few minutes more.

 

“We hate to interrupt this intimate moment, but can  we get on with the surprise now?” Lewis commentated.

“Sorry” I giggled, and I turned just in time to see the jealousy show in his eyes.

 

I felt my heart fluttering in my chest. What else was there to the surprise that Lewis refused to mention?

 

As I glanced around the large room, I spotted a group of teenagers-mixed gender- huddled in a corner. It was obvious that they were as nervous As I was.

 “Who are they? I managed to whisper to Lewis.

“They are your back-up dancers.” he replied confidently.

“Including me!”  I heard Adam say chirpily.

“What about me?” I asked timidly, scared of what he might say next.

“You are the popstar.” Lewis smiled

“What?!” I questioned because the words still hadn’t sunk in yet.

“I’m going to make you famous.”

 

I couldn’t move, I was frozen in place. Suddenly Adam came over to me and said that he waned to talk to me privately, and I found that I could move again.

 

“I don’t think this is a coincidence” he began “But there are two reasons why I’m here.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, still confused.

“Well, after you left with Lewis, my mum got a job, here in Barbados; I don’t know if she planned it or if it was a spur of the moment idea but I’m not complaining.”

“Oh Adam, that’s fantastic news!” I exclaimed as I began to leap up and down.

“Penelope, close your eyes and calm down.” Adam suggested.

As I slowly closed my eyes, Adam leant in, and gently he kissed me on the lips. I opened my eyes in shock. Reluctantly, he pulled away.

 

“What the heck are you doing?” I shouted hysterically, knowing full well that Lewis was watching from the other side of the room.

“Penelope I love you and always have.” Adam whispered as he leant in to kiss me again.

“No! Go away!” I screamed, heading in the direction of Lewis, who was obviously full of anger.

“What on earth do you think you are doing?” Lewis questioned, his tone rising above its normal level.

“I only kissed her to express my love.” Adam mumbled clumsily.

“I don’t care if you kissed her to express your gratitude! That’s my daughter!”

“Lewis calm down and stop shouting!” I ordered.

“I have a right to express my anger towards this outrageous idiot!” Lewis yelled out once again.

By this time Adam was thoroughly shaken and almost in tears, so I went over to him to try to give him some comfort.

 

“Adam just ignore him, he’s being stupid.” I whispered to him gently

“Yeah, but he’s making me feel so small and useless.” I heard him moan.

“So stand up to him!” I replied sharply, trying to keep an even tone of voice.

“But he’s famous! If I said something that sounds even remotely offensive he could get me into trouble!” He whined.

“Do you want to hear my advice? Don’t say anything offensive!” I warned.

“Do you know what? I think I might just leave.” He mumbled. It was so silent, I almost didn’t hear what he said.

“What? No! you can’t go!” I cried.

“What’s the point in staying? Lewis practically hates me any way, so I think I may as well go.” he said as he turned to leave.

“Adam, please stay.” I managed to say even though there were tears dripping down my cheeks.

 

After what felt like years but in reality was only about twenty seconds, Adam finally gave in.

 

“Alright, alright, I’ll stay, but-”

“Oh Adam, thank you!” I cried as I hugged him.

“Hey, let me finish!” he replied

“I was going to say if anything else happens, I’m out of here.”

“O.k., O.k., you have a point.” I replied.”

“Shake on it?” he asked.

“Sure.” I confirmed as we interlocked hands and gave a last shake to seal the deal.

 

“Right, so can we carry on with what we’re supposed to be doing now?” I asked.

“What are you waiting for then?” Adam questioned jokingly.

Before I could answer his stupidity, I heard an impatient voice call out: “When you two have quite finished, I would like to get on with what I planned to do.” Although he tried to hide it, I detected a note of anger and jealousy in his voice.

 

Uh-Oh! I think I might be stuck in the middle of a love triangle. What have I done? Who do I choose? Would it make more sense to pick Adam because he’s closer to my age or should I choose Lewis because I actually love him. I’m so confused. I went pale. If I choose one, I hurt the other, but if I don’t pick between them, they could easily hate me. I could walk out on them both right now, but where else could I go? I wanted to cry but I didn’t want to show my true emotions to the others, so before I went back to the small group still huddled in the corner, I gathered a lot of composure before cheerily striding across to my friends.

 

“Are you O.k.?” Lewis asked me gently.

“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be? Well what are we waiting for? Lets get started!”

 

“I think we should start by introducing ourselves because it will help in the future.” Lewis kindly suggested.

