Sam in the Spotlight Read online

  “You wouldn’t believe how much Riley has grown,” he said to me as we grabbed some chairs and sat down. “I think my mum’s going to ring your aunt at some point today to let her know she can come and pick him up this afternoon. Why don’t you come with her and we can go over some of our scenes together?”

  “Oh, I’ve heard all about Riley,” said Sara. I shot her a look. “Oh, he’s just the most gorgeous, cute, adorable thing that I’ve ever seen in my life! That’s what you said the other day, wasn’t it, Sam? Or maybe you weren’t talking about Riley at all?” She snorted into her script.

  “Drop it, Sara. Let’s just do the scene. Mandy’s going to come over in a minute.” I put my hands up to my cheeks to try and cool them down. I was going to kill Sara later. She might be jealous of me but I wish she’d just keep her mouth shut. And there was no way I was going back round to Adam’s. There was a limit to the amount of times I was willing to make an idiot of myself.

  We had a go at setting the scene ourselves and were just in the middle of showing Mandy what we’d done when Arthur came in.

  “All hard at work,” he boomed. “That’s what I like to see.”

  “Is everything okay?” said Mandy, blushing a bit.

  “Couldn’t be better,” said Arthur.

  He didn’t say anything else for a minute and neither did Mandy.

  “So…” she said in the end, prompting him to get on with it.

  “So…the thing is, Mandy my dear, I was just wondering if I might ask you something… ahem…in private.”

  Mandy started to blush even more. “I’m sorry, Arthur, but I can’t just walk out and leave the children.”

  “Oh, not to worry,” said Arthur, backing out of the room. “I’ll catch you later on, if I may. It won’t take a second.”

  He swung round and swooped out of the room, his funny black cape flying out behind him. Mandy just stood there, staring at the door. She was probably trying to work out how quickly she could escape at the end of the session. I looked over at Ellie and she raised her eyebrows, grinning.

  We couldn’t talk about Arthur or the letter at break because Monty B, Catharine and Neesha were sitting with us. Sara was sitting on the other side of the hall with Tara – the further away the better as far as I was concerned – and Adam was helping Sandeep sort out a game for later on in the session.

  “Don’t forget you’re coming out with Eddie today,” said Ellie. “What do you feel like doing?”

  I shrugged, shaking my head. I didn’t feel like doing anything, not with Eddie.

  “Are you guys coming as well?” she asked Polly and Phoebe. “We could go up to the shopping centre if you want.”

  “I can’t,” said Phoebe, “not unless you want Sara tagging along.”

  “Why does your mum keep getting you to look after her?” said Polly.

  Phoebe sighed. “It’s difficult, you know, because my dad always goes to his meditation centre on Saturday afternoons, so if Mum goes to work someone has to stay in and look after Sara.”

  “Well, I’ll come over to yours if you want, Sugar, my sweet,” said Monty B. “We can practise our song and some of our scenes.”

  “That sounds fun. I’ll come too,” I said quickly.

  “No you won’t,” said Ellie, jutting her chin out. “A deal’s a deal.”

  After break we sang the opening number and then put all the scenes together leading up to “Clueless”. I tried really hard not to let the fact that I was onstage with Adam affect my performance. My voice did wobble a few times and my heart was racing, but Laura has to sound slightly scared about the face at the window anyway so it didn’t really matter. I mean if you’re serious about acting, you can’t let a little thing like acting with a drop-dead gorgeous Year Ten boy put you off!

  We finished the session with Sandeep’s game. He’d written out a list of ten forfeits and Mandy divided us up into four teams. Each team had a copy of the forfeits and a pile of numbers from “l” to “10”.

  I was in team four and so was Ellie, but the others in our team were Neesha, Adam and Sara! I knew Adam would be on my team before Mandy even called out the numbers. I was doomed!

  I looked down at the list of forfeits.

