Dial L for Loser Read online

  Monday, March 16th

  2:56 P.M.

  “Get me out of this garage sale.” Massie zigzagged through the clutter in Rupert’s office and marched straight out the door without saying goodbye.

  “Where are you going?” Alicia called. “Wait up!” But Massie couldn’t stop. Her legs had been programmed to move at high speeds when faced with a humiliating situation. And losing a part in a major motion picture to Claire Lyons certainly qualified.

  The midafternoon sun was still blazing when she got outside, only it no longer felt warm and comforting on her skin: It burned.

  “How are we going to get back to the hotel?” Alicia pushed through the swinging door, leaving it to stutter behind her.

  They were at the back end of the studio lot surrounded by offices. The Lakeview Middle School set was miles away, which meant the front gates were even farther. Emma had driven them there in a golf cart, but she and her cart were long gone.

  “Where’s the Escalade?” Massie slipped on her aviators.

  Alicia shrugged. “Where’s our hotel?”

  “This is in-sane!” Massie twisted her sweaty extensions and piled them on top of her head. “I have never been without a driver. Never!”

  The long road that led back to the soundstages was empty. No one was coming for them. “Gawd, this place is so unprofessional.” Massie kicked the door and accidentally knocked the silver plate that said RUPERT MANN: DIRECTOR off its screw. It swayed back and forth, then fell onto the wood porch with a single clang.

  Alicia burst out laughing.

  “Hey!” someone shouted.

  “Run!” Alicia screeched.

  But there was nowhere to run except back inside the office, and Massie would rather have worn Laura Ashley than do that.

  “Guys!”

  This time the voice sounded familiar.

  “Need a ride?” Claire and Stella hummed up to the curb in a Gelding golf cart. “I wasn’t sure how you were getting back, so I asked Stella if we could check on you.”

  Luckily, Stella was too focused on her PalmPilot to see Massie blush.

  “Yeah, we’d love a ride.” Alicia turned to Massie. “Right?”

  “Whatevs.” Massie followed Alicia into the back of the cart, forced to stare at the back of Claire’s conceited head.

  “She better not take any pictures,” she murmured to Alicia once they were moving. “Because I am so denying this.”

  “Point!”

  “I can get you a ride back to Le Baccarat, but it won’t be until four p.m.!” Stella shouted into the warm breeze while she drove. “I have to get Claire to wardrobe first. You don’t mind waiting, do you?”

  “It’s fine.” Massie folded her arms across her chest. “I have plenty of calls to return anyway.”

  Claire chewed her thumbnail.

  “You are so lucky you’re playing Molly.” Stella smiled. “Or you would have to stop that biting.”

  “Phew.” Claire wiped her forehead to show her relief.

  Stella lifted one hand off the wheel and pinched Claire’s cheek. “You are too cute.”

  Massie mocked their nauseating exchange by groping Alicia’s face with exaggerated enthusiasm. They buried their laughter in their hands.

  Minutes later, they were back in “Lakeview,” only this time the massive set no longer seemed like an inevitable part of Massie’s future. It had stopped being the place she would describe when interviewed about her first break. And it certainly didn’t feel like her West Coast home away from home.

  Lakeview Middle School was just a silly facade built by a bunch of glorified construction workers. It wasn’t real. And neither was Claire’s victory. Outside this fantasy world, she was nothing without the Pretty Committee. Massie told herself this over and over again as she followed Claire to the wardrobe room.

  On the outside, the WR looked like another one of the Lakeview Middle School classrooms, a wood door with a window covered by a drawn shade. But the inside was like nothing Massie had ever seen.

  Ten long rows of clothing racks stretched from the entrance to the curtained dressing area in the back. And detailed index cards made it very clear which designers were among them. At a glance Massie saw DKNY, Ralph, Calvin, Dior, Theory, Juicy, L.A.M.B., C&C, Diesel, Citizen, Seven, True Religion, Ella Moss, and Joie. The footwear was displayed in neat rows along the back wall and seemed to include every possible sneaker, sandal, boot, flip-flop, and Ugg ever made.

  “Welcome.” A woman with a jet-black mullet and a deep tan smiled at them.