“Yep, defiantly a good idea.” I giggled which made Lewis blush. I laughed even more; not at Lewis but the one fact nobody has realized yet; all the sugar I had eaten earlier was coming back to haunt me.

 

All of a sudden, Adam’s voice cut through the awkward silence like glass.

“Penelope, how much sugar have you had today?”

“Not much” I replied “Just a few cups of coffee and some chocolate.”

“Did the coffee have three sugars in it by any chance?”

“Three? You’ve got to be kidding me! I had six!” I blurted.

“Great! Even worse!” Adam sighed.

“Why is it worse?” Lewis questioned, slightly confused.

“Because now she has a sugar rush.”

“So?”

“Not only does it make her hyper, it also makes her slightly violent.” and on that tone Adam yelped and shuddered because he had seen and felt the raff of my violent side before.

“Wow, that is strange!” Lewis replied in a trance-like state.

“Will you two stop talking about me as if I’m not here!” I interrupted.

“Sorry.” they both chirped together and then proceeded to laugh.

Although I found it annoying, I saw it as a sign that they’d made up for their previous disagreement.

“Can we get on with what we were supposed to do?” I questioned, my tone no louder than that of a whisper.

“Of course, honey. Sorry about that.” Lewis replied gently.

 

As we started to introduce ourselves for everyone else’s benefit rather than our own, everyone started to communicate with each other, so that was a good start.

 

I found out that altogether, there were thirteen people including me, Lewis and Adam. There were at least seven girls (Including me) and six boys (Including Lewis and Adam). We played a few games for a while to get more acquainted, so all on all, it was a good day.

 

After bonding for at least two hours, Lewis tapped me on my uninjured shoulder to say that it was time to go.

 

“Can’t we just stay for five more minutes?” I argued.

“No. the limo is waiting so get a move on!”

I turned around to face my new found friends and explained: “Sorry guys, I’ve got to go. Catch you later.”

I bid my goodbyes and left.

 

“Did you enjoy it?” Lewis asked anxiously.

I smiled and replied “Loved it!”

He wiped his brow with the back of his hand and I took it as a sign that he was relieved.

 

When we   arrived home, Lewis turned towards me and suddenly announced ”I need to talk to you.”

 

“About what?” I asked nervously.

“You’ll find out after you’ve had a bath.”

“Tell me please!” I begged; and for the first time since I’d met him, I managed to get my way.

 

“Okay, I’ll tell you, you have to go to school.” what?!” I exclaimed “No, I can’t!”

“Why not?” he demanded.

“Because I don’t want to be the new kid again!” I sobbed. Lewis sympathized immediately and spoke with a gentle tone but I detected a hint of jealousy.

“Adam will be in the same situation as you.” he sighed.

“He will?” I asked absolutely delighted. My face lit up but then I saw the deep grimace appear on his face.

“OH my gosh! Lewis, are you getting jealous?” I teased.

“No!” he shouted, being overly defensive.

“Fine then. Whatever you say.” and I stalked of to my bedroom.

 

When I got to the floor my bedroom was on, I walked into my room, timidly closed the door and slumped on my bed, whilst grabbing my favourite book-Jane Eyre, which was starting to look tatty- and laid down on my bed.

 

All of a sudden there was a minute knock on the door and Lewis walked in, walked over to my bed and pecked me on the cheek. I turned away from his puckered lips, believing that he was trying to make a fool out of me.

“Is everything alright, Penelope?” Lewis asked, with a general look of confusion on his face.

“Yeah I’m fine, just thinking.” I sighed.

“About what my amazing kissing?” he smiled. I rolled my eyes. Could his ego get any bigger?

 

Suddenly, I was aware of Lewis’ lips pressed against my own. I pulled away in shock.

“Oh my gosh! Lewis! I’m sorry, I’ve got to go.”

So I hurried of to the bathroom and locked myself in.

 

I seriously need to sort out my feelings before I do some permanent damage. A few sharp taps on the door brought me back to reality.

“Penelope, can you open the door please?” Lewis shouted in between banging. He seemed angry yet he also seemed concerned but I still wouldn’t open the door.

 

It was at least five minutes before I heard Lewis’ footsteps fade away. Cautiously but stupidly, I opened the bathroom door. To my shock, Lewis was stood outside.

 

“H-how-w- I thought you went downstairs!”

“No Susan came upstairs.” He replied calmly.

Immediately after he said that, I tried to close the bathroom door but was unsuccessful in my attempt because Lewis jammed his foot in the door.

“Lewis, please just leave me alone.” I whimpered.

“Penelope, I just want to talk to you.” And at that, I opened the door and left the bathroom behind me.

