Hannah in the Spotlight (6 page)

Sadie’s attic was like something from a film. It was crammed full with all sorts of everything, but it wasn’t the normal sort of clutter and half-broken stuff most attics were filled with. A stunning Tiffany lamp, the kind with colourful stained glass, stood on top of a mahogany bookcase, whose shelves were filled with stacks of what looked like manuscripts. A gorgeous old-fashioned bike with a wicker basket leaned against one side, and beside it lay a big black telephone, the kind with a separate piece to speak into and a trumpet-shaped piece to hold to your ear. A pile of old curtains lay on top of a throne encrusted with jewels.

‘Oh my God. This is amazing!’ I managed to say. Already I was picturing all the scenes we could act out with these fabulous props. The bike made me think of
The Wizard of Oz,
and the phone was just like the one in
It’s a Wonderful Life.
The throne would be perfect for any fairytale, and the curtains could be used for so many different things.

‘You haven’t even seen the best bit yet,’ Meg said. ‘Give me a hand with this, will you?’

She indicated a huge brown trunk with leather handles, which lay underneath a scratched folding table. I took one of the handles and together we pulled it out to where there was more space.

Meg took down a key that was hanging from a chain on a nail above our heads, and inserted it in the lock. I was half expecting to see gold coins and sparkling tiaras, but what was inside was even better.

‘Oh my God. Costumes!’

The trunk was stuffed full with theatrical clothing of all sorts.

‘Look at this!’ I found an amazing feather boa, long and thick and deep pink. I flung it around my neck and modelled it for Meg.

‘You need this to go with it,’ Meg said, plonking a floppy hat with a feather in it on my head. ‘And this!’ She handed me a huge sparkly shoulder bag.

A full-length mirror stood under the dormer window. I walked over to it, admiring my reflection in the dim light from the bare bulb overhead.

Meg came to join me, wearing a full-length ballgown in royal blue and a long string of beads.

‘Well, we don’t look much like Pauline and Petrova, but we do look pretty good,’ she giggled.

I was so engrossed in the amazing costumes I’d actually forgotten what we were supposed to be looking for.

‘Where did Sadie get all this stuff?’ I asked. ‘It’s so cool.’ I rummaged through the trunk again and pulled out some more hats – a top hat, slightly out of shape, but still smart, a soldier’s helmet and an Easter bonnet.

‘Oh, she just likes collecting old stuff,’ Meg said. ‘Look, this is her wedding dress, can you believe it?’ She showed me a beautiful lace dress with long sleeves and little pearls sewn in around the neckline. It was a bit old-fashioned, but still so elegant. Meg held it up against her and went over to the mirror once more.

‘How are you getting on up there?’ Sadie called from the bottom of the steps.

‘Great. Look what I found,’ Meg said, leaning over the open hatch with the wedding dress.

‘Be careful!’ Sadie said quickly. ‘I don’t want you falling. What have you got there? Oh, my beautiful wedding dress! I did hope your mum would wear it for her wedding, but she wanted something a bit more modern.’

‘I can’t picture Mum in this,’ Meg agreed. ‘Maybe I’ll wear it some day!’

‘I hope you do,’ Sadie said. ‘Well, let me know if you need any help.’

I heard the patter of her footsteps as she went back downstairs. Meg folded the wedding dress carefully and put it to one side.

‘Sadie’s so nice,’ I said to her. ‘You must be glad to be
living near her again.’

‘Oh yes, it’s great,’ Meg said. ‘It’s the best thing about – well, everything. Oh, look! I knew there was something like this here.’ She pulled out a dark green gingham dress, a bit like an old-fashioned school uniform. ‘Look, don’t you think this would do for one of the girls?’ She held it up against her.

‘It’s perfect!’ I said. ‘Wow, it’s so great to be able to use all this stuff.’

‘Let’s see what else there is.’

We rummaged through the rest of the clothes and found a couple of other things we thought might work – a simple jumper and a kilt for one of the girls, a long sweeping black skirt for Madame Fidolia, and a tweed skirt and high-collared white blouse for Nana.

‘Lucky Laura gets to have the most fun with her costumes,’ Meg said. ‘She’s going to love all this stuff. Do you think we need anything for Ruby, or will she just wear her normal ballet gear?’

‘We’d better find her a jumper and skirt as well if we can,’ I said. ‘Posy wouldn’t be wearing her ballet gear on the first day, when they go to the academy.’

