‘O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?’ I said theatrically into the tiny mirror near my bed.

‘Juliet had better hurry or she’s going to be late for school!’ yelled Jean through the door.

‘Juliet doesn’t go to school!’ I yelled back.

‘I think her mum might have something to say about that,’ called Jean.

I looked at my phone. Argh! She was right. I’d have to ride like the wind if I was going to make English. It was all Tess’s fault for going in early. She’d usually come by in the morning and hurry me up. I wondered if she’d sit next to me in class, or if that was off limits now, too. I grabbed my bag, then ducked back to check my hair before racing down the stairs. My bright green nails flashed at me as I ran. Jean was right, they did sort of cheer me up.

‘Want to ride together?’ called Jean as I hit the bottom step and almost went flying.

‘Ah, sure.’ I was still a bit suspicious about why Jean was being so nice to me, but I was glad to have the company.

‘What’s with your hair?’ she said, staring at the flicked bits at the side. I’d tried to do something new – obviously it hadn’t worked.

‘Bad?’ I waited for the crushing comment, but it didn’t come. Instead, she flipped out a hairbrush from her backpack and started fixing it. ‘Maybe we could have another hair lesson tonight,’ Jean said, yanking the brush through my hair.

‘Ow!’ I tried to move away but the brush was wedged. ‘I can’t tonight. I have drama class.’

‘Oh, is that why you’ve done this to yourself?’ said Jean, gesturing vaguely in my direction.

Panicking, I looked down at the top I was wearing. It was a new green shirt that Mum had bought me for Christmas. I thought it looked good. Anyway, I didn’t have time to get changed. But Jean shook her head. ‘The clothes are fine. But the hair … it’s wrongtown.’

Any chance I had of making it to school on time went out the window as I waited impatiently for Jean to fix me. After what felt like ages, she stood back and smiled, pleased with herself. ‘That’s better. Not great, but given what I had to work with …’

‘Thanks a lot,’ I said, rolling my eyes. ‘Can I go now?’

By the time I’d pulled on my helmet, ridden to school, then taken it off again, I’m sure my hair looked exactly the same as it did every other day. But now I was also late. I skidded into class, wrote down some stupid excuse, and looked around for Tess. She was sitting next to some girl I’d never really noticed before, and there was no spare seat for me. In fact, the only seat left was right at the back of the class. I had to squeeze past about ten other kids just to get to it.

By the time I sat down, dropping all my stuff on the desk and getting a dirty look from Mr Eccles, I was feeling pretty awful. Usually I loved English, but today it was impossible to focus. I kept sneaking little looks over at Tess, but she didn’t look back. Not once.

After class, I packed up really quickly to try and catch Tess before she escaped out the door. But as I slid my books into my bag I heard a voice behind me whisper,‘Only a few hours until we know!’

I spun around. It was Freddy. He looked even cuter than usual in a white skater T-shirt and jeans.

‘Excited, my lady?’he asked, giving me a theatrical bow.

Grinning, I nodded. I liked being called ‘my lady’. ‘I can’t wait.’

Freddy nodded. ‘Me either. I’m dying to find out what part I got.’ Then he rolled his eyes. ‘Pity I have double maths to get through first!’

I pulled a sympathetic face, but before I could say anything, I saw Tess walk out, looking super sad. I dashed off, calling back,‘Gotta go! Later, Freddy.’

Tess was already outside by the time I caught up with her. I was glad to see that the girl she’d been sitting with in class had disappeared. At least we could talk alone.

‘Tess?’ I called, chasing after her.

‘Doesn’t Freddy want to walk to class with you?’ she said, refusing to even look at me.

I was pleased to see she was still wearing her friendship bracelet. We’d bought them years ago. They were identical, and the only time we took them off was for netball games, and only because the umpires made us. Surely that meant she hadn’t given up on me altogether?

‘Can we just talk? Please?’ I begged.

