Centre Stage: A Novel

liked and two we didn’t.
    ‘So who’s going first?’ Ally asked eagerly.
    ‘Me,’ I said. Ally held out the mugs and I took a piece of paper from each. I placed them in front of me. Then Harriet had a go, then Ally.
    ‘Go on, Soph,’ Ally urged. ‘Read yours.’
    I opened the pieces of paper. Seeing what was written there, I groaned. ‘My perfect date would be with Mr Davey and we’d go to the cinema.’
    Ally and Harriet burst out laughing.
    ‘Oooo,’ Harriet teased. ‘Sophie fancies Mr Davey!’
    I hit her with a pillow. ‘I so do not!’
    Still giggling, Harriet opened hers next. ‘My perfect date would be…’ she paused and wrinkled her nose, ‘with Tom, Sophie’s brother, and we’d go to the North Pole.’
    I glanced at Ally. She’d gone slightly red and I knew it was she who had put Tom’s name down. I know she fancies him although she’ll never admit it. She saw my look and hastily started to open her pieces of paper. ‘My turn! My perfect date would be with,’ she smiled, ‘Nathan and we’d go ice skating. Cool!’
    We played three more times and then I suggested we read the problem pages in Ally’s collection of Mizz and Sugar magazines. We all love looking at the problems. Some people ask the most obvious things!
    ‘No, let’s read my quiz book,’ Harriet said. She reached over and pulled a quiz book out of her bag called One Thousand Quiz Questions. ‘The quiz club try-outs are on Monday and I’ve got to practise,’ she went on. ‘We can all try answering the questions. It’ll be fun!’ She opened the book. ‘Look, here’s a question. It’s really easy. Who was the first Tudor king?’
    Ally looked at me. ‘Hmmm, quiz questions or problem pages — it’s a difficult choice, isn’t it, Soph?’
    ‘Very difficult,’ I said, pretending to be serious. ‘Now, which would I rather do?’
    Ally’s eyes met mine.
    ‘Read the problem pages!’ we both exclaimed.
    ‘You two,’ Harriet said, sighing half in exasperation. But I could tell she hadn’t really expected us to say we’d do the quiz questions. ‘I guess I’ll just have to read it tomorrow. But if I don’t do well in the quiz try-outs it’ll be all your fault.’
    ‘You will do well,’ I told her.
    ‘Yeah. And just think, once you’re in the quiz club you’ll see loads of Ben,’ Ally said.
    ‘That’s not why I want to get into the quiz club,’ Harriet protested. She smiled. ‘But it would be good, wouldn’t it?’
    ‘I can see it now, him asking you over to his house to practise,’ Ally teased. She pretended to be Ben. ‘Oh, Harriet, please come to mine and do some quiz questions with me — please,’ she said, putting her hands on her heart.
    I grinned and sang a song that we used to sing in primary school. ‘Harriet and Ben up a tree…’
    Ally joined in. ‘K-I-S-S-I-N-G!’
    For a moment Harriet looked annoyed, but as Ally and I made stupid kissing noises, a grin pulled at the corners of her mouth.
    ‘If only,’ she sighed longingly.
    I woke up early the next morning. As I blinked my eyes open, a prickle of nervousness ran through me. What was I feeling nervous about? Suddenly I remembered the auditions and in an instant, I was wide awake. Of course, I was waiting to hear if I’d got the part of Lucy. When would I know? Soon, please , I prayed.
    From the regular sound of Ally and Harriet’s breathing I could tell they were still asleep. I lay in my sleeping bag thinking about the auditions. They had gone well, hadn’t they? I hadn’t made an idiot of myself in the dancing, and my singing and acting had seemed OK.
    A horrible thought crept into my brain. What if Justine gets to be Lucy and I don’t? She’d been good at the auditions and she’d been Lucy before.
    No, it wouldn’t happen . I gulped. Would it?
    Trying to be positive, I shut my eyes and imagined being Lucy. It would be just the coolest thing ever. I’d have to miss school for a start!
    At last Harriet and Ally woke up. They were going riding together that day and although I love horses, being around them gives me hay fever, so after breakfast they set off for the stables and I went back home.
    ‘How was your sleepover?’ Mum asked. She was in the kitchen, brushing Snowy. From the silence in the house I could tell Tom and Jess were still in bed. But then they almost never get up before eleven if they can help it.
    ‘Good,’ I said, dumping my bag on the floor. ‘Do you want a hand?’ I asked, watching