‘Oh, good point,’ Meg said. ‘Let’s see what else we can find.’

We tried on one thing after another and modelled them for each other, striding up and down the attic as if we were
on the catwalk.

‘Meg! Hannah!’ Sadie called. ‘Lunch is ready whenever you want to come down!’

‘Good, I’m hungry after all this hard work,’ Meg said with a giggle.

We gathered up all the clothes and accessories we thought we might use, then Meg shoved the rest back into the trunk. I went down the ladder first and Meg threw everything down to me one by one.

‘Stand back, this is a big one!’ she shouted.

I quickly stepped back into the bathroom, just in time to dodge an enormous book which Meg flung down the ladder. It fell on the landing with a giant thud, and I saw that it was the
Complete Works of Shakespeare.
No wonder it had made such a noise!

‘Oops,’ said Meg. ‘Just thought that might come in handy.’

‘Everything OK up there?’ Sadie called up the stairs.

‘Yes thanks!’ Meg said.

‘That’s good, because it sounds a bit like a herd of elephants is about to fall through my ceiling,’ Sadie said. ‘Did you find what you were looking for?’

‘We got tons of brilliant stuff,’ I told her. ‘Are you sure you don’t mind us borrowing it?’

‘Of course not,’ Sadie said. ‘It’s lovely to see it being used again.’

‘We’ll take good care of it, I promise,’ I said, following Sadie and Meg into the kitchen. ‘Where did you get it all?’

‘Oh, I’m sure Meg’s told you all about how I used to––’

‘How you used to go around all the vintage markets collecting things,’ Meg interrupted. ‘Yes, I was just starting to tell you, Hannah.’

An odd look passed between Sadie and Meg before Sadie turned away to the hob, where a big saucepan full of soup was bubbling away. ‘Yes, that’s right. I’ve always liked collecting things. And there are some wonderful markets around. Meg sometimes comes with me – you can come with us some day too if you like.’

She handed me a steaming bowl of soup, then went back to ladle out some more for Meg and herself.

‘I’d love to,’ I said. I glanced at Meg, but she wouldn’t meet my eye. Somehow the atmosphere had changed in the room.

‘What are you girls up to later?’ Sadie asked, putting a big basket of bread down on the table.

‘We’re going over to Laura’s to rehearse,’ Meg said. ‘But don’t tell Mum, OK?’

Sadie frowned. ‘Why not?’

‘She’s just being a bit funny about the whole thing,’ Meg said, reaching for a piece of bread. ‘Don’t worry, Sadie. I’m not lying to her or anything. I’m just choosing not to pass on particular information unless absolutely necessary.’

Meg was good at that, I thought to myself.

Sadie muttered something that sounded a bit like ‘What a lot of secrets’.

Meg started telling Sadie all about the scenes we’d been doing. Sadie was so enthusiastic that Meg got up and started acting out her part. She was word-perfect already, I was thrilled to see. I’d been a bit worried that I’d end up having to convince everyone to learn their lines, but that definitely wasn’t going to be the case with Meg. More than that, I already got the sense that she
was
Petrova. When she was acting out the scene where Petrova is rehearsing for a part in a play and getting everything wrong she seemed to have captured Petrova just right – her reluctance to act at all, but also her worry about making a fool of herself.

‘Wonderful, Meg!’ Sadie said. ‘You’re doing a very good job of showing us how Petrova feels in this scene. How about you, Hannah? Show me what you’ve been rehearsing.’

I suddenly felt very shy, but I made myself get up and join in. If I couldn’t act in front of Meg’s lovely granny, how would I ever stand up in front of an audience?

We decided to act out the scene where Pauline needs a new dress to go to an audition. Her old velvet dress was shabby and worn and too short for her, but they had no money for a new one. It was one of my favourite parts of the book, because the girls are all so anxious that Pauline
has to look right for her audition, and so determined to find a way around their money troubles.

When we had finished I turned nervously to Sadie, hoping she’d have something encouraging to say, but she had her head on one side and was frowning a little, as if she was thinking deeply. Meg wasn’t saying anything either.

The silence was too much for me, and I blurted out, ‘Well, what did you think?’

‘Well, you certainly know your lines, and you’ve got the pauses in the right places, and the gestures too,’ Sadie said. ‘But tell me, Hannah, what were you feeling when you were speaking?’

‘What do you mean?’ I asked.

