Stepsisters

Chapter Seven

"You're home, Ella?" her mom asked when Ella walked through the door.

"Yeah," Ella said. "It turns out that Jenny was going to her grandparents early tomorrow morning, and wanted to get some sleep."

"Well, at least you and her got to hang out for a while before she left, right?" her mom said.

"Yeah," Ella said. "That's right."

Chloe came down the stairs. She had the copy of Seventeen with her in the cover in her hands. "I was just looking for you," she said to Ella.

"Me?" Ella asked, surprised that Chloe was actually talking to her. 

"Obviously," Chloe said. "Seventeen wants to do an article on me and you over Skype tonight."

"How did they know I was--"

"Channel 13 News has a Twitter that they follow," Chloe said. "Be in my room at nine PM."

"Wait, but--" Ella started, but Chloe walked away. She had a million questions for Chloe. What was she supposed to wear? What was she supposed to talk about? Was she still supposed to go along with the lie that they were best friends?

Ella went up to her room. It was almost eight. She wondered about whether she should do the interview or not. The only reason she did the Channel 13 News report was because she wanted them to leave. She didn't want anyone to know that she was stepsisters with Chloe. She didn't want the publicity. She didn't want to introduce snobby Chloe to anyone she knew. Except Hannah. Chloe would like Hannah. But then again, it would give Hannah another reason to act like she's better than everyone else.

Ella sighed. Everything was happening too quickly. Three days ago, she didn't have a mean celebrity stepsister. She also was still friends with Jenny.

Ella set an alarm on her phone for nine o'clock, and until then, she took a nap. She was exhausted from the day's events. She had interviewed with Channel 13 News, went to Jenny's house, and now she was about to Skype with Seventeen.

At nine, Ella's phone rang, and she rushed into Chloe's room. Chloe had her laptop set up on her desk, opened to Skype, waiting for Seventeen to call her.

"What's wrong with your face?" Chloe asked while she examined her nails. They were long, sharp at the ends, and dark red.

"What do you mean?" Ella asked.

"You look like you just woke up," Chloe said.

I did, Ella thought. But she didn't want to admit that. Instead, she said, "I'm just...tired."

"It's called makeup," Chloe rolled her eyes. "Ever heard of it?"

"Yeah," Ella said. But it all washed off when I was crying.

"Well, you know, you're kinda famous now, so you might wanna start using it," Chloe said.

Chloe's laptop started flashing and ringing. She was getting a Skype call from Seventeen.

Chloe clicked the answer button. "Hi!" she smiled.

"Hi, Chloe!" the girl on the other end said. "How are you?"

"I'm great," Chloe said. "How about you?"

"Same here!" the girl said. She was very chirpy. Probably because she was Skyping with Chloe Haywood. "So, Chloe, today we--Seventeen--would like to talk to you about your new stepfamily. We had to asked you to bring your new stepsister along. Is this her?"

"Yes," Chloe said, nodding. "This is Ella."

"Hi, Ella," the girl said. "Now that I know both of you, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Rachel, and I'm an intern at Seventeen. Let's talk about your new stepfamily, Chloe. How do you like them?"

Chloe flipped her hair while Rachel pulled out a notebook. "My new stepfamily consists of Ella and her mom, Meredith. They are both so wonderful! Meredith is so sweet and she has the best cooking. And Ella is my new best friend!"

Lie, lie, lie, Ella thought to herself. You didn't even try my mom's cooking. And we are so not best friends. You told me yourself--in the media, we're best friends, but in real life, I'm not supposed to talk to you. This is all fake. All of it!

The rest of the interview went by quickly. The girls were asked to list some of their favorite things, like their favorite colors and songs. Chloe was asked who she was dating (Ashton Richards, a famous teen singer) and when her tour starts (July).

After the interview ended, Ella left Chloe's room almost immediately. She had already seen Hannah today, and she wasn't able to stand more mean girl drama.

Ella was tired, but it took her a while to fall asleep, because her mind was buzzing with thoughts in all different directions. I just got into a huge fight with Jenny, and I was just trying to help her. She totally misunderstood me. Now she likes Hannah more than me. Hannah! Of all people. At the same time, Ella was thinking, I can't believe I just interviewed with Seventeen! This is amazing.

Eventually, Ella did fall asleep. It was probably because she realized that she needed to stop thinking, because she needed to be rested in order to face another tiring day.