I don’t know what happened or where they went or what they talked about, but I was halfway through a long list of all the reasons why maybe it hadn’t been such a great idea in the first place, when Mum came running up the stairs and straight into my room.
“Thank you, Phoebe,” she said, her eyes bright with tears. And she pulled me into her arms for the biggest cuddle ever.
I was so nervous the next day I could barely eat a thing. I spent most of the morning watching the clock. Ellie texted me to say she’d forgotten all her lines, every single one, and Monty B texted me to say I should bring my dark glasses to the hall because he’d dyed his hair again and it had gone very wrong!
We arrived at the hall at five, got changed, and then ran through a couple of scenes and songs to warm up. Everyone was so excited and it was difficult to believe the day of the show had actually arrived after practising and practising for such a long time.
Julian had totally transformed the stage and it looked incredible. During the week he’d come in with a few guys from his work and painted the walls dark grey – covering the turquoise and the fish completely. On the back wall he’d painted a window frame with a silhouette of a city skyline, and to the side of that, an old-fashioned spiral fire escape and some tall, grey gates.
Somehow he’d managed to get hold of these manky old mattresses for us to sleep on and he’d built a special area for the Jelly-Skulls with loads of spiders’ webs and eyeballs and things hanging from the ceiling.
For the scenes that took place in Baron-Von-Bolt’s office he’d made a sort of extra layer of scenery, which according to know-it-all Sam was called a flat. The flat was painted pale blue with a huge, shimmery moon and lots of silver stars. There was a certificate hanging on the wall stating that Baron-Von-Bolt was President of the Dream Factory and a desk with a giant calculator for Adam to add up all his money. It looked really professional, and not like a church hall at all.
I thought Mandy was going to cry when she saw it.
“Julian,” she shrieked, practically flinging her arms round him. “You’re a miracle worker. Thank you so, so much – I love it!”
I think Neesha might’ve been right about Mandy fancying Julian. I hope she was in a way, because he had to be better than Mandy’s old boyfriend, the demon Declan.
When we’d finished warming up we went back into the changing room behind the stage to have a snack and something to drink. The audience were starting to come in and Mandy didn’t want anyone to see us before the show started. I opened my bag to take out my water bottle, and stuck at the very bottom I noticed a small white envelope. It was a good luck card from Mum and Sara. It had a huge gold star on the front and loads of kisses inside. I knew it was sweet of them, but I couldn’t help feeling sad that Dad’s name was missing.
Suddenly Neesha flew in through the door.
“I swear the hall’s like nearly full! My entire family is in the front row – I saw them on the way back from the loo! I’ve only been about fifty times! Has my make-up come off, Phoebe?”
I leaned up to pin back a strand of her hair that had come loose. “Your make-up’s fine, Neesha, but how full is it, really? Are there any spaces left? How many chairs are there anyway?”
“Oh my God! Trillions! Mandy, how many seats are there in the hall?”
“Well, there are about eighty I think, but tomorrow we’ll put out a few more because I think at least a hundred people are coming to the evening performance.”
“Don’t be nervous, Phoebe,” said Catharine, putting her arm round me. “Just imagine that everyone in the audience is naked.”
“Except for my nan!” said Monty B. His hair was so bright it was practically psychedelic. “The thought of her naked might really put you off your lines.”
“Oh my God, yeah, and what about the thought of you naked,” said Neesha, “that would be enough to put someone off their lunch never mind their lines!”
“Listen up, everyone,” said Mandy, laughing. “It’s almost time to go on. You all need to take a few deep breaths. If anyone makes a mistake, just carry on – chances are the audience won’t notice. Now remember, I don’t want to hear a sound while you’re offstage in the wings because the audience will hear, and for goodness’ sake, don’t forget to smile!”
The door opened again and Arthur popped his head round to wish us luck.
“Loving the costumes,” he said. “It’s funny, but they look just like some Mrs. Beagle sold at the church jumble sale last month.”
