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feelings when I sing?
    That was one unpleasant band practice.
    And Dad’s big part is tomorrow night. Argh!
    I thought I was going to have fun this spring.
    Friday 4/30
    6:00 P.M.
    Saw Justin and Nancy walking hand in hand in the hall today. Forced myself to smile as I passed them.
    This would have been easier if Justin had told me about Nancy before I saw them kissing.
    I think.
    Have to get ready for the party. Raoul, Mom’s hairdresser/makeup person, is here. Mom says he’s going to do my hair and makeup too. I hate this.
    7:00 P.M.
    Ducky just called. He pretended he was a French waiter who was working at the party and had lost the address. “So I’ll be right over, zen, Meez Blume,” he said with a fake French accent.
    There’s my phone again.
    It was Sunny. She called to tell me to have fun tonight.
    Asked me how my dress looked. I told her I didn’t have it on yet.
    “Well, put down the phone and put on the dress,” she said. “I’ll wait.”
    After I slipped the dress over my head I shouted toward the phone, “It’s on. I’m putting on the shoes.”
    I picked up the phone and told her I was ready.
    “How do you look?” Sunny asked.
    “Okay.” I checked myself out in the mirror. I looked good. How could I have thought I was fat back when I was a whole size smaller?
    “Just okay? Okay isn’t good enough.”
    “The dress is per-fect,” I told her.
    “Have fun tonight, Mags” she said. “You’re so cool around all these big-deal people. I admire that.”
    I told her it was only because I know they aren’t big deals.
    “That’s the other thing I admire about that.”
    That was really sweet. And I knew she meant it.
    I’m so lucky to have great friends.
    Just heard a limo pull up to the house. Time to make my appearance in the role of Hayden Blume’s lovely daughter.
    9:30 P.M.
    What a boring party! And it’s not over yet. Dad has taken everyone into the screening room to see scenes from movies that inspired him to produce Love Conquers All . I snuck up here to write in my journal. I want to remember what’s happened so far, so I can tell my friends tomorrow.
    They’ll want to hear every last detail.
    The scriptwriter arrived first. Next the costume designer and her assistant. Then the director, Vance Vandersby, and his wife.
    Vance is totally obnoxious. I noticed tonight that he pretends he’s interested in you, but he’s really looking past you to see who he should talk to next.
    Dad calls that “working the room.”
    I called it “bad manners.”
    Vance was asking me about school, as if he cared, when someone called out, “Here they come.”
    Conversations stopped midsentence and everyone headed toward the front door. A white stretch limo was pulling up.
    My dad jumped outside and opened the back door of the limo.
    Felicia Hope stepped out. She was wearing a slinky, short hot-pink dress.
    “Hayden, thanks so much,” she gushed as she planted a kiss on dad’s cheek.
    Next came Tyler. He had on black linen pants and a short-sleeved shirt with a black-and-gray checked print.
    Dad and Tyler shook hands.
    Dad looked around at the rest of us once they’d come inside. “You know everyone here,” he said to Felicia and Tyler, “except my family.”
    Mom came forward. She seemed pretty sober. She kissed Felicia on the cheek and shook hand with Tyler.
    Zeke was beside Dad now. Dad signaled me to join them. He put an arm around each of us.
    “My daughter, Maggie,” said Dad. “A musician, I might add.”
    Why doe he do that!?
    “And my son, Zeke. He’s been looking forward to talking to you, Tyler, about your work in Protect and Serve .”
    Felicia gave me her big phony smile and said hi. I mumbled, “Nice to meet you.” Felicia is only seventeen, but she looks and acts a lot older. She had on loads of makeup, spike heels, and a
    “look at me” attitude.
    Tyler said hi. He’s fifteen and is really (I have to admit it) a good-looking guy. If green is the true color of hi eyes.