Ellieâs phone bleeped. It was her mum. Are you okay? Are you coming back for dinner? Donât be too late, will you?
âI think Iâm going to have to go home,â she told the boys.
âBut what about the other interview?â said Joe. âThe one I let you down over.â
âI didnât think you wanted to do that one,â said Ellie in surprise.
âWellâ¦â Joe scratched his head. âI donât want to talk in depth about how I feel about being Rocky Steelâs son. Iâm sure you can understand why. But could you do a sort of day in the life of Joe Steel? Would that be any use? Dad would love it if you came to a gig, so youâd be doing me a favour too. You could write about being backstage, and living in hotelsâ¦that sort of thing. What dâyou think?â
âIâd have to run it past my Editor,â mused Ellie, âbut it sounds great to me, and Iâd love to go to a gig. It would be fantastic!â
âRight then!â said Joe. âLetâs set it up. Iâll speak to Dad. You talk to your Editor and weâll see what we can do.â A slow smile crept over his face. âAnd Iâm sure Connor wouldnât mind coming to another gig if youâre going to be there.â
Connor blushed, and thumped Joe on his arm, but the boys were both smiling. Ellie liked Joe much more than she thought she would. And he was right. It would be especially good to be at the gig with Connor.
Straight away on Monday morning, before the Steel Vortex gig, Ellie told Francesca the truth about her abortive Joe Steel interview, and of her new ideaâ¦a combined concert and interview article. Ellie was careful not to mention anything about Joeâs problems with his father, or his very secret ambition.
âWell those two boys certainly gave you the runaround,â said Francesca with a laugh. âBut you seem to have come out of it rather well. A backstage article, with the boys, a description of the gig youâre going to tonight, and a bit about Rocky Steel himself! That all sounds pretty good to me. Well done! Do the article straight away on Tuesday, while itâs still all fresh in your mind. Iâm sure Angel will go for it.â
Steel Vortex were playing three gigs in London, and Rocky sent a car to pick Ellie up for the concert that Monday evening. Connor and Joe were there to greet her, and they took her backstage so she could interview both Rocky and Joe. Rocky was really nice to her, but she definitely got the feeling that it wouldnât be much fun to get on the wrong side of him.
âSo is it a thrill, having such a cool father?â she asked Joe. She was certain Joeâs father would approve of the question.
Joe smiled blandly. âOh yes,â he said, and she was almost sure that he was trying not to laugh. âIt sure is!â
Heavy metal wasnât really Ellieâs favourite sort of music, and there were lots of people of her mumâs age in the audience, but none of that mattered. Live concerts were always exciting, and Steel Vortex certainly knew how to ramp up the atmosphere. Joe told her lots of technical details, and snippets of insider gossip about the band, which Ellie knew would make a great article. And Connor was there, which made the whole evening even more wonderful.
The next few days flew by. Connor met Ellie after work each day and they hung out together. Connor got his wish to go on the London Eye, as well as several other places. Sometimes Joe was with him and they all had fun together, but he was often busy having singing lessons with a teacher Mr. Edwards had recommended.
âDad has said I can do an audition for Rockley Park,â Joe told Ellie. âSo Iâm going to have as many lessons as I can.â
âWas it difficult persuading him?â said Ellie.
Joe looked really happy. âHe didnât like the thought of me going to school in
Scott-Vincent Borba
Robert Swindells
Michael Pearce
Alexandrea Weis
Ty Roth
Karen Harper
Laura London
Nancy Atherton
Sheryl A. Keen
KD Jones