The Time of Your Life (3 page)

Cat: The Shakespearean Miracle Diet

When the auditions were over, Cat slipped into one of
the dressing rooms and stared at her face in the mirror.
She needed a moment alone.

Her skin was pallid but her eyes glittered. She was
panting as if she'd just run the London Marathon.
Being Lady Macbeth was
exhausting;
all those
dangerous emotions battling it out: ambition, guilt, fear
–
'Here's the smell of the blood still . . .
' Cat replayed the
words in her head; yes, she was pleased with how the
speech had gone.

She'd done it. And it felt fantastic!

Now all she could do was wait.

But the waiting was such agony!

What if they gave the part to one of the Year Ten
girls? Or even to Mayu Tanaka? She couldn't bear
that! She'd have to run away to the Amazon rainforest
and live in exile as a piranha farmer for the rest of
her days.

She thought of the famous actresses who had played
Lady Macbeth: Judi Dench, Vivien Leigh, Ellen Terry,
right back to Sarah Siddons in the eighteenth
century . . .

This was the most important audition of her life!

'Cat! Are you in there?' Her reverie was shattered by
the sound of Belle and Holly knocking impatiently at
the door.

'Yes! Coming!' she yelled back. She rubbed her
face as if to wipe away a mask. Lady Macbeth was
disappearing. She applied a flick of eyeliner and a dab
of lip gloss, then studied the result carefully for a
moment and stuck out her tongue at her reflection.
She was Cat Wickham again.

And Cat Wickham was starving!

After Belle and Holly had congratulated her on the
audition, the girls hurried back across the courtyard,
through the hall and into the dining room. Murder
and madness were hungry work – and Cat had been
too nervous to eat lunch or even breakfast. Perhaps
she should market this as a new miracle diet:
Simply
audition for a major Shakespearean role and watch the weight
melt away!

Or perhaps not,
she thought, piling a double helping
of lasagne onto her plate.

Last half-term she'd put herself on a celery-stick
diet after Bianca had called her 'chubby', but she'd
finally let Holly and Belle persuade her that she
should stop trying to lose weight and be proud of
her curves.

'Cat was brilliant, wasn't she?' Holly remarked,
reaching for the water jug as they joined Nick and
Nathan at their table in the spacious, high-ceilinged
dining room. Everyone instinctively moved their
plates out of the way. They'd all been friends long
enough to know that, in spite of being a gifted,
graceful dancer, hand–eye co-ordination was not
Holly's strong point. If they weren't careful, their
table would soon resemble the splash-zone at a
dolphin show!

'A superlative performance,' Nick agreed, imitating
Mr Grampian. 'And you were great as Macduff too!' he
added, slapping Nathan on the back.

Cat nodded vigorously, her mouth too full for
speech. Watching Nathan from the wings, she'd been so
moved by his speech she'd been in danger of being too
choked up to say her own lines.

Nathan smiled and mumbled something into his
plate of salad.

The table filled up as Zak and Gemma sat down
and started chatting with Holly about dance classes.
'Whoa! Yesterday's class –
way
gnarly, man!' Zak
said, grinning as he poured ketchup all over his
salad. 'Korsakoff was smashing us with a Momboosa
workout!'

Cat smiled. You kind of had to
guess
most of what
Zak was saying in his surfer-dude drawl. But he was an
amazing dancer. Mr Korsakoff was the boys' ballet
teacher – ballet was the only subject boys and girls
did separately.

'Yeah, and Miss Morgan's giving us sheilas heaps of
work too,' Gemma replied, exaggerating her Australian
accent. 'Now we're working towards our Intermediate
next year, ballet is our
numero uno
priority!'

They all laughed. Miss Morgan was well-known for
peppering her speech with Italian phrases, although she
wasn't the slightest bit Italian. Cat couldn't help liking
Holly's new room-mate, Gemma, even though she
looked far too healthy and wholesome to be true –
bronzed, blonde and athletic, she looked as if she
should be cycling along a country road in an advert for
multi-vitamins. Even her laugh sounded well-balanced,
unlike Cat's own unruly giggles.

