Melody 5 - Rising Stars

10 (ii) - Amy

--- AMY ---

"What do you think, Amy?" asked Maurice, as he brushed away small beads of sweat from his brow. "The red polka dots, the green checks or the blue stripes?"

Amy couldn't care less. The cramped and stifling hot showroom was starting to make her feel whoozy; but in actual fact she could have been looking at soft furnishing supplies in a swish Ritz Penthouse and it would still have bored her stupid.

"Hmm," mumbled Amy. "The dots?"

Maurice shook his head slightly and turned back to his supplier. "We'll go for the stripes. My customers can never resist a good stripe."

Both men laughed and Amy rolled her eyes. When was this going to end? They'd been dissecting the intricacies of striped, dotted and checked teapot covers, napkin rings and toilet roll holders for over an hour now. Surely there was nothing left to say.

"Although," started Maurice, "maybe Amy's right. Maybe we should order the polka dots too. What do you think, Amy?"

Stab me in the head with a salad fork was what Amy was thinking, but instead she said, "Dad, you're the expert." And with that she stood up and headed for the door. "Sorry, I need some fresh air."

As she headed out of the showroom she could hear her dad trying to cover for her. "She's still getting used to it all, but she's got a great eye for colour - trust me."

Amy burst out of the showroom and gulped in as much air as possible, but she still didn't feel any better. In was mid afternoon on an unseasonably hot September day and the heat bounced off the tarmac car park. Amy longed for an ice cold Mojito and wished she was sunbathing in Hyde Park or better still - on a 'round the world' cruise with Derren McKenzie. She wondered which part of the world he was sailing in now. Knowing Derren, he'd be surrounded by a bevy of beautiful women and would take great pleasure in flirting with all of them.

Like the girls, Derren could only work for free for so long. After he'd filmed their videos for Melody Vibe, Same Star and Fly Girls he'd had to take on some full time paid work and had opted for a job choreographing dance routines on a 5 star Caribbean cruise liner. Derren knew he was compromising his artistic integrity by taking on such a gig, but the colossal amount the Cruise liner were prepared to pay him had won out in the end and for the past month, none of the girls, apart from Amy, had heard from him.

Well, Amy assumed none of the other girls had heard from him. Amy still had her doubts about what had exactly gone on between Derren and Molly, but as far as she could tell everything was strictly professional. Although the same couldn't be said for Derren and her...

Derren had tried his best to keep it platonic between them, but playful flirting had turned into smoldering looks, then secret late-night drinks and then the inevitable happened - sex back at his place.

Amy tried to keep cool about it, knowing that nothing would turn off Derren faster than her drooling and fawning all over him - not that that was her style anyway - but inside her heart had done somersaults. Derren McKenzine still couldn't resist her! But even though they'd shared a couple of steamy nights together, Derren had always been uncomfortable with her the next morning and had insisted that they keep their liaisons secret. He said he didn't want the other girls to judge him. Amy couldn't help but wonder if it was Molly he didn't want to judge him, but she kept her thoughts to herself - she didn't want to jeopardise their precarious reunion, which was also tinged with disappointment.

Derren was as gutted as the girls that the videos he'd filmed for them hadn't created more of an online splash. Plus the girls were disheartened that their music wasn't making the waves they'd hoped for. They'd uploaded a 4 song mix-tape to Soundcloud and Sing-Space and put their videos on YouTube, Myspace and a host of other music sharing sites, and although they were getting (mostly) positive comments, progress was slow and Amy realised they'd been naïve to think that online success would happen overnight.

Now here she was doing exactly what she'd always dreaded - looking at hideous fabric swatches and working for her dad. With all her heart she wished she was on a worldwide stadium tour with the girls with Derren proudly watching her from the wings, before they all jetted off in a private plane to their next venue. Who was she kidding? Right now she'd have been grateful for another sell-out at The Granite Rooms and one text from Derren. He hadn't been in touch with her for over a week and so she could only assume he'd found some Cruise liner dolly to hang out with and was thinking 'Amy who?'

As the door burst open behind her, Amy turned to see her dad standing there. He looked peaky and tired - the heat must have gotten to him too.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, scuffing her 'totally impractical for work' platform heels against the pavement. "It was just so hot in there."

"I know, sweetheart," said Maurice, as he put his arm around her. "Why don't we go home and get your mum to make us a nice iced-tea."

"How about something a bit stronger?" said Amy, pushing her luck.

"Fair enough," smiled Maurice, as they walked towards his BMV.

Amy was relieved when the air-con blasted on and she could sink back into the seat as her dad drove them home. She closed her eyes and prayed that he wouldn't give her another lecture about his precious business.

"I know you don't love this job yet," said Maurice.

Amy sighed. Obviously her prayers were not going to be answered.

"Dad, just for once, can we not talk about the business," pleaded Amy.

"But darlin', you have to face facts. How long are you and your friends going to keep this up?"

"It's only been a few months, dad."

"Sweetheart, you've been chasing this dream for years."

Amy sighed and turned to look out of the window.

"I'm not saying you're bad at it," continued Maurice. "But maybe a career in show business just isn't meant to be. Whereas soft furnishings..."

"Dad, I'm no good at anything else."

"That's not true darlin'," said Maurice wearily.

"Can we stop talking about it," sighed Amy.

"Okay, sweetheart," relented Maurice. "But I just want you to be happy."

As they drove through the streets of Surrey, Amy watched office workers scurry home after a long day's work, and couldn't believe that she actually thinking that maybe they had got it right. Maybe that's all there really was to life. Maybe if she finally accepted a 9-5 existence, then maybe she could be happy. Maybe she could even find a nice guy to be with - one who wouldn't keep her dangling like the relentlessly charming Derren McKenzie. The art gallery guy she'd been 'sort of' been seeing before she'd 'sort of' got back together with Derren was still keen on her - maybe she should push all thoughts of Derren aside and finally get together properly with him instead?

Through the muddle of her confused thoughts, Amy looked over at her dad. Despite the air-con, he was still sweating. He looked tired lately and was she imagining it - but was he losing weight? Amy resolved to have a word with her mum, check he was all right.

Knowing it would make him smile, Amy said, "The red polka dots were the best, you know."

Maurice chuckled. "I know. That's why I ordered 'em!"

Amy couldn't let herself and laughed too. It was a small moment of happiness, but it was worth it.