Drama at Silver Spires (2 page)

Miss Pritchard sat down and Ms. Carmichael nodded at the music teacher, who pressed play on the CD, and next minute the hall was filled with some beautiful violin music, or was it cello? Who cared? I just wanted to push past everyone filing out neatly row by row, get hold of a script and take it to the dorm, then spend the whole day flopped on my bed learning every single word of every single part.

“Bet
you're
happy!” said Mia, tucking her arm through mine when we finally got out of the hall.

“You are
so
right! I am in fact the happiest girl on the planet!” I gabbled as I pulled away and rushed upstairs, taking two steps at a time.

Grabbing a script from the desk in Miss Pritchard's office, I started reading it immediately so I had to walk very slowly to make sure I didn't fall or bash into anyone as I went back downstairs to my friends.

Mia put her arm round me as we left the main building and Grace patted me on the back. “Well done, Georgie! I've never seen you go upstairs so fast!”

Katy laughed. “And look! She's actually concentrating on something. This must be serious!”

“Yes, and it's not easy concentrating with everyone talking!” I said, throwing her a cross look, which I quickly turned into a grin because how could I feel cross when every single nerve and tendon and sinew and all those other scientific bits of the human body that have always been a mystery to me were glowing brightly and lighting up my life? “I'm going for the part of Amy!” I announced in a voice that came out squeaky with excitement.

It felt so brilliant to hear those words hanging in the air after I'd spoken them that I repeated the main one three times. “Amy, Amy, Amy!” Which gave everyone a giggle. But then Naomi gently reminded us that hanging around waiting for me to collect the script had made us a bit late for science and we ought to get a move on. So we put on a bit of a spurt and caught up with a group of Year Eight girls just ahead. I was still at the back though, walking slowly so I could read the script at the same time.

“I've never read
Little Women
,” I heard Jess say. Then she called back to me, “What's it about? Who's Amy?”

My mind went straight back to the time when I was nine and I got the book in my Christmas stocking. I hadn't wanted to read it at first because it looked so old-fashioned, but Mum had actually sat me down and read the first chapter out loud, and after that I'd been hooked. I remember how I used to keep turning to the front cover to have another look at the picture of the sisters, and even now I can visualize Amy, clear as anything. She had blonde hair that curled at the bottom, blue eyes and a cheeky kind of smile, a bit like my little sister, Roxanne. My hair is a sort of medium brown colour and it's just long enough to put in a ponytail without having any short bits hanging out. It's quite thick. I used to wish it wasn't, but actually, now I come to think about it, Amy's hair looks quite thick. If only I was blonde, that would be even better.

I sighed a happy sigh and caught up with the others. “She's the youngest of the four March sisters and she's bright and bubbly…”

“Like
you,
Georgie!” laughed Naomi. “Typecasting! Terrific!”

“And she's also very artistic, which I know
isn't
like me,” I quickly pointed out. “But that's what acting's all about.” Then I suddenly realized there was something I hadn't found out. “Are any of you lot going to audition?”

They all started gabbling away at once so I couldn't make out what any of them was saying, but I got the general idea that nobody was that keen on the thought of acting.

“I wonder if the students can help paint the sets and scenery for the stage,” said Jess, looking thoughtful.

Katy fell into step beside her. “I think I'll find out who's in charge of costumes. I'd love to be—”

One of the Year Eight girls we were passing flung a very haughty look in our direction and interrupted Katy in a know-all voice. “Mrs. Chambers looks after the wardrobe department, actually, but she won't let you help. She only lets Year Nines.”

Katy looked disappointed and Naomi obviously felt sorry for her. “You can always ask, anyway, Kates,” she said quietly. “But we'd better go now or we'll be late…”

“See you back at Hazeldean, you two,” Mia called over her shoulder as she and Grace went jogging off to their lab with Naomi and Katy, because the four of them are all in set one for science.

Jess and I carried on walking with the Year Eights and I wished I had the guts to turn to the know-all girl and say, “Did you write the book of life or something?” But Year Sevens don't talk to Year Eights like that. It's just not done.

“Do the students get to help with the set?” Jess asked her.

The girl shrugged and the expression on her face said she couldn't care less about such a trivial little thing. “You'll have to check with the art department. I'm an actor.”

Jess said, “Right,” then stopped walking as she seemed to suddenly remember something. “Oh no!” she said. “I've totally forgotten my science textbook – I'll have to run back and get it. Save me a place, Georgie, okay?” And off she went.

As soon as she'd gone,
know-all
features
nodded at the script I was clutching. “So what part are you going for?”

“Amy.”

“Amy!” She did a little snort of laughter as though I'd announced that I intended to be the director or something.

Then all her friends started smirking. One of them turned to the know-all girl and said, “Wooo, competition for you, Cara,” in a sarcastic tone of voice, which made everyone burst into laughter. And another girl rolled her eyes and said, “As if!” which really made my hackles rise.

“What's so funny?” I asked.

“Sorry,” said Cara, shaking her head slowly. “I shouldn't laugh really because you're not to know, being Year Seven…”

I didn't like the way she flashed her eyes round all the time she was talking, like she was checking that everyone was still looking at her.

“Know
what
?”

“Well…” She sighed, and spoke really slowly as though all Year Sevens were thick. “I mean…you did realize that Amy is one of the four main roles, didn't you? Sorry, what's your name?”

