Title: All that Glitters - Part 2
By: Miki
E-mail: aya_miki@hotmail.com
Rating: G
Genre: RomanceStandard Disclaimer Apply
My feet were absolutely killing me. I took off my shoes and
threw them into the living room, unable to believe that some
people wore high-heeled shoes to work every day.
The house was quiet. The sun was sinking lower and lower
in the sky, and the light that slanted in through the front
windows created bright squares on the hardwood floor. I leaned
against the heavy wooden bannister, exhausted from my trek
home. Then I bent over to rub my toes and groaned. "Hi, Sere."
I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. Sammy
was coming in from the kitchen, his favorite room in the
house. He's called me Sere ever since he was two years old.
Mom tells me that when she bought me home from the hospital,
she called to him to come and see his little sister, Serena,
he ran down the porch steps to the car and peered into my face
and said exactly what he said just now: "Hi, Sere." I guessthe name just stuck.
I didn't bother to answer his greeting. If it hadn't
been for his stupid dare, I wouldn't have aching feet right
now. Okay, I wouldn't have met Darien Riley either, I know,
but for now I purposely overlooked that small detail. I was
prepared to milk this for all it was worth.
I moaned louder and twisted my face into an exaggeratedgrimace.
"What's wrong with you?" Sammy asked. "Ooh, my feeet!" I gasped.
"What's the matter with 'em?" he asked. He loped over
and stood next to me, polishing off a can of soda.
Sammy is tall and my friends tell me he's really a hunk,
but I don't know what they're talking about. He's totally
aggravating at least eighty percent of the time. During the
other twenty percent, he's asleep or eating. He's a blue-eyed
brunette and not what you'd call a great student, but he's the
star of the high school swim team. Three of my friends
actually went to a swim meet for the sole purpose of getting a
look at Sammy. I couldn't believe it! There's just no
accounting for taste, I guess.
I glared up at him. "What do you think is the matterwith them?"
It was only then that he noticed what I was wearing.
"You look good for a change, Sere. What happened?" He leaned
over and tugged at a strand of my hair.
I let out an exasperated cry. "You mean, you don't
remember? You don't remember the dare?"
Sammy looked like he was trying to think. "Which one?"
I stared up at him as he loomed over me but couldn't
tell if he really couldn't remember or if he was putting meon.
"You dared me to audition for the Trent's Golden Girl
job!" I cried. "I can't believe this! I didn't even want to do
it! I exposed myself to the ridicule of your snotty
classmates, took the risk of making an absolute fool out of
myself, completely wasted a whole afternoon, and got so
incredibly nervous, all for---" I stopped ranting for a
moment, and lowered my voice for dramatic effect. "I put
myself through all that because of your stupid dare and you
don't even remember it!" Sammy smiled a little. "Oh, yeah," he said, and plopped
down on the step next to me. "That dare. How'd it go?"
I smiled smugly. "I was terrific." "Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah. I was soooo good, Sammy," I said. "I think I
really impressed the producer." "Oh, yeah?" Sammy said again. "Who's that?"
"Well, actually, he's the son of the executive producer.
His name is Darien Riley. He's a few years older than I am. Heran the audition."
"Darien Riley?" Sammy took a swig of soda. "Yeah, I knowwho he is."
I immediately became very alert. "You do? You know
Darien Riley? Dark hair, blue eyes, incredible body? ThatDarien Riley?"
Sammy leaned back lazily against the wall and grinned.
"Well, dark hair and blue eyes, anyway." Hen took anotherdrink.
I grabbed the can out of his hand. "What's he like? Tell
me about him! Is he in any of your classes?"
Sammy looked angry. "Hey, give that back!" I passed the
can of soda back to him and he stared at me a minute. "Why are
you asking me all these questions?"
I sat back again. "No reason," I said. "Just curious,that's all."
A slow smile crept across Sammy's face. He shrugged.
"He's just a guy. No big deal." "Maybe not to you," I said under my breath.
He continued to grin at me for a moment. Then he wiped
his mouth on the back of his hand and looked at methoughtfully.
"You really tried out 'cause of my dare?"