“Thank you, Arthur,” said Mandy, steering him firmly towards the door and practically pushing him out. “Thank you so much.”
We all started to giggle.
“Okay, shush, everyone, we’re starting. Tara’s mum is going to stand in the wings and make sure you all appear when you’re supposed to. I’m going out to the piano now. As soon as I start playing, that’s your cue to come on.”
We stood in the wings, straining to hear the piano, but the only sound I could hear was my stomach churning over and over and I had to concentrate really hard not to run straight out to the loo. Then the lights went down – the hall was suddenly silent – and Mandy began to play.
We survived Act One without any major disasters. Catharine was amazing and we got a really big cheer at the end of Scream! A couple of people forgot their lines, but somehow we carried on.
In the interval I started to feel seriously ill. Everyone else was rushing around, excited now that the first scary bit was over, dying to get back onstage – but of course for me the scariest part was still to come. I sat down, but that was a mistake; my legs turned to jelly and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get up again before Act Two started.
“Wasn’t that amazing?” Monty B plonked himself down next to me, practically knocking me off the chair.
“I so wish we were doing more than three performances,” said Sam, coming over to us. “Adam, you were brilliant! I nearly wet myself in one of our scenes – you added loads of stuff that wasn’t in the script.”
“It’s called improvising,” said Monty B. “All the best actors do it!”
“Yeah, well it nearly gave me a heart attack. So warn me next time, will you?”
“Well you can’t actually warn someone you’re going to improvise,” Adam started to explain, but just then Mandy popped her head round the door. Her eyes were shining and she looked very excited.
“Well done, you lot! That was fantastic! Keep your energy levels up; I want Act Two to be even better. Let’s talk it through. We’re going back on in about five, so quieten down for a bit or you’ll lose concentration.”
The rest of the show seemed to race by and suddenly it was time for my solo. Somehow I walked to the front of the stage, every muscle in my body tensed up as if I was about to take part in a boxing match.
Mandy played the introduction and even though I’d heard it a trillion times before, for a second it got all confused in my head. I missed my first two lines, forgot the third and fourth, and just about managed to get out the last, before Sabine rushed on, gave me a cuddle, and the lights went down. What a star!
Backstage, it was chaos. Everyone was talking at once:
“Did you see me turn the wrong way in Don’t Let the Bed-Bugs Bite?”
“I nearly died when that telephone fell off the table!”
“The bows were brilliant. You got such a loud cheer, Sam!”
“Where are my jeans? I can’t find them anywhere!”
I really wanted to join in with all the noise and excitement but I couldn’t.
“Shame about your solo, Phoebe,” Polly said suddenly. “Never mind, I’m sure no one else noticed.” I looked around to see if any of her friends were listening, but she was by herself. I couldn’t work out if she really meant it was a shame – or if she was being sarcastic, so I turned away and carried on getting changed.
“Hang your costumes up,” Mandy shouted above the din. “Don’t leave anything on the floor, especially you, Ellie!” She
came over and put her arm round me. “You were fantastic, Phoebe! I told you you’d be fine.”
But I knew she was just saying it because I wasn’t fine at all – I was rubbish.
After a bit Gran came in to get me.
“Phoebe Franks! That was amazing. Did you hear me cheering at the end? You were SO good, sweetheart. Come here and give me a cuddle.”
“Don’t be so nice,” I felt like saying as she pulled me close. I could feel tears start to prickle at the corners of my eyes, but I really didn’t want to spoil the evening.
“Didn’t you see, Gran? I missed out the first four lines of my solo, and I only have five!”
“Don’t be daft, Phoebe, no one in the audience would notice something like that. All I know is that you sang and danced like a professional, and I could hear every word you said. Your grandpa would have been so proud. Now come on, love, let’s go home. You must be worn out.”
I felt a bit calmer in the morning but I was still nervous about doing my solo. I kept telling myself that I was a star in the making and I’d said Donny’s mantra about a million times. The trouble was, I didn’t really believe in his stupid mantra any more than I believed in myself!
