Julia Jones' Diary - Boxed Set - Books 2 to 6

by Kahler, Katrina

  But the vision of her solo as she took over, when I stood helpless not knowing what had happened, was all too clear in my mind. And as I watched her soak up the applause that was obviously directed towards her, I felt a rage of fury surge right through me.

  Of course she denied it afterwards. Of course she knew nothing about the guitar lead that had been mysteriously unplugged from the amplifier. And of course, she was sympathetic towards me. In typical Sara fashion!

  “Poor Julia!” she had exclaimed. “Your wonderful lead guitar solo that you’ve been working so hard on and no one could hear it. Such a shame!”

  I had looked at her in disgust.

  Obviously, we hadn’t won the competition. The prize of recording time in a studio went to another band. But they had certainly deserved it. Their performance was incredible and in particular, the lead guitar.

  When we’d packed up my gear and headed out to the car, all I could hear was Sara’s voice calling out loudly for all to hear. “Goodbye, Blake. Thanks so much for looking after me! You were awesome tonight! I’ll see you back at school.”

  And with a last look in my direction, she tossed me a wide grin and got into her mom’s car ready for the trip home.

  I knew that I shouldn’t stoop so low, but I couldn’t help myself and as soon as her back was turned, I poked out my tongue in her direction.

  “Julia, what do you think you’re doing?” Matt had happened to catch me in action and was shaking his head at me as if I were a real loser.

  “OMG!” I thought to myself, totally embarrassed at being caught out. “Could this night possibly get any worse!!?”

  Back at school…

  Millie listened in stunned silence as I told her about the camp, when I met up with her on the bus on the first morning back to school. We were sitting in our usual seat at the rear, where only a few moments earlier, I had boarded the bus and we had exchanged a huge hug. After squealing crazily at the sight of each other, her first question had been, “How was music camp?”

  She had known I’d been looking forward to it all summer, but since returning from the camp, we hadn’t had a chance to see each other because she’d been staying with her grandparents.

  Her mouth agape, she sat speechless as I told her of all the events, finishing off with the concert on the last night.

  “Oh, Julia!” she exclaimed, sympathetically. “You must have been so embarrassed!”

  “Yeah!” I said. “It was pretty bad!”

  However, continuing on with stubborn determination, I had declared, “But I don’t want to think about that anymore! This is a new school year and we have heaps to look forward to. As well, I’m focusing on us both being voted as school captains.”

  “Me too!” Millie eagerly replied. “It’s so awesome that we were both nominated at the end of last year!”

  “How cool would it be if there were two girls selected and you and I could both be the main captains together?” I cried excitedly. “I’ve heard of some schools doing that because there just weren’t any suitable boys who had volunteered for the position.”

  “My mom says that girls are taking over!” I continued. “So many more girls want to be leaders than boys, these days.”

  “Yeah!” Millie agreed. “And that’s because we’re so much better than them!’

  Laughing, we high-fived each other and sat back on the seats, discussing the speeches that we had to present in front of all the upper school grades later in the week.

  Both of us were feeling pretty nervous about that, but we had practiced our speeches several times throughout the holidays, so we felt prepared.

  “I would love to see you and Blake voted as the captains!” Millie giggled. “That would be so good. You’d make such a great pair!” Smiling at me mischievously, she continued. “And that would really show Sara a thing or two!”

  I sat there wistfully thinking about the possibility of that happening, when the bus finally pulled to a stop.

  As I hopped down off the steps and headed along the pathway towards our classroom, I thought once more of Blake. Deep down I knew that we were good friends and I was definitely not going to let Sara come between us. The idea of actually being his girlfriend was still something I wished for and as we climbed the stairs to our classroom, my hopes began to soar. Just as I rounded the corner to enter our room, I spotted him walking inside and I could literally feel my heart skip a beat.

  Racing in after him, I realized with dismay that I was a moment too late. Sara was eagerly calling him towards her, indicating that she had saved a desk right next to hers. I could see Blake hesitate, torn between turning her down and sitting somewhere else; or agreeing to accept the offer for fear of hurting her feelings. At least that was the way I hoped he was feeling; unless, he actually did want to sit next to her?

  Doubt crept through my senses while at the sound of the bell, our teacher, Miss Watson, called for us all to select a desk and sit down. I had no time to consider further what might be going on in Blake’s mind because the remaining desks soon began to fill with kids coming into the room. Quickly, Millie and I claimed two of the few remaining spots and I was at least grateful that I had been able to sit next to my best friend.

  If only our bus had arrived at school earlier! Overcome with frustration, I shoved my books into my desk. A few moments later, I dared to sneak a glance behind me just in time to see Sara whispering in Blake’s ear. And the smile that spread across his face, as he clearly became amused at whatever she had said to him, certainly didn’t help to lift my spirits.

  The morning dragged on and I forced myself to concentrate on the work we’d been given. I sat in my seat wondering why I had been so excited about returning to school. Work, work and more work! And it was only our first day back. The teacher’s voice droned on and on and although Millie appeared to be quite interested in what she was saying, I had failed to take in anything much at all.

