Starstruck by Rachel Shukert

Author:Rachel Shukert [Shukert, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-375-98425-9
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2013-03-12T04:00:00+00:00

Dancing Duo Says: Diana Who?

That was the headline all of Hollywood woke up to the next morning, trumpeted across the front page of Variety, from where it would trickle down to every two-bit gossip rag in town. In the movie business, bad news traveled at the speed of high-grade celluloid. By that evening, the consensus would be set: Diana Chesterfield was a vanished angel, a martyred saint. And Margo Sterling, a seventeen-year-old girl who barely two months ago was walking across a classroom in a girls’ school in Pasadena with a stack of books balanced on her head, was a cold-blooded home wrecker who had probably gotten rid of poor St. Diana herself.

Naturally, Margo’s newly installed telephone had been ringing off the hook.

Gabby, who seemed never to sleep, called at the crack of dawn promising to come by for “moral support and crisis management” just as soon as she could sneak away from the Tully Toynbee set. Next on the line was Amanda Farraday, which was more surprising, since one, she hadn’t struck Margo as a particularly early riser, and two, she couldn’t for the life of her think how Amanda had gotten her number.

“I think it’s just terrible,” Amanda had said, “the way these people twist the most innocent situations into something tawdry just to sell their lousy papers. It was bad enough when bottom-feeding scandal sheets like Broadway Brevities used to pull stunts like this, but Variety? They ought to be ashamed of themselves. I just want you to know I’m here for you, Margo. Anything you need to talk about, I’ll listen.”

She sounded so sincere that Margo was tempted to take her up on it. Dane’s words from the night before rang in her ear: You need to have someone you can trust. There was really only one person she wanted to talk to. She politely hung up with Amanda and placed a new call.

“Winthrop residence,” the familiar voice answered.

“Doris!” Margo could have cried. “It’s you!”

“Yes, and who is this?”

“It’s me,” Margo said, confused. “It’s Margaret.”

“Oh! Margaret!” Doris sounded surprised. “How are you? Have you met Diana Chesterfield yet?”

What? “No,” Margo began, “I—”

“What about Dane Forrest? Did you meet him?”

Margo was flabbergasted. The first time she’d managed to get her friend on the phone since she’d come to Hollywood, and that was all she could ask? “H-haven’t you seen Variety this morning?” she stammered.

“A variety of what?”

“Variety. They have it on the newsstand by school. It’s a trade paper.”

“What do you trade it with?”

“No, trade. As in the movie trade.” Margo sighed. She had counted on Doris’s already knowing everything that she didn’t have the strength to explain herself. “It’s like a movie magazine, except more, I don’t know, businesslike.”

“I guess I don’t really keep up as much with that sort of stuff without you here,” Doris said. “That was always more your thing, really. Oh! That reminds me! The invitations for my coming-out party arrived last week! I just sent yours care of the studio. I didn’t know where else to send it.

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