No More Platform Shoes: Chp 3

The day is over. And once again I have a headache. Luckily, it's nine at night, not two in the morning, and I am in my room with Valerie, not in Paulina's limousine waiting for the girl to spot her long-time obsession.

Though it was rather amusing. I mean, Paulina could hook any guy. It's hilarious, the puppies they become in her wake of seduction. Not that I can blame them – she is beautiful, even I can admit that. More than my girl next door standards could stand up to, but the thing is, my Pretty Plain Jane looks keep me out of the spotlight, and her in it. Score one for Manson!

Wonder why Phantom didn't like her. It's so…odd. Maybe he was playing hard to get? Who does that for two years? Maybe ghosts just…aren't attracted to other people. Or humans. Or maybe he's just gay.

Or maybe they had a secret affair, ghost-boy ditched her and she's stalking him to try and get him back! What better way to say "I care about you" than to follow their every move? Or…attempt to? The thought was sardonic and amused me further.

"Girl, what are you murmuring about ghosts, affairs and stalking?"

I jumped and flushed. "Nothing," I murmured in response to Valerie, who was digging through my closet. My thoughts sounded like one of those tabloids I would throw in the recycling bin.

Oh, crud, I'm becoming one of them!

Valerie laughed at whatever look was on my face, walking over next to the bed. "I have to admit I'm going to miss you."

"That's more than my mom would say, I'm sure. My dad might own up to it if you can ever get him out of that library."

Valerie grimaced at me. "You ready for this? You ready to leave it behind?"

"Leave what?"

"Sam…"

I looked at my shoes. My platform shoes. I would never have to wear them again and I suddenly had a huge grin on my face as I stood up beside her kicked them off. The both hit the wall, making loud noises – and I didn't have to care because my mother was at some sort of bridge tournament.

"I love acting, Valerie. I love pretending. Going to another world, being in another world, on camera. But it's turned into my life I'm pretending, and I, am, sick of it!" And I laughed, long and loud and it wasn't long before it was accompanied by Valerie's rich laughter.

Bring it on, world.

LINE BREAK

"Step one," she said, joining me in my bathroom, holding a bottle without a label. It was uncapped and it was a few seconds before the fumes reached me. I gave her a suspicious look. Unnatural man-made chemicals….I tend not to trust them. She continued despite my expression. "I'm going to make you into someone unrecognizable. This will remove the dye from your hair."

I grimaced. That liquid was going to touch me. "I'm sure that there's something in there that's going to give me cancer, or kill a few million brain cells –"

I cut myself off at Valerie's impatient look and sighed, closing my eyes tightly as a sign of resigning myself.

LINE BREAK

Part two of step one was quite simpler and much easier to trust. Color contacts were thrown away. For good. In a Nasty Burger dumpster; they'd think I'd taken them.

All of the supply. No longer did I have blue eyes, no longer was my hair strawberry blonde so I looked like I was related to my parents. My eyes were their violet selves and my hair was once again black. I was surprised by my reflection every single time I looked in the mirror. I kept repeating my thanks to Val, in awe, and she promptly told me to shut up. "The gushing is seriously weird."

She brought me to the computer and showed me a bank account balance online. "Know what this is?"

I looked at the ID on the screen. "G.O." was what I saw. "It's my hidden cash advance for Teen Idol, under the code name."

"Goth One? Really, Sam?"

I just smirked at her. "Why are you showing me this?"

"So you can embrace that name." She laughed, closing the window and then deleting it from browser history. "You're not taking any of your clothes with you. You're buying a completely new wardrobe, and this will cover it easily. And all your clothes will be completely your own."

This was sounding better and better.

Valerie sat in the computer chair and I leaned against the desk as she continued speaking. "As for a place to live, leave that to me. I have papers and identification for Sam Manson, purple eyes and black hair, so Sam's your new name. Okay?"

I bit my lip. "Isn't that illegal?"

"Fake ID's are illegal. The ID's you have right now are fake, Sam, these are as real as they'll ever get and you know it." Valerie didn't look happy about it either, though, and she changed the subject. "Obviously the account isn't a bottomless pit that you can get money from anytime you want, so you'll need a job – especially with having to do the apartment on your own."

