Fame by Helen Chapman Page B

before we dry your hair, let’s have a look at those fingernails,’ said Meg. ‘Ooh, Kate, look! They’re in a such a mess. We can’t let you boys out of here with nails like this. You just sit here and let us make your nails look amazing!’
    â€˜Err, no, it’s all right thanks …’ started Aaron. It was no good. Meg and Kate wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. They were already sitting next to the boys, filing and trimming their nails.
    Zeke was really grumpy and moaned to Aaron, ‘Oh man, this is like being a girl! I am so glad no-one can see us like this.’
    â€˜Too right,’ said Aaron. ‘But my hands do feel nice and soft now.’
    â€˜Loser!’ grumbled Zeke. ‘Erm, we still have to go and practise before the audition. Have you nearly finished?’
    â€˜Yes, just the make-up and hair drying to go!’ said Kate. She and Meg rubbed cream on to their faces and used a brush to dab powder on to their cheeks. Both boys were trying not to jump out of their chairs and run back to school. Their faces felt thick with heavy make-up and they looked bright orange.
    â€˜Are you sure this is what people wear on TV?’ said Aaron. ‘I look like a freak!’
    â€˜Oh, yes,’ said Meg. ‘The TV lights are very bright. You have to have lots of colour and powder on your face or you’ll look too pale or too shiny. We’ll just dry your hair and then you’ll be ready for your audition.’
    â€˜I guess they know what they’re doing …’ said Aaron to Zeke as Kate and Meg pulled the towels off their heads.
    Both girls gave a scream. ‘Oh no!’ they cried out.
    â€˜This is so bad,’ Kate said.
    Aaron turned his head and looked at Zeke. Zeke turned his head and looked at Aaron. A look of horror spread across their faces.
    â€˜Our hair is pink!’ cried out Zeke.
    â€˜Wash it out,’ said Aaron. ‘Now.’
    â€˜Err … we can’t wash it out,’ said Meg. ‘That’s pink dye. There must have been a mix-up. Someone must have put bright pink dye in the wrong bottle.’
    Kate held up the bottle. It had ‘Shampoo’ written on the label.
    â€˜I’m so sorry. I thought we were using shampoo, not dye. But after a blow dry it won’t look as bad.’
    Kate was right. It didn’t look as bad but it still looked terrible. The two boys looked like clowns wearing pink wigs.
    â€˜We can fix it,’ said Meg. ‘We can put a dark dye on your hair to cover the pink, but it would take few hours.’
    â€˜But we have to get back to school in time for the audition,’ grumbled Aaron. ‘There’s no time to fix this now. Thanks for nothing.’
    They stormed out of the classroom.
    â€˜We look so stupid,’ said Zeke.
    â€˜I know,’ said Aaron. ‘But the cycle helmets will hide most of our hair.’
    â€˜But what about when we get back to school and have to take the helmets off?’ said Zeke.
    â€˜Maybe we can say pink hair is part of our act,’ said Aaron.
    Once they were outside they put on the cycle helmets. Aaron looked up the road. Zeke looked down the road. They both looked across the road. There was one white van, but the bikes had gone.
    â€˜What do we do? Call the police?” said Zeke.
    â€˜No. We’re running out of time,’ said Aaron.
    â€˜I know,’ said Zeke, looking at his watch. ‘The auditions start in thirty minutes.’
    â€˜The bus isn’t due for an hour,’ said Aaron, ‘so that’s out.’
    â€˜We could get a taxi,’ Zeke suggested.
    Aaron shook his head. ‘I haven’t got any money.’
    â€˜I haven’t got any money either,’ said Zeke.
    â€˜It’s no good, we’re just going to have to run back to school,’ said Aaron.
    â€˜If we run fast we will just make the audition in time,’ said Zeke. ‘Let’s