  During lunch break however, everything seemed to do a sudden turn around. We sat down in our usual spot and then to my huge surprise, Blake and his group of friends sat right beside us. Trying not to pay them too much attention, I watched in amusement out of the corner of my eye as one of the boys threw his bread crust towards Millie and it landed in her lap.

  “Hey!” she called out to him and pointed in the opposite direction towards the bin. “The rubbish bin is over there!” Then looking at me, she rolled her eyes and shook her head.

  “He likes you!” I grinned, whispering quietly in her ear. But she ignored my comment and continued munching on her banana.

  Just as I caught him aiming another crust at Millie, Blake unexpectedly edged himself into a vacant spot right by my side. Looking at him in surprise, I was not sure how to react. But his warm smile instantly put me at ease.

  Feeling incredibly relieved to find that he was his regular self and that in fact, nothing had changed between us, I was suddenly so happy to be there right then. School had instantly become fun again and feeling ecstatic at having Blake’s attention once more, I smiled happily as we chatted on about the holidays and the things that we’d both been up to since music camp.

  When the bell rang for us to go back to class, Blake even suggested that we meet up sometime for a practice session to prepare for our first music lesson with Mr. Casey. Eagerly, I agreed and we decided to work out a suitable time when we were both free, possibly on a Saturday sometime soon.

  After that, my mind was buzzing. We’d had several practice sessions at his place before and it was always fun. Filled with excitement, I sat back down at my desk ready for the next session but once again, found it very difficult to concentrate. This time however, it was for a good reason, I thought to myself. Glancing behind me for the second time that day, I caught Blake’s eye and the smile he gave me made my heart melt with joy.

  Sara, who had disappeared during the lunch break for some reason, seemed to have become aware of the glances between Blake and myself and I watched her trying to get his attent
ion once more.

  “Just stay positive, Julia!” I said quietly to myself as I attempted to get started on the work that Miss Watson had put on the board. “Focus on what you want to happen!”

  “Did you say something?” Millie leaned over and whispered in my ear.

  “Oh, it’s ok,” I replied, grinning widely. “I was just talking to myself!”

  With a shake of her head, she rolled her eyes and gave me a little poke with her elbow, at the same time laughing in amusement.

  “Anything to do with Blake Jansen?” she asked.

  “Maybe!” I replied, grinning widely. And with a huge sigh, I put my head down to do some work, but all I could manage was to scrawl the words, ‘Blake and Julia’ over and over on my notepad.

  Goal Setting…

  The day of the big assembly finally came and after a great week at school hanging out with Millie, Blake and several other friends (and managing to ignore Sara), we suddenly found ourselves sitting in our class groups in the school hall. We were dressed in our school uniforms which were saved for special occasions such as this, and several of us were feeling very anxious. The new school captains were going to be announced that morning and in particular, Millie and I were desperately hoping that we’d been chosen.

  We had to present our speeches the week before and we had both been pretty nervous. Although we practiced heaps during the holidays and felt prepared, it was still a nerve-wracking thing to do.

  But I’d taken advice from my mom and ensured I made lots of eye contact with the audience, all the while focusing on speaking clearly and sounding confident.

  There was always a girl and a boy captain selected and a girl and a boy vice-captain as well. I had my heart set on being captain and Millie was hoping to become sports captain. She’s pretty sporty and I was sure that she’d be great in that role.

  Being school captain was something I had thought about for a long time. Even though I used to be really shy, I always loved watching the captains on stage at assembly and on special occasions when they were given the opportunity to represent our school. I thought it would be such a cool thing to do and although I had never pictured myself having enough courage to take on such a role, I’ve gradually become more confident and so decided to give it a go. I’m sure being captain will help to increase my confidence further still and I know this will be a huge advantage in the future.

  During the summer holidays, I did something to try to help myself achieve this goal. I made a dream board which is now on the wall of my bedroom, right next to my bed. I spent almost an entire day, drawing and cutting out magazine pictures of things that I would love to have and also of things that I would like to become.

  Then I pinned them onto a large corkboard that my mom agreed to buy for me from one of the local craft shops. I decorated it with a pretty border and filled it with lots of really cool pictures that I can look at every day and focus on. I also wrote some of my goals out and attached those as well.

  One of them says…

  This was a technique that I learned in the book of dreams that I read last year. By writing my goals down as if I have already achieved them, will help to make them actually happen.

  If I wrote…“I am going to be school captain next year,” then it will always be in the future and I would never achieve that goal as it will always be... “next year.”

  Whereas, stating it as if it’s already happened, helps me to believe that it’s possible. This is much more effective and helps to make it come true.

  Another picture that I’ve added to my dream board is of a beautiful chestnut horse. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted a horse of my own and over the years, I’ve spent endless amounts of time dreaming about owning one.