"Yeah," I said, proud of myself. "And I was a big hit,
as if I'd been acting in TV commercials all my life."
He scratched the side of his face. He hadn't shaved for
a couple of days, and I think his whiskers were beginning to
itch. "So are you going to be the next Golden Girl?"
I laughed. "Are you kidding? Of course not."
Sammy looked puzzled. "I thought you said you wereterrific."
"I was--I mean I was good for me. But I can't competewith Mina Boyson."
"Did Mina try out?" I nodded. Sammy smiled. "So what did Darien Riley say?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"About your audition," Darien said. "What did he say?"
"He said I was terrific," I said. "But he probably says
that to every girl who tries out."
Sammy laughed. "Yeah, you're right, he probably does."
I was crushed. "Really? You mean you think he wasn't
sincere? You think he really says that to everyone?"
"Oh, he wouldn't say that to just anyone," Sammy said,
punching me playfully in the arm. "Only the cute girls." He
stopped and looked at me with an exaggerated frown. "So I
wonder why he said that to you."
I groaned and collapsed back onto the stairs. "You'reincorrigible," I said.
"Thanks, I work at it," he said, grinning.
Sammy stretched his right arm up and back behind his
head, with his elbow bent. I recognized it as one of his warm-
up exercises he does before swimming practice. "Are you leaving?" I asked.
"Yeah. I've got practice." He circled his arm around
like a pinwheel at his side. "Gotta go."
"Okay," I said. "But promise me you'll tell me
everything you know about Darien Riley."
"I can't wait," he said, rolling his eyes. "See you
later, Sere." He shrugged on his coat and disappeared out thefront door.
After he drove away, I got up from the steps. I live in
a small Tudor-style house. The rooms are tiny but neat--no
thanks to my brother--with hardwood floors and old-fashioned
stuffed couches and chairs. The rest of the furniture is
antique. Mom is the sort of person who loves to go garage
sales, pick up old furniture and refinish it.
Mom was busy in the kitchen chopping vegetables wearing
jeans and a sweatshirt, and she was barefoot, revealing herbright red toenails.
"Dinner will be ready in an hour," she chirped. "Lentilnut loaf."
I sighed. Why couldn't I have a mom who fixed normal
suppers like fried chicken or Tater Tot casserole.
"Oh, I nearly forgot!" she said, turning to me from the
kitchen counter. "How was the audition?"
I filled her in, leaving out the romantic parts in case
nothing ever happened between Darien and me. I told her that
even though I had done an incredibly good job at the audition,
I didn't expect to be chosen because of the stiff competition.
Sammy may have very little confidence in me, but Mom is
entirely different. She thinks I could pick up an Academy
Award, accept the Nobel Peace Prize, and be crowed Miss
America all on the same day if I only had the time.
"Oh, honey, you're a beautiful girl," she said. "You
have just as good a chance as that Nina person."
"Mina Boyson, Mom," I corrected.
"You're beautiful, you're talented, you're very smart--"
"Thanks, Mom," I said. "I appreciate your support. But
no offense, you don't know what you're talking about. You're
my mother." She looked surprised, so I decided to explain.
"Mom, Mina is--well, she's like.like Helen of Troy, the kind
of girl that men start wars over." She smiled lovingly at me, "So are you."
I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, Mom, but you're totallybiased. See you at dinner."
She cheerfully blew me a kiss and I headed up to my
room. I wanted to replay the audition over and over in my mind
and think about Darien Riley.
I lay on my bed and fantasized that Darien called me to
say that I'd gotten the Golden Girl job, telling me in that
intimate voice of his that I was beautiful, talented, and very
smart--all the words my mother had used to describe me. But
the fantasy didn't last long. It was so incredibly unrealistic
that it kind of hurt even to imagine it. It would never
happened to me in a million years.
I rolled over and turned on my radio. Well, I still
couldn't wait for tomorrow, when I would answer the phone and
actually get to speak to him again. I decided to concentrate
on something good that really could happen.
He'd be calling me to give me the bad news. He'd expect
me to act disappointed, maybe even mad.
But I'll be such a good sport that he'll fall instantly
in love with me and ask me out on a date, I thought, suddenlyinspired.
