On Monday morning, I put my costume and all my accessories into my schoolbag. Mum gave me a lift to school. We had planned it so that I got there a little later than usual. I didn’t want to have to tell my story dozens of times to different groups in the yard. I was planning to do like Laura had suggested and just tell everyone in one go at news time.
‘Good luck, darling, I’ll be thinking of you,’ Mum said, blowing me a kiss. She didn’t drive off right away, but sat in the car watching as I walked in the school gate. It felt good knowing she was there.
The bell rang and I ran to join my line, glad we’d managed to time it right. If other kids had seen the posters or the newspaper ads, I didn’t have to know about it just yet.
When Miss Brennan asked if anyone wanted to share some news from the weekend, I put my hand up straight away. Miss Brennan looked surprised. Probably because I hadn’t put my hand up for anything, I thought to myself, never mind sharing news.
‘Yes, Meg?’ she said.
Hannah had turned around in her seat and was smiling encouragingly at me. I took a deep breath. ‘Before I moved to Carrickbeg I lived in Los Angeles for a while, and when I was there I had a part in a film,’ I said. ‘It’s called Power Struggle. It’s not a very big part, but it was fun to do. And now the film is about to come out, so it will be in the cinemas soon.’
There were gasps all around the classroom. I glanced over at Tracey, who just looked bored.
‘How wonderful, Meg,’ Miss Brennan said. ‘What’s the film about?’
‘It’s about three politicians all fighting for the top job,’ I told her. ‘My mum plays one of them, and I play her daughter.’
‘It sounds fantastic,’ Miss Brennan said. ‘I can’t wait to see it. So, does anyone else have any news?’
And just like that it was over and done with. I listened as Aaron told Miss Brennan how his team had won their soccer match on Saturday, and Aoife described how she’d been at her cousin’s birthday party.
‘Well, what a lot of good news we have to share today,’ Miss Brennan said. ‘Exciting times for lots of the class. And now we have our performance to look forward to on Friday! So please line up at the door now, we’re going down to the hall to practise our songs. And then we’ll have the dress rehearsal of Cinderella!’
Miss Brennan was amazing. I couldn’t believe how she had handled the whole thing. And now I got to put it all out of my head for a while, and concentrate on our dress rehearsal!
The four of us watched the rest of the class singing their first song, then Miss Brennan excused us so we could go and change. Filled with excitement, we gathered up our costumes and made for the girls’ toilets. Ruby showed us the outfit her mum had bought her for the disco scene – a very short silver dress.
‘That’s so cool!’ I told her.
‘And you’ll get to wear it again, too,’ Hannah said. ‘I’m not sure we’re going to get a whole lot of wear out of these leggings, Meg.’
She pulled the stripy leggings out of her bag, and we giggled again at how hideous they were. Soon we’d managed to make ourselves look almost unrecognisable. I had a scarlet wig, a purple feather boa, and the horrible green stripy leggings. Hannah wore a very similar outfit, but in different colours – her feather boa was orange, her leggings were pink and black stripes, and her wig was electric blue. Both of us were dripping in beads and sequins, as over the top as we could make ourselves look. Ruby was wearing a dowdy brown dress that had come from Sadie’s attic. It was frayed at the bottom and had patches sewn on. The dress was baggy enough that she could wear the silver dress underneath, so she could change quickly for the disco scene. Laura looked much older in her pointy glasses, skinny jeans and a glittery top, stumbling slightly in her high heels.
Miss Brennan knocked on the door. ‘Are you girls nearly ready? Your audience is waiting.’
Ruby squealed in alarm. ‘I’ve forgotten the disco ball, Miss! It’s still in the classroom.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Miss Brennan said soothingly. ‘I’ll go and get it while you set everything else up. I’m really looking forward to seeing this performance.’
‘Don’t forget your other costume,’ Hannah said to Laura as we gathered up our props. Like Ruby, Laura would have to change for the disco scene, swapping her top and high heels for a boy’s shirt and trainers, and tucking her long black hair underneath a short brown wig.
‘Got it,’ Laura said, patting her bag. ‘Come on, let’s go!’