 

“I’m sorry if I upset you; I mean that wasn’t my intention; I mean-“ Lewis was babbling so much tat I decided to give him a hug.

 

“What was that for?” Lewis questioned completely confused.

“To stop you from babbling” I replied “And also because you’re always so nice to me and I’m always so mean to you.”

“Oh please don’t start that up again.” Lewis sighed.

“You don’t understand, do you?” I cried “I completely messed up.”

“Oh honey, you haven’t messed up.” Lewis tried to comfort me.

“Yes I have” I wailed “and now I just want to kiss you but I can’t because I don’t want to hurt your feelings and-“ I was immediately stopped by Lewis sweetly caressing my face. All of a sudden, Lewis leant in to kiss me and I found myself mirroring him; soon we were kissing passionately and I felt like my mind was a shattered mirror, and my thoughts were the shards of glass scattered every where. It was amazing, but I went and ruined it by trying to stick my tongue in his mouth; he didn’t like that and gently, he pushed me away. I pouted.

“Don’t pull that face with-” before he even had a chance to finish his sentence, my lips were pressed against his. Again he pushed me away, but this time with a bit more force.

“You are pushing your lick, young lady.”

“No I’m not!” I replied, being extremely cocky.

“Yes you are. Now can you leave me alone.” he sighed as he began to head downstairs.

 

I needed to clear my head, so I went to put my shoes on and decided to go to the beach. Although I hadn’t had much time to get out of the house, I knew where the beach was. Heading there for a while would give me some time to think. I’ve dug a deep hole and I have no method of escape.

 

My life was getting more and more complicated by the day. I couldn’t help but feel angry towards myself rather than the people I loved.

          

All of a sudden, I heard footsteps creeping up behind me. I turned around to find Adam creeping up behind me. I turned around expecting to see a stranger, so I was surprised to see Adam shuffling towards me.

 

“Hi.” he said, as if he couldn’t think of anything else to say; but then he muttered: “I thought I saw you come down here.”

“Yeah, I just needed some time to think.” I mumbled.

“Oh.” he sighed.

“But don’t worry, I don’t mind talking to you.” I finished quickly, and I saw the joy show on his face. I sighed.

“Are you alright?” Adam asked, the tone of panic raised in his voice.

“I’m fine.” I muttered unconvincingly.

“O.k.” he sighed as I sat down.

 

All of a sudden, he asked me:” who do you like more, me or Lewis?”

“What do you mean?” I asked with as much innocence as I could muster.

“I know you’ve kissed!” Adam hissed. I couldn’t lie to him anymore.

“Yes, we did kiss.” I whispered.

“Why?” he yelled.

“I don’t know.” I replied back and with that, he kissed me. I couldn’t help it, my mind was blown away, and almost immediately, I kissed him back.

 

In my head I was thinking: what are you doing?! You love Lewis more than you love Adam! Why are you kissing him? Stop it! Your confusing both Lewis and Adam. That’s when I pulled away.

 

Adam pouted.

“Are you begging for a kiss or a slap?” I asked jokingly.

“Oh, alright then.” Adam sighed, and for two hours after that, we sat on the beach talking.

 

By the time the sun had started to set, I realised that I had to go back to the place I now have to call home.

 

When I finally got back, I found Lewis on the couch with his head in his hands, so I went to tap him on the shoulder to try to find out what the problem was. He looked up and I saw that he had been crying. When he saw me, he stood up and grasped me in a hug.

 

“Why were crying?” I questioned, thinking that he might be reluctant to tell me.

“I thought you had run away.” he sobbed, so I gave him a hug to try to comfort him.

“Oh Lewis, I’d never do that!” I cried as I held him in a warm embrace; things felt weird though, because Lewis felt tense in the grasp of my welcome arms.

 

When I let go, Lewis hurried up the stairs without another word.

 

I knew it was wrong, but I had to find out what was up with Lewis, so I followed him. I watched him enter his room and lock the door; and almost immediately, as if it was instinctual, I began to eavesdrop. I soon worked out he was on the phone.

 

“Look baby, I don’t think we should tell her yet, you know give her some time to settle down. Honey, I know she’s been here for a week, but I think we should give her a bit more time before we tell her I’m going out with you. O.k. I love you. No, I love you more. No I love-” I didn’t stay long enough to hear the end of their lovey-dovey conversation; instead I rushed to my room and landed on my bed in floods of tears. It was then I realized the irony of the situation; hadn’t I just been wondering who I loved more and played them both behind their backs.

