Miss Brown had taken responsibility for allowing the candles on the steps of the stage, although it had actually been an out of bounds area and kids should not have been attempting to climb the stairs anyway.
But to my great relief, as no one was injured and the near disaster had been avoided, everyone was just focusing on the success of the night. The final result was that with ticket sales and the sale of food and drinks, the amount of money raised was at an all-time high where we had in fact, managed to break any previous fund raising records.
It had also turned out that Sara had won the competition for best dressed and her photo, amongst others that were taken on the night, was on full display on the noticeboard in the foyer of the office.
I could hear girls commenting on how amazing she had looked and as I sat in the eating area during our morning break, I couldn’t help but notice her taking in all the compliments with a satisfied smile. Once again the center of attention, she sat happily amongst her adoring fan club. That’s what Millie called her group of friends and I had to admit that the description fitted them perfectly.
As I sat munching on my sandwich, Blake and Jack suddenly appeared and sat down beside Millie and I.
“Hey girls,” Blake said in his usual easy-going manner. “There are some really good movies on at the cinema right now and Jack and I thought we might go on the weekend. Do you girls want to come too?”
I glanced at Millie as the smile spread quickly across my face. My plan was working and I felt a thrill of excitement at the prospect of an actual double date.
Trying not to sound too excited, I replied, “That sounds good to me, how about you, Millie?”
Unable to keep the grin from her face, she responded, “Yeah, ok. That sounds like fun. Which movie do you have in mind?”
As I looked on, watching Millie, Jack and Blake deep in conversation about the weekend ahead, all thoughts of the fire incident completely left my mind. Within minutes we were all laughing, joking around and planning our double date, as I secretly liked to call it. Blake and his best friend and me with my best friend; we all got along so well. What more could I ask for?
But then out of the blue, I felt a weird sensation and although the sun was shining and the weather was warm, I shivered involuntarily.
Glancing around, I noticed Sara staring in my direction, her eyes fully focused on our group. The obvious pride in her face that I had seen only a short while earlier had been replaced with contempt and her eyes took on an evil stare as she looked directly towards me.
Feeling uneasy, I looked away and tried to refocus my attention on the joke my friends were sharing. But I was unable to overcome the uncomfortable feeling that had sunk to the pit of my stomach.
What was going on in Sara’s head and why was I feeling so strange? As we walked back to class, I was unable to shake the strange sense that something bad was about to happen.
A double date…
The days could not pass by quickly enough. I’d put all worrying thoughts of Sara aside and spent my spare time with Millie discussing our plans for the weekend. Our double date was what I called it, but every time I used that expression Millie would simply roll her eyes.
“Julia, will you stop saying that! It’s not a double date!” she laughed. “If Jack hears you calling it that, I’ll be so embarrassed!”
“I think he just wants to hang out,” she continued, “And besides, it was probably Blake’s idea anyway. But speaking of Blake, did you put him up to this?”
“I keep telling you,” I explained for what seemed like the tenth time, “I was just as surprised as you when Blake suggested it. I promise, this was not my idea!”
“Although, I guess I should admit that I have asked him once or twice to try to arrange something,” I laughed.
“What?” Millie looked at me with her mouth wide open. “Did you plan this from the beginning, Julia?”
“Oh, come on, Millie!” I stated firmly. “You can’t deny that you’ve liked Jack for a long time now! And I know that he likes you. He was just too shy to do anything about it, that’s all. And I knew that you’d never ask him!”
“You’ve got that right,” Millie replied. “That would just be too embarrassing. I know lots of girls do ask boys to go out with them, but there’s no way I would. What if they said no?”
I cracked up laughing at her. She could be so funny! And I was so grateful to have her as my best friend. I was sure we were going to have the best time and I could hardly wait for Saturday to arrive.
We did still have something to organize though; and that was the issue of what to wear!
“I have nothing that will look any good,” Millie complained.
And then it was my turn to roll my eyes. “Are you serious? You just went shopping with your mom and got a heap of really pretty clothes! What about your new denim shorts? They’re so cool!”
“Well, I suppose I could wear them,” Millie replied. “But I think you should wear my white skirt. I know you love it and it looks so much better on you than me!”
Looking at her gratefully then, I suggested that she spend the night at my house on Friday so we could get ready together. That way we could try on some different outfits and work out what looked best.
Squealing with excitement, she eagerly agreed and we chatted some more about our plans.
Originally, I hadn’t been sure what my mom would say about the whole idea of us going to the movies with the boys, but to my huge relief, as long as Dad dropped us off and picked us up as soon as the movie finished, she had said that it was ok.
Luckily for us though, I’d managed to convince her to let us go to McDonalds as well. It was right next door to the movie theater and we thought it would be fun to go there when the movie ended.
Out of all our parents, I knew that mine were the strictest. Mom once said that my brother, Matt and I wouldn’t be allowed to go on dates with other people until we finished high school. But I mean, seriously? That’s going way too far!! Thankfully for me, Matt quickly objected to that idea.