In the corridor outside the hall, we could hear the class talking at full volume, taking advantage of the fact that Miss Brennan hadn’t come back yet. We went through the stage door and into the wings, taking a sneaky peek at our classmates waiting in the hall. I felt the familiar surge of adrenalin before a performance, longing to throw myself into the part. At the same time, I was glad it was only our own class we were performing for now. It was a bit less daunting than performing for the whole school and all the visitors for the School Centenary would be. That’s if I got to take part, I reminded myself. I squashed down that thought, determined to focus on my performance.
Miss Brennan appeared behind us with the disco ball. ‘Now, have you got everything?’
‘I think so,’ Hannah told her. ‘We’re going to use that folding table for the soft drinks table, and we’ve got the sheet hung up behind it – they’re behind the second set of curtains, so they won’t show in the early scenes.’ She showed Miss Brennan the sheet, which Hannah and her brothers had painted with silhouettes for the disco scene.
‘It looks wonderful,’ Miss Brennan told her. ‘All right, get set up there and I’ll go and settle down this noisy lot!’
She stepped out in front of the curtain and the class immediately fell silent. Miss Brennan was a kind, warm sort of person, I thought, but she also knew exactly how to make the class fall into line.
‘Now children, remember this is a dress rehearsal, which means we behave exactly as if it’s the real show. We run through the whole thing without stopping. Meg, Laura, Hannah and Ruby are all ready and waiting to give us a fantastic performance, and we’re going to be a fantastic audience too, aren’t we?’
The class responded with a big round of applause and there were even some cheers from some of the noisier people. I gulped. I hoped we could live up to their expectations.
The curtains swung back, and it was time to begin.
The first scene went wonderfully. Hannah and I got straight into our parts, jeering and mocking Cindy, talking in screechy voices and trying to outdo each other. I couldn’t believe how different Hannah was from her usual friendly self – she had really thrown herself into the role. I wondered if I was doing as well as she was. Then I heard the audience laughing loudly at one of my lines, and immediately I felt better. After all the times we’d said those lines just between the four of us, it was so great to get the reaction of an audience to whom it was all new. Ruby was such a contrast to the ugly stepsisters, looking lonely and bedraggled in her torn dress. I was thrilled to see that the movements I’d helped her come up with really did help to convey the fact that she was totally subdued by their bullying.
Before I knew it, our first scene was over, and Hannah and I left the stage, calling insults to Cindy as we headed to the disco. Laura tottered onto the stage, her heels making a clacking sound. ‘Cindy, darling, whatever is the matter?’ she exclaimed. ‘Now do dry those tears and tell your Auntie Faye all about it.’
In the wings, I smiled at Hannah. Laura really did sound exactly like my mum! We were glad to have a little breather and a chance to watch the other two acting. We could almost see Ruby, as Cindy, swell in confidence as her cool aunt told her, ‘Cindy, you SHALL go to the disco!’
There was a short scene before the disco bit with just Hannah and me on the stage, giving the other two a chance to quickly change their costumes. My initial nerves were gone, and I relaxed into the role, enjoying the interaction with Hannah and how we brought out the best in each other’s performance.
The disco scene was the best. Ruby drifted onto the stage, looking gorgeous in her new outfit, and as light as a feather as she floated through her dance.
‘Who does she think she is?’ Hannah exclaimed. ‘She looks so plain. She’s not even wearing any beads!’
‘I know!’ I responded, as the audience laughed. ‘What a fashion disaster! She clearly doesn’t know anything about how to put an outfit together!’ I twirled my feather boa as I spoke and the audience laughed again.
‘The boys are never going to notice her!’ Hannah sneered.
That was Laura’s cue to come on. Looking completely different, she strode onto the stage in her boy outfit and started chatting Ruby up. Hannah and I looked on in disgust and started making lots of jealous remarks.
Although the class had seen bits of our show before, they hadn’t seen the ending. Our original twist to the story, where Cindy decides she’s going to go off and live with Auntie Faye, went down really well, and Isabel and Aoife cheered. As Ruby finished her final line, everyone broke into applause. We looked at each other, thrilled with how well it had all gone, and grabbed each other’s hands to take a bow together.
‘That was wonderful, girls!’ Miss Brennan said. ‘Wasn’t it, class? You’re going to be the stars of School Centenary day.’
Just like that, the joy at our great performance disappeared, and the agonising knowledge that I had to make a choice rose up within me once again. I knew I couldn’t keep it from my friends any longer. ‘Can you guys meet me behind the hedge at break time?’ I said as we started to tidy up. ‘There’s something else I have to tell you.’