 

Soon, there was a knock on my door. It was Lewis.

 

“I take it you heard my conversation.”

“Go away! I never want to speak to you ever again!” I screamed hysterically.

“Now just hold on a second, I just want to talk to you.” he whispered gently.

“Are you deaf or something, I said get out!”

“Please, just listen to me.” he tried to reason.

“No! Now go away!” I shouted, but he still didn’t get the hint.

“Penelope, just listen.” he said, his tone beginning to raise.

“Get out of my room!” I screamed.

“This my house and you live by my rules, now shut up and listen!” he shouted and almost immediately, I began to cry because nothing was working out.

 

Upon seeing my tears, Lewis left the room mumbling about the moody youth of today.

 

Everything was happening to fast for me to cope. I knew I needed a break from this, so I began to ponder where I could go. The one obvious thing I wouldn’t do though, was tell Lewis where I was going.

 

Stupidly, Lewis had allowed me to have a room with a balcony and a fire exit; the perfect route of escape. Quietly, I got out of bed, went over to my shoe rack and put my trainers on as silently as I could, scared that any noise would alert Lewis of what I was about to do. I walked over to the door leading to the balcony, stood outside for a few moments, and then slowly, I clambered down the fire exit ladder. For the second time in that short period, I flew off into the distance.

 

The moment I touched the ground, I eagerly shot off. I didn’t know where I was going or when I was going to be back; all I know is that I’m so stressed.

 

At the moment, I was walking through a patchy wood, when suddenly, I stumbled across an unused park. It wasn’t exactly new, but it wasn’t old either.

 

At that moment, I spotted a birds’ nest swing that could house a few people. Immediately, I ran over to sit in it and began to swing backwards and forwards. Soon I was laying down because the motion was so soothing.

 

I lay there for quite a while letting all of my problems fly over my head; I didn’t even move when it started to rain.

 

My peace was disturbed when I heard a distant voice call out: “Penelope, come back! I’m sorry!” yet I still didn’t move.

 

Although I heard Lewis’ voice get nearer and nearer, I didn’t budge; after all, what was the point in getting lost just to hide from Lewis.

 

When Lewis emerged through the foliage, he almost jumped for joy. His joy turned to anger and then relief when I explained that I’d just needed some time to think and had no intention of running away.

 

When we had finished our discussion, Lewis and I began our short walk home.

 

Lewis looked at me and realised that I had no coat on, so he began to shrug his off. When I realized what he was about to do, I turned to him and said: “keep your coat on.”
“No. I don’t want you to catch a cold.” he replied as he gave me his coat.

 

Although it was only a short walk back to his house, Lewis was sneezing most of the way back. I knew I had been out in the rain longer than he had, so why wasn’t I sneezing? Maybe he gets ill quicker than I do. When I looked at Lewis again, he looked faint, so I gave him back his coat.

 

When we got home, Lewis seemed worse, so I helped him lie down on the sofa.

“Lewis are you alright?” I asked, sounding pretty panicky.

“I’m fine, just tired.” he replied shakily. I had a feeling it was more than that, so why didn’t he just tell me?

 

As I turned away, I heard him cough and splutter before throwing up all over the floor. But it wasn’t normal puke, it was speckled with blood. I screamed and then grabbed the phone to dial for an ambulance.

 

It seemed to take hours for the ambulance to arrive, and when it finally did, I had worked myself into an overly panicked state.

 

The ambulance men checked Lewis over will he lay stiffly on the sofa.

 

“Make the bed fast, we’ve got an emergency!” one of the ambulance crew radioed in through a crackling radio, after placing Lewis on a gurney.

 

“Can I come too?” I asked, trying to sound as calm and mature as It was possible in such a situation.

“She may as well.” one of the men said, whispering to the other, but loud enough so that I could hear.

 

So that was how I ended up in a hospital waiting room, sobbing my heart out.

 

I blame myself for Lewis being in hospital right now, maybe his condition was caused by me giving him to much stress and walking out of the house unannounced all the time. I never considered how he might feel, I only every seemed to think about me and my problems.

 

“Miss Penelope Newman?” I heard my name being called and responded almost immediately.

 

“Come here.” the doctor said-at least I’m presuming he was a doctor as I couldn’t see his name tag- looking very panicky which only confirmed my fears.

 

“I’m afraid he has appendicitis. We’re going to have to operate tonight.” the shock I felt paralyzed my whole body and stopped me from screaming.

 

“Do you have anyone else to take care of you?” the doctor asked gently. I managed to shake my head.

“Well if you’d like to, you can stay here for tonight.”

