Polly Plays Her Part

  “It’s going to be Marc, not Marcia,” said Monty B. “So bad luck, Sam.”

  I wasn’t that bothered if it was Marc or Marcia. I wasn’t that bothered about the show full stop. All I could think about was Mum leaving for Spain and me trapped for a whole year at Dad and Diane’s. I mean, it’s not like Mum would even be here to see me perform, so what was the point?

  And then, suddenly, a little thought popped into my head – and the minute it was in there it started to grow BIGGER and BIGGER. It was so obvious I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it sooner. Mum was always going on about how much she loved the last show and how she couldn’t wait to see me up on the stage again. So maybe the only way to stop her going to Spain – the one thing that might make her rethink the whole stupid plan – was for ME to get the starring role in CRASH!

  As soon as break was over and we were sitting back in a circle, I asked Mandy if I could be Marcia when we read through the script. I knew the auditions wouldn’t be for at least a week but I wanted her to know straight away that I was interested in getting a big part: that I had to get a big part to stop Mum going away.

  “Sorry, Polly, but like I said, it’s going to be Marc, not Marcia,” said Monty B.

  “No, it isn’t,” I snapped. “Why should you decide anyway? Mandy wrote it as Marcia, so it’s Marcia.”

  “Listen, Polly,” said Mandy. “I know I wrote it as Marcia, but Monty B does have a point. I’ll have a think about it and I’ll let you know next week. And yes, Polly, you can read Marcia’s part in Act One – and then someone else can have a go in Act Two.”

  Sam’s hand shot up and she started bleating on about how desperate she was to be Marcia. I had a quick look round at some of the other girls. I was pretty certain Catharine wouldn’t get a main part this time, because she’d had the biggest part in the last show. Ellie didn’t really want a big part, neither did Neesha, and I wasn’t sure if Phoebe would be confident enough. But Sam was the most confident person I’d ever met in my life and she had a really good singing voice.

  “Okay, Sam,” said Mandy, handing round the scripts. “You can read Marcia’s part in Act Two. But it’s just a read-through, girls, not an audition.”

  Sam glanced over at me and I knew what she was thinking. I stared her down. She wasn’t the only one who was desperate to get the main part and I could be pretty determined when I set my mind to it.

  The show opens with Marcia sitting alone at her computer. She’s playing her favourite game, The Rainbow Room, when she accidentally types in a secret code and the computer starts talking to her. She’s really excited at first, because she thinks if she talks back she might improve her score. But as the scene goes on, the computer threatens her and demands all sorts of personal information, and she ends up totally freaked out.

  She tries to log off but it’s too late and at the end of the scene she gets sucked right through the screen and into the game. Once she’s in there, the only way she can escape is to work out the new code – but if she fails to crack the code before her computer crashes, she’ll be trapped for ever.

  We started reading through and I tried to sound as frightened as I could. I tried to think of all the scary things that could happen to me, like finding a massive spider in my bed, or getting lost in the middle of the night, and it wasn’t that difficult really. I was frightened. Frightened Mum would fly off to Spain and leave me stuck at Dad’s for a whole year with Desperate Di and The Great Baby Jake.

  “That was fantastic, Polly!” said Mandy, when we got to the end of the first scene. “Let’s stop for a minute and I’ll play you the opening number. You’ll love it!”

  Phoebe linked arms with me as we walked across the hall over to the piano. “You were brilliant, Polly. You sounded absolutely terrified.”

  “Yeah but you haven’t heard me yet,” said Sam, pushing past us.

  “I don’t even know if I’ll be brave enough to audition,” said Phoebe. “Remember what happened last term? I was too scared to try.”

  “Yes, but Phoebe, you did end up singing that solo at the end of the show and it was wicked.”

  “No it wasn’t!” she said. Her face turned so red her freckles practically disappeared, but I could tell she was pleased.

  We stood around the piano while Mandy talked us through the opening song.

