Annabel's Starring Role (3 page)

So while the other girls went through the routine just about OK, with worried faces, and little rushes to catch up when they finally remembered what the next bit was, Annabel and Saima put on a real performance. Crisp turns, perfectly finished steps, and a general impression that although of course they were enjoying themselves, this was so easy it came as naturally as walking.

It worked. Ms Loftus smiled delightedly at them as they came offstage, and made furious notes on her pad. She wasn't the only one to have noticed. Amy was hissing nastily to her little cronies Cara and Emily: “Did you
see
them showing off like that? They're just so desperate, it's really sad.”

Annabel and Saima exchanged grins as they sat down, and Annabel raised her eyebrows at Amy – as though she couldn't even be bothered to comment. It was easy to tell when Amy was rattled; that was when she started to be really nasty. And now there was a definite undertone of panic in her voice. Interesting that
she
hadn't volunteered to dance yet, thought Annabel. Hmmm. Maybe dancing wasn't Amy's strong point.

Suddenly Saima nudged Annabel. “Look,” she muttered out of the side of her mouth. “Over there. Josh Matthews. He's smiling at you.”

It was true. Annabel had been so excited about getting to audition after all that she hadn't even noticed Josh, but there he was, sitting with a group of Year Eights, including his girlfriend Julianne. Annabel sighed. Normally she was very happy with her appearance, but blonde hair and blue eyes weren't very, well,
exciting
,
she decided sadly, envying Julianne's dark-red hair and green eyes. She smiled shyly back at Josh, and watched with interest as he volunteered to be in the next dance group, dragging Julianne and his mates up there with him.

It was cheering to know that even if Julianne was striking, she was a useless dancer. She was about two steps behind all the way through, and she looked terrified. Josh, on the other hand, was really good.
Huh
,
thought Annabel.
Gorgeous, funny, and a brilliant dancer. And taken. Not fair
.

Josh smiled at her again as he went to sit down. He was walking behind Julianne, and as he passed Annabel and Saima he rolled his eyes in her direction. Clearly he thought she was a useless dancer as well. Maybe Josh wasn't as taken as all that? Annabel mused. And then she mentally told herself off. Nicking other people's boyfriends was not something she wanted to get known for. But there was no harm in hoping that Josh just got sick of Julianne, was there…?

Chapter Three

Becky had walked home with Fran, and she was on tenterhooks waiting for the others to get back. Had it worked? Or had someone caught Katie out? She wandered round the house clutching the Ryans' ginger cat Orlando like a furry hot-water bottle, and clock-watching. She'd told Mum that Katie had an extra football practice – she felt awful lying to her, but the audition was so important to Annabel. If Katie could go as far as actually pretending to be her sister, then Becky could tell a tiny little lie to Mum, couldn't she? Luckily Annabel hadn't told their mum when the auditions were going to be, so Mum wouldn't realize she'd been in two places at once – she'd just assume the auditions had been in the lunch-hour or something. Finally she spotted Katie and Annabel coming down the road with Saima. Becky dumped Orlando unceremoniously on her bed and dashed downstairs and out of the front door.

“How did it go?” She didn't really need to ask – one look at Annabel's face was enough to show that she'd been having the time of her life.

“It was fantastic, it was brilliant – oh, Becky, it's so exciting!” Annabel threw her bag on the ground and hugged her sister, then grabbed Katie and Saima too, and dragged them dancing round in a massive moving hug.

“And no one noticed?” Becky asked Katie anxiously when Annabel finally let go.

“Nope, it was fine. I'm never doing that again, though, Bel. It was so boring – you can do your own detention next time.”

The mood in the Ryans' house that night was totally different to the night before. Annabel was jubilant. She didn't know yet what part she'd got in the play, but she did know that she had managed to show off to the best of her ability at the audition. After all, she reasoned, that's what auditions
were 
–
the ultimate opportunity to show off, without anyone having a go at you about it. Well, apart from Amy Mannering, and who cared about her?

 

Unfortunately, Amy was the very person that Annabel
should
have been worrying about. The following day she was still furious that Mr Hatton had apparently let Annabel off her detention – how else could she have been at the audition? At registration on Wednesday morning she was holding forth on this to Emily and Cara.

“It's just typical. Those triplets get away with everything – they just have to smile at the teachers and they get let off.”

This was actually true, in a way, but Amy was cleverly leaving out the fact that the triplets were generally nice, and being nice got them a long way.

Cara and Emily nodded wisely – they tended to do this a lot round Amy, as she was the kind of person who just wanted people to agree with her.

“Mr Hatton's really strict with everyone else, so why should Annabel get away without a detention? We ought to
tell
someone.”