But she just started walking faster. I knew she had geography now, so I probably wouldn’t see her again until lunch. That is, unless she decided not to meet me in our usual spot near the netball ring. Our school was a big place – it would be easy to hide for an hour.

‘Go and find one of your drama friends, Edie. Maybe they’ll understand,’ she said, walking into her geography class and leaving me outside, feeling awful.

I know we’d always talked about playing state netball together, but I’d never imagined that would mean giving up drama. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that it was Tess’s idea to try out for state netball. I’d just gone along with it. She’d begged our Sapphires coach to put us forward. She’d found out the tryout dates. She’d tried to get me to practice before, during and after school – though I’d managed to negotiate that down to just lunchtimes.

I’d always loved playing netball, but maybe Jean was right. Maybe it did come easy to me, maybe that’s why I’d stuck with it. Maybe it was time to chase my own dreams. And that meant playing Juliet.

It also meant I was also going to be late for chemistry, if I didn’t get myself into gear.

Somehow, I made it to chemistry on time. I sat on a stool and took out my books reluctantly. Chemistry wasn’t one my better subjects. When I looked up, I realised Jackson was sitting on the stool next to me.

‘Hi,’ he said with a smile. ‘You excited about finding out your part?’

‘Yeah,’ I said, wishing I could just tell him.

‘You’d make a great Juliet,’ he said, fiddling with his books restlessly.

‘Thanks,’ I said. I knew Jackson had tried out for Romeo – we’d all watched each other’s auditions – but everyone assumed Freddy would get that part. I hoped Jackson wouldn’t be too unhappy with a smaller role.

‘So, are we blowing anything up today?’ asked Jackson.

‘I hope so,’ I said, remembering the class when we’d experimented with Bunsen burners and weird-smelling chemicals. The reaction had made little blue clouds of smoke puff up around the room. We’d been nagging Mr Gibson, our chem teacher, for explosions ever since.

‘Right, could everyone take out their notebooks?’ said Mr Gibson. Jackson already had his book out, but he wasn’t writing notes. He seemed to be drawing. I tried to lean closer to see the picture, and accidentally bumped into him. His pencil slipped, dragging a black line right across the page.

‘Sorry,’ I whispered.

‘That’s okay. It’s only pencil,’ he said, rubbing out the line. Then he slid the book over so I could see the pictures properly. There were little elf-like creatures dotted across the page, with tiny wings and tiny faces. They were pretty incredible. All I ever did in class was scribble notes to Tess. I slid it back with an impressed smile. He shrugged, pretending not to care what I thought, but I think he was secretly pleased. He blushed a bit, just like I did when Kerry said I’d done something well in drama class.

It turned out that Jackson wasn’t just good at drawing. He was also really good at chemistry – so he made the perfect lab partner. He explained why certain reactions happened when chemicals were mixed and amazingly, I almost understood him!

When the lunch bell sounded, I hurried off, anxious to see if I could talk to Tess. ‘See you later, Jackson,’ I said. ‘Thanks for the chemistry help!’

I raced to the netball court but I couldn’t see Tess anywhere. Normally we borrowed a ball from the sports club and shot goals while we ate our lunch. But Tess wasn’t waiting by the netball ring today. There were a few other girls hanging around, but I didn’t know them – they weren’t in my year level. I hung around hoping Tess was just buying her lunch at the school canteen, but after exactly seven and a half minutes, I knew she wasn’t coming. This was the first time I hadn’t eaten lunch with my best friend since we’d started high school. It felt awful.

I sighed, eyeing my soggy sandwich miserably. It drooped in my hand, seeming to match my mood. I tossed it into the bin and went off to the canteen. When in doubt, the cheese pizza is always edible, and makes a good alternative to some of the strange things I find in my lunch box.

All around me, kids were hanging out with their friends. I knew I could find people to have lunch with, but my best friend not talking to me somehow made the idea of hanging out with anyone else even less appealing. I kept wondering where Tess was.

