Stardust and the Daredevil Ponies. Stacy Gregg

soon as the cameras stopped rolling Angelique abruptly stopped smiling. “That’s it, Eugene! I’m outta here.”

      “But, baby, Rupert ain’t even here yet. He wants to meet you. They start shooting tomorrow,” Eugene said.

      “Y’all can wait for him if you want, Eugene. I’ll be in my trailer gettin’ a spray tan!” Angelique snapped. She hopped back in the Hummer, obediently followed by her assistants and bodyguards who slammed the door and promptly floored it.

      “Angelique, cupcake! Wait! We’re coming too!” Eugene cried. He and the paparazzi made a dash for their cars. Clouds of dust and gravel flew up from the road as the Hummer sped off with a line of cars following closely behind.

      “I thought the security guard at the gate was supposed to keep the photographers out,” Issie said to Aidan.

      Aidan shrugged. “I guess Angelique let them in. Maybe she likes the paparazzi following her everywhere. You know, taking her picture for all those magazines.”

      “I still don’t believe we just met Angelique Adams!” Stella said. “She is soooo famous!”

      Natasha sighed. “Yeah, she seemed real thrilled to meet you too, Stella. She couldn’t wait to get away! Didn’t you notice how fast she got out of here?”

      Natasha glanced around. “Not that I blame her for wanting to get away from this place,” she muttered under her breath, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

      Aidan ignored Natasha and picked up her bags. It was clear that he was going to have to carry her luggage since the snooty blonde still refused to do it herself.

      “Grab your bags,” he instructed the others. “I’ll show you to the barracks.”

      “What do you mean ‘barracks’?” Natasha said as she followed along behind him through the white courtyard of the stables. “Surely we all have our own private trailers? Aidan? Aidan!”

      They walked straight through the golden stables and on the other side they found themselves standing in front of a row of makeshift wooden huts.

      “These really were army barracks once,” Aidan explained. “Rupert, the director, bought them cheap and had them moved on to the site to use as accommodation for the crew.”

      Aidan pointed to the left. “That building over there is where the props department and the set builders live. And over there are the sleeping quarters for the Elerian horsemen–that’s where I’m staying.” He pointed to the right. “Those two silver trailers are the costume department and make-up and that white building next to the trailers is the main dining hall where we all meet for meals.”

      “This is your barrack.” Aidan gestured to the building directly in front of them. “Palomino wranglers’ quarters!” he grinned. “Come on inside.”

      The wooden barracks turned out to be much plusher inside than they looked. The lounge was really cosy with lots of colourful beanbags, plump sofas and a wide-screen TV. Beyond the main lounge was a hallway with three doors leading off. Each doorway opened on to a bunk room.

      “The room at the end is Hester’s,” Aidan explained. “That leaves two rooms for you guys to share.”

      Stella stuck her head round the corner of the first bunk room. It had three single beds. “I bagsy this bed!” she cried, flinging herself on the best bunk underneath the window.

      “I’ll go here then!” Kate said, heaving her bags up on to the bed closest to the door.

      That left one more bunk in the room. Issie looked at it. Then she looked over at Natasha. The snooty blonde was milling about out in the hallway, pretending she wasn’t even slightly interested in the sleeping arrangements.

      If Issie took the third bunk, she realised, she would be sharing a room with Stella and Kate, which was great. But that also meant Natasha would be left out, all by herself in the other room. Issie picked up her bag. “Hey, Natasha?” she said. “Do you want to come with me and check out our room?”

      Natasha looked at Issie with grateful eyes. “OK,” she said cheerfully. She grabbed her bags and began to walk ahead of Issie down the hall. Then she turned back and added, “But don’t get any ideas because I’m having the bunk by the window.”

      As Issie unpacked her bags and filled the chest of drawers next to her bunk, Natasha opened the windows for some fresh air and fussed about the state of the bed linen, which was “cheap cotton, not proper Egyptian like at home” and the bunks, which were “like concrete and totally impossible to sleep on”.

      “You didn’t have to come, you know!” Issie snapped, but as soon as she said it, she wished she hadn’t.

      Natasha stopped unpacking. She glared at Issie. “Why did you ask me then?”

      “What do you mean?”

      “Why did you ask me to come? Was it just because you needed another rider?” Natasha sneered. “You must have been desperate. I know you and Stella and Kate don’t actually like me, so it’s not like you asked me because I’m your friend or anything…”

      “Natasha, no, it wasn’t like that…” Issie began, but Natasha cut her off.

      “I know what you all think of me, you know. I’m not stupid. You think I’m stuck up just because I go to a private school.”

      “Well…” Issie began, uncertain what to say to this.

      “I know you say horrible things about me,” Natasha insisted. “Well, not you so much. You aren’t so bad, I suppose, Issie. But Stella is always being mean to me.”

      “But, Natasha!” Issie protested, “you always say mean things to her too! You kind of bring it on yourself, you know.”

      Natasha shrugged at this. “Anyway, you don’t have to share a room with me. I don’t care. Go ahead if you’d rather be with your friends.”

      Issie shook her head. “No. It’s OK, honest. I don’t want to move,” she said. “I like this room. I think it’ll be fun to share together.”

      This seemed to cheer Natasha up a bit and she began to unpack her clothes, laying them carefully into the drawers.

      “I’m glad your mum let you come,” Issie said.

      “Oh, Mummy was desperate for me to come!” Natasha said. “She couldn’t wait to get rid of me.”

      “What do you mean?” Issie was confused.

      “You mean you don’t know?” Natasha looked shocked. “I thought everyone had heard about it.” She began to pull random things out of her bag, throwing her T-shirts violently into the drawer. “My parents have split up. They’re getting a divorce. They’re so busy arguing with each other, they barely notice that I’m in the room.” Natasha’s face was flushed with embarrassment. “I thought that was why you asked me to come. I thought your mum made you ask me because of the divorce.”

      “No,” Issie said. “No, I didn’t know. Mum didn’t make me ask you–I just thought, well, I thought we might have fun.”

      Natasha seemed to perk up a little at this. “You know,” she said as she arranged her hairbrush and lip gloss on the dressing table, “it will be fun! It’ll be like a sleepover.” She was smiling. “I’ve got loads of treats like chocolate fudge in my bag for us to share. We can eat lollies and tell ghost stories and…ohmygod! Argghh!”

      Natasha leapt up on to her bunk squealing with fear as three enormous dogs suddenly bowled into the room; their claws scratched against the wooden floorboards as they ran about panting, sniffing and slobbering.

      “Ewww! Get them away from me!” Natasha howled.

      “Strudel! Taxi! Nanook! Lie down!” Issie ordered. The dogs obeyed immediately and dropped down on the floor, lying perfectly still with their heads on