Dad rang to say he was coming to see the matinee with Sara and that he’d pick her up a bit later. I still really wanted Mum and Dad to watch the show together but Mum had already arranged to come to the evening performance by herself. It was stupid but I just had this weird feeling inside that if they came to see the show together I’d be able to sing my solo and everything would be okay.
In the end, even though I tried so hard, the matinee performance wasn’t much better than the opening night. It would be difficult to describe how the music I’d listened to so many times before could suddenly sound so completely unfamiliar, but it did, and as I walked to the front of the stage I missed my entrance again. I just stood there doing my very best impersonation of a fish until finally my brain connected to my mouth, and the last couple of words came out. Thank goodness I didn’t get the part of Sabine; it would have been the biggest joke ever!
In the break between the matinee and the evening performance, I noticed that Polly Carter’s dad was there. Polly hadn’t mentioned her new baby brother at drama or at school, and she seemed to be going out of her way to pretend her dad didn’t exist either. I wanted to ask her about the baby, what his name was and stuff, but I was pretty sure she’d just tell me to get lost.
I almost managed to get my dad out of the hall without him talking to anyone about magic auras or hands-on healing, but just as we were about to escape through the door Monty B came bounding over to us.
“Hi, Mr. Franks,” he said. “What did you think of the show? Wasn’t it great?”
“Hey, Monty B, nice to see you. No need to call me Mr. Franks…”
I closed my eyes tight. Surely even my dad would realize that you can’t just go round telling people that your name is Eagle Dust?
“…just call me…Rob.”
I opened my eyes. Everything was normal. Monty B was chatting away, like he does, about turquoise walls and Christmas angels and stolen costumes, and then bang in the middle of a sentence he spotted his nan and went bounding off in the opposite direction.
“See you later, Frankie,” he called over his shoulder, before crashing into a row of chairs and landing on his bum. He looked up from the floor and blew me a kiss, then hauled himself up and lurched across the hall.
“Crazy as ever,” I said, giggling, and steered Dad and Sara out of the hall. We went to eat at McDonald’s even though Dad said he wouldn’t touch the food himself, but I was so hungry I ordered two burgers and a large fries.
I was halfway through my second burger when Polly walked in with her dad.
“Look, there’s Gobstopper!” Sara shouted out, waving and pointing. “Hey! You were really, really good!”
“Oh, thanks,” said Polly, blushing a bit, then she looked at me and smiled. “You were really good as well, Phoebe.”
I was so surprised I nearly choked on my burger, but I recovered enough to smile back.
“Yeah, you were something else, Phoebe,” Dad said, totally unaware that anything weird was going on between me and Polly. “You lit up the stage, you really did. It was so great to see you up there on the stage performing; I could hardly believe it was you.”
I wanted to thank him for not telling Monty B that his new name was Eagle Dust, and for not saying anything embarrassing to any of my friends, and most of all for not mentioning how I’d ruined my solo, but I was still trying to get my head round the fact that Polly Carter had actually said something nice to me.
“Do you mean lit up like a Christmas tree, or something?” Sara twittered on, feeding her chips to Barney. “You know I can’t wait to join myself; it’s going to be so brilliant! I thought you were really good as well, Phoebs, apart from stuffing up all your lines at the end.”
“Never mind about stuffing up my lines, I’ll stuff my chips down your throat if you don’t shut your mouth!”
“You know what, Phoebs?” said Dad. “I wish I could come and watch the show again tonight.”
Sara snorted. “I know it was good, Dad, but it wasn’t that good!”
Back at the hall with an hour to go until the evening performance, I started to feel quite excited. I pushed the small matter of my solo to the back of my mind and went to find the others. Julian was there again helping Mandy put out the extra chairs. They were listening to really loud music and mucking about and when I walked past them, Julian winked at me and said, “Make way for the star of the show!”