“Oh, come on, Mom!” He had complained to her. “That’s just crazy. This is the twenty first century. We’re not still in the dark ages, you know!”
I remember at the time, he had a huge crush on a girl in his class and was keen to ask her on a date. At that stage, I think he was in the eighth grade. After he had continued on and on with a heap of moaning and complaining, Mom had finally agreed. But only on the condition that he was home before dark and she knew exactly where he was going.
Anyway, I was so relieved that she was happy for us all to be hanging out together and when Friday afternoon finally came, Millie and I sat together on the bus chatting and laughing and talking practically non-stop. Each of us had so much to say, that it was hard to even get a word in!
Saturday...
Dad dropped us at the cinema on Saturday afternoon as planned and we could see the boys standing near the ticket counter, waiting for us. Millie had told me she was feeling nervous and I could tell by the way she was acting that she wasn’t her usual bubbly self. It certainly wasn’t like her to be shy but the huge grin on the boys’ faces when they saw us helped to make her feel more at ease.
Within minutes, Jack had said something funny and we were all laughing. We seemed to all get on so well, and I couldn’t have been happier.
The movie we’d chosen to see was in 3D and showing in the biggest theater of all. We managed to get seats in the back row up the very top and sat down with the buckets of popcorn and a variety of drinks that we had just bought from the candy bar downstairs.
Jack had led the way along the row of seats with Blake following behind. But I had discreetly pulled Blake back and coaxed Millie along behind Jack, followed by me and then Blake. It was just the way I had imagined it. Millie and I had the boys seated on either side of us and I grinned widely to myself as I put on my 3D glasses.
As soon as the movie started we were instantly engrossed. It had the coolest special effe
cts and within the first couple of minutes, a hand seemed to reach right out to grab us. Millie squealed loudly. I think her scream was actually what made me jump out of my seat, rather than the movie itself. It gave me such a fright that I gripped onto Blake’s arm. I had thought it was meant to be a comedy but there were some pretty scary parts. Blake then put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him which certainly helped me to feel less frightened.
I glanced towards Millie but she just kept her eyes on the screen. I couldn’t tell if she was purposely ignoring me but I grinned and gave her a poke with my elbow, then looked past her at Jack.
She poked me back and shook her head, indicating that I should just watch the movie and behave myself. I laughed and then returned my attention to the movie. I was enjoying it all so much. It was so cool for us to be at the movies together and before long the story line had us all in fits of laughter. I don’t think we stopped laughing until the movie ended.
We were actually still chuckling as we headed through the doorway of McDonalds.
“That movie was a crack up!” Jack laughed loudly as he slid into a booth. “And what about the car chase! How cool was that!”
We all agreed that it was one of the best movies we’d seen and were so glad to have chosen it. Then we turned our attention to the menu board while we tried to decide what we wanted to order.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of long, blonde hair and turned abruptly to see who the person was. There was something familiar that had captured my interest and I peered curiously into the group of people standing in the queue of the take-away line.
Just then, as if fully aware that I was looking in her direction, the head turned and it was Sara’s eyes that stared back at me.
I smiled briefly in recognition but her manner was not at all friendly. It also occurred to me that it was a strange coincidence to be in McDonalds at exactly the same time as Sara on that particular Saturday afternoon; especially because I never usually bumped into her on weekends.
Her eyes swept over our group and the expression on her face immediately turned sour. She shook her head and then whispered something into the ear of the girl beside her, who instantly looked my way. It was obvious that she had said something about me and this was followed by an obnoxious laugh as if I were the brunt of some joke.
I looked quickly away and tried to refocus on the food that I wanted to order. But my appetite seemed to have disappeared and I sat quietly while Blake and Jack joined the queue at the counter.
“What’s wrong, Julia?” Millie asked. “You’ve gone all quiet. Don’t you feel well?”
“Oh, it’s nothing, Millie,” I replied, desperately trying to regain a cheerful manner. I then tried to pay attention to what Millie was saying as she chatted on about the movie and how much fun she was having. But all the while, the feeling of dread I had been overcome with was growing stronger and stronger.
“Why is she so mean?” I thought miserably to myself. “What have I ever done to her to deserve this? And besides, how did she just happen to be here at the same time as us today?”
The thoughts raced around and around inside my head and although I knew that I should just ignore her and forget about it, I could not let it go.
“Julia, you’re just going to have to be strong and put her out of your mind once and for all!” I could hear the voice in the back of my mind but the problem was that it wasn’t quite that easy!
I had managed to do this in the past and it had worked. However, it seemed that she was determined to get to me and was not going to give up.
I munched quietly on the burger that Blake had bought for me and convinced myself to rid Sara from my thoughts, even if only for the time being. I was determined that I was not going to let her spoil my day.
Forcing a smile, I turned to the others and said, “Let’s do this again sometime!”
I was so grateful for their eager response and remembered how lucky I was to have such wonderful friends. Then, instantly feeling so much happier, my appetite seemed to return and I bit hungrily into my burger.