  Mom told me not to be so silly and get my hopes up over things that will probably never eventuate. But I decided to ignore her advice and wrote that goal down on paper anyway. Then I pinned it directly beneath the picture of my dream pony. I know that if you stay positive and really focus on things, miracles definitely can happen. It’s worth trying anyway. And I love dreaming about horses, so I have nothing to lose. When I’m not dreaming about Blake that is!

  The announcement…

  It was just then that the microphone crackled again and I was shaken out of my little daydream by the reality that was going on around me. They were announcing the sports captains first and I crossed my fingers that Millie’s name would be the one to be called.

  First, Reece Wilson was announced as the new boys’ sports captain and he proudly walked up the steps of the stage to accept his certificate.

  Then it was time for the girls’ name to be announced. Crossing my fingers tightly, I prayed that it would be Millie’s.

  When her name was in fact called out, I could not contain my excitement. “Yessss!” I squealed and gave her a quick hug.

  I felt really happy for her as she headed up onto the stage. I caught her eye and gave her a beaming smile which she excitedly acknowledged with a big smile of her own.

  Shaking hands with Mrs. Harding, our school principal, Millie accepted her certificate and stood next to Reece. Everyone was then told that the badges for each captain would be engraved with their names and handed out during assembly the following week. I was so thrilled for Millie and cheered once more.

  Then, over the microphone were the words, “Next, we will announce the school captains.”

  I could feel butterflies in my stomach and I gripped hold of the edge of the chair I was sitting on as I sat anxiously waiting for Mrs. Harding to say the names.

  “The boys’ captain for this year is Blake Jansen.” My stomach took a crazy dive as I pictured the two of us up on stage together. That really would be a ‘dream come true.’

  The noise in the assembly hall erupted as everyone cheered Blake on. He was very popular and obviously the boy who all the kids had been hoping would be elected. I clapped wildly, feeling so happy for him to have been given that honor.

  Another boy called, Mitch Benson was elected as the boys’ vice-captain and as he walked onto the stage, the applause and cheering erupted once more.

  Then as I sat there, fearfully waiting for the girls’ names to be announced, Mrs. Harding was suddenly called away from the microphone and handed another piece of paper. The deputy principal was urgently whispering something in her ear and it was clear that they were discussing the contents of the paper in front of them.

  Being kept in complete suspense like that caused a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. “What’s going on? Why can’t they just make the announcement?” The apprehension that was flooding through me was almost too much to bear.

  The atmosphere in the hall became quite tense and uncomfortable and I felt sorry for my friends standing on the stage, as they had no idea what was going on.

  Then all of a sudden and out of nowhere, I felt my skin crawl. It was an eerie sensation but also one I recalled feeling a few times before. I knew that I was nervous but it didn’t explain the prickly numbness I had been overcome with. For some reason I felt compelled to look behind me. It was as if I had been forced to turn around, and staring directly at me with eyes like daggers, was Sara Hamilton.

  Up until that moment, I had managed to clear her from my mind. I knew that she was also desperate to be the girls’ captain and I’d even heard about her bribing the other kids to vote for her. Not that she needed it, I thought to myself, as she was popular enough without having to stoop to that level.

  Since the music camp and the first day back at school, I had been desperately trying to keep negative thoughts at bay, which was why I refused to focus on Sara’s determination to be voted as captain this year. An image of her standing on the stage next to Blake flashed through my mind, but I quickly shook it away.

  “NO!” I reminded myself. “Stay positive, Julia! You can do this!”

  It was just then that the microphone crackled once more. “I’m very sorry for the delay,” apologized Mrs. Harding, �
�But after double checking, it appears that we had the names of the girls’ captains incorrectly recorded. Thank goodness for our thorough office staff, who noticed the error.” She gave a small laugh but no one acknowledged it. I mean how could she be laughing at a time like this anyway?

  “The votes for the position of girls’ captain were extremely close this year,” she continued. “In fact, there was only one vote between these two girls.”

  “OMG!” I heard someone nearby mumble just a little too loudly. “Can you please just tell us who it is?”

  “Congratulations to Sara Hamilton.” As the words were uttered I could feel my stomach drop with despair. It was like a huge weight had taken hold and pushed it all the way to the ground.

  But after a slight pause to clear her throat, Mrs. Harding continued, “Sara, you have been elected vice captain this year and Julia Jones, is our new girl’s captain. Congratulations to both of you!”

  “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!” I could hear the words tumbling from my mouth in shocked surprise. Riveted to the spot, I stood transfixed with excitement. The whole scene seemed surreal, almost as if I were watching myself in a movie.

  Taking charge of my senses, I edged along the row of seats towards the aisle. Overwhelmed with excitement, I made my way onto the stage where the others were already assembled. Millie’s huge smile was proof of how happy she was for me and I smiled widely in return. Then, looking towards Blake, I could see his look of obvious delight at the outcome we had all been waiting to hear and this just added to the pleasure I was feeling. Not even the glaring stare from Sara as she walked along the stage to stand next to Mitch, could spoil that moment.

  School captain! I had been elected school captain!!

  I had achieved my goal and I’m sure that I was the happiest person in that room right then.