'Ooh, Miss Morgan is
fierce!'
Cat laughed. 'I'm so
relieved I'm not in advanced ballet – she's like a pit bull
in a leota—'

'Yeah, so we're going to be doing three extra practice
sessions a week . .
.' Holly interrupted, in an unnecessarily
loud voice.

Cat froze, instantly recognizing Holly's desperate
shut-up-danger-alert
look. Slowly she turned round. Miss
Morgan was walking right behind her, with an Action
Man lookalike – whom she recognized as Mr
Korsakoff – towards the staff dining tables. 'Eek,' she
whispered, praying Miss Morgan hadn't heard her.
'But don't you think Mr K looks like a sergeant in
the Marines?'

'
I
don't know but I've been told, ballet tights just leave me
cold
—' Nick chanted, with a big grin.

'Shh!' Belle warned. 'He'll hear you!'Then a worried
look flitted across her perfectly made-up face. 'You'll
still have time for band rehearsals, won't you, Holly?
With all your dance practice? We
have
to keep
Nobody's Angels together.'

Holly smiled. 'Of course.'

'What about you, Cat?' Belle asked anxiously.

'Only if she's discovered the secret of human cloning
over half-term!' Nick said. 'You'll need an extra ten
copies of yourself if you get the Lady Macbeth part.'

'Sure, I'll still have time for the band,' Cat said airily,
keeping up her girl-in-total-control-of-the-situation
act.
'No problemo!'

But secretly she was wondering whether, if she
did
get the part, she might have bitten off a teensy bit more
than she could chew . . .

And she wasn't thinking about the super-heated
cheese sauce she'd just burned her mouth on.

But Cat knew how much Nobody's Angels meant
to Belle. The band was important to all of them, of
course, and it was brilliant fun too – but for Belle
it was more than important and it was more than
fun. Singing was Belle's life: the Holy Grail and the
treasure of Tutankhamun rolled into one. Cat wasn't
going to let her friend down. 'I'll fit it all in
somehow,' she breezed. 'I'll just have to get up earlier
in the morning or something—'

There was a choking sound. 'Sorry,' Belle spluttered
into a paper napkin. 'Carrot stick went down the
wrong way.'

Cat guessed why Belle was choking and it was
nothing to do with carrot sticks! As her room-mate,
Belle knew better than anyone that Cat was
not
a
Morning Person.

'Uh-oh . . .' Holly breathed, nodding towards
Bianca, who was settling herself down at the next
table and whispering secretively with Mayu and
Lettie.

'Hm, I wonder what they're up to?' Cat mused,
happy to change the subject from her crazy
schedule.

'Oh, yes, I spent
ages
showing him round today,'
Bianca was saying importantly as she held her fork up
to the light to make sure it was clean. 'Miss Candlemas
asked me to take him under my wing . . .'

Cat had no idea who they were talking about, but
whoever it was, she felt sorry for him. Being under
Bianca's wing would be like being looked after by a
large, very hungry vulture.

'. . . yeah, so anyway, his name's Jack Thorne, he's a
Year Eight, and he's just starting here . . .' Bianca
continued, flicking back her razor-sharp platinum-blonde bob.

'Why's he starting in the middle of term?' Lettie
asked.

'His family has just moved back from Singapore. His
dad's something big in banking. Jack's done
loads
of
professional acting and singing already . . . '

'Ooh, I bet he's mega-rich,' Mayu simpered.

'And we already
know
he's mega-good-looking,'
Lettie added.

Bianca smiled. 'And he's got mega-good taste too,'
she said, with a sidelong glance to make sure that the
occupants of Cat's table were listening, 'because he
totally
couldn't take his eyes off me!'

'That must be the boy we saw in the hall earlier,'
Holly whispered, nudging Belle's elbow.

Cat noticed Belle trying to hide a slightly flustered
reaction, and . . .
was that just a trace of a blush?
'Well, he
obviously made quite an impression,' Cat remarked,
shooting a quizzical look in Holly's direction.