Everyone was in the dressing room at the back, signing each other’s programmes and sorting out their make-up with Tara’s mum. Adam had put on Sam’s costume for a joke and he was teetering about in her high heels and ultra-short mini-dress.
“Bend down! Bend down!” cried Monty B – and he stuffed the front of the mini-dress with a pair socks.
“Oh my God, Adam! I am so going to bribe you at school with this,” shrieked Neesha, taking a load of photos of him with her phone.
“You’re just jealous, Neesh,” said Monty B. “Here, I’ve got some spare socks if you want them.”
“As if,” said Neesha grabbing the socks and then wrestling Monty B to the floor.
She was just in the process of stuffing the socks down his trousers when Mandy came in.
“Hey! What’s going on? Actually I don’t think I want to know, but be gentle with him, Neesha; I can’t face sewing any more costumes! Oh, and Phoebe, your mum just popped in to buy an extra ticket. She’s lucky because it was literally the last one available – it’s standing room only now!”
I didn’t even know Mum was bringing someone and I wondered just for a second if it might be Dad. The thought of them watching me in the show together gave me the most amazing tingly feeling right down to my toes, even though I knew there was actually more chance of Mandy getting married to Arthur than of Mum and Dad sitting next to each other for more than five minutes without getting into a huge row.
“Take a photo for me, will you?” I asked Catharine, giving her my phone and I pulled Ellie and Sam and Tara and Neesha round me. Mum and Dad might not be able to sort themselves out – but I wasn’t going to let that spoil my first ever show at Star Makers.
“Say ‘Monty B’,” said Catharine, and we all made stupid faces and collapsed on the floor, laughing. Then Monty B and Adam came over and actually sat on top of us and Catharine took another picture.
By seven-thirty the hall was packed. It was so full some of the parents had to stand at the back, and the atmosphere was electric. Waiting to go on I felt like it was my birthday and Christmas all rolled into one and I knew there was nowhere else in the world that I’d rather be.
Mandy popped backstage just before we were due to start. She looked amazing. Her hair was black with bright, yellow tips, and she was wearing a silky yellow top, with tight black jeans and these outrageously high-heeled boots.
&n
bsp; “Give it your best, guys. It’s your last chance – just give it everything you’ve got.”
A few moments later the lights went down and the show began.
It was so much better than the opening night and the matinee. I couldn’t believe how good everyone was. Nothing went wrong and every song got a massive cheer. I tried to spot Mum in the audience but it was too packed and the lights were too bright. When Monty B came on wearing his pink tutu I thought I heard her laugh but everyone cracked up so I couldn’t be sure. I was having so much fun I wanted it to go on for ever but the whole performance seemed to pass in seconds and suddenly it was time for my solo.
As I walked to the front of the stage something made me look out across the hall. It was just a feeling really. And there, through the dazzling lights, right at the back in the middle, I could just about make out Mum and Dad. They were standing next to each other, sort of together but separate, looking right at me, as if somehow I had the answer. And then as Mandy played the introduction to my song, Dad held out his hand to Mum – and without taking her eyes off me for even a second, Mum reached her hand out back to him.
It was as if everything else had been one long rehearsal leading up to this point. I looked across at Mandy and she gave me a huge, encouraging smile. I could hear all these voices in my head. Mum and Dad arguing, Sara announcing at breakfast that morning that my life was about to change, Polly saying sorry at the hospital. But loudest of all I could hear Mandy telling me that it was my time to shine. I took a deep breath, opened my mouth and without the tiniest quiver of hesitation, I sang my solo.
The audience leaped to their feet cheering wildly and a thousand sparkly fireworks exploded around the hall. Well, inside my head anyway! It was like magic. Coming on for the bows I glanced down at my feet to see if they were still touching the stage because I felt as if I was at the top of that mountain I thought I’d never be able to climb. I’d found my voice! Finally, after all this time I’d found my voice and I felt like a star. I wanted to fling my arms around everyone and tell them I loved them!