Being Hartley Read Online Free PDF Page B

of lights on Sunset Boulevard. Back then, she went largely undetected, especially if she wore a baseball cap, and I was free to enjoy the views, the palm fronds bobbing high above us, the unfamiliar billboards, everyone busily coming and going. Sure, there were a few paparazzi who knew her regular plates, but not too many. But now…every time we have to slow down for traffic or stop at a red light, people honk, people stare in the windows, people wave. At one point, we pull up next to a yellow school bus, one kid spots us, and then the whole bus begins rocking as the kids jump up and down in excitement at seeing Rory going about her everyday business.
    "Am I supposed to wave?" I ask Rory.
    She shrugs. "If you want."
    I give a small, half-hearted wave at the kids , and they go absolutely crazy. "Hmmm, maybe that's not such a good idea," I tell her as one kid in particular waves her arms around, tries to get closer to the window, and accidentally slams another kid's face into the glass.
    "I know you guys don't travel together and everything, but you really don't ever get this with your mom?" Rory sounds confused.
    "You know how she operates." I shrug. "Mom and Dad tag-team it—one of them works and the other one sticks with me. If we do have to travel together, I stick with Beth, my tutor. And believe me, no one's the slightest bit interested in Thea Wallis and Beth Gibbs, her tutor."
    "Well, I am," Rory says as we pull away from the school bus and leave the kids behind.
    "Thanks," I say flatly.
    "What's up?" She frowns, concentrating on the road.
    "Oh, the usual. Can't go anywhere by myself, can't do anything for myself. If Mom had her way, I'd still be collecting Barbies and getting pushed around in a stroller."
    "Ah, that," Rory answers me, her voice sympathetic. "Maybe now that Allie's better we could start hassling them about sending you to her school again?"
    "Maybe." The truth is, however, I can't see my mom changing her mind. Still, I let it go. I don't really like complaining about my mom issues in front of Rory and Allie, who don't have a mom. Well, not one that's around, anyway. Rory and Allie's mom, Margaret, left when Allie was two. They still see her now and then, but she remarried and they bought the whitest penthouse you've ever seen. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of room in her new life for Rory and Allie, though I bet she likes to brag about Rory plenty. Every so often, when Mom forgets I'm in the room, she'll say something nasty about Margaret that I'm not supposed to hear. I get the feeling my grandmother might have hand-picked Margaret (the daughter of a senator) for Uncle Erik. And Uncle Erik did what he was told. Which is probably why Uncle Erik sees more of my mom now than my grandmother. I guess they have a lot in common.
    I shake my head slightly. "Anyway…" I reach forward and turn the radio down. "We're supposed to be talking about you . So, spill already."
    "About?"
    "Please."
    Rory shrugs. "What am I supposed to say? Ugh…I don't know. I'm just over it, that's all. There're changes going on at SMD , okay? Big changes I don't really agree with."
    "Oh?" I say, hoping she'll continue and tell me more. "Like?"
    She pauses then seems to brush my question away. "Oh, I don't know. Lots of things. And I can't wait to get going on this Vegas bus trip tomorrow. Cooped up for three days with Sonja, her gutless assistant Melinda, and Mara. That's my idea of a good time." She couldn't sound more sarcastic if she tried.
    "Hang on," I say. "Sonja's the new producer, right? The crazy one?" Last season, the SMD ratings had started to dip, and a new producer had been brought in. Sonja was that producer, and from what it sounded like, she was going to make this show successful again if it was the last thing she ever did.
    "Crazy's the word," Rory agrees. "As in, crazy about making SMD the highest-rated show every single week forevermore. Talk about driven. And speaking of driven, she's making us drive to