  1. Ask someone in the room to marry you.

  2. Say the alphabet backwards.

  3. Run round the hall on someone’s back. Well, they run – you just hang on for dear life!

  4. Shake hands with three people in another team.

  5. Shuffle round the hall on your bum three times.

  6. Sing “Happy Birthday” in a very high voice.

  7. Choose a nursery rhyme and sing it while holding your nose and standing on one leg.

  8. Leapfrog over three people.

  9. Count backwards from 100 to 1.

  10. Tell everyone in your group that you love them – one at a time.

  NO WAY. I couldn’t play a game like this with Adam. Some of the tasks were so embarrassing I felt dizzy just reading them. I decided to disappear into the loo until the end of the session. I started to edge towards the door, but before I could make my escape Adam grabbed my arm and pulled me over to where the rest of the team were waiting.

  Sandeep explained that we had to take turns to run into the middle, pick up a number from our pile, run back to our team and perform the task that matched the number. The first team to finish all their numbers was the winner.

  I volunteered to go first – just to get it over with! I ran into the middle of the hall, praying I wouldn’t pick anything too awful.

  “WHAT NUMBER? WHAT NUMBER?” Adam shouted, as I dashed back to my team.

  I looked down at my scrap of paper. “Erm… three.”

  He scanned the sheet of tasks.

  “Quick! Jump on my back, Sam! You’ve got to go round the hall on someone’s back and I’m the strongest.”

  He bent down, and I just about managed to clamber onto his back with a bit of help from Neesha and Ellie. It all happened so fast I didn’t have time to think about how embarrassing it was.

  “Don’t drop me!” I shrieked, and then held on for dear life as Adam tore round the hall, trying not to bump into anyone. On the way we passed Catharine, who was shuffling around on her bum, and Monty B proposing to Phoebe!

  My next turn was even worse. I picked up number ten, which meant I had to tell everyone in my group I loved them – one by one. I could feel the blood rush to my face as I mumbled “I love you” to Ellie, Neesha, Sara and – Oh My God – Adam!

  “Speak up, Sam,” said Sara. “I can hardly hear you!”

  I forced the words out through my teeth again and collapsed down next to Ellie. Drama had turned into the biggest nightmare since Mandy decided to let Sara join – and since my hormones had gone haywire. It’s like I was on automatic pilot. I only had to think about Adam and my face turned beetroot, and there didn’t seem to be anything I could do about it!

  “Hey, it’s a shame Arthur’s not playing,” said Ellie. “He could declare his undying love for Mandy! He could even propose!” Then she leaped up ready for her turn, crashing into Adam, who had run back with number one and was making a big show of proposing to Neesha. It’s just as well he didn’t propose to me, because there’s no way I would’ve said yes, not in a billion years.

  When we went downstairs at the end of the session, Arthur was waiting for Mandy, Eddie was waiting for Ellie, and Aunty Mags was waiting for me.

  “Come on! We’re going to get Riley!” she cried, grabbing me and pulling me towards the car. “Adam’s mum called me this morning and it’s all been arranged. We’ve just got to pop to the pet shop and make sure we’ve got everything we need and then we’ll head straight over.”

  I looked across at Eddie, smirking at me from under his baseball cap, and I decided very quickly that a visit to Adam’s, however embarrassing, would be better than spending the whole afternoon with Ellie and Eddie. He was starting to give me the creeps, big time. I explained to Ellie and gave her a qui
ck hug. She wasn’t happy, but at least she could see I had a real excuse.

  “I’ll see you a bit later then, Sam,” said Adam. “And bring your script.”

  I nodded and mumbled something pathetic.

  Mandy was parked right by Aunty Mags and the last thing I heard her say to Arthur before we drove off was that he’d have to catch her another time because she had an urgent appointment – at the dentist!

  Aunty Mags was so excited about picking up Riley. She went on and on about it all the way to the pet shop and then all the way to Adam’s house. I didn’t pay much attention, to be honest. I was far too busy trying to work out how to keep my cool round at Adam’s without sticking a great big ice pack on my face.

  I knew we were only going to pick up Riley and that it was no big deal, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how Adam had more or less invited me over, and not just because of Riley, but to practise our scenes together. While Aunty Mags went on about dog food and baskets and how to get rid of fleas, I went over everything that had happened this term at Star Makers, and in the end I was more or less convinced that the person Eddie was talking about when he said Adam liked someone at drama might actually be ME!