  “The first song starts while the computer is talking to Marcia. It’s called ‘Give Me Your Name – Give Me Your Number’, and basically it’s the computer bullying Marcia until she feels she has no choice but to do whatever it wants.”

  “You know, it’s actually very dangerous to give out your personal details on the computer,” said Tara Perkins, peering through her little round glasses. “There was something in the news last week about a girl our age who’d gone on this site called friend2friend – it’s a chatroom or something – and she got into all sorts of trouble.”

  I’d heard about friend2friend – it was one of the websites Dad had forbidden me from going on when he bought my laptop.

  “Yes, well that’s the whole point of the show, Tara,” said Mandy. “But I’m sure none of you would ever be silly enough to give out your personal details to anyone.”

  “Oh my God, yeah,” said Neesha, rolling her eyes. “My parents practically sit on my lap while I’m using the computer. I couldn’t do anything stupid like Marcia, even if I wanted to.”

  “It’s Marc not Marcia,” said Monty B, but no one took any notice.

  Mandy handed out the words and played through the music a couple of times.

  “Everyone, apart from Marcia, is going to sing the chorus as the computer,” she explained, “while Marcia shouts, No! and Get out of my head! and Leave me alone! I’ll sing Marcia’s part for now until we know who’s going to play her.”

  The chorus was quite tricky. The timing had to be just right, so we went over and over each line until eventually we were ready to put it all together.

  “Okay, let’s take it from the top,” said Mandy, playing the introduction. “And try to sound as sinister as you can.”

  We all sang a bit hesitantly at first, but by the final chorus we were belting it out.

  Give me your name – give me your number,

  Now is the time to understand the rules,

  That I am the one with the tools,

  To teach you, to reach you, to show you

  That I am the master and you must obey the rules!

  Yes, I am the master and you must obey the rules!

  Give me your name – give me your number,

  Give me your number, yeah, give it to me!

  Give me your number, then you will see!

  Give me your number, I’ll count to three!

  Give me your number – give it to me…

  One…two…

  We’d just about got to the end when the door flew open and Arthur burst in. Arthur’s the man who rents Mandy the hall and he looks pretty sinister himself. He wears this weird, black cloak and he’s got a manky beard that’s always full of leftover food.

  “Hello, Mandy!” he boomed, striding over to the piano.

  “Oh, hello, Arthur,” said Mandy, in a really cheery voice. We looked at her, surprised.

  “Why’s she being so friendly?” hissed Phoebe. “The last time she saw him she was ready to kill him.”

  “Beats me.” I shrugged.

  “What a pleasure to have you back after the holidays,” said Arthur. “And what theatrical masterpiece are you conjuring up for us this time?”

  “It’s called CRASH!” said Mandy, still grinning from ear to ear. If she grinned any harder her face would split open. “It’s about a girl who gets trapped inside a computer.”

  “Or boy,” said Monty B.

  “Oh marvellous,” said Arthur. “I’ve just got a new computer myself but I haven’t the faintest idea what it’s supposed to do. I leave all that to Mrs. Beagle on the church funding committee. She’s simply a whiz at all this modern technology.”

>   Mandy’s face didn’t change. Not even at the mention of Mrs. Beagle, who’d sold all our costumes at a church jumble sale last term – two weeks before the show!

  “Was it anything in particular, Arthur?” she said, still beaming. “Only we’re just learning the opening number.”

  “Carry on, carry on,” said Arthur. He put his hands together and bowed. “I’ll leave you to your creativity. Just one thing,” he said, stopping at the door. “I’m organizing a ballroom dance event to raise some money for charity. There’ll be a panel of judges and the winners will receive a sumptuous summer picnic hamper.”

  Phoebe squeezed my hand and I tried not to laugh.

  “Tickets are in my office if anyone would like to support the cause,” Arthur went on, tugging at his beard. “All the money raised will go towards buying a piano for the old people’s home in Cranbourne. I’m actually taking part myself, so while I’d love to stay and chat, I really should be off to practise my foxtrot!”

  And with that, he disappeared, his cloak billowing out behind him.

