Chapter one - Leah Langden

"Have you seen the ad for that new movie on Disney Channel?"

"That guy from Summerland is in it"

"God he's hot"

"Yeah, but we won't get the movie over here for ages. We're always last to get things like that"

Leah Langden glanced sideways at the two girls chatting beside their lockers. They were completely oblivious to Leah, who observed them quietly from her place on the other side of the lab door.

She struggled through the group of students milling around the entrance to the lab, waiting for the teacher to unlock it and let them in. She positioned herself at the back of the group, so Amy wouldn't miss her when she arrived, and they could get seats together.

"It's all anyone's talking about" Amy grumbled as she arrived, "High School musical. What the hell is it anyway? Is it actually a musical?"

Leah shrugged. "I think so. My aunt Rose rang me up and told me a bit about it. She's tutoring some of the cast for the singing"

Amy rearranged her hair carefully.

"Speaking of singing, how're the lessons going?"

Leah smiled. "I'm not taking lessons Amy"

"Come on! You've got a great voice!"

"No"

Silence followed, and then there was a rush as the doors were opened and students filed in, taking folders out of bags and chatting. Amy and Leah followed suit, until she was pulled back by Mr Anderson.

"Hair up Leah, you know the lab rules"

"Oh - right" She quickly pulled her dark hair into a ponytail and sat next to Amy at the back.

As the final bell sounded, chairs scraped back as the students got up, and formed a scrum at the back of the class as girls struggled to escape the school for another day. Leah and Amy hung back, pulling their school blazers on and packing their bags.

Amy watched Leah puller her blazer straight. Amy was slightly taller than Leah, though not really the way she argued about it. Leah's dark hair was the opposite of Amy's, and the envy of the entire school. The way it just happened to look good no matter how she wore it.

"So back to my house then?" she asked, as they made their way towards the lockers.

Leah rummaged around in her pockets, struggling to find the tiny key that opened her locker. "I can't, Mum's got a thing on, and she needs me to help"

Amy smirked. "Another makeup demo?"

"Yep" Leah sighed. "Another one"

Her blonde friend laughed. Leah looked sideways at Amy. "Why do you always laugh?"

Amy turned to her friend. "It's just funny that your mum sells makeup for a job, and you don't really wear any - not that you need it" she grumbled, cursing her friend's perfect skin and wishing she had the same good fortune.

Leah smiled. "I guess it's a bit screwed up. Oh well. Mum enjoys her little parties"

"Yeah, and the rest of the school's going to enjoy finding out your aunt is tutoring the next orlando"

"He is pretty hot though" Leah admitted, slamming her locker shut and attaching the padlock. "Have you seen the ad?"

"Yes" Amy replied. "Personally I think he looks like a girl, but it doesn't seem like anyone else shares my point of view"

Leah doubled over with laughter as they left the crowded corridors and emerged out into the bright sunlight.

"Oh my god!" a voice said in their ears. Both girls felt arms draped over their shoulders. "Are you excited about that new movie or what?"

"Depends" Amy retorted, as their other friend Bronwyn came into view.

"On what?" she asked.

"If I want to be a loser"

"Come on Ame. That guy…Zac Efron! He's the next big thing. Super sexy and everything"

"Don't you start as well" Amy sighed, as they began walking down to the train station along with a mass of other students.

Bronwyn raised her eyebrows. "Something you're not telling me?" she questioned.

Leah looked around at the students around them, all talking about the same thing. "Aunt Rose is tutoring the cast for the singing stuff" she said quietly. "But shhhh. I don't want every girl accosting me"

Bronwyn's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"Really? Oh my god! You could get introduced to Zac Efron!"

"Rose lives in America remember? Apparently they're in someplace called Utah, wherever that is"

"One of the states"

"Duh"

"Come on. You're the one that does geography. Make up a song to it, like you did for the periodic table in science"

"That was one catchy song...Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium…" Leah sang, as they headed down the grassy slope towards the trains.

"Shut up"

"Mum, I'm home!" Leah yelled into the empty hallway as she entered the house. Her mum bustled into view, wearing an apron and carrying multiple trays of makeup in her arms. Leah dumped the stack of junk mail from the letterbox on the top of everything, and smiled at her mother.

"Give me a break Leah. I'm flat out getting things ready. And take your uniform off and hang it up straight away! I didn't pay all that money for it to be crumpled on the floor!" Her voice was lost as Leah dragged her bag down the hallway and promptly undid the buttons on her skirt and dropped it to the ground, hurrying to her drawers and pulling some jeans on before the boy next door could look out his window and see her in her knickers.

Emerging at last into the kitchen, she noticed the phone on the bench was off the hook.

"Mum!" She yelled into the living room. "The phones -"

"Answer it!" came the reply. "I answered it and then had to run because the makeup was melting in the sun"

Shaking her head, Leah picked up the phone and headed to the fridge.

"Hello?" She asked, balancing the phone on her shoulder while she pushed the jars apart.

"Oh Hi" Leah held the phone to her ear as a rich American voice spoke back to her. "I'm calling for Rose Langden"

"Oh" Leah said, surprised. "You've got the wrong number. This is her niece Leah. She's in America for work"

The voice sounded slightly amused. "I know she's in America, I'm working with her. Where am I calling?"

"Wellington, New Zealand" Leah answered. "I hope you're not calling from some far away country. That'd be one hell of a phone bill"

Chuckles vibrated down the line. "Can you give me her cell number? I don't really want to call New Zealand every time I need to speak to her"

"Sure, Can I ask who's calling?" Leah grabbed the pen and paper by the phone. "Have to make sure you're no pedo-freak after my aunt you know. She's pretty sought after."

"I can assure you that's not why I want her" The voice told her, a hint of humour in the voice. "And it's Zac. Zac Efron"

Leah choked on a piece of apple.

"Um, right" she flustered. "Its 0212345865" You might have to put some numbers at the start or something you know, it's her New Zealand phone"

"Right. Thanks for that" Zac said.

"No problem" Leah replied, her heart dropping. As soon as she hung up, she dialled again.

"And then I practically accused him of being a pedo-freak and rounded the whole thing off by telling him to put the prefix at the start of the number because it was her New Zealand phone!" Leah despaired.

Amy laughed down the line. "Oh man, you idiot. I bet he's going to see your aunt and be like 'your niece...'"

"Don't remind me" Leah groaned from her bed. "She'll probably ring up tomorrow or something and accuse me of scaring her clients away"

"Ah get over it. At least you can say you've spoken to a famous person on the phone"

"Goodnight Amy" Leah said firmly, and then slumped down on her bed.

Okay, so that's chapter one down. Review and tell me how it is. The next chapters will be longer, I've already decided. :)