“Georgie.” Then I was suddenly sick of being patronized. “Course I realized. I'm not stupid. Anyway, are
you
going to audition?”

She exchanged a look with one of her friends and it was the friend who answered. “Obviously. She's the best actress in Silver Spires. She had a main part in last year's play even though she was only Year Seven, you know. And that
never
happens.”

“So, what part are you going for?” I asked casually.

She reached into her pocket and I wondered for a second whether she'd written it down for some unknown reason, but then she pulled out a little tin, undid it and smeared lipgloss onto her lips. At that moment she just seemed to fancy herself so much that I really hated her, even though I hardly knew her. It wasn't till she'd put the tin back and rubbed her lips together that she finally deigned to look at me. “Amy,” came the answer. She smiled mockingly and my heart sank, but then I tried to give myself a firm talking-to. Just because everyone thought Cara was a really good actress, it didn't mean that she'd automatically get the part of Amy, did it? And anyway, who was to say she was any better than me? I'd had big parts in every single play at primary school, right from when I was the enormous turnip in the harvest festival in Year One, to when I played Nick Bottom in
A Midsummer Night's Dream
in Year Six.

We'd arrived at the science block so I gave Cara the coolest look I could manage while I tried to think of some clever parting line, but then I realized her eyes were on my right leg and she was trying to stop herself smirking. I guessed she was looking at the ladder in my tights and I made the mistake of glancing down and saw that the stupid thing had risen from my ankle to just above my knee, getting wider and wider as it went up. Normally I don't care about things like that but I did at this moment. It made me feel stupid.

“It's only a ladder, you know!” said my big mouth before my brain had chance to stop it.

She just stared at me as though I was pathetic.

“See you at the auditions then,” I said casually.

She still didn't answer, and as I went into the science block my ears were on full alert, listening out for sniggers. I didn't hear any, but that's not to say the oh-so-clever Cara wasn't smirking and exchanging looks with her friends. I tell you, it was a big relief when the door closed behind me.

“She makes me sick!”

“Just ignore her, Georgie. The only thing you need to worry about is doing your best at the audition.”

That was Naomi. She always comes out with wise things like that. I gave her the best smile I could manage, because it's not easy smiling when you're feeling cross, and I'd got myself in a right state about stupid Cara.

“The thing is, I really
really
want the part of Amy,” I said with a big sigh. “I'm just like Amy. The part was totally made for me!” But even as I was saying it, I didn't think any of my friends could possibly realize just how much I meant it. “I want it more than anything in the world,” I added, to help them get the picture.

“Well you've got just as much chance as Cara has,” said Mia, putting her arm round me.

The six of us were sitting on the circular rug in the middle of the dorm in our jamas. I'd been thinking about cocky Cara all day long but this was the first chance I'd had to have a proper conversation about her, because my friends are always rushing off somewhere like netball practice or debating society or the computer room or piano practice or art club. They're just so busy, even though I've told them they're crazy and they ought to be more like me and go to chill club, which actually means don't go to any club at all but just chill out. No, seriously, the only
real
club I do is drama. Unfortunately, though, it's not as good as I thought it would be because we're always having to get in groups and do improvisations, making something up as we go along, rather than following a script. There's nothing wrong with that, I know, but the trouble is I'm always bursting with ideas about what my group could do, and it's so frustrating when I have to shut up because we're supposed to take turns to be the director. I can't wait till Year Nine. Miss Pritchard takes drama in Years Nine, Ten and Eleven, and everyone says the lessons and clubs are amazing.

“I wish you'd heard the way Cara was talking,” I said, in a bit of a sulky voice. “She thinks she's so clever and all her friends think she's God. I mean, she looked at me like I was completely dumb. And fancy asking me if I realized that Amy was a main part!” I put on a posh showy-offy voice to imitate her. “Woo-hoo, look at
me
! I'm an
actor
!”

Mia immediately broke into giggles, which set the others off.

It was Grace who recovered first. “What made you so crazy about acting in the first place, Georgie? Or did you just kind of realize you were good at it?”

I love talking about my favourite subject, so my crossness with Cara soon melted away. “Well… I've always loved acting, but when I was eight…” I felt on top of the world as my mind filled up with the coolest memory of a golden theatre. “Mum and Dad took me to see the play of
The Witches
– you know the Roald Dahl story – in London. I remember Roxanne falling asleep, but then she was only little. I'd seen pantomimes before that, and one musical, but I'd never seen an actual play, and something just kind of clicked inside me because it all made perfect sense, even though the characters and the setting were nothing like I'd imagined them in the book.”

I stopped talking and saw that my friends were looking totally gobsmacked.

“Georgie!” said Mia. “I knew you loved drama and everything, but I never realized until now just how serious you are about it all!”

“Me neither!” said Katy. “I reckon that's the first time I've ever heard you actually being totally serious!”

“I think it's really interesting,” said Naomi, frowning. “What do you think about films?”

I was so loving this conversation with my friends taking me seriously for a change. I know they usually think I'm totally laid-back. That's because I'm not that good at schoolwork so I pretend I don't care too much about it, otherwise it would be embarrassing to try so hard and get such rubbish results. Plus, I'm also terrible at sport and anything energetic. But acting is my big passion and always will be.

At that moment I noticed Grace sneak a little look at her watch, and it was obviously catching because next thing they were all at it.