Megan Cole - Fortune - The Original Snogbuster

‘Yeah, if you’re a loser. Besides, we’re not in America,’ said Madison condescendingly.

Maggie ignored her and turned to the other two. ‘I’ll get you all a fresh pineapple juice.’ Giving Sapphire a wink, she exited the room with the light movement of someone half her age.

At dinner, which was served in a long, elegant room with chandeliers twinkling above, Sapphire got a better look at both girls. From their manicured nails to their perfect eyebrows and salon blow-dried hair, they had an expensive gloss to them. Sapphire felt a bit like a poor relation, something Madison wasted no time in pointing out.

‘So, why is it you say you’re here?’ she said, toying with the delicious lobster ravioli she had barely touched.

‘My mum knows Brad Masters,’ Sapphire said. ‘She kind of told him I was doing my own thing musically and apparently he wanted to meet me.’ Even to her ears, it sounded hollow. Why am I here? she wondered for the umpteenth time.

She turned to the sultry girl on her left. ‘What’s your connection to Brad, Simonetta?’ They’d already heard at great length how well-known Madison was on the New York/LA party scene, and how Brad must have spotted her there.

Simonetta shrugged her tanned shoulders nonchalantly. ‘I am a model. I am beautiful. People recognise me. Brad contacted my agency and invited me out here.’

‘Oh, right,’ said Sapphire. She looked at Simonetta to see if she was winding her up with the being beautiful bit, but quickly realised she wasn’t.

‘ I haven’t seen any of your work, you can’t be that successful,’ Madison said.

Across the table Simonetta’s eyes glittered dangerously, but she didn’t dignify Madison’s comment with a response.

‘And what is it you do?’ said Madison, turning to Sapphire. ‘Clearly nothing in the fashion industry.’

Sapphire ignored the jibe. ‘Actually, I’m a student. I’m doing an art degree.’

Madison looked as if Sapphire had just made her eat a tablespoon of dog shit.

‘And I work too,’ Sapphire continued, with a sudden urge to displease Madison even more. ‘I’ve got a part-time job in a record shop. To help put me through art school.’

‘A record shop ?’ Madison asked, horrified. ‘What, you own it?’

‘No,’ said Sapphire. ‘I work at the till.’

‘Till?’

‘Cash register,’ said Simonetta, in a bored tone.

Madison gasped. ‘O.M.G,’ she said. ‘That’s so not hot.’ She made a show of examining Sapphire’s bitten nails and the Top Shop earrings dangling in her ears. ‘Are your family really poor or what?’

Sapphire was taken aback by the rudeness of the question. ‘It’s just me and Mum so it is hard,’ she said defensively. ‘Well, there was my dad too, but he died when I was young. Before I went to boarding school.’

‘Boarding school,’ mused Madison. ‘That’s private, right?’

‘Er…yes,’ said Sapphire.

‘So how did your mother afford that?’

Sapphire opened and then shut her mouth, realising she had no answer. It had never occurred to her before – how had her mum been able to send her to the best girls’ school in the area when some months in the winter they’d had the electricity cut off?

The door to the dining-room swung open and through it came Tito, the young man who had served their ravioli.

‘Ladies, excuse me to interrupt.’ Tito had big eyes and slightly goofy front teeth, which gave him the look of a startled rabbit. ‘ Signor Masters has just phoned from Monaco. He says he’s sorry he can’t be there, but hopes this will please you in his absence. Please, follow me.’

Even Madison and Simonetta let curiosity get the better of them. As Simonetta unfolded herself elegantly and stood up, Sapphire realised how tall she was. Even without the black stilettos, the dark-haired girl must be six foot. Sapphire felt like a midget in comparison. Sighing loudly, Madison got up and shoved past her. Sapphire watched as the American girl tottered out the room in stupidly high wedge heels. Sapphire looked down at her own New Look thong sandals. She’d break her ankle if she tried to walk in Madison’s shoes. The three followed Tito out on to the veranda, where an inky sky hung over the evening sea. He stood there, gazing intently at the view.

‘Like, it’s the sea at night-time. Whatever,’ complained Madison. ‘You can’t even see that many stars.’

All of a sudden there was a loud whoosh! and the sky was lit up by a huge, screaming rocket. It soared up higher and higher before exploding, a cascade of stars falling on to the waters below. Another went up, and then another, until a circus of light danced before their enraptured faces. On and on it went, the display getting more and more dazzling. It was the most incredible thing Sapphire had ever seen.

Some minutes later, when Sapphire thought her eyes couldn’t take any more, there was one final burst of colour. They all stood silent, watching the final sparkles fade away into the horizon.

Tito turned to them and smiled. ‘ Signor Masters’ way of welcoming you to his home. Pretty good, huh?’

‘It was OK, I guess,’ said Madison, recovering her normal obnoxious manner.

‘It was brilliant, Tito!’ Sapphire told him.

He grinned. ‘ Signor Masters will not be returning until tomorrow night. Until then, he has said you must use Casa Eleganza as if it is your own home.’

They stared over the balcony at the tennis courts, swimming pool and manicured gardens. A helipad stood some way off in the distance, its location marked by a big ‘X’.

‘I suppose it will have to do,’ sniffed Madison.

Sapphire woke up a start. Where was she? The soft silk sheets certainly didn’t feel like the ones on her narrow single bed at home. She opened one eye and realisation hit. She was at Brad Masters’ house in Capri! Instantly awake, she sat up. She picked up her mobile; it read 8:10am. Bright sunlight streamed in through muslin curtains that fluttered in the breeze. Sapphire threw the silk covers aside and got out of bed, bare feet padding on the marble floor. She walked over to the balcony, pulled the curtains aside and stepped out.

It was a stunning day, the sun already high in the cloudless sky. Below her, the grounds of Casa Eleganza stretched out like a kingdom. Sprinklers on the lawns whirred round and round, drenching the lush green grass. Sapphire saw a maid scurry from an outbuilding, her arms full of washing. To her right, the infinity pool glittered enticingly, overlooking the sea. Sapphire had only ever seen such things in the magazines her mum sometimes got.

A surge of excitement coursed through her – she had to get up and explore this beautiful place! Throwing on a vest, shorts and her old Havaiana flip-flops, she brushed her teeth and slipped out.

Downstairs the house was coming alive. Sapphire could hear women’s laughter and the clatter of plates from the kitchen. Turning left, she walked towards the huge front door and, with some difficulty, pulled it open. The view stretched before her like a painting. With a little hop and a skip, Saffron ran down the steps into her own private paradise.

From his bedroom window, the half-naked young man watched the brown-haired girl run off towards the swimming pool. His stomach churned with a mixture of rage and shock, just as it had when he had first laid eyes on the spoiled British girl yesterday. As far as he was concerned, inviting their new house guest was the worst mistake Brad had ever made. Not that he would ever tell Brad that. With a dismissive shake, the boy turned away and started to get dressed.