By the time Friday came along I’d managed to put it out of my head and was only thinking about our rehearsal. We met in Ruby’s garden right after school.
‘Hurray for Friday and no homework!’ Ruby said, pouring everyone a big glass of strawberry smoothie her mum had made specially for our meeting.
‘Yes, thank goodness that’s over. The first week back at school just seems like it lasts forever, doesn’t it?’ Laura said.
‘Oh, I thought it was just me!’ I said. ‘You know, with not having been to school for a while. I thought I was just finding it hard to adjust to sitting at a desk all day.’
‘How did it work when you were in LA?’ Hannah asked. ‘Did your tutor come to your apartment?’
‘Sometimes she did, and sometimes we’d be on the film set and I’d have lessons in between takes,’ I said. I stopped, wondering if I’d said too much, then added quickly, ‘I mean, if Mum was doing a full day of acting, and she didn’t want to leave me at home all day. My tutor and I would go to the studio or wherever they were filming, and I’d do some lessons in the dressing room or the trailer. Then I could watch some of the filming too.’
‘That must have been so cool,’ Hannah said with a wistful sigh. ‘I’d love to watch a film being made.’
‘Some of it is pretty boring,’ I said honestly. ‘There’s a lot of doing the same thing over and over. But there are always new people to meet and production guys running here and there. And the food! Oh wow, you should just see the snack trolleys.’
‘A bit different from lunch time in school I bet,’ Ruby said with a laugh. ‘I’m sick of packed lunches already. This was a long week – I felt like the weekend would NEVER come!’
‘I think everyone feels like that the first week,’ Laura said.
‘And plenty of other weeks too,’ Hannah said, which made us laugh.
‘Anyway, the weekend’s here now, so YAY!’ said Ruby. ‘Cheers, everyone!’ She raised her glass of smoothie in the air and we all clinked glasses.
I smiled around at my friends, feeling a warm glow that I was part of such a close group. I didn’t know if they realised just how important they were to me. The fact was it was ages since I’d made any new friends. Actually, if I’m being honest, it was ages since I’d had any friends at all. That’s a really sad thing for a twelve-year-old girl to admit, isn’t it? Sad, as in pathetic, though I suppose it’s pretty sad in a boohoo, woe is me sort of sense as well. But then I’m not exactly an average twelve-year-old as Dad always likes to remind me. I know Mum would like me to be, though. But hanging around on a film set, having lessons with a tutor instead of going to school, means the chance to make friends isn’t really there. I thought of some of the kids I’d been friendly with in my school in New York, and before that in Dublin. It would have been great to stay in contact with them, but we were all too young to have our own phones or email or anything like that, and my family was always on the move, so we’d kind of lost touch. I was determined that whatever happened now I’d stay friends with Ruby, Laura and Hannah.
‘So should we start with the cast list, or with the storyline?’ Hannah asked, opening her notebook.
‘Cast list, cast list!’ Ruby and Laura chorused.
‘OK – how are we going to decide?’ Hannah asked. ‘I don’t feel like we have such obvious choices as we did last time.’
‘Don’t you?’ I asked in surprise. ‘I do. I’ve been thinking about it all week and I keep picturing us all in certain parts.’
‘I just keep picturing myself in all the parts and wanting to play them all,’ Hannah admitted. ‘That’s a sign of a good story I suppose! Well, why don’t you tell us what you were thinking then, Meg?’
‘OK – well, I think Ruby would be great as Cinderella,’ I said.
‘Oh NO!’ Ruby protested at once. ‘I thought you’d be Cinderella, Meg. I couldn’t play her.’
‘Why not?’ I asked, surprised at her reaction. I had been so sure that Ruby would love to be Cinderella.
‘I thought of Ruby for Cinderella too,’ Laura said. ‘You look just right for the part.’
‘But it’s the biggest part in the show,’ Ruby said, looking worried. ‘I just don’t know if I’d manage to learn the lines.’
This was something I hadn’t thought of. Of all of us, Ruby was the one who had struggled the most with learning her lines in the last show. We’d worked hard to help her and by the time performance day came around she was absolutely fine. But would giving her the principal role be too risky?