  Massie pushed past her, hoping to get to the denim-covered couch in the middle of the room before she fainted. Alicia followed.

  “I’m Ahnna.” The woman’s round gray eyes searched the girls, as if wondering where to land. “Now, which one of you is Claire?”

  Stella put her hand on Claire’s head. “This is.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Claire smiled politely.

  “Congratulations.” Ahnna smiled back. She wore no makeup except for dark red lipstick, which had left its mark on the side of the Diet Coke can she was holding. “This is going to be so much fun.” She pulled a tape measure from the side pocket on her camouflage cargo pants, which, to Massie’s surprise, looked ahdorable with her strappy gold heels, thin gold belt, and black tube top. A diamond heart was lodged in her belly button, inspiring Massie to add “navel jewelry” to her spring shopping list. “Claire, wait until you see all of the comps you and Abby are getting.”

  “Comps?” Claire’s cheeks reddened.

  “Free stuff—you know, from designers.” Ahnna kicked a stack of boxes by the door with her heel. “It’s been arriving all week. It was for Hadley, but now, my dear, it’s all for you. I was going to have them sent to your hotel this afternoon. Is that okay?”

  “Sure.” Claire bobbed up and down on her tippy-toes.

  “Hi, Ahnna.” Massie stood. “I’m Massie, Claire’s best friend.”

  “And I’m Alicia.”

  “How rude am I?” Stella covered her mouth. “I am so sorry. Yes, these are the other girls who tried out for Hadley’s role.”

  “Ohhh, I’m sorry.” Ahnna pouted.

  “Do the runners-up get comps too?” Alicia asked.

  “You know, like ‘consolation comps’?” Massie made air quotes.

  Ahnna looked at Stella, who looked at Claire.

  “I’ll share with you,” Claire offered.

  A cashmere-textured lump formed in Massie’s throat.

  “Great, let’s get you measured.” Ahnna turned on her iPod and the room filled with Natasha Bedingfield’s optimistic pop. If ever there were a time to play Abby’s angry rock, it would have been now.

  Massie’s stomach grumbled as she watched Claire spin from left to right, right to left, while Ahnna jotted measurements on the denim patches, which she was using instead of paper. “Puh-lease!” Massie sighed.

  “Seriously.” Alicia rolled her eyes.

  “Her legs would be an inch smaller if she’d shaved this morning,” Massie whispered.

  Alicia burst out laughing.

  Claire looked up, but Ahnna quickly turned her around and measured her neck.

  “Do you have any special food requests?” Stella shouted above the music.

  “Uh.” Claire looked at Massie and Alicia, as if they were supposed to tell her what she liked to eat. “I like those Red Vines.”

  Stella tapped away on her PalmPilot.

  “Are you allergic to any particular brand of makeup?”

  “All of them,” Massie snickered.

  Alicia burst out laughing.

  “Uh.” Claire picked her cuticle. “Nope.”

  “And you’re in the seventh grade, right?”

  “Yup.”

  “Okay, your onset tutor will be Mrs. Mendel. You’ll start with her immediately. And I’ll have a script delivered to you by messenger this evening. We start read-throughs tomorrow.”

  “Leesh,” Massie said louder than she need
ed to. After all, Alicia was sitting right beside her.

  “Yeah?”

  “How excited are you to go back to New York?”

  “I can’t wait!” Alicia practically shouted. “I miss Josh.”

  “And I miss Derrington.” Massie sighed.

  Claire was staring at her bare feet, but Massie could tell by her vigorous nail-biting that she was listening to every word they were saying.

  “I know,” Massie continued. “When we get back, let’s ask the boys if they want to go to a movie. How much fun would that be?”

  “I heart that!”

  “We could do it on Saturday,” she suggested. “Friday night, during my sleepover, we’ll pick our outfits and come up with a list of discussion topics—you know, so we won’t have any weird silent moments.”

  “Heart!”

  “We’ll call them as soon as we get back to the hotel.”

  “Done.”

  Massie peeked at Claire out of the corner of her eye. She was scraping her chapped lips with her teeth and tugging on her short bangs. “Maybe you could do it again when I get back.”

