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serious.
    Jess turned and walked through the house. After a moment, Andie followed her.
    Through one of the huge windows, Andie saw a man cleaning the already-clean pool outside. As they passed the kitchen, she saw a woman pottering near the sink. Didn’t anyone do anything for themselves in LA?
    Jess pushed open another set of doors to some kind of lounge. Andie tried not to gawk at the walls. They were filled with pictures of Jess – magazine covers, studio shots, even glamour shots, like the ones Andie had seen on offer at the local shopping centre. What kind of person decorates her house with pictures of herself? she wondered.
    The furniture was white and low, and to one side was a huge, hanging egg-shaped chair, filled with yellow and white cushions.
    Jess climbed into the chair. Andie sat on one of the lounges.
    ‘So. Twenty questions,’ said Jess, spinning the chair until she was a blur of red hair and white and yellow cushions. ‘You ask me first.’
    Just then the woman from the kitchen came in with a tray of drinks.
    ‘Darling!’ squealed Jess at the maid. ‘How did you know we were thirsty?’
    The woman smiled indulgently at Jess as she left the room, empty tray in hand.
    Jess stopped the chair spinning. ‘Come on, ask me,’ she com-manded from her egg-shaped throne.
    Andie paused. ‘Um, okay. How old are you?’
    ‘Eighteen.’
    ‘Full name – including middle name?’
    ‘Real or stage?’
    ‘Both.’
    ‘Real – Jessica Anne Stockowitz. Stage name is Jess Douglas.’
    Andie thought. ‘How famous are you?’
    ‘Very, although obviously not in Australia,’ Jess answered. ‘I’m gonna get my manager onto that, asap.’
    Andie laughed, but then she saw Jess was serious. She stopped.
    ‘Erm, I don’t know what else,’ Andie said. ‘I don’t know you well enough to know what to ask.’
    Andie looked around at the pictures of Jess. She averted her eyes quickly from the giant semi-nude photo over the fireplace. Jess’s ample breasts were artfully covered by a Chinese fan, and she was draped in cloth. What on earth could they have in common?
    ‘Come on,’ Jess wheedled. ‘You’re a crappy interviewer.’
    Andie frowned. ‘God, let me think. How about … how long have you been an actor?’
    ‘Since I was nine months old.’
    ‘Wow. So, it’s what you want to be doing?’
    Jess looked at Andie, confused. ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘I mean, does it make you happy?’ Andie asked, reaching forward and taking a sip of her drink. ‘Mmm, this is nice.’
    ‘It’s just Diet Coke, but with spherical ice cubes and a slice of lemon. That’s what makes it,’ said Jess.
    Diet Coke had been a banned substance back home. Maybe if her mum had tasted it with spherical ice cubes and a slice of lemon, she wouldn’t have been so against it, thought Andie.
    ‘Of course it’s what I want to do,’ said Jess, returning to the questions. ‘Look at what I have.’
    It wasn’t really an answer to the question, but Andie let it go. ‘Where are your parents?’ she asked instead.
    ‘I don’t have any parents,’ said Jess with a shrug.
    Andie’s eyes widened. ‘You’re an orphan?’
    ‘Not exactly, but pretty much. I legally divorced my parents when I was fourteen. Kicked them out of my life. Goddamned vampires.’
    Jess’s face was hard and Andie tried to think of the word to describe the look. Resolute? Defiant? She couldn’t decide.
    ‘Do you miss them?’ Andie asked next, thinking of her mother and feeling the pain flooding back.
    ‘No,’ said Jess with a toss of red curls. ‘But I do miss the six million they stole from me.’
    ‘Oh, god!’ said Andie, not quite sure if she believed her.
    ‘Yeah, well. God didn’t help me. They were all god-fearing but happily siphoned money from me like I was a freaking bank.’
    Andie sipped her Diet Coke again. She sensed that the topic was closed. ‘Do you have a boyfriend?’
    ‘Not at the moment,’ said Jess, and Andie saw a shadow of