Read Online Pumpkin Pie by Jean Ure - Free Book Online

all right. Then I would be noticed, even at the back! But we didn’t ever get to voice exercises because Mrs Ambrose said that now Miss Dobson was going to talk to us, and we all had to sit on the floor and listen.
    I was disappointed at not being able to show how well I could do
hoo hoh haw
and
sproo spray spree,
but I did find the talk interesting. She told us all about being a pupil with Mrs Ambrose and how she had gone on to a full-time drama school when she was seventeen. She told us about “early struggles” and “bad times” when she had had to do all kinds of different jobs, such as for example being a waitress and scrubbing floors, to earn a living. She told us how her big break had come when she was chosen to play a part in
Screamers.
She had been in it for ten years.
Ten years! A
sort of gasp went up. Ten years was almost as long as some of us had lived!
    Finally, she told us that the acting profession was the finest profession in the world, but that you had to be tough if you wanted to survive. Mrs Ambrose said, “Hear, hear! I second that,” and Saffy poked me in the ribs,
again,
and hissed, “See?”
    To end up we had a question and answer session when lots of people wanted to know how to get into drama school full time and which drama school to try for, and Zoë told everybody how she’d already been in two commercials and a television show, and Saffy kept poking and poking until I thought I would scream. I hissed,
“Stop it!”
and she hissed,
“Say something!”
and I hissed,
“Not yet!”
I didn’t want to do it in front of everyone. After all, it was personal.

    I waited till the session had finished and Mark had said thank you on behalf of all of us and Miss Dobson was putting her coat on. Then I scuttled across the room – propelled by a particularly vicious jab from Saffy-and breathlessly, before I could get cold feet, gabbled, “Miss Dobson, my name’s Jenny Penny and my mum helped you buy your house in Clonmore Gardens!”
    There was a pause, then she looked at me, sort of… not in the least bit interested, and said, “Really? That must have been a while ago.”
    “I was six,” I said. “I was sitting on my mum’s desk and you said hallo to me.”
    “I’m afraid I have no memory of it,” said Miss Dobson. “I’ve lived in so many different places since then.”
    “Oh. Mum wanted to know if you were still there,” I said.
    “No,” said Miss Dobson. “I’m not!”
    I could see that she wanted to leave, but now that I’d started I just didn’t seem able to stop.
    “I really enjoyed your talk,” I said.
    “Good,” said Miss Dobson. “That’s good.”
    “You told us so many interesting things!”
    “Well, you know… one doesn’t like to be boring.”
    “Oh, you weren’t
boring,”
I assured her. “It was just, like, incredibly fascinating! To hear all about when you were young, and – and being out of work and everything.”
    Miss Dobson gave another of her tight little smiles.
    “Honestly,” I said, “I found it truly inspiring!”
    “I’m glad to hear that,” said Miss Dobson. “Now, if you’ll excuse me—”
    She opened the door, and I raced round in front of her.
    “I know it was a very long time ago and things have changed, like you said how you got a grant to go to drama school and these days you probably couldn’t, but—” I beamed up at her. “It’s what I want to do! More than anything… I want to be an actress!”
    “You do?” said Miss Dobson.
    I nodded rapturously. I had done it! I had talked to her! Saffy would be so pleased with me.
    “You want to be an actress?” Miss Dobson was eyeing me up and down, as if weighing my chances. “Well, my dear, the best advice I can give you,” she said, “is to shed some of that excess baggage you’re carrying.”
    A terrible hush fell over the room. Everyone just, like, froze. Including me. Normally if I am embarrassed I will go all hot and red, but this time I did the exact opposite. I