Centre Stage: A Novel

his head on Harriet’s knee, he gazed up at the biscuit she was munching with hopeful brown eyes. Mum’s new business was certainly going well. She had pets booked in almost every week until Christmas.
    Dad turned from the sink where he was washing up. ‘Did the journalists say when the articles would come out, Sophie?’
    ‘The local papers said some time in the next few weeks,’ I replied, feeding Billy a bit of my biscuit. ‘The journalist from Sugar said it would be in the December issue.’ I got up. ‘Can we have some crisps as well, Dad?’
    Dad nodded. ‘But just one packet. We’ll be eating as soon as I’ve taken Tom to Nick’s house.’
    ‘They’re playing at the hall in Nick’s village tonight,’ I told Ally and Harriet. ‘The talent spotter from the Junction’s coming to see them.’
    Dad checked his watch. ‘And they’re going to be late if they’re not careful.’ He went to the door. ‘Tom! Are you coming?’
    Tom came downstairs with his electric guitar. I stared.
    OK, now I know he normally looks weird but this time he had outdone himself. His hair was gelled into points, chains were strung from his pockets to his waist and he was wearing about ten bracelets on each wrist. As a finishing touch he had painted his fingernails black.
    I saw Dad do a double take. ‘Well,’ he said, blinking.
    ‘What?’ Tom challenged him.
    ‘Are you really going out like that?’ Dad struggled. He doesn’t normally like coming down the heavy-handed parent on us but I could tell even he was taken aback by Tom’s appearance.
    ‘Yes,’ Tom said. ‘Why?’
    ‘You look a bit… er… a bit extreme,’ Dad said.
    ‘Dad!’ Tom rolled his eyes. ‘We’re in a band .’
    ‘Yes, but there’s no need to look quite as…’ Dad seemed lost for words.
    ‘Stupid?’ I put in helpfully. Harriet giggled and even Ally smiled.
    ‘Sophie,’ Dad said warningly. He looked back at Tom. ‘Maybe you should tone it down a bit, mate.’
    ‘There’s nothing to tone down. I look fine, Dad,’ Tom said in exasperation.
    Dad looked like he was going to argue but then he just sighed. ‘OK. If you think so.’ He picked up the car keys. ‘Come on, let’s go.’
    They walked out.
    As soon as the door was shut I began to giggle. ‘Can you believe what Tom looks like?’
    ‘I know,’ Harriet agreed. ‘And he seems to think he looks cool.’
    ‘He didn’t look that bad,’ Ally said defensively, seeming to forget that even she had been smirking when she’d first seen him. ‘And it’ll be amazing if the Junction want his band though, won’t it?’
    ‘Amazingly unlikely,’ I grinned.
    ‘They’re good,’ Ally persisted. ‘They might get picked. And if they play at the Junction they might get discovered and become a real band.’ Ally looked excited. ‘They could be on Top of the Pops. ’
    Yeah, as if!
    Harriet checked her watch. ‘I should go. Dad’s expecting me home soon.’
    ‘I should go too,’ Ally said. ‘Good luck at the rehearsal tomorrow, Soph.’
    ‘Thanks,’ I sighed. ‘I think I’m going to need it.’
    *
    ‘And spin and reach and hold it there!’ An approving look spread across Dizzy’s face. ‘That’s much better, Sophie,’ she said. ‘And relax.’
    I lowered my arms.
    ‘That was a definite improvement,’ Dizzy said. ‘You still need to sort out the pas de chat jumps but those will come right with practice.’
    I felt a rush of relief. Dizzy had asked me to come in early to go through the ballet with her. It was so much easier to dance with just Dizzy. I didn’t mind going over and over each move if there was no one else watching.
    ‘I’ll go through it with you and Justine again after lunch,’ Dizzy told me. ‘Now go and put your shoes on; the others should be here in a minute.’
    I sat down and pulled my shoes back on — the ballet dance was going to be done barefoot and Dizzy had decided that it would be good to start practising barefoot right from the start. As I stood up, the others started to arrive.
    That morning we were working on the final company number. There were some quite difficult bits and I stayed near the back to avoid Dizzy’s eagle eye.
    ‘Are you OK on that last sequence, Sophie?’ she asked as she watched us do the dance in groups.
    ‘I’m fine,’ I told her.
    To my relief she nodded and turned away.
    ‘Didn’t look like it to me,’ I heard Samantha say. She was in the row behind me. ‘You messed up that second spin,’ she