I didn’t have to wait long to find out. Three bites into my pizza, just as the hot cheese fell off and burnt my lip, I saw Tess walk around the corner with a girl called Saskia. I knew she played netball because she’d been in one of the inter-school sports teams, but I’d never played with her. I wondered how Tess had suddenly become so friendly with her. Tess was bouncing a netball and laughing as they walked. She didn’t seem to be missing me at all. Unless she was pretending – but if she was, she could have acted her way into the school play, it was that convincing.

I had two choices. Either I could pretend I hadn’t seen her and wait for her to come to me, or I could dump the rest of my pizza in the bin and take off after her. Who was I kidding? I didn’t even really like cheese pizza.

As I rounded the corner past the theatre, I saw Tess on the netball court shooting a goal. At first I thought she was alone, but then I saw Saskia scoop the ball up and take a turn. They were practicing shooting goals. Just like Tess and I usually did at lunchtime. I felt sick. I couldn’t believe Tess had replaced me already.

As I watched them, I thought about the fact that Tess and I would probably never play another netball game together. Maybe when we were old and playing seniors, but not when we were young. I could keep playing with the Sapphires because I could fit it in around the school play, but Tess was on her way now. The thought made me really sad.

Now I felt sure that was why she was so angry with me. Not because I’d chosen to be Juliet, but because I hadn’t chosen her. No more training together. No more jelly snakes to celebrate our big wins. No more spending hours dissecting every game. She would find someone else to do those things with, and soon there would be a huge chunk of her life that I wouldn’t be a part of.

I had to shake myself out of it. I was playing Juliet. That was huge, and super exciting too, even if Tess didn’t see it that way. I just had to find a way to make her understand. I took a deep breath and walked over to where they were shooting. Tess shot a goal, and I grabbed the ball and threw it back to her, like we always did.

‘Hi, Edie,’ said Tess.

‘Hi, Tess.’ Talk about awkward. It sounded like we didn’t even know each other.

‘Remember Saskia?’

‘Yeah, hi,’ I said, without really looking at her.

‘Hey, Edie, I really want to thank you. Because of you, I’m trying out for a spot on the state team tonight,’ said Saskia. I think she was trying to keep it all light and friendly, but my stomach sank as she said it. Obviously when I’d turned down my spot on the team, they’d decided to run tryouts for my replacement. Great. If Saskia got in, she’d probably replace me completely, and she’d become Tess’s new best friend.

‘Good luck,’ I said to Saskia, not really meaning it.

‘Thanks,’ she said smiling, then picked up the ball and shot another goal. Tess passed it back to her and I decided it was time I found somewhere else to be. Obviously they didn’t want me around.

‘See you, Tess,’ I said as I walked off.

‘Bye, Edie.’

Tess and I had been best friends since we were seven – around the same time we’d first started playing netball together. What if netball had been our glue? What if, without it, our friendship was nothing? I hated the thought. And despite being super excited about the play, I just couldn’t shake the idea that giving up the chance to play state netball meant I’d be missing out on much more than just the sport.

The rest of the day dragged by. As soon as the last class finished, I headed for the theatre. As I got closer, I could see some of the other kids from drama class running towards the theatre. Everyone was racing to see the list. Freddy came thundering up behind me, and ran straight past.

‘Come on, Edie!’ he yelled over his shoulder.

Laughing, I tried to catch him, but he was too fast. It was a mad scramble. Everyone banged through the front doors, across the foyer to the corridor that led backstage. Freddy was in front. All around me, people were laughing – it was like a crazy marathon. I reached the wall where the list was pinned, but there were so many people crammed around it, trying to see their names, I couldn’t see anything at all.

I wasn’t as desperate as everyone else, because I already knew what part I’d been given, but I still wanted to see my name on the list. I squeezed my way through the crowd of students, closed my eyes and took a huge breath. I knew what I was going to see, but I wanted to feel the buzz of the surprise. I slowly opened my eyes and started scanning. I read Freddy’s name opposite Romeo, and grinned. I was going to star in one of the most beautiful tragic love stories ever written – with the cutest boy in school! We’d get to kiss every single night on stage!