‘What was going through your head? Where were you picturing yourself?’

‘I’m not sure,’ I admitted. ‘I was just concentrating on getting my lines right.’

‘I thought so. Because I have to tell you, I didn’t get the sense that I was watching Pauline speaking, feeling worried about making a good impression at her audition, anxious about how they’ll pay for a new dress, but also feeling proud of the fact that she’s old enough to get an acting licence and might be earning money for the family. All I saw was Hannah, who’s learned all her lines perfectly, it’s true, but who’s never known what it’s like to feel worried about money, and who’s never worn a velvet dress, shabby
or otherwise!’

I could feel my face burning. How could Sadie think I wasn’t convincing as Pauline? I
loved
Pauline – she was my favourite character – I’d wanted to be her from the minute Ruby suggested doing
Ballet Shoes
. I
did
know how she felt – I might not have worn a velvet dress, or travelled to theatre school on the London Underground, but I had the same longing to be on the stage that she had, the same passion for taking on a new role.

But as Sadie went on the realisation crept over me that she was right. My annoyance started to turn to embarrassment. I’d been so busy being the Star Club director that I’d forgotten to work hard enough on my own acting.

Sadie seemed to know how I was feeling, and she patted me gently on the shoulder. ‘Now don’t be disheartened, Hannah. You have plenty of potential, I can see that already. You just need to practise getting inside your character’s mind. For example, how do you think Pauline feels when Petrova suggests selling their necklaces to earn money to buy the new dress? Think about it for a minute before you answer.’

Meg was pretending to be deeply engrossed in the script, which I was grateful for. I thought for a minute like Sadie said, then I said hesitatingly, ‘She’s excited that they have a plan and that she’ll be able to get a new dress and not have to go to the audition in her ordinary clothes like
Nana was suggesting. But she feels guilty that Petrova and Posy have to sell their necklaces too. She’s all mixed up.’

‘Exactly!’ Sadie exclaimed. ‘You
do
understand her! You just need to really think about it while you’re speaking so you can convey those feelings in your voice and in your movements. Now, let’s run through it again.’

I did my best to ignore my embarrassment and throw myself into the character of Pauline. Sadie made us go over the lines again and again, and suddenly I felt something click. I knew from Sadie’s reaction when I said the line, ‘If only we had some money’, that I’d finally got it right, though she didn’t say anything until we’d got to the end of the scene.

‘Fantastic, girls!’ she exclaimed then. ‘Hannah, that’s much better. Keep working on that and you’ll get there in no time.’

‘Thanks, Sadie,’ I said.

‘Look at the time!’ Meg exclaimed. ‘We need to get to Laura’s.’

‘I was supposed to ring my mum,’ I remembered. ‘Could I use the phone, Sadie?’

‘Of course.’ Sadie tapped her password into her mobile and handed it to me.

I tried phoning Mum, but there was no answer, so I sent her a text instead. ‘Going to Laura’s for rehearsal. Will get lift home with Meg. Hannah.’

It would be so much easier if she would just let me have my own phone, I thought yet again.

As I went to hand the phone back to Sadie, her screensaver popped up. It was a photo of Meg and her mum with a smiling, dark-haired man.

Meg saw me looking, but all she said was, ‘Can you grab those costumes, Hannah? I’ll carry the book.’

‘Be careful with it,’ Sadie said. ‘That’s your grandad’s, and he still uses it for reference sometimes.’

Meg looked a bit guilty and whispered to me, ‘Just as well he didn’t see me flinging it out of the attic then.’

As we were leaving I paused to say goodbye to Sadie. ‘Thanks, Sadie. You’ve been a great help.’

Sadie smiled at me. ‘Any time. I can’t wait to see how your show turns out.’

Laura’s house was across the road, just a few doors down. We rang the doorbell for ages before her sister Andrea came to answer it. ‘Hi girls, are you looking for Laura?’

‘Yes, she should be expecting us,’ I said.

‘Come on in,’ Andrea said. ‘Laura didn’t mention anything, but then I’ve hardly seen her the last few days. She’s writing a new story.’

I groaned. ‘So that’s why she wasn’t answering the phone. She’s probably totally forgotten about our rehearsal.’ I turned to Meg. ‘When Laura starts a new story she gets completely absorbed in it and the rest of the world might as well not exist.’

‘You can go on up to her room,’ Andrea told us. ‘You might have better luck getting her attention than I’ve had. When I went to call her for lunch, she just grunted at me, so I left her to it. Her sandwich is still sitting on the kitchen counter.’