  “Earth to Sam!” said Aunty Mags, pulling up outside Adam’s house. “You’re not listening to a single word. What’s so interesting?”

  “Oh nothing,” I said. “It’s just that…do you think when someone says that someone likes someone, but you don’t actually know who that someone is, that that someone could be someone who’s quite a bit younger than the someone who likes them?”

  Aunty Mags turned to face me. “Are you feeling okay?” she said, touching my forehead. “I didn’t understand a word of that!”

  “Oh, it doesn’t matter,” I mumbled. “Come on, let’s go in.”

  We could hear the puppies yapping before we even rang the bell, and when Mrs. Dale opened the door they literally threw themselves at us.

  “Oh, they’ve grown loads!” cried Aunty Mags, kneeling down. The puppies clambered and climbed all over her, licking and nipping. “Look, Sam, here’s Riley,” she said, picking up the smallest pup – but I wasn’t there to see Riley.

  “Where’s Adam?” I asked, peering over Mrs. Dale’s shoulder. “We’re supposed to be practising our scenes together.” So much for being cool!

  “Oh, he was straight in and straight out after drama,” said Mrs. Dale. “Off to see a film with Catharine from Star Makers – some last-minute arrangement. He said he’s sorry and he’ll see you at drama next week. She’s a lovely girl, but I never see him these days!”

  I kneeled down to stroke Riley, just to give myself something to do. I didn’t get it. Why would he ask me over to practise our scenes together but then go out with Catharine instead? It didn’t make any sense – unless the girl Eddie was talking about when he said Adam fancied someone at drama was Catharine. I carried on stroking Riley, blinking back tears, hoping Mrs. Dale and Aunty Mags wouldn’t notice how upset I was.

  Mrs. Dale offered us tea, but Aunty Mags was bursting to get back home with Riley – and I certainly didn’t want to hang about.

  Riley sat in the back of the car in the little dog-carrier we’d bought at the pet shop. He whimpered the whole way, confused about leaving his mum and the other pups.

  “Poor little thing,” soothed Aunty Mags. “Wait until you see where you’re going to live. You’ll soon feel at home. Are you going to come over, Sam? Help settle him in?”

  “Not today, Aunty Mags. Can you take me straight home? I’ve got heaps of homework.”

  “You’re ever so quiet. You’re not worried about anything, are you?”

  “No, nothing important. It’s just that I don’t understand why people say things they don’t mean.”

  “You’re talking in riddles again, sweetheart. Who’s said something?”

  I shrugged. “Oh, forget it. It’s stupid anyway.”

  Dad was watching TV when I got in – some ancient black-and-white movie on BBC2.

  “This is such a classic, Sam,” he said, moving up to make room for me on the sofa.

  “I’m not in the mood,” I muttered. The way I was feeling, the last thing I wanted to do was sit through one of those old romantic films. “Anyway, I’ve got tons of work to do and I can’t let my marks slip!” I added sarcastically.

  Dad turned the volume down. “Don’t be like that.” He patted the couch. “Come and sit with your old dad for a sec. How did Mags get on with the puppy?”

  “He’s called Riley and he’s gorgeous. But seriously, Dad, I’ve got to go and start my homework.”

  Dad jumped up suddenly and grabbed the remote, singing into it like it was a microphone. “How much is that doggy in the window? The one with the waggly tail…”

  “Dad!” I knew he was trying to cheer me up, but it wasn’t going to work. Not today. I edged past him and escaped upstairs to text Ellie.

  Need 2 talk right now! Call me!

  I lay on my bed waiting, but she didn’t call back. She sent me this stupid picture of her and Eddie instead – their faces all squashed together, grinning at the camera. She’d only known him for about a month but he was already more important to her than her best friend. I wanted to tell her about Adam, to ask what Eddie meant when he said Adam fancied someone at drama. It had to be Catharine. Or else it was one big wind-up. Eddie’s idea of a joke. A minute later another picture popped up on my phone, but this one was from Aunty Mags. It was the most gorgeous photo of Riley cuddled up in his basket, with the message: True Love. . .