  “Who knows when you’ll be back?” Massie looked at her. “You’ll probably end up moving here.”

  “No, I won’t.” Claire waved the ridiculous notion away. “This shoot is only three weeks long.”

  “You never know.” Massie shrugged. “There are always parts in movies for ‘losers,’ and after Dial L, everyone will think of you as a loser. Which means tons of work. You may never have time to go back to Westchester again.”

  “That’s not true.” Claire’s shoulders drooped.

  Ahnna pulled back her tape measure. “Posture.”

  “Sorry.” Claire straightened up but kept her eyes fixed on the floor.

  “Don’t worry.” Massie sweetened her tone. “Cam will never find a girl as good as you. He may try, but he won’t succeed.”

  Claire knit her brows and turned away. Her tears were fastening their seat belts and preparing for takeoff.

  Stella tossed her PalmPilot in her Fendi Spy bag as if it had personally offended her. Then she turned to face Massie. “Did you say Claire was your best friend?”

  “Yup.” She stole a quick glance at the boxes of comps by the door. “Why?”

  “Well…” Stella leaned closer. “I think you might have upset her.”

  Alicia giggled.

  “Puh-lease.” Massie brushed off her comment with a dismissive wave, even though she knew Stella was right.

  But what choice did she have? The girls at OCD were making new friends. Rupert had chosen Claire. And Derrington hadn’t left her a single message since she’d gotten to Los Angeles. Life was going on without Massie Block. And the pain that came with that realization was much too agonizing to feel alone. It had to be shared.

  LE BACCARAT HOTEL

  SUITE 2544

  Tuesday, March 17th

  5:36 A.M.

  Red Vines for breakfast was probably not what Stella had meant when she said, “Change your diet.” But chewing distracted Claire. And the last thing she wanted to think about was Massie and Alicia at the movies with Cam and the boys while she was left behind in L.A.

  “I still don’t see why you’re leaving.” Claire kicked the duvet cover off her legs and sat up.

  “Because this town is D2M.” Massie popped open one of her suitcases.

  “It’s dead to me too.” Alicia zipped her brown Juicy hoodie.

  It was early, too early for the sun. Claire grabbed the egg off the mirrored night table and pressed the button marked CURTAINS. The silk blinds parted, but the darkness made her feelings of isolation and loneliness stronger. She pressed the button again and watched as the drapes worked their way back together.

  “You haven’t even given it a chance.” Claire bit down on Red Vine number twelve—or was it thirteen? “Remember how bored we were back home? You can swim here and look for celebrities. And it’s not like you’re missing school or anything.”

  “Puh-lease! I can’t wait to get home.” Massie crumpled her velvet pants in a ball and stuffed them in the bottom of her Louis. “I need to see Derrington before he forgets about me. You know what they say: ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’”

  The image of Cam sending gummy worms and C-notes to another girl made Claire gag. How long before he forgot about her? A month? A week? A day?

  “I’ll ask Rupert to hire you as extras,” Claire tried. “Then you can be in the movie too.”

  “Extras?” Massie practically spit. “Kuh-laire, do I look like a deck of cards?”

  She shook her head.

  “Then what makes you think I want to get lost in the shuffle?”

  Alicia drew an invisible number one with her finger. “Point!”

  “I just think it would be fun if you stayed.”

  “Why don’t you ask your assistant to find you some new friends?” Massie slammed her suitcase shut.

  There was a knock on the door.

  “I’ll get it.” Massie stepped over the piles of clothes and half-filled Louises on her way to open it.

  “Morning,” Judi practically sang.

  “Are you girls almost ready?” Kendra fluffed her bob. “We should start making our way to the airport.” She sat on the satin-covered couch, then sighed. “Our private-jet days are over. We have to check in with the airline two hours in advance.”

  “Do you really have to go?” Judi wiped her eyes, pretending to cry. “Who am I going to play with?”

  “Oh, honeyyyyy.” Kendra gave her a loving air hug.

  Brrrring, brrrring.

  Brrring, brrrring…

  Massie picked up the hotel phone. “Hello?… Hey, Kristen… Okay, hold on.”

