Fanmail by Mia Castle Page B

have been doing the Roman version of Show Me Tomatoes or whatever Double Vision sang about. Instead thought about Dolores being clamped to Freddie’s side as he showed her off at his workplace and chose her the best seat, little realising that she was only interested in getting into the film early. After all, with a concert ban, this was the closest she was ever going to get to Jazzy D again …
    ‘All right, love?’ called the taxi driver when I got in the cab afterwards.
    ‘Not really,’ I said. ‘My life is miserable.’
    He barely even glanced in his mirror. ‘Right, where to?’
    I sighed and gave him the address.
    ‘The science lab? On a Friday evening? Your life really is miserable, isn’t it, love?’ He chuckled heartily to himself while I stared daggers at the back of his flat cap, then eventually he caught my eye in the rear-view mirror and stopped short.
    When we arrived at the edge of the university campus, he pulled in behind a row of cars. ‘Actually looks like there’s some kind of party in there,’ he said as he counted out my change. ‘Maybe life’s looking up.’
    ‘I doubt it,’ I said, then I hauled my school bag and recorder case despondently out of the car and down the grass verge to the main entrance.
    It did sort of look like a party – the most boring one in the world. Seven or eight people were standing around a glass display cabinet holding what appeared to be a mummified body, and two of the more lively chaps were reading bits of ‘Science Today’ to each other at the Reception Desk. I was actually grateful to see Dean.
    ‘Cat!’ he cried, obviously desperate for a distraction himself. ‘You made it!’
    ‘Yep. Where’s Mum?’
    ‘Aggie’s showing her around the place. Come on, I’ll help you find them and then I’d better come back here and entertain the masses.’
    They didn’t seem like they’d appreciate entertainment. ‘You could borrow my recorder,’ I suggested.
    ‘Just more alcohol, I think.’
    Right. So even Dean thought my recorder was dull. I trekked off down the corridor after him, peering in the various doors as we passed. ‘Sorry you’ve missed the full tour,’ he shouted over his shoulder. ‘We’ll catch them up at the Vortexicon, I think.’
    ‘The what?’
    ‘Vortexicon – it’s our latest patent, and what this evening’s about, really. It’s like the Large Hadron Collider only for human molecules rather than atoms, and about a millionth of the size, if that makes any sense.’
    ‘It’s the only thing that’s made sense all week!’ I shouted after his back as he hurried towards the room at the end of the block.
    ‘Here they are!’ Dean threw open the door to reveal Mother Dearest and Aggie poring over a desk together, pointing at a person-sized tube of spinning air in the centre of the room.
    Great. So now Aggie was interested in science, and impressing my mum with her cleverness and familiarity with the Vortexicon.
    Still, I knew what would distract her. ‘Aggie!’ I cried. ‘Wasn’t the other night just weird?’
    She and Mum turned around, and she flashed me a small smile. ‘Weird and a little scary.’ Like you at the moment, I could see she wanted to add. ‘And a shame we didn’t get to meet Jason in the end.’
    She didn’t believe me. She didn’t believe I knew him. And why would she, because it was a lie … But I did have one thing to impress her with.
    ‘I’ve got his collar,’ I said. ‘If you like, I’ll split it with you.’
    Aggie turned pink with pleasure. I still planned to send my quarter to Jason to encourage him to accept I was for real and agree to meet with me and possibly have tea with Mother D and Double D. Now, more than ever, I needed him and Dolores to buddy up.
    ‘Mum,’ I said, ‘you go back with Dean. He needs help getting the guests drunk.’
    ‘That I can do,’ she said with a grin. ‘Although we’re only here for another twenty minutes and then we’re going for dinner at the