  “Are you okay, Mandy?” asked Monty B.

  “I’m fine,” said Mandy, but she wasn’t smiling any more. She slumped down onto the piano stool as if the effort of being nice to Arthur had worn her out. “It’s just that I decided during the holidays that I wasn’t going to let Arthur get to me any more. I know he means well, but it was one thing after the other last term. I really can’t cope with any more lost costumes or fish on the walls. This term I’m just going to smile and pretend he doesn’t really exist – not in any meaningful way that could affect my life.”

  “Is it working?” asked Catharine.

  “Erm…ask me in a few weeks,” said Mandy

  “But what do you mean exactly by fish on the walls?” asked Sandeep.

  “Trust me,” said Catharine. “You really don’t want to know!”

  We carried on singing for a bit. Mandy put Sandeep with the altos, because his voice was really low and deep, and Rachel with the sopranos. I was itching to try out Marcia’s part, just to see if I could do it, but I knew I’d have to wait.

  When we’d finished Sam had her turn reading Marcia’s part and, I hate to admit it, but she was really good. Monty B had a quick go too, being Marc, but he kept adding bits and he refused to give the computer his name and code, which would obviously change the whole story.

  “I’m not taking this seriously, you know,” said Mandy, trying to keep a straight face.

  Neesha rolled her eyes. “Oh my God, yeah, I’d be worried if you did start taking him seriously,” she said. “You do know his middle name is Moron!”

  “No it’s not!” said Monty B. “It’s—”

  But he stopped himself just in time, clapping his hand over his mouth.

  We ended the session with my favourite game, SPLAT! I was splatting people so fast it was like playing THWACKERS on the computer: Splat! Splat! Splat! Until the only two people left were me and Sam.

  “Oh look, we’ve run out of time,” said Mandy, glancing up at the clock. “Never mind, we’ll have two winners today. Well done, you guys.” Everyone cheered and it was a great way to end the session, but I knew that when it came to casting the show there was only room for one winner and it wasn’t going to be Sam Lester – not if I had anything to do with it.

  “There’s just one thing I’d like you to do at home,” said Mandy before we left. “Pick a scene – any scene you like as long as it’s only got two characters. Practise until you can perform it without using a script and then we’ll pair up and take a look at them next Saturday.”

  “Do you mean like an audition?” asked Sam.

  “Yes, I suppose it will be an audition in a way,” said Mandy. “We’re going to be performing the show in June, so we’ve really got to get going.”

  Mum was waiting for me downstairs. She’d decided that we should spend the rest of the day together, shopping. It was supposed to cheer me up or something. We set off up to the chemist so she could buy some suncream and other bits for Spain. She spent ages walking round the aisles picking up all sorts of lotions and potions until her basket was practically overflowing.

  At the make-up counter we both tried on some new lipstick, squashing together to see our faces in the tiny, cracked mirror. Mum chose the brightest red she could find and then kissed my cheek hard, giggling like a teenager.

  “How was drama?” she asked, kissing me again and again until my cheek was covered in crimson kiss marks. “I bet it was nice to see everyone?”

  I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen her this happy. I was dying to tell her about the show and about how much I wanted to be Marcia, but I decided to keep quiet. It would be so much more exciting to tell her when the part was mine.

  I didn’t mind being at Dad and Diane’s so much now that I had a plan. Instead of playing THWACKERS that night, I read right through CRASH! and chose a scene for my audition. I wanted to do something really dramatic to try and convince Mandy I was the right person for the part. The best scene was in Act Two, when Marcia meets Tarn for the first time inside the computer.

  Marcia’s running down the inside of an electric cable trying to get away from Cydore, the deadliest of all the viruses, when Tarn appears suddenly and helps her escape. Tarn tells Marcia that he’s been trying to crack the secret code for years and that real time stands still when you’re inside the game.

  Tarn: That’s why I’m still thirteen. I’ve been trapped for so long but when I get out my parents won’t even know I’ve been missing.

