Centre Stage: A Novel

that night. The portion of fish and chips I’d had at Harriet’s house, plus the enormous tub of ice cream we’d demolished afterwards as we watched the video of Scooby Doo , seemed to sit like a boulder in my stomach. I tossed and turned, my mind whirling with thoughts.
    How had Ally got on at the party? Had she and. Nathan kissed? What was Dizzy going to say to me the next day? Something told me she wasn’t going to be too pleased with me for disappearing after rehearsal without talking to her. What was I going to say to her? I needed to ask for her help. But if she was really mad with me…
    And what about the rehearsal? The next day, Claire was going to decide which team would perform on the opening night. There was no way my dancing was good enough. My team weren’t going to get chosen and it would be all my fault.
    I finally fell asleep about three o’clock in the morning. When my alarm went at seven thirty I woke up feeling bleary-eyed. My head ached and all I wanted to do was crawl back under the covers and go back to sleep.
    I didn’t want to face Dizzy. I didn’t want to go to the rehearsals. I was going to have to do my ballet solo in front of everyone. Oh no… My stomach did a loop the loop at the thought.
    ‘Sophie!’ Mum banged on my door. ‘Are you awake? We need to leave in an hour.’
    ‘I’m awake,’ I said. ‘Mum,’ I called quickly before she could go downstairs. ‘Could we go a bit earlier to rehearsals today?’ I went to the door and opened it.
    Mum was looking surprised. ‘Go earlier? I thought the rehearsal didn’t start until nine.’
    ‘It doesn’t, but I need to talk to Dizzy before the rehearsal starts,’ I said. ‘She’s always there early.’
    Mum shrugged. ‘OK, we can go as soon as you want to. I’ll go and get your packed lunch ready.’ She set off down the stairs.
    Closing my door, I quickly got dressed. I had to talk to Dizzy. I needed to ask for her help. I knew there was no way she could wave a magic wand and get me dancing perfectly by the rehearsal that morning. But really, how much did that matter? Don’t get me wrong. I wanted my team to be chosen for the first night, of course I did — but I could see that I had to be realistic. Surely what really mattered was that I could dance well enough when the show started. Maybe with Dizzy’s help, I could improve sufficiently so that I didn’t make a complete fool of myself when I was actually on the stage.
    I was just about to leave the house when I remembered Ally. I checked my watch. Eight o’clock. She would kill me if I rang her so early. I’d have to call her when I got home that evening.
    ‘Are you ready to go, then?’ Mum said, picking up her car keys.
    I took a deep breath. ‘Yes, I’m ready,’ I said.
    When we reached Clawson Academy, I waved Mum off and then headed into the school. As I reached the foyer of the theatre, my feet slowed down. I felt sick. What was Dizzy going to say to me?
    I walked nervously into the theatre. There was no one there. It all seemed very quiet. My heart beat quickly. When would Dizzy arrive? I felt like turning and running away. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe I should just wait until everyone arrived.
    I heard the sound of voices. Velda and Dizzy. As they came into the theatre, my stomach lurched. Oh no, what was Dizzy going to say?
    Dizzy stopped in surprise when she saw me. ‘Sophie!’
    ‘You’re here early,’ Velda said. ‘Did you think the rehearsal started at half eight or something?’
    ‘No, I, er… just wanted to see Dizzy,’ I stammered. I looked at Dizzy. Her face had creased into a frown that looked seriously scary.
    ‘Well, I’m glad you’re here. I want a word with you. Why did you dash off like that last night?’ she said, coming over to me. ‘I told you I wanted to speak to you.’
    ‘I-I’m sorry,’ I said, hanging my head.
    ‘This isn’t a school play, Sophie,’ Dizzy went on. ‘It’s a professional production. When you’re asked to do something, you must do it. Disappearing like you did last night is not acceptable.’
    I felt awful. ‘I know. I should have stayed.’
    ‘Yes,’ Dizzy said seriously. ‘You should have. I wanted to talk about your solo. I can’t understand why you’re finding it so difficult.’
    ‘It’s because I’m useless!’ I exclaimed, the words spilling out of me. ‘I’ve been trying to pretend I can dance but I can’t. I get everything wrong. I can’t do the solo. I can’t do