Best Friends Rock! Read Free Page A

wasn’t being strictly truthful. She didn’t usually forget. Piano’s remark was just Piano being typically sniping, but on this occasion the coffee run had almost slipped Ellie’s mind. It was only when checking her phone just now that she’d realized how late it was. She’d spent longer than she’d thought working on the quiz. Still, she was in plenty of time to fetch the midmorning coffee order, and there was no need to rush. That would only make Piano crow. Ellie ostentatiously typed Q.5 . on her laptop before saving the file and closing the lid. She took her bag and left the office.
    Fetching the coffee was the job of the lowliest member of staff, but Ellie didn’t usually mind. If she was in the middle of writing an article it could be annoying, but today she was only too pleased. Coffee time meant an opportunity to mention her idea to Francesca, preferably when Piano was out of earshot so she couldn’t rubbish it.
    Going out into the busy street, she turned right, towards Coffee! Coffee! Invariably, when she was on this errand she felt a delicious sense that while she knew that she was working for one of the most popular teen magazines in the country, and had met and interviewed some very famous people, none of the passers-by had a clue who she was, or what she did. It made her feel secretly special, and she wanted to giggle.
    While in the queue at the coffee shop, Ellie gave her new idea some serious thought, so she’d be ready to explain it to Francesca. She’d been trawling through some celebrity websites recently, looking for inspiration, when she couldn’t help noticing how some people of about her age were included in quite a few of the shots. They were the children of major film stars, or musicians who were big in her mum’s day, and were still touring. Some of these teenagers were already stars in their own right, but others seemed to slink along behind their parents, looking grumpy, embarrassed or just plain fed up. Ellie wondered what it would be like having such famous parents. Was it cool being part of the media frenzy, or did they wish it would all just go away? If they wanted to follow their parents into stardom was it made easier for them, or harder?
    Ellie had come across a picture of the movie star Elizabeth Broadstairs. The caption said she was arriving in New York with her daughter. For a second Ellie hadn’t even noticed the daughter, Albion. While Elizabeth seemed to revel in the limelight, striding through the airport, accompanied by huge amounts of luggage, her daughter Albion was dragging along in the background, hiding behind an enormous pair of sunglasses and a floppy hat. While she’d been thinking of Hannah and her parents waiting for their plane, something had clicked. Why not interview the daughter? If she could persuade Albion to talk she might have a really interesting piece. She could see it now. My Life with my Famous Mum . If Ellie presented the idea well, Francesca, and hopefully Angel, would see that it was a perfect interview for Ellie to do!
    She hurried back along the street with the coffee order as quickly as she could. In the office she put the tray down on her desk and took Angel’s through to where she was busy working in her own, opulent office. Ferdinand, Angel’s little dog, was curled up in his basket by the side of her desk. Later on it would be Ellie’s job to take him out for his walk, but for the moment he seemed happy. He wagged his tail at her a couple of times and sighed noisily before closing his eyes and covering his nose with his paw.
    Angel barely acknowledged Ellie or the coffee, and Ellie didn’t hang around. She didn’t want to risk pitching the idea to Angel without running it past Francesca first.
    Back at her desk, Piano and Francesca had already helped themselves to their drinks. Debbie preferred to make her own tea in the office, and so that left one paper cup on her desk