  Marcia: My parents wouldn’t notice if I went missing anyway. They don’t notice I’m alive half the time. Sometimes I wonder why they bothered to have me in the first place.

  Tarn: But that’s why you’re here, Marcia. They search for the kids who don’t have anyone to look out for them.

  Marcia: What do you mean, That’s the reason I’m here? And who are they? You’re scaring me, Tarn.

  Tarn: You’ll find out soon enough…come on, someone’s coming and it might be Cydore. Follow me!

  They make a pact to look out for each other and, even though Marcia is trapped, she actually feels less lonely stuck in the computer with Tarn than she does in her real life.

  When Dad came in to say goodnight he offered to read Tarn’s part, so I could practise properly, but I shook my head. “No thanks.”

  “Come on, Princess Polly. It might help you with the audition.”

  “What do you care? Anyway, I’m not your princess and I don’t need any help. Not from you.”

  Dad sighed and walked over to the door. I could see he was upset, but that was his problem. He stopped in the doorway and turned to look at me.

  “You know, I was in a play once at school,” he said. “I had to kiss this girl, Kelly Bates, but it was a nightmare. She kept making this really stupid face, screwing up her eyes and sticking her head forward, as if kissing me was the worst thing in the world. There was no way I could do it. I nearly burst trying not to laugh every time I even looked at her.

  “‘For pity’s sake, Simon – just kiss her!’ Mrs. Mulbury, the drama teacher would shout, but I couldn’t. For years after that all my mates used to tease me about it. ‘For pity’s sake, Simon, just kiss her!’ they’d shout out whenever a girl walked past us – any girl. It put me off acting for life!”

  He looked over at me with his head on the side, practically pleading with me to say something. I tried to imagine him on the stage with Kelly Bates, trying not to laugh, and I nearly smiled – but I forced myself not to.

  “Well, give me a shout if you change your mind. I don’t mind acting again if it’s to help my princess.”

  He hung around by the door for ages, as if I was going to change my mind that second.

  “Can you close the door behind you?” I said in the end. The longer he stood there the closer I came to saying sorry, or throwing myself into his arms for a cuddle, and there was no way I was going to do that.

  In the morning, I di
dn’t even hang about to eat breakfast. I raced straight off to see Cosmo. If my plan worked, and I got Mum to change her mind about Spain, it would only be another couple of weeks until I could move back in.

  “You’d best stay here in the meantime,” I said, cuddling him on the doorstep. “There’s no point putting you through all that upheaval for such a short amount of time, is there – you’ll only end up confused.”

  He pushed his face right into mine, over and over.

  “I miss you too, Cosmo,” I said, sighing. “But the auditions are on Saturday so we should find out our parts before Mum’s due to leave. I reckon we’re talking two weeks tops.”

  We cuddled for a bit longer and then I went inside to see Mum. She was in the kitchen listening to her Learn Spanish in a Month CD.

  “Hola, Polly!” she cried as I came in. “Buenos dias.”

  “Can I have some breakfast?” I said. I put a slice of bread in the toaster.

  “That means, ‘Hello, Polly, good morning.’ What do you think of my accent?” She pulled a face and groaned. “I know, I know, it’s dreadful. No one’s going to understand a word I say. How about this then? Cómo te llamas?”

  “Is there any peanut butter?” I rummaged through the cupboard. “Why is there never anything to eat in this house any more?”

  “Come on, Polly. Cómo te llamas? That means, ‘What is your name?’ You have to say, Me llamo Polly. Repeat it after me.”

  “You already know my name and anyway I’m not going to Spain so I don’t need to learn Spanish. Why don’t you repeat that after me!” I pressed stop on the CD player and put on some really loud music.

  Mum turned it off and sat me down at the table.

  “Don’t be like that, Pol. I know how upsetting this is for you and I’m going to miss you like mad, but it won’t be as bad as you think.”

  “You keep saying that, but it’s not you who has to live at Dad’s with Desperate Di and The Great Baby Jake.”