Best Friends Rock! by Cindy Jefferies Page A

drinking their cola and…how dare he? Ellie glared at him. She felt humiliated. Had she been set up? If so, by whom? She was sure it wasn’t the sort of thing Sophie would do…surely her friend Claire wouldn’t either? And Francesca had arranged the interview in good faith. So it must be something to do with this boy who had suddenly become Connor instead of Joe. But how? And why?
    â€œDoes that mean I can’t have any more potato chips?”
    He was smiling hesitantly at her, but she wasn’t in the mood to be won over. She folded her arms, leaned back in her chair and glared even harder at him. “You’d better explain what you think you’re doing here.”
    He put his hands up, as if in surrender. “I will,” he said. “But wait a minute. How about another drink?”
    Before she could reply he’d leaped out of his chair and poured himself more cola, without spilling it this time. He poured one for her too, and gave it to her before he sat back down.
    â€œOkay. Confession time.” He paused, put his glass on the table and took a deep breath. “Well, I’m at the same high school as Joe. We’ve been friends since for ever. You see, most times when his dad goes on tour, Joe stays home with his mom, but this summer she went back to Denmark, to spend the summer with her family. Her own dad isn’t well, and Joe knew it would be a heavy summer if he went there. It isn’t even as if he knows the Danish relatives, and being stuck in the country didn’t appeal, so his dad said he could go on tour with him.”
    Ellie thought she could see where this was heading, but she asked anyway.
    â€œSo Joe asked if you wanted to go as well?”
    â€œRight. And it was the most fun to begin with. We went to a few gigs, ate lots of food, chilled out. You know the sort of thing.”
    Ellie nodded, although she’d never been on any sort of tour in her life she could imagine it.
    â€œBut now I guess it’s got a bit boring.”
    â€œReally?”
    Connor frowned. “It’s not that I wasn’t pleased to be asked. Joe’s my buddy, and the rest of the kids at school were sooo jealous. But we’ve been jetting all over the place, to some countries I’ve always wanted to visit, but once we were there we were mostly stuck in hotels and didn’t get to see anything, or go anywhere. I want to see stuff! I haven’t even been on the London Eye yet and it’s only over there somewhere!” Connor waved his hand vaguely towards the hotel entrance. “But Joe’s gone all celebrity, even though he isn’t. He’s no fun to be with. He skulks around indoors in his dark glasses as if he’s being hounded by the press. But he’s not.” Connor looked exasperated. “I feel like a minder…one that’s locked up with the person he’s minding.” He paused, and Ellie could see a smile fighting for space on his grumpy face. “It’s stupid,” he said at last, his smile winning.
    â€œWhat about his dad though?” said Ellie. “Doesn’t he want Joe to see something of the places you’re going? It’s a great opportunity, isn’t it?”
    Connor sighed. “Money’s no object,” he said. “But time is. Joe’s dad is busy, and I’m sure he thinks that because Joe has me around, everything is fine. He said we could go where we like as long as we’re together, but Joe won’t go to places I want to, and…” Connor paused. “The other day he gave me the slip, and I didn’t know where he was. His dad would have gone mental if he’d known about that. Joe’s dad never stops working. He doesn’t have time to sort us out. It might not look like it, but he works really hard. Even all this stuff about the divorce.”
    â€œHow is that work?” said Ellie scathingly.
    Connor smiled at her. “It’s all