Almost Famous, a Talent Novel by Zoey Dean

Author:Zoey Dean [Zoey Dean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Issues, Girls & Women, Juvenile Fiction, City & Town Life, Friendship, Lifestyles
ISBN: 9781101157367
Google: Gm-SiIiQw_sC
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2008-11-13T07:00:00+00:00

Ruby’s maid answered the doorbell, wearing a formal black and white maid’s outfit. Either she didn’t speak much English or she didn’t want to. She pointed at a long corridor.

Mac walked down the hallway, passing an indoor swimming pool, a bowling alley, and a private Pilates studio with a Reformer machine. With every step Mac took on the marble floors, she realized that the Goldman house felt un-lived-in, like a museum, but borderline scary. There was almost no furniture, but there were oil paintings everywhere. Supposedly Barry Goldman was a huge modern art fan, but Mac thought his paintings were just weird. One was an orange triangle with a blue circle inside. Another was just a splotch of red on white canvas, like a drop of blood.

The long hallway led to a spiral staircase, with curved walls that were like a photo-shrine to Ruby. Mac crept up the stairs, eyeing the pictures of Ruby in small black frames. They’d all been taken within the past year, after Ruby’s summer weight loss. (Did her family not think she was worth photographing before?) Mac spotted a picture of Ruby with Drew Barrymore. She took another step. There was Ruby smiling with Jessica Biel. Ruby with Shia La Beouf. Ruby with Britney. In all, there were forty-nine pictures of Ruby with famous people. (Pictures of Ruby with friends: zero).

Finally Mac reached the top of the staircase and stood in front of a white door with giant red-block letters that spelled RUBY. Huffing and puffing, Mac made a mental note to take more Burn 60 classes in Brentwood to get in shape. She knocked twice.

“Come in!” Ruby cooed.

Mac slowly pushed open the door. The bedroom smelled like it had been misted in Tocca room freshener, and Christina Aguilera’s “Ain’t No Other Man” was playing from Ruby’s MacBook computer.

“Welcome!” Ruby called. She was lying on the custard-colored bedspread of her canopy-covered bed, her feet and head propped up by a mountain of white lace pillows. Her crutches were leaning against her white nightstand. Ruby wore a pewter Graham & Spencer dress with silver-trimmed sneakers. Mac winced, knowing that she had debuted that dress last spring. Ruby had no doubt copied her, because Ruby copied everything Mac wore.

Ruby’s bedroom was painted cream and had frilly lace curtains on all the French windows, and cream-colored Anthropologie furniture. It was almost grandma-chic, Mac decided, until she looked up behind Ruby’s bed and noticed a life-size oil portrait of Ruby sitting on a white horse. The room was officially downgraded to Tackorama status. Mac made a mental note to tell the I.C.

“Hi, Macdaddy!” Ruby said sweetly.

“Don’t call me that,” Mac said calmly, stepping closer to Ruby’s bed.

“Whatever, Trevor.” Ruby smiled.

“Bumsies you’re on crutches,” Mac said, eyeing Ruby’s heavily bandaged ankle.

“Yeah, it would be a bummer.” Ruby smiled. “Except that it’s not.”

“But crutches must be really hard on your pop career,” Mac fake-sympathized.

“Yeah, except that I still have my contract with Brigs. While I’m hurt, we’re just focusing on my singing.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.