‘Oh, you’d be fine,’ Hannah said, though she didn’t sound completely sure. ‘But you don’t have to if you don’t want to. Is there another part you’d prefer?’
‘I thought maybe I could be the handsome boy,’ Ruby said. ‘I’d like the chance to play a boy. I think I could convey the part well using movement, you know? It’s something we do in ballet exercises sometimes.’
‘But you’re much smaller than any of us,’ Laura said. ‘Wouldn’t it look weird that Cinderella was way taller than the prince? Or handsome boy, I mean!’
‘I don’t think that matters,’ Ruby said, sounding kind of stubborn. ‘So what if the boy is smaller? Anyway, it sounds like a much shorter part so I think I could manage it OK.’
‘But Ruby, whoever plays the boy has to play the cool aunt as well,’ Hannah pointed out. ‘Remember, we worked out that’s the way we’d do it because they’re not in the same scenes.’
‘Oh, right, I’d forgotten that.’ Ruby looked anxious. ‘Well, maybe I could do Cinderella then – I’m not sure.’
‘What about the ugly stepsisters?’ Hannah asked. ‘Who did you have in mind for those, Meg?’
‘Well, don’t take this personally, but I thought maybe you and I could play them,’ I told her. ‘Even though it would obviously be extremely difficult to make ourselves ugly enough.’
Hannah laughed. ‘I’m glad you added that bit. I’d be happy with that, I think we’d make a good pair.’ She smiled at me, and I beamed back, thrilled that she liked the idea of us working as a pair. Tracey had definitely got it wrong, I decided. Of course Hannah was my friend.
Laura groaned. ‘I suppose that means you want me to be the one doing two parts again.’
‘Well, that’s what I thought, but of course you don’t have to if you don’t want to.’ I glanced around the group, feeling a bit anxious. It seemed like only Hannah and I were really happy with the parts I’d suggested. Was our show about to fall apart before we’d even started?
Hannah was obviously feeling concerned too. ‘We could just put all the parts into a hat, and take whichever one we pick out?’ she suggested. ‘Or, you know, we could always pick a different story to do if people think this one’s not right for us?’
Laura gave Hannah a fake punch. ‘I’m only joking, silly! I’m actually happy with two parts – it stops me getting bored of one! And it’s fun coming up with completely different looks for the two.’
We all looked at Ruby, who blushed and said shyly, ‘Well, if you really want me to be Cinderella, I’ll do it. Just don’t make my lines too long, OK?’
‘Brilliant!’ exclaimed Hannah. ‘That’s settled then. Now we can get on with planning the scenes!’
‘Are you sure, Ruby?’ I asked her quietly. I didn’t want her to feel pressured into it. That was no way to start off a big part.
But Ruby nodded firmly. ‘Yes, it’s good to challenge myself! Anyway, I’ve just remembered that Cinderella is a ballet too, so it will be good to get the practice if I want to be a prima ballerina some day!’
‘Oh well, it’s perfect for you so!’ I said, exchanging glances with Hannah. I could tell she was also wondering how playing a modern-day Cinderella would help Ruby to dance the part in a ballet some day, but if it made her feel more positive about the role that had to be a good thing. Maybe I could help her work on her lines and find an easy way to bring the part to life.
‘OK, so scenes!’ Hannah said. ‘Let’s start with the stepsisters being mean to Cinderella – and let’s make them as horrible as we possibly can!’
The rest of our meeting flew by and I couldn’t believe it was six o’clock already when Ruby’s dad came out to tell her dinner was ready and it was time for the rest of us to go home.
‘Let’s meet up again tomorrow,’ Hannah suggested. ‘What time is your ballet class, Ruby?’
‘It’s at ten, so any time after eleven would be OK with me,’ Ruby said.
‘We can have it at my house tomorrow, if you can get a lift over,’ Laura said. ‘You could get your mum to drop you over after ballet, Ruby.’
‘I’m sure Mum would give Hannah and me a lift,’ I said. ‘She can go over and visit Sadie and Grandad while we’re rehearsing.’
Sadie and Grandad live across the road from Laura, which had come in handy a couple of times already.
‘Cool,’ said Hannah. ‘Tomorrow it is then!’