Tally can hear the buzz in the classroom from halfway up the stairs. Excited voices float down the stairs and she picks up her pace, keen to find out what is going on. Pushing through the doorway, she scans the room and sees that the majority of the class is huddled in a group around one of the desks.
“Hey, Layla!” she calls, spotting her friend in the midst of the crowd.
At the sound of her voice, the chattering stops, and everyone turns to look her way. The air fizzes with a strange tension, the way it sometimes does before a fight in the playground, and Tally’s feet hesitate, reluctant to go any further.
“Tally!” calls Jasmine, beckoning her towards the group. “Come and see! You’re never going to believe it!”
“Uh-oh,” mutters one of the boys. “This is going to be interesting…”
Tally swallows hard and then slowly walks forward. People step to the side as she passes, peering through the fog of confusion to see the source of all the commotion.
And then she’s at the desk and everything snaps into a clear reality.
“Hi!” Carrie’s beaming face looks up at Tally. “I’m back!”
Tally stares at her in disbelief. “But you’re ill,” she tells her. “You’re not coming into school until at least next week.”
Carrie laughs. “I got better!” she says, standing up and spreading her arms wide. “Isn’t it great?”
“You’re back just in time to play Little Red in the production!” squeals Jasmine, clapping her hands. “It’s perfect!”
“No.” Tally is aware that everyone is looking at her, but she can’t let this happen. “I’m Little Red.”
“Here we go,” says Luke, elbowing Ameet. “I told you that she’d kick off.”
“Nobody is kicking off,” snaps Layla. “And shut up, Luke. It’s none of your business.”
“OK, everybody, let’s all sit down.” Miss Balogun sweeps into the classroom before anyone can say anything else. “We’ve got a lot to sort out today, so let’s get going.”
She sits down at her desk and pulls out the register.
“Good morning, Lucy,” she calls. “Good morning, Ameet.”
Tally sink downs into her seat and stares at the table.
“Good morning, Jasmine,” continues the teacher. “And good morning, Carrie! We’re all glad to have you back, aren’t we, year six?”
Twenty-nine voices murmur their agreement. One voice remains silent.
Once the register is finished, Miss Balogun looks out at the class. “So, we’ve got one last day of rehearsing and then the production is tomorrow afternoon. There’s still some painting to do on the backdrop, and we need to make sure that everyone has the correct costume and props.”
“Miss!” Jasmine’s hand shoots into the air. “Is Carrie going to have her part back?”
“It’s not her part,” mutters Tally quietly. She plunges her hand into her pocket and pulls out the ladybird necklace, keeping it hidden below the desk while tipping it from one hand to the other.
“That’s a very good question,” Miss Balogun tells Jasmine, casting her gaze from Carrie to Tally and then back to Carrie. “And one that I think we need to address immediately. Right – I’m going to talk to Carrie and Tally, and the rest of you need to get out our class book and start reading up to page…”
Tally zones out, focusing on the necklace in her hand. If ever she needed some good luck, she needs some now, and she closes her eyes, letting the lucky charm glide between her fingers.
Please let me keep the part of Little Red.
Please let Miss Balogun choose me.
And then the necklace falls. Tally feels it slide through her fingers and she scrabbles to catch it, but it slinks and slips out of her grasp, landing on the floor with a light, metallic tinkle, so quiet that it can barely be heard.
The gasp that comes from Layla’s mouth is harder to ignore. Tally opens her eyes and sees Layla staring, her eyes darting from Tally to the necklace by her feet. Quick as a flash, Tally reaches down and picks it up, encasing the ladybird inside her fist and bracing herself for the cries of outrage.
The pointing fingers.
The shouts accusing her of being the thief.
Nothing happens.
The teacher is still talking and the room is suddenly unbearably hot, but nobody reacts. Tally risks a glance at Layla, whose face is one big question mark, but her friend doesn’t say a word. When Tally sneaks a look around, the other kids are either busy opening their reading books or doodling on a scrap piece of paper or, in Miles’s case, staring out of the window with an expression that says he would far rather be out there than stuck inside this classroom.
Nobody except Layla has seen.
She’s got away with it.
“Girls!” Miss Balogun is beckoning to Tally and Carrie. “Let’s have a quick chat out in the corridor.” She walks to the door and turns to look at the rest of the class. “I will be listening, so no messing about,” she warns.
“You took it?” Layla whispers, leaning closer to Tally. “How could you?”
“Come on, Tally!” calls Miss Balogun. “This will only take a few minutes.”
Tally pushes back her seat and stands up. She doesn’t know what Miss Balogun is going to say, but she does know that she can’t lose her part. Not now. She reaches the door and turns to look back at Layla. Her best friend, the person who is always there for her, no matter what, gives her a sad look and shakes her head before turning away.
Maybe she hasn’t got away with it after all.
“You can’t give her the part back,” Tally blurts out, the moment that she’s outside the classroom. “It’s mine now and she isn’t even supposed to be here.”
Miss Balogun holds her hand up. “Hang on a second,” she tells her. “I want us to talk about this properly, and that means that we have to listen to each other.” She turns to face Carrie. “What do you think, Carrie? Do you even want to play Little Red after so much time off school? You’ve missed a lot of rehearsals.”
Carrie’s face goes a bit pink. “I’ve been working really hard on learning the lines,” she says earnestly. “And I can still remember where I have to stand on the stage and everything.”
“OK.” Miss Balogun nods. “Well, this is slightly tricky. Tally has also been working really hard to learn the part, and I’m not sure that it would be fair for me to take that away from her.”
“It definitely wouldn’t be fair,” agrees Tally.
“I understand,” says Carrie at the same time.
Miss Balogun’s lips press tightly together, and her forehead scrunches up.
“I think, on reflection, that we’re going to have to let Tally make the decision,” she says slowly. “Carrie – you head back into class and give us a moment, please.”
She waits until the other girl has gone and then looks at Tally.
“I know that this is hard,” she says simply. “And I also know how important it was to you to play the part of Little Red. But I also know that Carrie was excited about it too.”
Tally shrugs. It isn’t hard at all. Miss Balogun has said that it’s up to her to choose, and it’s an easy choice to make.
“I want to be Little Red,” she tells her. “Carrie can help Miles with the lights.”
A flicker passes across the teacher’s face, but it’s so fast that Tally can’t work out what it means. Then she nods and gestures towards the classroom door.
“Very well,” she says. “I’ll tell Carrie that you are to have the main part – she’s going to be disappointed, but I’m sure she’ll understand.”
And then she disappears back into the classroom, leaving Tally in the corridor wondering why she isn’t feeling as happy as she really should be.