Main > Series > Chapters > Fame Book 2 > Chapter 19

Most nights of her life since she'd been twelve years old, Doris had made some kind of entry in her diary. Tonight, it was important that she shouldn't miss out.

     Tonight, more than any night.

     She lay on the tufted chenille spread, watched from the other end of the bed by a battalion of aging stuffed animals, the unlocked diary spread on the pillow before her. The blinds were open, but the moon was behind clouds. The only light was the warm pool that was cast by her bedside lamp.

     Dear Diary, she wrote. Today I lost a friend . . .
     No, not just a friend, but a very special person.
     And it's not just my loss, but everyone's.
     Everyone who will never hear his music, or
     see his smile. It's been some kind of week for me,
     diary. For the first time in my life I found a
     guy who could give back to me all that I
     wanted to give to him, and now he's gone. All
     because he wouldn't give some slime his
     guitar. One of the kids said that was a dumb
     thing to do, but it wasn't.

     For a moment she looked out of the window and into the darkness, and then she carried on writing.

     It was a cowboy thing to do . . . and that's
     what my friend was. Good night, diary.

     She closed the book, and placed it on the bedside table. From the stuffed animals she took her Panda, the oldest and most worn of all her playmates. Then she climbed into bed and switched off the light.

     As she lay there she stared at the ceiling, she could feel the cold trickle of a tear as it made its way down her cheek. She didn't move to brush it away.

     Meteor Madness, she whispered.

     And, for one brief moment, the clouds moved from the face of the moon.