Amy brooded silently on the injustice of all this for a minute or so, but then she got an unexpected interruption. Max had been listening to her complaining, and although he wasn't sure what was going on, he was one of those people with a sixth sense for stirring up trouble, especially if it involved one of the triplets…

“Did you say that Annabel Ryan was at that audition yesterday?” he asked Amy curiously.

Amy looked down her perfect little nose at him. “Yes,” she said, rather frostily. “Why do you care?”

Max's whole face seemed to sharpen up, like a dog getting on a scent. “Because she was in detention at the same time, you know. Or at least,
somebody
was.”

Amy leaned forward eagerly. She wasn't stupid. “One of the other two did her detention for her?”

Max nodded. “It must have been Katie,” he said thoughtfully. “Becky wouldn't do it, I don't reckon. She's too wimpy.”

They grinned at each other delightedly, practically rubbing their hands. The triplets were going to be in so much trouble! They were interrupted by the bell then, and had to head over to their first lesson – still plotting.

 

Ms Loftus had said that the cast list of the play would probably go up on the Drama noticeboard some time that day, so Saima and Annabel made a point of detouring past the noticeboard on the way to every lesson that morning. When the bell went for lunch they dashed down to the board again, ignoring the others laughing at them.

By the time Katie, Becky, Megan and Fran caught up there was a huge crowd around the board, a squirming mass desperately trying to read the list. Laughing, Annabel and Saima fought their way back again.

“So? Tell us!” asked Katie excitedly. It had to be good news – Annabel looked positively smug.

“I'm Cinderella! Isn't it brilliant? Oh, it's going to be so coo-ool!” Annabel couldn't resist doing a little twirl in the middle of the corridor. “Go on, Saima, tell them who you are.” She nudged Saima, who was looking equally pleased with herself.

“I got the Fairy Godmother. There's a solo song, too.”

“And you know what makes it even better?” Annabel beamed. “The prince is Josh Matthews from Year Eight. He's going to fall in love with me!” Annabel twirled again, so over-excited that she bumped into someone, and Katie had to reach out and steady her so she didn't fall.

Amy Mannering reeled back dramatically, as though Annabel had mortally wounded her, and snarled, “Watch it, moron!” Then she stomped crossly past, with Cara and Emily trailing behind her, twittering.

Annabel and Saima giggled. “Look who didn't get the part she wanted,” murmured Annabel to the others, her eyes sparkling. “She's furious!”

“So what part did she get?” Becky asked curiously.

“The Queen – it's not a bad part, but it's not huge, and she wanted
my
part.” Annabel hugged herself gleefully as she said this. Her part – she'd done it, she was starring as Cinderella!

 

Amy hadn't had much idea what to do to get the triplets into trouble over their switch, but now that (as she saw it) Annabel had stolen her part, her brain was in overdrive trying to come up with something. She marched out into the playground to find Max, who was mooching along the fence kicking a cola can.

He looked faintly worried as he saw Amy approaching – she practically had steam coming out of her ears, and her pretty face was screwed up and cross.

“We have to tell Mr Hatton what they did!” she spat, as soon as she was within earshot.

Cara and Emily looked at each other anxiously, but left it to Max to point out the problem with this.

He didn't mince words. “Are you mad? You know what he's like. He'll probably put us in detention for telling tales, and then make mean jokes about it in French for the rest of the year, so that everyone knows. No way.”

Amy scowled even more, but didn't attempt to argue – Max was right. Mr Hatton was deeply unpredictable, which was why everyone was scared of him.

“Of course,” Max mused, “you could just make sure he finds out. Without actually
telling
him.”

“How?” Amy asked eagerly, her eyes lighting up.

“Could we get someone else to tell him?” asked Emily hopefully.

“No. You need to tell him without him realizing what you're doing somehow. I know! French tomorrow morning – when he does conversation—”

All three girls groaned. Conversation was Mr Hatton's pet form of torture. At the end of most lessons he would make everyone put their books away, and then he'd pick on people to talk in French. Everyone hated it.

“No, listen. You volunteer, and you bring the subject round to the play. Keep saying about the auditions being on Tuesday and Annabel being Cinderella – he'll work it out.”

Cara looked worried. “Isn't he going to smell a rat? No one
ever
volunteers for conversation.”

Max smirked at them. “Nope. Sorry to tell you, but everyone in the class knows that Amy shows off all the time.” He watched her carefully as he said this, but Amy just stiffened slightly, and said nothing. “If she volunteers to start talking about the play it's because she's in it and she wants everyone to know. Perfectly normal.”

Amy clearly didn't want to agree, but couldn't resist the plan. “I don't even know the French for audition,” she said grudgingly.