  I wondered if Ellie was in love with Eddie, or if it was just her hormones. I didn’t actually trust Eddie one little bit. I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was trying to turn Ellie against me, and it was really starting to get on my nerves. Before Ellie went on holiday, whenever we talked about what it would be like to have a boyfriend she was always the one to say friends come first. She’d obviously forgotten all about that quickly enough. It was more like hello Eddie…goodbye Sam!

  At lunch on Monday, she was doing her usual routine of recounting every last juicy detail of her Saturday afternoon with Eddie – where they’d been and what he’d said and how cute he was. Polly and Phoebe just sat there like lemons listening to every word as if it was the most fascinating thing they’d ever heard in their lives.

  “Stop going on about him all the time, can’t you?” I said when she finally paused for breath. “I don’t know what you think is so great about him anyway. He’s such a creep.”

  She whipped round to face me. “Shut up, Sam. No he isn’t. You’re just jealous.”

  “No I’m not. He just wants you to think that so you hang around with him instead of me. It’s so obvious, you’d have to be stupid not to realize!”

  “So you’re calling me stupid now, are you?” she shouted. “Some friend you’ve turned out to be.” Her eyes filled with tears.

  I shook my head, frustrated that she didn’t get it. “I’m not calling you stupid. I’m just trying to warn you.”

  “Warn me? I don’t need warning, thanks very much. You’re the one I need to stay away from, not Eddie!” She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and stormed out of the canteen.

  Phoebe and Polly sat there with their mouths wide open.

  “Go after her,” said Phoebe. “She’s really upset. Go and say sorry, quickly!”

  “Why should I?” I said stubbornly. “She’ll soon realize I’m right when she thinks about it. She won’t stay angry for long.”

  But she did stay angry – all that day and the next and the day after. She didn’t speak to me all week and it was awful. She didn’t sit with me at lunch or wait for me after classes or anything. It was like being stuck in a nightmare where everything’s going wrong but you can’t make yourself wake up. I kept trying to catch her eye – and a couple of times I waited for her outside class – but she just swept straight past me as if I was invisible. It began to feel as if we’d never been friends in the first place.

  Pho
ebe tried to talk to her but she wouldn’t listen. She said I was jealous and spiteful and she didn’t want anything to do with me.

  “Just tell her you’re really, really sorry,” said Phoebe.

  “It shouldn’t be me saying sorry, she’s the one who’s dropped me the second Eddie came along.”

  “Well, she didn’t drop you exactly,” said Polly. “I mean she did keep asking you to go with them on Saturdays after drama.”

  “I know, but you don’t understand.”

  Neither of them understood. They didn’t realize how much I missed my Saturday afternoons with Ellie. Or how much I wanted to talk to her about Adam, and Crystal, and the two weddings, and everything else that was going on.

  By Friday it felt as if we hadn’t been talking for years. I tried one last time to catch her as she was going into lunch, but it was useless.

  “Come on, Ellie,” I said, grabbing her arm. “This is stupid. How long are you going to keep this up? I was only trying to help.”

  She shook my hand off and pushed past me. “I know you think I’m stupid,” she said. “You’ve told me enough times. But I don’t care any more!”

  “Fine!” I shouted after her. “Have a nice time with Eddie, because I don’t care any more either!”

  I trailed out of school at the end of the day feeling totally fed up. It’s usually the happiest time of the week. We all spill out together, excited about the weekend, and especially excited about Star Makers, but I didn’t even know where Ellie was. I hung about outside the gates waiting to see if she would turn up. I knew it wouldn’t do any good, but I just wanted to see her.

  A minute later I noticed a tall blonde girl walking straight towards me from down the road. Her hair was backcombed and wild like a massive haystack, and she was wearing the skinniest black jeans with heavy, black Dr. Martens boots.

  I couldn’t believe it. Finally. I took a step towards her, grinning.