The Fairest Stars

Chapter Thirty: 'Dreamers often lie.'

The phone was ringing. Isis actually jumped at the rare bleeping noise. No one ever rang their home phone anymore; she couldn’t remember the last time she’d answered it.

Picking it up, holding it tightly so it wouldn’t fall apart as it had a habit of doing, Isis answered it.

‘Hello?’

‘Hello.’ An unfamiliar voice greeted her. ‘Could I speak to Isis McKinley, please?’

‘Speaking,’ Isis replied, a little warily. She had absolutely no idea who this person was.

‘Ah hello. My name’s Maria Peters, I’m ringing from Lear College, the theatre college which did a presentation at your school a while ago?’ The voice was friendly, making Isis relax a little.

She remembered back to the lecture they’d had from the college. She’d been looking at Kael for the majority of it, she seemed to remember. However, she could remember what it was about: a scholarship. The college had said that they would be watching the performance of Romeo and Juliet to sleet someone for a full scholarship. She’d completely forgotten. ‘I remember, yes.’

‘Well, I’m delighted to tell you that, after a lot of deliberation, the college have decided to award you the scholarship.’

Isis froze with shock, unable to think straight. ‘You… me… what?!’

The lady on the other end laughed. ‘We were just ringing to let you know, and hope to hear from you soon. If you’d like to accept, of course.’

‘Of course!’ Isis said. The college wasn’t too far away, meaning that she could get back for visits to her family, and, now that her mum was so much better, she thought that she could cope if Isis left: she’d even gone out to do the weekly shop rather than Seb yesterday, which Isis thought was a huge step in the right direction.

As the woman bid her farewell, saying she’d speak to her soon, Isis put the phone down and promptly sat down. The shock was still reeling through her; she felt rather dizzy with it all. She could go to university. She could go, after all. She wouldn’t have to pay a penny.

She couldn’t wait to tell Kael. Kael. Oh crap! Looking at the clock, Isis yelped. Kael was coming to pick her up for the after show meal  at quarter past six, and it was now five minutes past six. She wasn’t changed!

Running into her room, pulling on her prettiest dress, she dragged a brush through her hair, applying a little mascara, just because it was a special occasion, and rifled through her possession to attempt to find a cardigan that had gone astray.

When Kael arrived, she was breathless, having just run down all the flights of stairs in a daredevil way which, if she was any less nimble, would have resulted in breaking her neck.

She’d only just had time to break the news to her family about the scholarship, been briefly congratulated, and then had to run, not wanting to make Kael late.

He looked at her with a laugh as she got in, her breathing rate erratic and her face flushed. ‘In a rush today?’ he inquired.