'He did not make an
impression!'
Belle snorted. 'And
anyway, he must be
demented
if he fancies Bianca.'

Cat grinned at Holly. 'Yeah, right! He sounds like a
total loser.'

Belle: Earthquakes, Gloating and Shepherds

On Monday morning Belle was woken by a
crashing noise.

It must be an earthquake!
She was about to
Drop, Cover
and Hold On
when she remembered she wasn't in Los
Angeles or San Francisco. She was in London. They
didn't have earthquakes in London.

She opened one eye and peered at her alarm clock.
It was almost six – time for her morning run. She
opened the other eye. It wasn't an earthquake. It was
Cat, banging drawers shut and stumbling out of
the door, leaving a trail of pyjamas and bedclothes
behind her.

Surely Cat hadn't started getting up early to do extra
work
already.
Belle couldn't believe it! Cat usually
bolted into the first lesson at eight thirty, still brushing
toast crumbs from her sweater. And when they were at
Cat's house in Cambridge at half-term, she'd stayed in
bed until lunch time – while Belle would be up chatting
to Cat's mum at the kitchen table, playing with Hannah
Montana dolls with her little sister, Fiona, or just
listening to her brothers squabbling.

Cat was so lucky to have a lovely 'normal' family.
Belle loved her own parents, but they weren't
exactly Mr and Mrs Ideal Homemaker. Mom was a
super-model and Dad was a film director; she caught
glimpses of them as they jet-setted around the planet
from one exotic location to the next.

Then Belle suddenly remembered:
Cat isn't getting
up to do her homework! She's gone to check whether the
Macbeth
cast list has been posted on the notice board yet.

Belle pulled on the running clothes she'd left neatly
folded on the window seat, and raced along the
corridor. She was dying to see the list too. Her audition
for the Messenger role had gone well on Saturday.

It was still very quiet everywhere as Belle trotted
down the sweeping staircase into the entrance hall,
the polished wood of the banister cool under her palm.
She spotted Cat at the notice board with the school
secretary. Mrs B was sitting in her swivel chair, but had
clearly just arrived – she was still wearing her tartan
coat and a woolly hat was pulled down over her grey
curls. As Belle approached, she saw that the cast list was
on Mrs B's lap, along with the biscuit tin she kept her
drawing pins in.

'Goodness me!' Mrs Butterworth laughed, shaking
her head. 'I came in extra early to put the list up, and
you're already prowling around like a pack of hyenas!
Here, you girls pin the list up. I can't do anything with
you breathing down my neck like that.'

Cat almost ripped the piece of paper out of Mrs B's
hand. There was a long silence as she scanned the page.
Then her face crumpled. 'No-o-o,' she groaned. 'My
name's not here!'

Shocked, Belle snatched the paper and ran her eyes
down the list. It was true. Cat's name wasn't on it.

But nor was Lady Macbeth's.

'This can't be the full list!' Belle said, placing her
hand soothingly on Cat's shoulder.

'No, it's not,' Mrs Butterworth called, scooting her
chair back from her desk, brandishing a second page.
'That one's only the minor parts and ensemble.'

Cat looked up, her wide grey eyes brimming with
tears. 'Oh!' she said weakly as Mrs B skidded to a halt
and handed her the page and the drawing pins.

She read the list:
'Macbeth, Luke Morgan . . . Banquo,
Ethan Reed,'
she murmured. Belle held her breath.
Suddenly a huge smile spread across Cat's face.
'YESSSS! Lady Macbeth – Catrin Wickham!'
she shouted,
throwing her arms up into the air.

'You did it!'
Belle told her as they bounced around
the hall in a victory jig.

There was a crash as the forgotten biscuit tin hit the
floor. The lid popped off, spraying drawing pins across
the tiles. Mrs B looked up from sorting the post at her
desk and rolled her eyes.

