The Birthday Party Read Free

competitors, but its steamy storylines, featuring the staff and patients
     of a fictional London hospital, had made it must-see viewing for an incredible six million viewers per episode.
    Coco had been drafted in to build on that success. The producers never let themselves get complacent. They knew they had to
     work to keep up their viewing figures, so they were always looking for ways to improve the show. Coco was under no illusion
     that she had been employed for her acting ability, but for her name and her body, which were equally hot. Shewas, after all, the daughter of living-legend Raf Rafferty. And her perfectly proportioned physique looked dynamite in that
     navy nurse’s uniform, her waist cinched in with a webbed belt, a watch pinned to one of her 34C breasts.
    She played Sister Emily Farraday, a virgin who was destined to break the heart of every surgeon, consultant, anaesthetist
     and registrar in the hospital, not to mention the lowlier porters and security guards. She was saving herself for her boyfriend
     Zak, currently on a life-support machine at the hospital following a tragic surfing accident.
    Each episode began with Sister Farraday sitting at Zak’s bedside, filling him in on her life, the hospital gossip, her thoughts,
     her dreams and her prayers for him to come back to her. And throughout each episode, Zak sent her messages from limbo – not
     only could he read minds where he was, but he could see into the future. So Emily found herself interfering with Fate on a
     daily basis – more often than not steering her colleagues away from the wrong decisions and saving patients’ lives in the
     process.
    It was a complicated and risky premise that sat nicely between traditional medical drama and the more experimental shows that
     dabbled in the dark side. A hybrid formula that the production company were hoping would prove a hit with all ages, harnessing
     both the populist and the cult. With Coco’s episodes in the can but not yet transmitted, it was too soon to say whether the
     risk would pay off.
    Needless to say the rest of the cast resented Coco somewhat, because her character was becoming the main focus of the show.
     The producers had done their market research. She would be a role model for the younger viewers, a bit of eye-candy for the
     older men, and the heartbreaking romance of her situation would be a sop for the middle-aged housewives. It was no wonder
     that the other actors were miffed. They’d been working hard to establish the show over the past two years, after all – they
     had to take some credit for the existing loyal fan-base. Coco sensed they felt it was a cheap stunt bringing ina celebrity, complete with column inches courtesy of her infamous parents. But it wasn’t her fault. She couldn’t turn the
     part down on the basis that the role of Emily Farraday was a cynical marketing ploy.
    Now she was on board, she desperately wanted to break down the barrier she felt existed between her and her colleagues. As
     the new girl she felt isolated, but because of the status that had been thrust upon her, she found it well nigh impossible
     to break through and become accepted. For a start, everyone knew she was being paid a vast amount of money, and that she’d
     insisted on her own dressing room. None of this would endear her to them. Especially as she wasn’t all that experienced as
     an actress – she’d only left drama school nine months before, having enrolled at the age of twenty-two. To be fair, it was
     her agent who had negotiated her immorally high fee, but the dressing room had been the deal breaker for Coco. Everyone else
     had to share, but she desperately needed her own space. Quite simply because she was crippled with nerves.
    She was good, she knew she was good, and they wouldn’t have taken her on if she couldn’t act. But she was inexperienced and
     lacking in confidence. Every day she woke up feeling sick to her stomach at the thought of having to face the