I lay on my bed and practiced what I'd say. I was going
to be really cool: "Oh, Darien, that's okay," I'd say. "Of
course I understand! I'm in charge of poetry submissions at
the literary magazine at school, so I'm pretty busy as it is.
You wouldn't believe how much poetry everyone is writing atschool these days!"
That cracked me up and I laughed out loud. Come on,
Serena. You call that cool? I groaned and tried again.
"Of course, I wanted the job," I practiced out loud,
"but Mina is so beautiful and so very talented."
I wondered if I could really say that without gagging. I
sighed. Keeping Darien on the phone long enough to get asked
out was going to be harder than I thought.
Molly McCauley, my best friend, rushed up to me at
school the next morning. I was standing at my locker pulling
books off the top shelf. "How'd it go?" she asked. "Did you really go through
with the audition?" "Of course I did," I said. "I accepted the dare; I had
no choice." Molly is a sophomore, too, and if you think I'm self-
conscious, you should meet her. She's only about ten pounds
overweight, but she calls herself The Blimp! She's really
quite nice looking, I think, with shoulder-length brown hair,
bright green eyes and incredibly straight teeth. Her parents
sacrificed five years' worth of vacations to finance her
mouth, but it really paid off. "I have to tell you about it," I said. "I met the
dreamiest guy in the world at that audition." I paused here
and glanced over my shoulder to make sure that no one was
listening. The hall was crowded, but everyone was headed
toward a class or busy talking in groups. "And he is walking
the halls somewhere in this hallowed institution as we speak!"
"More, more! Tell me more!" Molly pressed in close to
get more details. "What's his name?"
I leaned closer and lowered my voice. "His name is"--I
hesitated a second before I spoke--"Darien Riley."
"Wow! Darien Riley!" she cried out, steeping back in
surprise. "You met Darien Riley?"
"Keep quiet!" I whispered urgently, looking back over my
shoulder again. No one seemed to notice the commotion we were
making. Then I realized what she'd said. "Hold on a second.You know who he is?"
"Are you kidding?" she said. "I've known who he is since
the first day of school! I saw him park his cute red
convertible in the student parking lot, and ten he parked his
cute little derriere on the steps near the south lockers, and
I couldn't believe he was for real. He looked like a moviestar or something."
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.
"I did tell you!" she said. "I told you all about it."
I stared at her a moment. She might have been right
about that. She gets all worked up over a lot of boys at
school and she tells me in detail about each and every one of
them. It's impossible to keep all her stories straight.
"And guess who told me his name?" she asked. She hadn't
intended for me to guess because she plowed right on. "Ann and
I were getting off the bus on the first day. She told me who
he was." Molly rolled her eyes. "I knew if anyone would know
his name, it'd be Ann. She'd so boy-crazy." "Yeah, she sure is," I agreed.
"So tell me about him!" she said. "What's he like upclose? Why was he there?"
"He was running the audition," I said. "His father is
the executive producer and Darien's job was to choose the topfive people."
"He watched you audition?" she asked, looking horrified. "Yeah," I said. "Why?"
"Well, no offense," Molly said, "but you were probably
kind of awful, weren't you? I mean, you've never done that
kind of thing before. I'd do a pretty lousy job, too."
"Well, thanks a lot. Have you forgotten that I played
Ophelia once?" I asked defensively.
She stared at me a moment. "You mean that horrible
speech you gave in the ninth grade? The one where you hiccuped
after every other word?" I was starting to get a bit irritated with Molly.
"I wasn't all that bad," I said, crossing my arms overmy chest."
"Well, okay," she said. "I suppose I could be just a
teeny bit jealous about your having met Darien Riley and all."
She suddenly looked worried. "What would I do if you suddenly
got famous and started running around with Darien Riley'scrowd?"
I put a hand in her arm. "You'd still be my very best
friend," I said. "But it won't happen, so why are we eventalking about it?"
"Right," she said. "Anyway, I'm sorry--tell me aboutit."
"Well, I was terrific at the audition yesterday. EvenDarien said so."
"Really?" I could see that she didn't believe me. "He
actually used the word 'terrific'? And he wasn't being
sarcastic?" Molly bent down to grab some books.