 

Although I didn’t particularly want to stay in a hospital, I had no where else to go, so after a bit of consideration, I nodded.

 

“We have a spare room down the hall. Follow me.” and we walked down the hall; past monitors and wheelchairs, then finally, we reached the spare room.

 

“You can stay here for tonight. Breakfast is at six. We’re going to try and find someone to take care of you because I’m sure you won’t want to stay in a hospital for no apparent reason.” he stated as if he’d read my earlier thoughts.

“There is some stationary in that cupboard if you want to use it. Try not to worry about your dad to much, he’s at the hands of the best doctors in this hospital.” and with that he left.

 

I waited until I could no longer hear his footsteps echoing along the corridor before leaning down towards the bedside cabinet, to find the stationary. Once I had found it, the loose paper became my temporary diary and I let my emotions flow through the pen and become neatly written words.

 

I wrote:’ oh horror be my life. Lewis is in hospital and I feel like it weighs upon my conscience. I am unable to see him but I have already formed an image in my head: him lying there, unconscious, while doctors huddle around him with their sharp tools, pleased to be working on a celebrity, after all, if the operation goes right, they’ll be famous as the doctors who saved Lewis Logan’s life. But what if goes wrong. All it could take is the slip of a scalpel and Lewis would die…’ at that thought I stopped writing because of the tears dripping down my face. What would happen if I lost Lewis? I never even had the chance to say sorry…

 

I felt that I couldn’t be left alone with my thoughts, so I turned the TV on. It was on a new channel.

 

“ This is News 24 bring you the latest updates, starting with our top story: Lewis Logan has been taken into hospital with appendicitis. It is believed that they are operating on him now. People suspect that his daughter,  Penelope Newman, is inside the hospital right now. Join us as we switch to Bob Clarke who is live outside the hospital right now. Over to you-” at that moment I switched the TV of, I didn’t want to hear anymore of the breaking news.

 

I heard a knock on the door. It was the same doctor I had spoken to earlier.

 

“Penelope, we’ve found someone to take care of you, but you can’t leave until tomorrow due to all the news reporters waiting out the front. But there is only one problem with our plan and that is that the news reporters don’t plan to leave until they speak to you or Lewis, so they might stay for a day or two before they get bored. Hey have you been crying.” he asked as he walked over to me.

“It’s alright trust me Lewis will be fine.” he said whilst handing me a tissue.

“Try to get some sleep, it’s been a long day.” he said. Then he left the room to allow me to get some sleep.

 

Although I believed that I wouldn’t get much sleep with so much going on in my mind, I nodded off pretty quickly.

 

I was running to try and catch up with Lewis but he got further and further with every step I took. It looked like he was trying to avoid me. Then suddenly he spoke.

“You did this to me. You put me in the condition I’m in. Now you must suffer!” he screeched. I woke up screaming.

 

“It was just a dream.” I said, trying to convince myself.

“It sounded like an abstract one.” I heard someone say.

I turned my head and felt like fainting for standing right next to me, (Not exactly a picture of health, but hey, he was still alive.) was Lewis.

 

“But how- I thought they operated on-” I mumbled, to shocked to finish my sentence, but Lewis guessed what I was trying to say so he finished my sentence off for me.

“On me yesterday? They did. It took about four hours and my medication wore of about two hours after that. Now I’m up and about but not without a little support.” he said, indicating to the wheelchair, which up until that moment, I hadn’t actually noticed.

“How do I know that you aren’t a ghost coming back to haunt me for my sins.” I asked wispily.

“Because you wouldn’t be able to feel this.” he muttered as he stroked my hair gently.

“O.k. I believe you. But can I ask you one thing?”

“What?”

“Can I see where they, you know, did it?”

“Sure.” Lewis said whilst lifting his top gently, trying not to touch the stitches.

My jaw dropped. There were at least twenty stitches running in an uneven line down his right-hand side.

“Does it hurt still?” I asked stupidly.

“A little, but only when you touch it.” at that moment, I broke down into tears and went to hug Lewis, being careful to avoid his right side.

 

“Oh Lewis, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault! Maybe if I’d been a bit more considerate then maybe this wouldn’t have happened”

“Honey, this is no ones fault. Appendicitis happens to quite a lot of people O.k. besides, the doctors said that we could go home in a couple of hours but there are just a few checks that they have to complete.

 

Now that I knew Lewis was alive and well, the hours we had left in the hospital seemed to fly by.

“But be warned.” the doctor whose name I still didn’t know said “There is still a whole bunch of paparazzi waiting outside for you and Lewis. So prepare to get ambushed.