  “What is it?” Claire jumped out of bed and hurried into the living room. Why was Kristen calling so early? Had Cam moved on?

  “She wants us to turn on our iSight,” Massie announced.

  “I already packed the computer,” Alicia whined from the bedroom.

  “Unpack it,” Massie insisted.

  Alicia sighed. Minutes later her laptop was up and running on the entertainment console so they could sit on the couch while they spoke.

  “Good morning.” Kristen waved. She was leaning against Massie’s bedroom desk, holding Bean. Dylan was beside her. They were both wearing black-tie sweats, and Kristen had an assortment of colored bobby pins on either side of her head.

  Massie smiled for the first time all morning. “How’s my puppy?”

  Bean barked twice.

  “It’s time for your early-morning news report, coming live from Westchester at eight thirty in the morning.” Dylan did her best anchor impersonation. “And here with the sports highlights is our very own Kristen Gregory.”

  “Thanks.” Kristen handed Bean to Dylan. “Last night the Briarwood Tomahawks crushed the Forrester Ravens with a four–nothing win. After the game, temperatures dropped to an all-time low, forcing Derrington, the star goalie, to wear long pants for the first time ever.”

  “Ehmagawd, I can’t believe I missed that!” Massie stomped her foot.

  “How’s Cam?” Claire pulled the sleeves on her Powerpuff Girls pj’s over her hands. “Did you talk to him? Does he know I’m staying?”

  Kristen and Dylan giggled.

  “What?” Claire could feel her heart beating in her ears.

  “We went out with the team for victory pizza.” Dylan reached into a box of bran flakes.

  “And talked about the St. Patrick’s Day dance tomorrow night.” Kristen twirled the string on her coral-colored sweatpants.

  “And?” Claire had the sudden urge for one of Cam’s gummy worms. But with only four left, she forced herself to hold off.

  “And the guys said their new coach was making them go.” Dylan paused. “With dates.”

  “What? Why?”

  “He thinks that if they have crushes, their crushes will come to the games and they’ll play harder—you know, to try and impress them,” Kristen
said.

  “That’s so stupid.” Claire punched her thigh.

  “How psyched are we that we’re going back?” Massie asked Alicia.

  “So psyched!” They high-fived.

  Claire’s fingertips felt cold. “How are you going to go? We’re not allowed on school property.”

  “I’ll find a way.” Massie winked.

  “Is Cam bringing anyone?” Claire asked.

  “He has to.” Dylan chomped.

  Claire swallowed. “Who?”

  “Dunno.” Kristen shrugged. “He wasn’t sure, you know, ’cause of you.”

  The combination of Red Vines and anxiety made Claire dry heave. Should she quit the movie and fly home? There were probably millions of girls who would love to take over for her, girls who weren’t in love.

  All of a sudden she felt her mother’s warm hand on her back. Claire wiggled away to avoid bursting into tears.

  “Hey, Kristen, are those my special-edition Uggs?” Massie asked.

  “What? These?” Kristen smacked the top of the stud-covered purple boots.

  “Yup,” Massie smirked.

  “I told you to aim the camera higher,” Kristen whispered to Dylan.

  “I thought I did!” Dylan whispered back.

  “Uh, yeah. They kinda are.” Kristen’s pink cheeks turned red. “I figured since we had to go to your house to make this call, I might as well borrow a pair of boots. Besides, it’s not like you need them. I mean, until you get home, right?”

  “Well, we’re coming home today so—”

  “Wait, you are?” Dylan put Bean on the floor. “Why aren’t you staying?”

  Massie lifted her chin. “The director thought I was too confident to play a dork.”

  “And he thought I was too beautiful.” Alicia batted her lashes.

  Kristen and Dylan exchanged glances.

  Claire was grateful the mothers were there or there would have been at least fifty comments about what a perfect loser Rupert thought she was.

  “We thought you’d be all over the correspondent job.” Dylan’s green eyes were wide with disbelief.

  “Huh?”

  “Did you check your messages?”

  “No,” Massie snapped. “It’s early here. The Razr is getting her beauty rest.”

  “Well, wake her up!” Dylan practically shouted.