'Oh dear, I'm worse than Holly!' Cat laughed as she
crawled around on hands and knees, stopping every
now and again to consult the list, still clutched in her
hand, 'Brilliant! Nathan's got Macduff – and you got
First Messenger, Belle. Well done!'

'My first big acting role,' Belle joked as she fished
under the sofa for more pins. 'Five whole lines!' It
was
only a tiny part, but she was thrilled. Just being
involved in the production was going to be great fun,
and it was a chance to show that she could act as well
as sing.

'Ooh, look' – Cat laughed – 'Bianca got Hecate.'
Then she grasped Belle's arm as she crawled past. 'Oh,
no, look at this:
Castle Servant and Understudy for Lady
Macbeth – Mayu Tanaka!'

'Mayu's going to
love
that,' Belle said. 'Being
your understudy.'

Cat gave a wicked grin. 'Isn't she just.'

'Come on, I think we've got all the pins,' Belle said,
attaching the lists to the notice board. 'Let's go and tell
Holly the good news. We'll catch her before she goes
off for her swim.'

They ran upstairs, passing Mayu, who was on her
way down, and sped along the corridor. Cat ground to
a halt outside the room next door to her own. 'I can't
wait
to tell Holly!' she said, throwing open the door.

'Cat, that's not—' Belle started.

But it was too late. Cat yelled triumphantly, 'Guess
what – I got Lady Macbeth!'

'. . . Holly's room any more . . .' Belle murmured as
she caught up with Cat, who was staring at Bianca.

Bianca was sitting on the edge of her bed in her
dressing gown, with something that looked like a
plastic gas mask stuck to her face. Lettie was still curled
up in bed in her pink stripy pyjamas.

'I – I'm really sorry,' Cat was stammering. 'I forgot
that Holly had swapped rooms . . . I'll . . . just be, erm,
leaving . . . now . . . then,' she added, backing towards
the door. 'You just go back to . . . er . . . whatever it
is you were doing . . . er . . . What exactly
are
you
doing, Bianca?'

'Steam inhaler,' Bianca snapped, fixing Cat and Belle
with a stare of chilling disdain as she slowly removed
the device from her face. 'For my allergies. And stress,'
she added darkly. 'Which I get a
lot
of around here!'

At that moment there was a terrible howling noise
in the corridor. Mayu pushed past Belle and Cat, who
were still hovering in the doorway, and flung herself
onto a beanbag.
'Under . . . s-s-study,'
she wailed.
'Her
understudy!'And she pointed a finger accusingly at Cat.

'Wha . . . ?' Lettie mumbled, sitting up sleepily.

'Oh, so that's
really
why you came in here shooting
your mouth off,' Bianca said.
'Ooh, sorry, I forgot that
Holly had swapped rooms!'
she mocked, imitating
Cat's soft Irish accent. 'As if! Major league
gloating,
more like!'

'Yeah,' Mayu snarled, her despair quickly turning to
rage. 'And you should have seen them laughing at me
on the stairs just now—'

'We weren't laughing,' Belle objected.

'Let's get out of here,' Cat whispered. 'I'm going to
tell Holly – then I'm going straight back to bed.'

'And take that revolting animal with you!' Bianca
shrieked, throwing a sock in the direction of Shreddie,
the school cat, who had sneaked in behind them.

A little later, Belle was jogging round the sports fields,
listening to Basement Jaxx on her iPod and watching
the sun rise in a blood-red sky. She remembered
a scrap of an old rhyme –
Red sky in the morning,
shepherds' warning!

Belle was a city girl. She didn't know much about
shepherds, or what they might be warning people
about – being attacked by roaming flocks of vicious
wild sheep, perhaps?

Her thoughts kept straying back to the
Macbeth
cast
list. There was one name Cat hadn't noticed in the
minor parts.
But Belle had . . .

The Second Messenger was Jack Thorne.

It was a small part for someone who – if Bianca was
right – was a hot-shot acting type, but Belle guessed
he'd been too late to audition for the major roles.

Not that she was particularly interested, of course!

But she was really looking forward to the first
rehearsal . . .