 

But I couldn’t care. As long as Lewis was alright nothing could dampen my bright mood.

 

When it was finally time to go, there was a group of paparazzi waiting outside for us, but it wasn’t as big as the group who were waiting last night.

 

“Penelope, how did  you feel? Lewis, did you think you was going die? Penelope, did you think Lewis you was going die?” it was questions like that being shouted at us from every angle, but with Lewis by my side, I felt unstoppable.

There was cameras flashing at us everywhere we looked; everyone was trying to get our picture as we left the hospital. Lewis’ critical condition had made us into stars.

 

Our story had been  circling around the media for at least a week before it began to die down and I enjoyed my time in the paper while it lasted, after all, this was my first time in the paper since I had started my new life with Lewis and it sent good vibes through my stomach. It was the week after that my life started spiralling down hill again.

It was the week I started school.

 

“Penelope, hurry up and get dressed, you’ve got school in half an hour.”

I groaned I had still been asleep in my bed up until that moment. I was lucky that not only was I going to school with Adam just like I had done back in my old life in England, we got to wear our own clothes.

 

I got up and rummaged through my drawers, looking for something suitable to wear for such and occasion like going to school.

The weather was hot so I decided on a turquoise  short sleeved t-shirt and a short white skirt. I was dressed in less then two minutes. I grabbed some breakfast and was out the door by quarter to eight.

 

The new school I was going to attend was relatively big. I felt worried.

 

“Honey, don’t worry, there will be some one to show you around, so that you won’t get lost, and I think you and Adam are in the same class.” Lewis said cheerily. That wasn’t what I was worried about. It was the fact that I had arrived to school in a limo. What kind of impression would that give about me?

 

As I hopped carefully out the limo as not to spoil my outfit, I glanced at my surroundings and gulped. I heard that Caribbean schools were very strict, and I didn’t know the school rules. I felt petty compared to everyone else, but one glance at the multicoloured pupils who surrounded me, told me that my attire wasn’t breaking the school rules.

 

“Ah, you must be miss Penelope Newman. I am your head mistress, Mrs Taklh. Follow me to my office and we shall discuss more there. You may come too Mr. Logan.” and we followed my new head mistress to her office. I felt a flutter of relief.

 

“As you may have heard, Caribbean schools are relatively strict and this isn’t entirely false, as a lot of schools are strict but this in in particular isn’t as strict as most. We allow our students a bit more freedom then other schools, but it’s when they break the rules that we one on harsh with the punishment; they have to earn back the trust they have gained through out a period of time. So your children will be in safe hands with us. You may now leave.”

 

As Lewis got up to leave, he turned and whispered: “I’ll see you later. Tell me about your day when I get home.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked generally confused.

“I’ve got work today. I’ll get home at about five. What time do you finish school?” Lewis asked posing the latter question to Mrs. Taklh.

 

“School finishes at four.” she replied. But I wasn’t exactly listening to what they were saying; I was to busy concentrating on Adam, who since I had arrived here, hadn’t uttered a single word, maybe he was going for the portrayal of a silent, obedient child?

 

“see you later, Lewis.” I finally managed to say before he disappeared out of my sight.

 

I was brought back to earth by the sound of Mrs. Taklh’s voice announcing: “This is your time table.” she handed us a slip of paper each and gave us some time to study them before shooing us of to our lessons, which had already started.

 

Both mine and Adam’s first period was English literature. When we arrived the teacher turned out to be very nice and allowed me and Adam to sit next to each other, so long as we behaved.

 

English literature turned out to be rather interesting and I learned a lot. Time seemed to go faster, and soon the bell had gone for next period.

 

Mathematics was horrid; it started off because me and Adam had been put in separate maths classes, and the teacher, from my perspective, was trying to annoy me by placing me on a table with Barbie girl copycats. They did nothing but whisper, giggle and laugh at me and refused to speak one syllable to me. I wanted to cry. But my bad day didn’t stop there.

I went home that day in tears yet there was no one there to see them, so I trampled of to my room to listen to some calming music.

 

When I got to my room , I found my phone plugged the headphones, and tuned into local radio stations. I stopped at one randomly when  heard a song they were playing and thought I recognized the words.  ‘sometimes I feel sad and lonely, like I’m the only one who cares.

Sitting around listening to problems floating in the air.

What would happen if the world got on, what would happen if nothing went wrong it’d be picture perfect. It’d be long and worth it.”

At that moment, I realised who was singing. It was me.