“
L'audition
,
I should think,” said Max airily. “But you should probably go and look up what you're going to say in the library, if you're going to try it.” Then he walked off, smirking to himself. If there was anything better than getting the triplets into trouble, it was getting them into trouble but making someone else do the work for him…

Amy hared off, looking determined, but she and Max hadn't realized they were being watched. As the triplets and their friends had come out into the playground, Saima had spotted the little huddle over by the fence. It was very odd for Amy and her bratty mates to be honouring anyone else with their company, and it was positively suspicious for them to be talking to Max – he'd ganged up with them before to get at the triplets. As Amy and Max plotted, Saima caught Annabel's eye and jerked her head in their direction. “Look.”

Annabel was too hyper to take it seriously. “They're welcome to him,” she giggled.

“I want to know what they're up to,” said Saima, as she watched Amy dashing away to the library. “Come on, Bel. We'll be back in a minute,” she called to the others, grabbing Annabel by the arm and making for the main building.

 

Annabel was still giggling as she and Saima sneaked into the library.

“Ssshhh! Stop it, Bel, they'll hear us!” Saima scooted into position behind a shelf of Biology books and peered round carefully. Annabel crept after her with exaggerated tiptoeing movements, still smirking. They could hear Amy talking from behind the next set of shelves, where the Modern Languages books were.

“It'll be easy. We've got our words written down, so all we have to do is read it out. But make sure you two sound like you're making it up on the spot. Once we've told him that there was an audition for the play on Tuesday after school, and that we're all going to be in it, he's bound to ask if anyone else is. Annabel will have to say yes, and there we go.”

Amy chuckled nastily, and Cara and Emily tittered. Annabel turned back from the gap in the shelves that she'd been peering through, and gazed in horror at Saima. This was a disaster – obviously Max and Amy between them had worked out that the triplets had switched for detention, and now they were aiming to get them into big trouble. Saima and Annabel flattened themselves against the shelves as Amy and the other two went past, then dashed out after them – they had to find a way to stop this happening!

 

Katie, Becky and the others were chatting happily when Annabel and Saima got back, but one look at the two girls' faces was enough to shut them up.

“What's the matter?” Becky asked anxiously. “You look as though something terrible's happened.” She immediately thought of the play. “Did Ms Loftus change her mind?”

“We're dead,” Annabel declared – less dramatically than she usually would; this was too serious for messing about.

Katie clocked her sister's desperate expression. “What? What's happened?”

“Max and Amy know about yesterday, that it wasn't me in detention, and they're going to tell Mr Hatton. They've got this plan and they're going to tell him in French tomorrow and he'll kill us and they'll probably stop me being in the play—” Annabel had to pause here, the words had been spilling out too fast for her to breathe. Her intake of breath was almost a sob, and Becky put an arm round her comfortingly.

Annabel stayed miserably quiet, her head hanging, and everyone looked at Saima for more information. She quickly explained what they'd overheard in the library. “I don't know how we can stop them,” she finished despairingly.

Annabel lifted her head. “We can't.” She sounded as though she thought the world was about to end.

Katie looked grim. “I'm not going to give Amy Mannering the satisfaction of getting us into trouble. We've got to go and tell Mr Hatton ourselves – before those two do. If Max and Amy go through with that plan it'll be really embarrassing. I don't want to have a massive row with Mr Hatton in front of our whole class.”

Everyone shuddered.

“So you really think we have to go and tell him? I'm really sorry, Katie, I didn't mean to get you in trouble too.” Annabel's voice was full of horror.

“It was my idea, Bel, don't be a muppet. We'll tell him after school. He might be in a good mood, being about to go home. Let's hope so, anyway.” Katie shrugged. “It seemed like such a good plan at the time. Oh, Bel, don't cry!” She'd noticed Annabel's suspiciously bright eyes and pink nose. “Look, we'll grovel, it'll be OK.” Katie caught Becky's eye over Annabel's shoulder – she looked doubtful. Katie gave the tiniest eyebrow-shrug, a “well, what else can I say?” face. It had to be OK, somehow. Katie just wasn't quite sure how they were going to pull this one off.

 

The afternoon seemed to go horribly quickly, and all too soon the triplets were standing outside the staffroom door, gulping in unison. Becky had uncharacteristically told Katie not to be so stupid when she pointed out that, actually, Becky hadn't done anything wrong and didn't need to be there. Somehow it didn't feel right to knock on the staffroom door, so they hung around looking embarrassed until a member of staff galloped up the stairs and gave them a funny look.

Katie swallowed. “Um, I'm sorry to be a nuisance, but would you be able to see if Mr Hatton's there, please?” She was already in buttering-up mode.

After what seemed like ages, the teacher came back out looking a bit harassed, and said that Mr Hatton was helping Ms Loftus in the hall, so Katie grimly led the way down there instead. They crept round the door, and spotted Ms Loftus and Mr Hatton standing on the stage, apparently transfixed by the ceiling. It turned out they were looking at the stage lights, and Mr Hatton, of all people, was talking in a very professional-sounding way about tightening the spots and adding different coloured gels. Was he helping with the play?