Stuck on Me (20 page)

Rosie takes one of my arms, and Vix the other, and we wave them about in time to the music, laughing at each other, having a fantastic time. It’s Saturday night and we’re on the
dancefloor at the Electric Ballroom, just by Camden Town tube – an indoor market during the day, and a music venue at night. I’m wearing my newish sparkly blue top, a short black skirt
and my highest platforms, and everyone has told me I look really good. For once, I haven’t contradicted them. I’ve even put my nose stud back in for the night. Just to see how I like
it.

We’re here for an under-eighteens club night and Lady Luscious (aka my sister Katie) is DJing. Practically everybody I know is in the room: my friends, Ocean, people from school, even
Rich. He just looked over and smiled at me. I pretended I hadn’t noticed. It’s cruel, I know, but satisfying. And no worse than the way he’s treated me. He only wants anything to
do with me again because he’s heard I know the DJ, so suddenly I’m worth knowing. That, and (ha ha) things didn’t last with Donna.

Now that I’ve had six weeks to think about it, I can see that our break-up wasn’t entirely his fault: I know I must have been a pain to be around when I was absolutely fixating on my
nose, but maybe if he’d been just a tiny bit more understanding and sensitive, it would have helped. Mum has this theory that my feelings for Rich were really about filling the gap left by
Dad. I told her that sounds very airy fairy, and weird, but between you and me, maybe she’s right.

All I know is that I haven’t missed him half as much as I thought I would. I realise that it was more the idea of him that I was in love with, the person I wanted him to be, rather than
the immature guy he is. I don’t need a boyfriend, not one who doesn’t make me happy. Anyway, Vix and Rosie are having French exchange students to stay for a month soon. They don’t
know who they’re getting yet, but they’ve told me that some of them will be boys, and we all know that French boys are hot. Much hotter than Rich. So you never know . . .

I haven’t seen Dad since the gig at the Blues Kitchen, but that’s OK. He actually picked up the phone when I rang him the other day, and we had a little chat. He’s promised
that we’ll have a coffee some time and he even gave me an address in Clapham (I’m not sure if it’s where he lives, or just a friend’s) so I could send him a more up-to-date
picture of me. I decided to give him the one Vix took of me on the day of the intervention. (I did toy with the idea of sending one of the ‘after my operation’ pics, just as a joke, but
nobody else thought it was funny.) I’ve been keeping track of The River Runners online, so I know he’s playing in Camden again soon, and that I’ll definitely see him then.

Not having a real father-daughter relationship, like the one I imagined, would hurt more if it weren’t for Katie. We’ve seen quite a bit of each other the past few weeks, and
we’re really close now. I’ve had a couple of DJing lessons and she’s said that she might even let me have a go on her decks later tonight – if I’m feeling brave enough
and promise not to break them. She’s also been helping me with my coursework and teaching me about art. Her favourite artist is this Mexican woman called Frieda Kahlo, who (mainly) painted
portraits of herself in the nineteen-twenties and thirties. She was incredibly striking, with mad bushy eyebrows that met in the middle (and a bit of a moustache, but maybe they didn’t have
bleach in those days). Katie thinks she’s beautiful, in her own way, much more beautiful than girls like Donna, and I’m beginning to see what she means.

Mum and I talked things over, again, and decided it was only fair to tell Ocean and Grass about Katie. She came round for tea last weekend. She brought chocolate cake. Everyone likes her,
although I think Ocean is finding it difficult to adjust to not being my only big sister any more.

‘Everybody in the house, this is a shout out to someone special. Sky – this one’s for you!’

Oh my God! Katie has just dedicated a song to me: she’s playing the latest Bizzie Trip track. She waves at me from the DJ booth and I wave back, with the biggest grin on my face. I
haven’t stopped smiling all night. My feet hurt and I’m sweaty, and God knows how shiny my face is, but I don’t mind. Honestly. I’m dancing with my two best friends, totally
unselfconsciously, not caring what anyone else thinks. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch sight of my nose, the little jewelled stud glinting in rhythm with the club lights. And do you know what?
Tonight, at least, I think it’s OK. I can live with it.

hanks to Brenda Gardner, Anne Clark, Andrea Reece, Melissa Hyder, Natasha Barnden, and everyone at Piccadilly
Press for publishing this book.

Many thanks to Stephanie Thwaites and Catherine Saunders at Curtis Brown, and thank you and hello to my new agent, Catherine Pellegrino.

A huge thank you to the real life Dot Fraser of Dot’s Music Shop for allowing me to feature a fictionalised version of her in the book.

Thanks to all my Facebook friends for help with band and character names (and for allowing me to vent), notably Matthew McCarthy who came up with the winner, The River Runners.

Love and hugs to all my family and friends for your support, especially my parents, Steve Somerset, Claire Fry, Judy Corre, Rachel Baird, Jax Donnellan, Diane Messidoro, Janet Smith and Luisa
Plaja of
Chicklish
.

Thanks to Laura D at Waterstone’s.

Merci
to everyone at the Citea Nice Magnan, where much of this book was written (in room 616) – particularly to Marlene, Julie and Mickael. Still working on that French translation
for you!

Finally, thanks to the rioters of Camden Town for not destroying any landmarks featured in this series.

And RIP Amy Winehouse.

Rosie has lived in Paradise Avenue, Camden Town all her life. As well as the market to hang out at and gigs to go to, there are celebrities to spot, and TV studios where she and
her best friends Sky and Vix might get noticed.

Look out for the third fabulous book in the Camden Town Tales series!

Life becomes more Ooh la la when French exchange students come to stay with Vix and Rosie. Will they love Camden as much as the girls? Or will there be more than just cultures clashing?