 

When Lewis got home, I rushed down the stairs to meet him and ask him questions.

 

“How was your day? What did you do? Are you alright? Why is my song on the radio?” I asked, not pausing for a breath.

“Oh man! That was going to be a surprise!”

“What surprise?” I asked getting really into things.

“Remember when you were singing to yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I was recording you because I thought you sounded good. Then I took it down to the recording studios. They can do so much with so little technology. Then I sent the finished version to a radio station or two in hope that it would get some air time.

When I went and hugged Lewis, it was so hard that I nearly knocked him over. I only stopped when he groaned in pain.

 

“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.” he said when I looked at him empathetically.

“So how was your day at school?” he finally asked.

“It was terrible!” I sobbed.

“Why? What happened?”

“A group of girls were picking on me. Well, not exactly picking on me, they’re giving me the silent treatment.”

“It’s probably because they already have established friendship groups. Give it some time and if it doesn’t ease off, tell Mrs. Taklh. By the way, we’re going to the dance studio later on, so be prepared.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to talk to you all.”

“Okay.” I said as I happily sipped up my stairs, knowing that later on, I would get to see my new friends.

 

When we arrived at the dance studio, it was bustling with activity. I believed that it was because of what Lewis was about to tell us all.

 

When I got inside, one of the boys rushed up to me with a shy stumble and said: “Hey, I heard you started Lukewood today, most of us go there. I didn’t see you around, but when we do see each other you can hang out with my group. I also heard some girls were giving you a hard time, Just ignore them. They believe their popular, but really they’re just bimbos.” and on that note, he blushed and headed back to the group of boys who were eagerly awaiting his return.

 

At that moment, Lewis clapped his hands to call for silence.

“The reason I have brought you here, as most of you may know, is because I have successfully managed to get one of Penelope’s songs air time. I also managed to get Penelope on TV to talk about her song, and you guys can all come along.”

And at that point, everyone burst into fevers of cheers, all happy that I had managed to become a hit on radio and was about to become one on TV.

“But wait, there’s more. The song has got to number one and has stayed there for the past week! Maybe we should get you to make an album and give the public more of you. Hang on a second, I just had a thought. You won’t want paparazzi following you around 24/7! You need an alias!”

I had already thought of that, and by the time Lewis had finished speaking, I had a name settled in my head.

“Felicity Zimmerman.” I said with pride. And so it was settled. From that day on I was Felicity Zimmerman.

 

During my second session at the dance studio, we all practised a dance routine for when we went on TV, with me and Adam doing choreography and taking input from the others.

 

Alltogether the session took two and a half hours, but by then we had a dance routine completely planned out and well practised.

 

One the way home, I couldn’t resist asking Lewis: “When will we go on TV?”

“two days and it will be live.” he replied.

“what it’ll be live?! What if we make a mistake!”

“Don’t think about the people watching, don’t think about mistakes and then you will be fine.”

“That’s good advice.” I said, complimenting him.

 

For the next two days, we worked non-stop on perfecting our dance routine and my tone of voice. It was hard work and I hoped it would be worth it.

 

The two days quickly came to an end, and the night before I was supposed to be on TV, I could hardly sleep. This would be my make or break moment, the point which decided if I had the makings for the music industry or not. Only tomorrow would decide.

The night seemed to fly by and before I knew it, it was time to head to the TV station.

 

In the limo, Lewis produced a problem.

“Can you put on an accent or change your hair or something?”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because if you went on stage looking the way you do now and talking the way you do, people will immediately work out who you are and there will be no point in the alias.”

“I can do an American accent.” I said and spoke to prove my point to Lewis.

Everyone laughed but Lewis said:

“That is pretty good.”

“I think I should have a wig as well. Do you have any wigs on you or something?”

“Thank goodness I brought provisions.” Lewis said, producing a bag full to the brim with wigs of every colour.

 

I tried on as many wigs as I could in a short time limit, but in the end, I choose a long, straight, black wig.

 

Soon after I had put my disguise, we arrived at the TV station. I got out the limo and by the stage entrance was a producer, ready to greet us all.

 

“Felicity darling, it is so great to finally meet you. I’ve heard nothing but good things about your music.” he said, kissing me on both cheeks; the way French people do. He led us through the side door.

 

“Are you dressed already?!” he said, sounding confused.

“Why? Weren’t we supposed too?” I asked, get more and more panicked by the minute.

“No. it’s just that we didn’t expect you to. Most celebrities bring their clothes with them so they can get changed here. Oh well, it’s give us more time to do your make up.”