I hung the pile of costumes over the banisters and ran up the stairs to Laura’s room, Meg following behind me. I
knocked on the door and poked my head around.

Despite the brightness of the day the curtains were tightly shut, and the lamp at Laura’s desk was switched on, the only light in the room. She was hunched over it, surrounded by piles of paper, which seemed to be covered in her sprawling handwriting. More paper was scattered on the floor around her and on her unmade bed.

‘I told you, Andrea, I don’t want any breakfast,’ Laura said, not looking up from her desk.

‘It’s not Andrea, it’s us,’ I told her. ‘And it’s after lunchtime!’

‘Oh!’ Laura jumped to her feet, nearly knocking over a half-drunk cup of tea. She turned the paper she had been writing on face down.

‘What are you writing?’ Meg asked. She picked up one of the sheets of paper from the floor. Laura practically snatched it out of her hand.

Meg looked a bit shocked, and even I was surprised. I know from experience that Laura NEVER lets anyone see what she’s writing until she’s finished, but it wasn’t like her to be quite so jumpy.

‘It’s just a story,’ Laura said. She ushered us towards the door. ‘Sorry, guys, I totally forgot we were supposed to be having a rehearsal. Come on, we can go down to the sitting room.’

She closed the bedroom door firmly behind her and waited until we’d started going down the stairs before
coming after us.

‘Do you want a cup of tea?’ Laura asked when we got to the kitchen; she was suddenly smiley and normal again. ‘Actually, I think I might get some toast. I don’t seem to have had any breakfast.’

‘Or lunch,’ I reminded her. ‘Andrea said she left a sandwich for you. We had lunch in Meg’s granny’s house, but tea would be great.’

Laura eyed the sandwich on the counter with distaste. The bread looked all dry and the edges had started to curl. ‘She should have told me she’d made me lunch.’

Meg and I exchanged a grin as Laura tipped the sandwich into the bin and put on some toast instead.

‘Wait till you see the great costumes we found,’ Meg said. She went to retrieve them from the hall, and came in modelling the green gingham dress.

‘Oh, that’s brilliant!’ Laura said. She reached for the long black skirt. ‘Is this for Madame Fidolia? It’s perfect.’ She pulled it on over her jeans and started striding around the kitchen, proclaiming, ‘Marvellous, children!’ She declared that she felt more Russian already.

The doorbell rang and Ruby rushed in, full of apologies for being late. ‘Sorry – ballet camp ran over, then I had to get some lunch.’

‘That’s OK, we’re a little behind schedule here too,’ I told her as Laura started to spread peanut butter on her
mountain of toast.

We finally got down to some rehearsing once Laura had devoured her toast and the rest of us had drunk several cups of tea. It was amazing how wearing our costumes really helped us get into character. Wearing the old-fashioned kilt and brown jumper we’d chosen for Pauline helped me to feel more like her, and with all the advice Sadie had given me running through my head I found it easier to stop being Hannah and start being Pauline. And Laura was much more convincing as Madame Fidolia in her long black skirt – it seemed to make her move more like a grown-up lady than a twelve-year-old girl. By the time Meg’s mum came to collect us, I felt like we were really getting somewhere.

‘My house on Monday?’ I suggested as we gathered up our stuff.

‘It’s a date!’

‘So when are we going to see this show of yours?’ Dad asked.

I had my parents all to myself for once – the others were all, finally, in bed. I get to stay up an hour later than Zach and Bobby because I’m older, but usually by the time they’re all in bed and the dinner dishes are done, Mum and Dad are so exhausted they just collapse in front of the TV. This evening the sun was still shining so the three of us
were sitting in the back garden having a cup of tea.

‘I’ve been hearing all about it from Mum – it sounds like you’ve been putting a lot of work into it,’ Dad went on.

‘Yes, we have,’ I said. ‘We’re not ready to show anyone just yet though. Maybe in a few weeks.’

‘I think you need to set a goal for yourselves,’ Dad said. ‘Otherwise it can be hard to stay focused.’

‘We could do something for the end of the holidays maybe,’ I said.

‘Oh, I know!’ Mum said. ‘You can be the entertainment for Maisie’s birthday party!’

I stared at her.

‘It’d be perfect,’ Mum enthused. ‘We can have it here in the garden, and all Maisie’s friends can come and watch. Then we can give them pizza and birthday cake and we’re done – perfect party!’