"He was very sincere," I insisted, wishing I felt as
convinced as I sounded. "He looked deep into my eyes and
suggested that while I read the copy--that's the script--that
I tempt him into going with me to the sale."
Molly's mouth fell wide open. "You're kidding. He used
the word 'tempt'? I don't believe it. You're making this up."
"And do you know what he say at the very end?" I said.
"He said. 'That was terrific,' and he lowered his voice and
said in this very cozy tone, 'I'd follow you anywhere.'"
Molly stood up abruptly. "Now I know you're making it
up!" she said. "No boy on the face of the earth would say
that. It's too sophisticated. He'd have to be at least twenty-
three to pull off a line like that."
"I swear that's exactly what he said!" I said. "This guy
is really sophisticated, Molly. I know he's only seventeen,
but he acts like a twenty-three-year-old."
"Well, maybe he's going to pick you as one of the topfive."
"No way," I said. "I was good, but I was competing
against Mina Boyson and her crowd. There are a lot more than
five beautiful girls in that clique. And then think about all
of the other girls at Lincoln High. And all the girls at North
High--they auditioned last week. There are so many glamorous
girls at that school I can't count them. So there's no way
I'll be chosen. But, get this: Darien is going to call me
tonight to tell me the results. I'm going to get to talk tohim again!"
"What are you going to say?" Molly asked.
"I'm going to be very nice, a little disappointed, but a
great sport about the whole thing. And then I'm going to ask
him out on a date for Saturday night."
"No!" she cried, clapping a hand over her mouth.
I burst out laughing. "Of course I wouldn't ask Darien
out!" I said. "I can't believe you fell for that, Molly. I
would never in a million years have the nerve to do that!"
Just then Molly stood up and very straight and looked
over my shoulder. She shifted her eyes back to me without
moving a muscle in her body. "Don't look now," she said, her
mouth barely moving, "but he's heading this way at this verymoment."
"Darien Riley?" I squealed. "Umm-hmm," she said, a phony smile plastered on her
face, her body stiff as a board.
"Act natural," I said, and I laughed in a way that I
thought would come out sounding very melodious and charming,
but instead came out very fake and forced. Molly rolled hereyes.
Darien walked past me a short distance and stopped. He
was soon surrounded by girls. They were all laughing at
something he said. In fact, they all seem to be trying to out-
flirt each other, all the while giggling idiotically. It was
the most sickening thing I'd ever seen.
He happened to glanced in my direction then, and with a
tiny movement of his head, nodded to me. Then he moved on,
with the girls all following close behind him.
I turned back to Molly, triumphant. "See?" I said. "He
recognized me! He nodded to me."
"Oh, is that what it was?" she joked. "I thought he had
a little nervous tic or something."
"Molly, face the facts!" I cried out in exasperation. "I
met him, he knows me, we're going to speak again on the phone
tonight. If you can't be happy for me, don't bother pretending
you're my friend."
"Okay, okay--keep you shirt on," Molly said with a grin.
I smiled. "I'm sorry. I'm just so nervous about talking
to him again."
"I don't blame you," she said. "Look at how these girls
were hanging all over him. I wonder if he'll be as popular
when he tells all but one of them that they weren't chosen."
"I'm sure he'll be really nice about it," I said.
"Besides, a guy who looks like that doesn't ever lack fordates."
"You've got a point," Molly agreed. "He's fantastically
handsome."
"Do you think he lifts weights?" I asked. "He's got such
an incredible body."
"He'd have to, with those muscles," she said. "When do
you think he'll call?"
"Sometime tonight, he said." I leaned back against a
locker and sighed. "I hope I don't get hit by a truck or
something before I get a chance to answer the phone."
Molly patted my shoulder. "Push that possibility right
out of your mind," she said. You'll talk to him. Just promise
you'll call me right afterwards."
"I promise." Then I grinned. "And I'll tell you all
about the plans for our hot date on Saturday night."
Molly laughed. "You do that."
**************************************************************
I want to thanks all those that e-mailed me with their
compliment. I hope you've enjoyed another part of the fic.
Hopefully you'll still be around for the next part.
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