The Reluctant Celebrity by Laurie Ellingham

without looking up from his task.
    ‘What
about the copy that you were delivering to the house? Can’t I look at that
one?’ she asked, ignoring the shop owner’s obvious annoyance at her presence
and selecting a Curly Whirly from the colourful display of chocolate
bars stacked by the till.
    Stan
let out a deep sigh. ‘So you want that now do you?’
    ‘Yes
please,’ she responded in the most pleasant voice she could muster. It was only
two days ago that she’d had great difficulty convincing Stan to stop the
deliveries in the first place.
    ‘Sold
that one too,’ he replied, his face twisting into an amused smile. 
    ‘Oh.’
    ‘I
suppose,’ he paused, breathing out another long sigh and wiping his hands on
his long green apron. ‘If you don’t mind looking at a creased copy, I could let
you take a quick look through mine.’    
    ‘Thank
you Stan, that’s very kind of you,’ she replied, gritting her teeth with frustration
as Stan busied himself with the potatoes for a few moments longer, before
stepping back to the counter.
    ‘Here
you go then.’ He reached under the till and handed the paper to Jules.
    ‘Thanks.’    
    ‘I
suppose next you’ll be wanting me to put one aside for you each morning?’ his
tone gruff as he reached for a leather-bound notebook.
    ‘That
would be great, thank you.’ She had no desire to hunt through a trashy tabloid every
day, but after the shock of Guy’s visit and her strange behaviour in the pub, did
she really have a choice? If she wanted to avoid any more surprises then a walk
to Stan’s shop each morning would have to become part of her routine for a few
days at least. 
    ‘You’re
not in it, but your boyfriend is mentioned somewhere in the middle.’
    ‘He’s
not my boyfriend,’ she muttered, trying to keep the edge from her voice as she
rummaged through the pages and found the mention of Guy.
     
    It
took two careful checks from front to back before Jules felt confident Guy had
been wrong.
    Nobody
cared about her and nobody would bother speaking to the paper about her. It had
all been part of his pathetic games after all, she realised; too relieved that
her life could return to normal to feel any more anger at the mess Guy had
already caused.  
    ‘Everything
alright up the house?’ Stan’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
    She
folded the newspaper in her hands and passed it back to Stan. ‘Yes of course,
why wouldn’t it be?’ she quizzed, handing him the money for her chocolate bar.
    ‘Just
wondered if the old tenants minded all the changes going on.’
    ‘Why
would they mind?’ she asked, puzzled by the shop owner’s bizarre question.
    ‘Not
my place to say,’ Stan answered, busying himself with his notebook entries.
    Jules
stared at the top of Stan’s shining head as he bent over the counter, waiting
for him to explain.
    He
said nothing.
    ‘Right,
well bye then,’ Jules said, brushing aside her confusion and continuing her
walk up the road.
     A
sugar hit and a shower and she’d be ready for work, Jules told herself, tearing
open the chocolate bar wrapper and devouring it in three mouthfuls.  
    It
was only when the bleary gaze of her eyes fell onto to the tiny bed, did she
wonder if she could allow herself a quick nap.  
    Before
she had a chance to change her mind, Jules stripped off her clothes and slipped
under the cold covers. Feeling the throbbing of her headache slow down, she
closed her eyes and allowed sleep to take her.   

Eleven
Loughborough University (Five years earlier)
THE DAILY
    SATURDAY,
JULY 02 ND
    FROST HAS MELTED
    Super model
Lola Frost (20) has finally dropped her famous Frost-y glare in favour of a
super smile. Posing at the launch of GiGi sports new swim and
leisurewear, the pouting model couldn’t hide her more saucy side as she joked
with newcomer and the latest face of GiGi , Guy Rawson (22).
    According
to insiders at the launch, held at the exclusive Farnsworth Hotel in Mayfair,
the change in