‘Sounds like a great plan,’ Dad said. ‘And less likely to result in broken bones than a bouncy castle.’

‘Cheaper than a magician,’ Mum added.

‘Less mess than a paddling pool party,’ said Dad.

‘And much less stress than Pass the Parcel and Musical Chairs,’ Mum finished.

They looked extremely happy with their little plan.

‘What do you think, Hannah?’ Mum asked at last.

‘Ummm … we could, I suppose …’ I said slowly. ‘We’re
going to need a LOT more rehearsals first though.’

‘Have as many as you like!’ Dad said. ‘Believe me, it’ll all start to come together quickly when you have a date to aim for.’

I started to feel a bit excited. They might only be a gang of six-year-olds, but it would still be our first proper audience. I pictured a big gang of them sitting on the grass, and my friends and I on the raised patio area, which would make a perfect stage. The only question was, could we do it on time? Maisie’s birthday was only three weeks away. And even though our rehearsal that day had gone well, I knew we needed a lot more practice. Sadie had inspired me to strive to give the best performance I could, and it would take plenty of work to be truly convincing as Pauline.

‘I’ll have to call a club meeting,’ I said. ‘We need to discuss it together. I’ll get back to you once I’ve consulted with the rest of the club.’

‘Of course,’ said Dad.

‘Very important,’ said Mum.

‘We certainly wouldn’t want to stand in the way of the democratic process,’ said Dad.

‘Or the rehearsals,’ said Mum. ‘You let me know when you need the garden, and I’ll make sure the other four are occupied.’

‘Thank you, Mum,’ I said. ‘That would be great.’

‘And you’ll have to look after all the organisation yourself, Hannah,’ Dad added. ‘Organising props or …’ he waved his hand as if he didn’t know quite how to describe all the work involved in putting on a show, ‘whatever. I’m going to be away in China that week on a business trip, so Mum will be busy.’

‘Busier, you mean,’ Mum murmured. ‘I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t busy.’

‘Of course I will,’ I said. ‘I would have done that anyway. The whole club will help. I can’t wait to talk to them. I’ll just pop over and see if Meg can come over tomorrow.’

I only remembered when I was slipping through the hedge that Dad didn’t know about our secret passage – oops – I’d probably get a lecture on damaging the hedge when I got back.

As I got near to the back door, I heard Meg talking and realised she was on the phone. She sounded kind of agitated. ‘Dad, can we not talk about this now? You know Mum doesn’t want me to … I know … I know … Look, Dad, I think we’d better drop it, OK? Do you want to talk to Mum? Dad, are you still there?’

Meg sounded so different – more stressed than I’d ever seen her, but also more grown up. My first thought was relief that her dad was indeed alive and well, but I wondered what on earth it was that they couldn’t talk about. Then I realised I shouldn’t be listening in on a private
conversation, and I backed away as quickly as I could.

‘Back already?’ Mum asked.

‘Yes – Meg’s, um, I think she’s busy,’ I said. ‘Can I ring Laura instead?’

‘Is it a bit late to be ringing?’ Dad wondered, checking his watch.

‘Not Laura,’ I said. ‘There aren’t any younger ones in her house.’

‘OK, go ahead,’ Dad told me.

‘Thanks!’ I jumped up and grabbed the phone from the kitchen, taking it into the playroom so I could have a bit more privacy.

‘Laura? It’s me, Hannah.’

‘Oh, hi! I was just going to ring you actually. I need to talk to you – can we meet up tomorrow?’

‘That’s what I was going to ask you!’ I told her. ‘Do you want to come over to my house tomorrow afternoon? I’ll let Ruby and Meg know in the morning.’

‘OK, but I wanted to talk to you – just the two of us – first,’ Laura said. ‘Can you meet me at the library in the morning? Say ten o’clock?’

‘Sure,’ I said. ‘What’s it about?’

‘I’ve got a new theory. I don’t want to talk about it over the phone.’

Trust Laura to think someone was bugging our phones, I thought.

‘Come on your own, OK?’ Laura went on. ‘And don’t tell anyone else.’

Now she was really sounding like someone with a mad conspiracy theory. I decided to indulge her. ‘OK Laura, I’ll be there.’

‘See you then!’

Laura hung up.

What could all that be about, I wondered? It felt like there were an awful lot of mysteries about at the moment.