Starry Eyed

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

There is no way you can really 'kickstart' a year at high school without somebody hosting a mega party to truly set it off.

This saying rung true even at boarding school, but only because of Star. Mr. Huntley obviously loved her a lot, because even though he was supposed to be the big, tough law-enforcer of the school, he freely gave in to her insane ideas.

Star had suggested to her father that she host a big, 'back-to-school' party in the hall on the first Friday of the term, to make all the students remember that boarding school wasn't just about 'hard work and educational slavery.' In fact, she even visited me in my dorm that night to practise her speech that she was going to tell her father ten minutes afterwards. Well, what can I say? The girl was organised.

Coincidentally, the Ken doll wasn't in the dorm that night until his return at one in the morning. Instead, he was already likely to be doing unmentionable things with some random girl. He'd left just after tea in the dinner hall, telling me he was 'going to see one of the ladies', and I knew he wouldn't be the romance type. He'd just be the I-don't-like-clothes type.

It wouldn't be a challenge for him to sweettalk this girl into it, either. Sure, I hated his guts, but I would have placed a bet on the fact he could charm the pants off a crocodile. Hell, he could probably even charm the pants off Kim.

I was playing Angry Birds on my phone when somebody knocked on my dormitory door, giving me a bit of a fright, to be honest. I thought it could maybe be James, 'cos I'd locked the door, but then I realized he had a card to enter, so it couldn't be him. Maybe it was a teacher to check everyone was alright, and not doing despicable things like the Ken doll was bound to be doing? But it couldn't be a teacher either; they all had master cards.

Unsurely, I clicked my phone off and headed to the door. It swung open to reveal the Level Five writer all done up in her hipster outfit, Star Huntley.

"Gidday, mate," she grinned. "I'm an Australian right now, I just don't have an ensèmblè fit for the outback."

I laughed, because I just couldn't help it. "You're really cool, did you know that?"

"I've been told," smirked Star. "Now get out of the doorway, I'm coming in."

She pushed past me and flopped onto my bed, unfolding a little origami-like piece of paper in her hands. I stared at her in bewilderment, still puzzled as to why she was here.

"I've decided, mate, that I'm gonna fool my old pops into letting me host a bloody epic old party on Friday night," she declared in her 'Australian accent'. I realized in that moment that maybe she was really trying to get at stereotypes with this funny character-changing scheme. After all, she was definitely someone who would stand up for her beliefs- Star had no barriers in life.

"Crikey, mate, isn't that a little far out?" I said, playing along with her. She shrugged.

"Nothing's too far out for my pops, old friend. He'll never stop a sheila like me from doing anything- didn't I tell ya I was just a right Californian scumbag?"

"You ain't no scumbag," I replied, still keeping up the act although there was honesty in my words. "You're fortunate, sure, and you ain't got no barriers holding you back on what ya do, but you ain't no scumbag."

"Crikey, mate, isn't that a little far out?" Mimicked Star in a teasing voice, and I laughed out loud.

"You sound like Steve Irwin."

"R.I.P," she sighed, miming wiping away a tear. "He sure was a good fella if there ever was one."

"Right then, lemme her that old speech of yours."