And we followed him to the hair and make up studio. They left my hair as it was (phew!) and did my face. By the time they had finished, I felt like a completely different person.

 

“Hurry off to the set now, the show’s just about to start.” so we hurried off to the set and was in our places with seconds to spare.

 

“hello people, I’m David Martin. Welcome to my show. We have an amzing line up today. We have the likes of Anastacia Blond, D.I.daz and newbie Felicty Zimmerman.” at the mention of my assumed name, the crowd cheered loudly.

“She will be talking to us and performing her new song picture perfect. here she is now. So Felicity, what inspired your new song?”

“Well,” I replied, slightly inconfident.”it’s the fact there are so many problems in the world, so I imagined what the world would be like with no problems and wrote it down in a song.”

“Is there anyone out there who you would like to thank for your music career?”

“Yes. I would like to thank my friends and especially my dad for encouraging me.”

We went on like that for another five minutes, before David finally thanked me for my time and told the audience “Felicty will be back later to perform her song. Now we shall talk to the amazing D.I.daz!”

 

As I headed backstage, I saw Anastasia Blond and went over to talk to her, hoping she would give some advice. I was so wrong.

 

“I’m gonna be the one who makes sure that your new music career flushes down the toilet!” she hissed. I gulped, way to scared to speak. When I did find the motive to do anything, I headed straight back over to Lewis.

 

“What did she say?” Lewis asked eagerly, hoping that I’d made friends with Anastasia.

“She told me that she’s gonna be the one who makes sure that my new music career flushes down the toilet!” I said, as calmly as I could manage.

“Maybe I should go and have a few words with her!” Lewis said, beginning to sound angry.

“No, she’s probably jealous because I’m in the charts when she’s not and that I’m already becoming popular.” I said, trying to create vibes of peace to calm Lewis down.

“Okay. Besides you’re performing your new song later.”

 

Later seemed to come full steam, because before I knew it I was on stage with a mic at hand revving to start my new song.

 

 ‘sometimes I feel sad and lonely, like I’m the only one who cares.

Sitting around listening to problems floating in the air.

What would happen if the world got on, what would happen if nothing went wrong it’d be picture perfect. It’d be long and worth it.

What would happen if we sat aside and stayed there to prove we had nothing to hide, it’d be picture perfect, hard but worth it.”

By this time I had the audience standing on their feet and clapping along to the song. When I had finished, I received a standing ovation; a point to prove my ever rising popularity.

 

When we finally arrived home, I was incredibly exhausted, that the moment my head hit the pillow, I was asleep. Thank goodness tomorrow was Sunday.

 

When I woke up, the Barbados sun gleamed through my window and I felt a sense of happiness; like nothing could go wrong.

 

I felt my room was too quiet, so I turned on the radio.

“Newbie Felicity Zimmerman wowed the world with her performance of picture perfect last night. It is also said that Lewis Logan is supposed to be having words with Anastasia Blond after something she apparently said to Felicity last night while they were both backstage.”

 At that point my feeling of happiness had been shattered and I raced downstairs to find Lewis.

 

“Susan, where’s Lewis?” I asked politely.

“Oh, he’s out.” she replied without a thought.

 

I felt anger bubbling up inside of me. Although it was nice to have someone stand up for you, I had specifically told him to let it be. I went and sat on the couch to await his return.

 

When he finally did get back, he had a huge grin on his face, so I went to confront him.

 

“Did you just have a go at Anastasia Blond?” I growled.

“No. I just got you a present.”

“Really?” I asked, my eyes lighting up.

“Yes. Come out the back.” so I followed Lewis outside.

 

When I got outside, I was incredibly shocked, for outside was a beautiful black stallion.

 

Oh my gosh Lewis, he’s so beautiful. Is he mine?”

“Definitely.” Lewis replied.

“I’ve always wanted a horse!” I laughed, practically jumping for joy.

“If you want, you can start lessons.” Lewis stated, his words only adding to my joy.

“Of course I would. Thank you Lewis.” I said whilst hugging him.

 

Later on, I decided to have a walk on the beach. It was peaceful even though I had a friend with me.

He was incredibly quiet, which is how I worked out something was wrong.

“What’s up?” I asked him.

“Nothing.” he replied bluntly.

“Come on, don’t lie to me.”

He took a deep breath and sighed loudly, and then he spoke.

“Will you go out with me Penelope?” 

Reviews

[An owl on the moon]

You have such a wondrous style in your writing. Intriguing and stirring story and characters. I wanted to read as much as possible, though didn't have time to read it all just now. I'll be back for more!