Exciting news…
Millie and I were beside ourselves with excitement. Miss Sheldon, the teacher in charge of Performing Arts, had announced at assembly that she was going to hold a talent show competition and any interested kids could participate. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, she also asked the student council members to help with the organization.
It was planned as another fund raiser for the school and scheduled for a Friday night so that all the parents and families of each contestant could attend, as well as any other kids or families who wanted to come along.
Because the disco had been such a huge success (apart from the fire incident, which I was still trying to forget about), Miss Sheldon thought that the student council members could help to make this night a success as well.
Everyone was talking about it and different groups of kids were already planning what they would do for a performance. The owners of the local music and electronics shop which sold not only musical instruments but also electronics gear such as computers, iPads, iPods, PlayStations, Xboxes and a huge range of games, had been asked to come along as judges.
But the best part was that they had also donated the prizes for the night. First prize was a $500 voucher to spend at their shop, second prize was a $250 voucher and third prize was a $100 voucher. They had also thrown in some encouragement prizes of $10 each.
I was not surprised when heaps of kids appeared super keen to be involved. The school was buzzing and it was all everyone could think about.
Millie and I had the job of taking down the names and details of contestants and already we had a wide variety of acts listed. There were singers, a ballet dancer, several hip hop groups, some guitarists, a drummer who planned to do a drumming solo and as well as that, several comedians who were planning on doing skits and telling jokes.
I told Jack that he should put together a comedy act because he’s so funny. He constantly cracks us up with his jokes and I was sure that he’d have a good chance of winning the comedy section.
I had expected Sara to do a dance routine, because she’s such a great dancer but to my surprise, we found out that she’d put together a girl band and they were planning to sing one of the latest hit songs. Of course Sara was the lead singer, which she made a point of mentioning when Millie recorded the details and names of the girls included. She said that this was something they’d been working on for a while now and that we were in for a big surprise. The smug smile that she gave as she flicked her hair back and strutted away caused Millie to roll her eyes in exasperation.
“OMG!” Millie exclaimed. “That girl is unbelievable. Seriously, who does she think she is?”
“Just ignore her, Millie,” I replied, surprising myself at how well I was coping with Sara’s dramatic little performance.
“Be prepared though,” I continued quietly, “Because she’s actually a really good singer! I found that out at music camp during the summer break.”
“Typical!” said Millie with a sigh. “Is there anything she’s not good at?”
“Yes!” I said, after a moment’s hesitation. “There actually is one thing. She has no idea how to be a nice person!”
Just then a group of loud boys jostled into position in front of us, demanding noisily that we add their details to the list of contestants, and all thoughts of Sara were wiped from my mind.
The talent show was shaping up to be huge and Miss Sheldon said that we’d soon have to close the nominations; otherwise there would be way too many performers to get through them all on the night.
Just as we were about to pack up, I had a sudden thought. “Millie!” I exclaimed, “Why don’t you enter?”
“And do what?” Millie asked, a look of shock on her face.
“Sing, of course! You have an amazing voice!”
“No way,” Millie laughed. “There’s no way I’d get up and sing in front of a huge audience. I’m too
shy!”
That was my turn to laugh. “Shy!” I replied with a cough. “You are definitely not shy! Give me that sheet. I’m adding your name!”
“NOOOOOOO!” Millie squealed.
“I tell you what!” I replied. “I’ll enter if you do!”
Then, like a lightning bolt, I was struck with the best idea ever!
‘I KNOW!! We can form our own band; you as singer, me on guitar and Blake on drums!”
She looked at me, mouth agape, as if I had definitely lost the plot somehow. But now that the idea was in my head, I could not let it go!
“Millie,” I stated firmly, “If Sara can form a band, then we certainly can! Rather than letting her dominate as usual, maybe we can give her something to really compete against!”
The ideas in my head were quickly building momentum and I completely ignored the incredulous expression on Millie’s face.
Smiling broadly, I walked with her back to class, all the while my head spinning. There were still a few spots available and I knew with some coaxing that I’d be able to convince Millie to agree. I had no doubt that Blake would be keen and I was sure that his dad would help us to prepare. We had three weekends and if we practiced after school as well, then surely that would give us enough time to be ready.
And then, I was abruptly hit with another electric idea. Jack was an awesome hip hop dancer and I had a feeling that he’d also be able to rap.
“Oh my goodness!” I said out loud, unable to contain my excitement! “This is going to be awesome!!”
Millie simply looked at me and shook her head as we sat down at our desks, waiting for Miss Watson to explain the afternoon’s lessons. But right then, school work was the last thing on my mind.
Convincing Millie…
I could not stop talking all the way home on the bus that afternoon. Whether Millie wanted to or not, she could not get a word in. I prattled on and on with excitement and it seemed that every second, I had a new idea to add to our performance which I knew would make it better than ever. By the time the bus pulled up at my stop, I almost had Millie convinced.
Julia Jones' Diary - Boxed Set - Books 2 to 6 Page 18