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And if those wave sin his hair are real. One thing is definitely real — his muscular build. I suppose he’s been working out for this role. After all, he’ll be wearing a bathing suit for a lot of his scenes. I wonder if he has to watch what he eats to keep that lean shape. Probably. Or maybe he’s one of those people who can eat whatever he wants and still not gain weight. Like Justin.
    The head waiter invited us to come around to the patio for cocktails. The piano player had arrived and was playing Broadway show tunes. I’d already asked Dad NOT to ask me to play the piano under any circumstances. And he had agreed. (Thank you, Dr. Fuentes, for helping me to say what I want — and don’t want.)
    Dad introduced me to more people.
    I’ve met a lot of them at other parties, but I never remember their names. And I never know what to talk about, especially when they say things like, “You’ve certainly grown.” Or, “Wow, Hayden. She’s turning into a real beauty.” Here’s the comment I hate the most: “If she were my daughter I’d lock her up until she was eighteen.”
    I wanted to reply: “If you were my father I’d want you locked up until I was eighteen.” But I kept quiet, still playing the part of the Good Daughter.
    At dinner I sat between Felicia and one of the scriptwriters. Zeke was next to Tyler.
    Tyler seemed to be talking — or listening — only to Zeke, who was showing him his Handy.
    Vance and Felicia share the award for yakking the most during dinner. Even Dad couldn’t
    outtalk them.
    Vance was mostly talking about Dad and how great he is. No wonder Dad let him go on so long.
    Felicia talked endlessly about her trip to some fancy Caribbean island, about the famous people she hung out with and the expensive restaurants and trendy bars they all went to.
    “I told Tyler he should have come with us,” Felicia said. She smiled at him. “You could have practiced your surfing for the movie, Ty.”
    Tyler looked up and smiled back at her. “Well, maybe I should have come,” he said.
    Dad looked from Felicia to Tyler. I know he was hoping their smiles were a sign that Tyler and Felicia are — or soon will be — romantically involved. You can’t buy that kind of publicity.
    Felicia suddenly turned to me. “Now tell me about you,” she said. “How’s school?”
    “Okay,” I answered.
    She explained that she’s been tutored since fifth grade and he wondered what it was like to go to a regular school. She asked me a lot of questions.
    When she asked, “What goes on in the hallways?” I had a flash memory of Justin and Nancy
    walking hand in hand. I didn’t include hand-holding in my answer.
    But I did try to answer Felicia’s questions as best I could. She was so interested and was really paying attention to what I said. I wondered if maybe I’d been wrong about her. Maybe she was a real person under that act. Maybe she wished she could lead a more normal life.
    Dad overheard us and told Felicia, and anyone else who would listen, about Vanish and what a fabulous musician I was.
    “How charming,” said Felicia.
    She smiled at everyone at the table and proudly announced, “Hayden’s daughter is telling me about her school. I’m doing research for the film.”
    “That’s our Felicia,” Vance announced. “A true professional.”
    A true phony is more like it.
    Felicia wasn’t interested in me. She was just using me for research.
    The screening will be over soon, so I better go back downstairs.
    11:30 P.M.
    I won’t tell my friends what happened next tonight. But I’m going to write about it. Otherwise I might not believe it happened at all.
    After finishing that last entry in my journal, I left my room to return to the party. As I passed Zeke’s room I heard a voice. But it wasn’t Zeke’s.
    The door was halfway open, so I peeked to see who was in there.
    In the mirror over Zeke’s bureau, I saw a reflection of Tyler standing in the corner of the room.
    “How about