I nodded. "With you so far."

"You have an interview with a cross internet café, coffee shop next week." She handed me a black, sleek flip phone. "That's your new cell. Your number is in your contacts under 'Me'."

"Valerie, I don't understand."

She frowned. "Did I say something to make it confusing?"

"No, just…" I didn't really want to ask because I wasn't sure I'd like the answer. "This stuff takes planning. It takes connections. How do my parents, my agent, not know about this? How long have you been planning this?"

She stood up and started walking back to my room, and I followed. I walked through the door to see her looking through papers in my desk drawer, focused, and I waited.

"I've been planning ever since you were cast as Jenny. You barely tolerate being in the spotlight, and suddenly being the heroine in a movie would push you over the edge, so I contacted...my dad…he's not much for the Hollywood life style. But he's always supported me." She got out the papers and I wanted to laugh – she'd hidden them in the chaos that was my disorganization. "His boss, the man who owns the lab he works at, was able to get them for me. For you," she corrected herself, handing them to me. "We can go shopping tonight for your wardrobe and tomorrow I'm going to drive you away from here."

It sounded final. And her somber tone scared me. I was supposed to be excited. "The…the chauffeur won't snitch?"

"I'm driving you, silly." She winked at me. "You're not the only one with a properly earned driver's license."

I looked at the papers.

"Oh, and you have a car. We'll have a proper cover story for where your family is by tomorrow."

"Please tell me the money to get all this was taken from my accounts." I looked at her and the answer was written in her face and I just had to hug her, so I did.

She stiffened at first – I was probably the person she knew that was the least prone to physical contact, let alone physical affection. But then she hugged me back and I knew what I'd miss about this life. "I'll miss you. Laughing at me when I do something klutzy or my mouth runs ahead of my brain."

"And I'll miss you, giving me the death glare whenever I do so," she laughed, breaking the hug. "This isn't good-bye. You'll see me. More often than you think."

"Promise."

She put her hands up as though surrendering. "I promise."

"Tell Paulina I'll drop a call sometime?" I owed her that much at least.

Her nose wrinkled and she grumbled, "Sure."

I grinned widely at her and she grinned back. Then I was struck by a thought. "Don't…don't you wanna come with?"

Valerie shook her head. "I have my issues, Sam, but…this is me." She chuckled despite herself, shoving me playfully. "It just isn't you."

LINE BREAK

I was packed. Everything was in the dark blue Prius that was somehow mine. Tracks had been erased – security systems disabled, cameras out for the day…and my mother was once again at Bridge. It had to be today. Preferably now.

Valerie waited expectantly in the driver's seat, hair in a bandanna and sunglasses covering most of her face.

I took a deep breath and got in on the other side. Valerie smiled. "Impressive. I was expecting more of a display of emotion."

I looked at her, confused, picturing those sobbing girls in other movies when they leave home, and she laughed. "I meant more of a 'GOOD RIDDANCE, SUCKERS!'"

I chuckled uneasily. "I can't get caught."

"No. No, you can't, but you will be fine. You're a brilliant actress."

Staring straight ahead, I said firmly, "I'm leaving to not act."

I saw her smirk in my peripheral vision and I took another shaky breath, turning the radio on as we drove away.

LINE BREAK

The apartment complex we pulled up to looked perfect. Perfectly normal, average, and inconspicuous. We parked and got out of the car. All I can recall is a blur – I signed papers, and Valerie did most of the talking.

Honestly, she's…pretty good at that.

My friend led me to it, because for some reason it was as though my legs had trouble carrying me around on their own. Putting the key in my hand, she looked at me expectantly, and I put the key in the lock, turning it and creaking the door open.

I think Valerie and I both just about had a heart attack, because someone was waiuting in the apartment for us. It was a black-haired girl, said hair pulled back, in a blue sweater and red shorts, looking a good two years younger than us. Her electric blue eyes were glaring at us as she snapped, "Who are you and why are you here in my apartment?"