"That was a mind-numbingly unproductive day." Jessica Talley frowned at her reflection in the mirror, parting her hair into two tails and then letting it fall messily back over her shoulders. "We spent three hours at that market hunting out the spice Aja wanted for her stupid meal...why do you let your Mum send you on errands, anyhow? Sheesh, it's not like you're a kid these days, Sammi. Why do you let her push you around?"
"I don't let her push me around." Samantha Phillips lounged in the doorway of the bedroom. "She didn't ask me to go - I offered. Okay, I might not be all into this Chinese thing Mum is so fond of, but I do love the food and besides, she and Dad have been pretty supportive of me, considering everything that's gone on over the past year or more. And it was nice to take a time out. The Teenangels are still pulling themselves back to something like normal since Mum took over Starlight Music and signed us onto the label. We've been working so hard...I didn't mind taking a couple of hours off to not think about music."
"That doesn't sound like you." Jesta raised an eyebrow. Her companion shrugged.
"Well, between my music and trips to the spice market, it stops me thinking about this trip to New York looming on the horizon." She admitted, sinking down onto her friend's bed. "My cousin's wedding is all I need after the year we've had - forced company with Sylvie, for a start."
She grimaced.
"Not quite my cup of tea."
Jesta snorted.
"So don't go." She said lazily. "Noone said you had to."
"No, but Mum and Aunt Mary will expect me to, and Annie would be hurt if I didn't." Sammi sighed. "It's not her I'm fighting with, after all. It's not fair to take it out on her, just because her sister has a mouth like the Grand Canyon."
"Well, your call." Jesta shrugged. "For myself, I'm sticking it out over here. Those contacts that Diablo girl gave me so long ago now are exactly what I need to create a name for myself in America, and I intend to do just that. This is something I know I can do and I want it, too. Being a star in Britain isn't enough any more. I want the world."
"You've always wanted the world." Sammi sat down on the end of the bed. "But I'm glad Mum doesn't know you're here, or that I'm spending so much time with you...especially considering her official capacity these days. Amber's told her enough about you, and I don't think she'd approve."
"Your Mum should be damn glad you wound up with me." Jesta said acidly. "Otherwise you might yet be stuck on the bottle."
"We won't go there." Sammi shook her head. "That's past. Let's not bring it back up."
She lounged against the headboard, watching her friend braid her bright coloured hair. "Didn't you have a meeting with Whatson this afternoon?"
"No." Jesta shrugged. "He thinks I do, but I told him where to go. It's not like there's a rush to get this American drive started. I mean, no offence, but you girls have way more to think about than what I'm doing at present, and if you're swanning off to NYC, the Teenangels won't be on my back for a bit. I can do this at my own pace." She grimaced. "Besides, he has some crackbrained idea about me writing a song in Spanish, because apparently it's the latest thing."
She sighed.
"Jewel released a song with Spanish lyrics, it gets out across the world and suddenly everyone's doing it."
"Ohh. So this is why suddenly you've lost all enthusiasm for pumping out a huge hit, huh?" Sammi pursed her lips. "I wondered where that had suddenly come from. Though God knows what that guy is thinking, Jess. How are you going to get away with performing in Spanish? You're about as Spanish as paella made at an east end restaurant."
"Well, that's all you know." Jesta dropped her hairbrush back onto the unit, turning to face her friend. "If you want to know the truth, Sammi, another reason why I pushed Whatson to have me out here like this was because of something I found at Mum's place. My birth certificate."
"I think I'm lost somewhere here." Sammi looked confused.
"My father is Spanish." Jesta's lip curled into a scornful smile. "Or rather, his family is. I never knew the old bitch had kept all that stuff, and she never told me when I was growing up, but from what I managed to gather among her things is that he was a rich guy, too. He sent her some money - god knows why. To keep her mouth shut, probably, about the fact I existed. I think he's some bigshot and I could use having a bigshot for a father round about now. If he's got as much cash as the stuff Mum had lying about suggested...I could make some serious good money on this guy. I just have to find him."
"You're gonna blackmail your own father?" Sammi's eyes widened. Jesta snorted.
"He's not my father." She said dismissively. "You have a father. I don't. I never even met the guy...he's just a name. Why should I feel any kind of loyalty to him, anyway? If he had the bad taste to sleep with my mother, he's asking for trouble. Besides, what did he ever do for me? I never saw any of the money he sent Mum. Probably it all went on drink or drugs anyway. It's about time he made up for that." She shrugged. "And this is too good an opportunity to pass up. If I have a rich Dad, I want some of the profits."
"So if he's Spanish, why America?"
"He's here. His family are Spanish...but Mum had two letters from him postmarked California." Jesta replied. "They weren't real detailed letters - I think there were pages missing. But here seems as good a place to start, and Whatson is keen for me to get to work on a new single, so killing two birds with one financially beneficial stone is always fun."
She pulled a face. "Unfortunately, of course, I had to tell Whatson that my Dad was over here in order to convince him to up sticks and leave the British market alone for a while. I let slip that he was Spanish and he jumped all over it, saying that it was the perfect climate to release some kind of latin single. So here we are. He expects me to produce a song in a language I don't speak, while I'm here to dig out my father and make some cash before I even think about releasing an American song."
"Well, and I thought my life was complicated." Sammi said dryly. "Perhaps being worked to the bone for a while isn't so bad. Do you need any help finding this Dad of yours?"
"You speak Spanish?"
"No."
"Then I doubt you're gonna be much help." Jesta shrugged. "Don't worry, I'll find him. I have his name, after all. How hard can it be?"