I looked under Romeo and found Juliet, then scanned across to see my name. I just wanted to yell with happiness, and finally share my big news with everyone else. But it didn’t say Edie. It said Belle. I looked again. Wait, that couldn’t be right.

I scanned down the list and found my name. Next to my part. The part that Kerry had referred to wasn’t Juliet. It was the Nurse. Juliet’s Nurse. All of a sudden I felt dizzy. I stepped back from the list, and leant against the wall. My mind was spinning. The Nurse? I tried to remember exactly what Kerry had said about my part.

I hope you don’t feel too young to carry some of the weight of the play …

I felt my stomach drop. She never said I was the lead. I’d heard what I wanted to hear. All she said was that I’d done a great audition, that I’d be playing an important role. And she was right. The Nurse was one of the major roles – but it wasn’t Juliet.

What was I going to do? How would I ever face Tess? It was bad enough having to give up state netball to play Juliet, but to play the Nurse?

All around me other students were celebrating. I heard Belle squealing and Freddy singing. I had to get out of there before I started to cry. That would be the worst.

I pushed my way through towards the foyer, keeping my eyes down so I didn’t have to talk to anyone. I felt so embarrassed. How was I going to tell Jean? What about Tess? Oh god.

Before I could make it outside a girl called Mel, who was in my English class, appeared at my side, grinning. ‘Congrats, Edie!’

I must’ve frowned at her. ‘Thanks,’ I said, sounding anything but happy.

‘Don’t you want to play the Nurse?’ she asked, surprised.

‘Not really,’ I said honestly. ‘It wasn’t what I’d expected.’

She laughed. ‘Tell me about it. I’m backstage!’

I felt awful. Here I was complaining about my role, which actually wasn’t a bad role, and she didn’t even have a part. ‘Oh no, sorry. I didn’t mean to …’

She laughed. ‘Actually, it’s fine. Sure, I was hoping to be on stage, but I don’t mind the behind-the-scenes stuff, either. I still think it’ll be fun.’

‘Oh,’ I said, surprised at how fine she sounded. ‘But aren’t you upset?’

A girl called Sam pushed past us, crying, and Mel pulled a face. ‘Yeah, sure, a bit, but I’m not going to cry about it. I get it. It’s not just about being able to act – you have to be right for the part.’

I nodded. What Mel said made sense, but I still wanted to cry. I’d spent days imagining myself as Juliet. I was having a hard time adjusting.

‘Besides, being backstage means I get to boss you guys around. Make sure you don’t break the props!’ she said, laughing.

Mel was being really good about the fact that she hadn’t got the part she wanted, and what she was saying made sense, but I just couldn’t make myself see it that way. I’d given up state netball for this.

‘I’m really happy for you, Edie. You’ll be great in that role. And it’ll be fun hanging out,’ said Mel warmly.

I managed to nod. ‘Thanks, Mel. Yeah, it should be fun.’

I looked down the hall and saw Belle and Freddy laughing together. That’s when I realised there was something even worse than losing the part of Juliet to Belle. I would have to watch Belle and Freddy together on stage, kissing, and being amazing, for the next two months. Now I really felt sick.

I looked at my watch. Netball training would be just about getting started. If I rode my bike faster than I’d ever ridden before, I could still make it to the netball centre. Maybe I could explain that I’d changed my mind, and beg to be put back on the team. Maybe I could still play state netball after all. But I’d already told my sister and Tess how excited I was to be playing the part. How could I admit that I only wanted to act if I got to play the lead? If I really wanted to be an actor, then surely I should be happy to play any role – not just the lead role?

What was worse? Accepting the part of the Nurse – and admitting to everyone that I wasn’t Juliet after all – or grovelling my way back onto the state netball team? I couldn’t decide which one would be more embarrassing.