Centre Stage: A Novel

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Authors: Linda Chapman
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friends. I forgot about her.
    ‘Congratulations!’ I exclaimed, racing over to Harriet with Ally.
    ‘You were brilliant!’ Ally cried.
    ‘Thanks,’ Harriet said shyly.
    ‘Ben got in too,’ Ally said. ‘And he likes you!’
    Harriet went pink. ‘He doesn’t,’ she said quickly.
    ‘He does!’ Ally insisted. ‘It was totally obvious when he was talking to you.’
    ‘There’s going to be luuuurve in the quiz club,’ I grinned.
    Harriet looked very hopeful. ‘I can’t wait till the first meeting,’ she grinned back.
    Although I was really pleased that Harriet had got into the quiz club, the downside was that now Kelly had it in for her even more. She, Rachel and Leanne kept giggling and whispering comments whenever Harriet went by or answered a question in class. I just didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t like they were really bullying her but I could tell Harriet was getting upset.
    I told Ally about it. ‘She’s just got to ignore them,’ she said when I rang her on Friday night. ‘If they see she’s not bothered then they’ll stop.’
    ‘But she is bothered,’ I told her. ‘She hardly answered any questions in Maths today.’ I sighed. ‘They’re just such losers. I mean, if I say anything to them they shut up but then they just start again the next day.’
    ‘Harriet needs to say something to them herself,’ Ally said.
    ‘I know,’ I replied. ‘But she just won’t, and she won’t even really talk to me about it.’
    ‘Do you think I should try and speak to her about it tomorrow?’ Ally asked. ‘We’re going to be at the stables all day.’
    ‘Good idea,’ I said. Maybe away from school, Harriet would talk about it more. I hoped so. It was horrible seeing her getting upset.
    ‘I’ll ring you tomorrow,’ Ally said. ‘Tell you how it goes. Good luck at the rehearsal.’
    The rehearsal! My heart pitter-pattered with excitement. ‘Thanks,’ I said, wondering what it was going to be like. One thing was for sure, I couldn’t wait to find out!

Chapter Seven
    ‘Here we are,’ Mum said the next day, parking the car outside an old Victorian house. There was a noticeboard on its wrought-iron gates which said, Clawson Academy of Performing Arts .
    I fumbled with my seat belt, my heart turning somersaults.
    ‘So, are you excited?’ Mum asked
    Excited? I was so excited I could hardly breathe. I nodded. ‘Very!’
    Mum and I went into the school. There was a signpost with a big arrow which said, Lion, Witch and Wardrobe rehearsals — Bernhardt Theatre .
    We followed the arrow down a corridor and out into a courtyard. On the opposite side of the courtyard was a modern black-and-white building with the words Bernhardt Theatre in big letters over the doors.
    ‘That looks like the place,’ Mum said.
    We went over to the theatre. Inside there was a small foyer and then double doors which opened into a room about the size of our school hall. There were lots of people milling around. There wasn’t a stage but at the side of the room platforms were stacked. The ceiling was high and criss-crossed with metal lighting bars and in the far corner of the room there was a scaffolding tower.
    ‘Hello, it’s Sophie Tennison, isn’t it?’
    Looking round, I recognized Velda. ‘Hi,’ I said, nodding.
    Velda smiled at Mum. ‘You can leave Sophie now if you want. She’ll be ready to be collected at four.’
    Mum looked at me. ‘Is that OK?’
    I nodded. There were loads of other people my age or a bit older there, and none of them had their parents with them. ‘Yeah, I’ll see you later, Mum.’
    Mum said goodbye and left.
    ‘We’ll be starting in about five minutes,’ Velda told me. ‘Help yourself to a drink and biscuit.’ She pointed out a table with big jugs of orange juice on.
    I was just about to head over when I heard someone call my name. I looked round. Justine was hurrying towards me.
    ‘Did you get the part of Lucy?’ Justine demanded.
    I nodded.
    ‘So did I!’ Justine

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