The Butterfly Club

by Jacqueline Wilson

  ‘Yes, but I suppose it’s true,’ said Phil.

  ‘And maybe if she hadn’t tied all the paper butterflies to the plants, the real ones wouldn’t have come too. Selma has to come with me. Besides, she’s my best friend,’ I said.

  Mum sighed. ‘I don’t know why you’re so keen on her. I feel sorry for her myself, but she’s the same little girl who used to be so nasty to you, and stole your china dolly.’

  ‘She didn’t steal Baby, she only borrowed her, and now I’ve got her back,’ I said, taking Baby out of my pocket and waving her about.

  ‘So you’d sooner go on television with Selma than with Phil and me?’ asked Maddie.

  ‘I wouldn’t sooner, exactly – but it’s only fair that I do,’ I said.

  ‘Yes, but won’t you need us to do some of the talking for you?’ said Phil. ‘What if you have to read something out? You know you need us when you get nervous.’

  ‘I won’t be nervous. I want to meet Ruby Red. And I like talking about butterflies and my garden,’ I said.

  As it turned out, I felt very, very nervous all the way to the studio. The television people sent a big car to take us there. It was a good job it was big because there were a lot of people squashed inside. There was Mum. There was Selma. Selma’s mum said she couldn’t come, but nobody minded, not even Selma. There was me. I didn’t take up too much room, so Mum said Phil and Maddie could come too, just to watch. She’d bought us matching butterfly T-shirts all the same. Phil’s was pink, Maddie’s was blue and mine was green. She bought one for Selma too – a red one.

  ‘You look really nice in it, lovey,’ Mum said when Selma put it on.

  Selma just shrugged and didn’t say thank you properly, but I could tell she was really pleased. ‘I’m glad mine’s red,’ she said, and she kept stroking the soft new T-shirt material.

  She was wearing her friendship bracelet, and that had red beads too, so she matched. She had New Baby in her jeans pocket. I had my dear old Baby in mine. I soon fished her out and clutched her tight for comfort.

  It was quite a long way to the studio and the traffic was very bad, so we kept stopping and starting. I already had a weird feeling in my tummy. The feeling got worse and worse, until I was scared I was going to be sick.

  ‘Aren’t you feeling well, Tina?’ Mum asked anxiously.

  ‘I’m fine,’ I said in a tiny voice.

  I was squashed between Selma and Phil and couldn’t really move. What if I was sick all over them?

  The driver looked a little like Grandad. He peered at me in his rear-view mirror, and then pressed a button to wind down the windows. ‘Let’s have a little air in the car,’ he said. ‘We’ll blow those cobwebs away.’

  It felt a bit better in the breeze, but the wobbling in my tummy was still bad. I kept fidgeting.

  ‘Are you sure you’re all right, Tina?’ Phil hissed.

  I nodded.

  She and Maddie started playing a game of I Spy. I didn’t join in. Neither did Selma.

  ‘What’s up?’ she whispered in my ear.

  ‘My tummy feels all fluttery and weird,’ I whispered back.

  Selma paused. Then she grinned. ‘You’ve got butterflies in your tummy!’ she said.

  I couldn’t help bursting out laughing. I felt quite a bit better then, though the weird feeling didn’t go away. I started rubbing my tummy, muttering, ‘Painted lady, peacock, brimstone, Adonis blue . . .’ picturing them all, adding exotic butterflies from overseas too – ‘green swallowtail, blue morpho, postman . . .’ – imagining them all fluttering together in my tummy and then swirling up, escaping out of my mouth and flying around the car, out of the open window, and up into the blue sky above.

  Then we got to the studios and the weird feeling got worse and worse. I hung onto Selma’s hand. Even Phil and Maddie looked a little worried, and they didn’t even have to do anything.

  ‘Look out for famous people!’ said Maddie as we went inside.

  ‘Our Tina’s going to be a little bit famous!’ said Phil. ‘Imagine!’

  We had to announce our names to the receptionist, and then we were all given special name badges to wear around our necks – even Mum and Phil and Maddie. Then we had to wait on a big sofa for someone to collect us.

  It was a girl in amazing rainbow boots.

  ‘Hi, everyone. Mrs Maynard? And let me guess – Tina? And you must be Selma. And, oh my goodness, twins!’

  ‘Triplets actually,’ said Phil.

  ‘We’re Tina’s sisters. I’m Maddie, she’s Phil.’

  ‘Wonderful!’ said the rainbow girl. ‘Well, come with me, folks, and I’ll take you upstairs.’

  ‘Did you write the letter? Are you Garnet Baker?’ Mum asked.

  ‘No, no, you’ll meet her in a minute. I’m Jane, I’m just the runner,’ she said.

  ‘Wow, can you get a job in the studios as a runner?’ said Maddie. ‘I’d like to do that. How far do you have to run?’

  ‘I don’t really have to run. I just whiz up and down the corridors collecting people and going for coffees and taking people to their dressing rooms and just generally making myself useful,’ said Jane.

  ‘That would be brilliant!’ said Maddie, her eyes shining.

  ‘Is Tina going to have her own dressing room?’ asked Phil.

  ‘She’s dressed already. I bought those butterfly T-shirts specially,’ said Mum.

  ‘“Dressing room” is just a figure of speech,’ said Jane. ‘It’s just a private room where you can all hang out until we need you in the studio. Tina and Selma might have to pop along to make-up first.’

  ‘Make-up!’ said Phil. ‘Oh, you lucky things!’

  ‘I hope that’s another figure of speech,’ said Mum. ‘They’re much too young to wear make-up!’

  ‘I’m not,’ said Selma quickly. ‘I’m much bigger than Tina. I want to wear make-up.’

  ‘It’s not a proper full make-up. Just a little powder to stop the girls looking shiny under the studio lights,’ said Jane.

  She led us in and out of lifts and along many corridors, and at last we came to several dressing-room doors. To my astonishment, the nearest door had a placard saying

  ‘Oh my!’ said Maddie. ‘See, you’re famous already!’

  The dressing room wasn’t particularly grand inside – it was just a small room with an oldish sofa and chair and a big mirror.

  ‘Would you like a coffee, Mrs Maynard?’ Jane offered. ‘And what would you girls like? Coke or orange juice?’

  ‘Coke!’ we all chorused.

  ‘Orange juice,’ said Mum firmly.

  Jane laughed, and when she brought a tray of drinks five minutes later there were little cartons of orange and four cans of Coke. ‘So you can choose,’ she said. ‘Well, I’d better pop back to the studio now. Garnet will be along in a minute to talk you through the show. Enjoy yourselves!’

  I still had a host of butterflies in my tummy but I was starting to enjoy myself. I was just taking a long slug of Coke when the door opened and someone very familiar walked in. I was so surprised I forgot to swallow and the Coke spurted down my T-shirt.

  ‘Oh, Tina!’ said Mum, dabbing at me with a tissue. ‘All over your new T-shirt!’

  ‘It’s Ruby!’ I spluttered, awestruck.

  She looked slightly different. She didn’t have her mad pigtails with the red ribbons and she wasn’t wearing her red-and-white striped T-shirt or her red dungarees. She’d cut her hair to shoulder length and she was wearing black jeans and a black T-shirt – but I’d have known her anywhere.

  But I was wrong!

  ‘Are you OK, Tina? Sorry to give you a fright! Actually I’m not Ruby – I’m Garnet,’ she said.

  We all stared.

  ‘But you do look ever so like Ruby Red!’ said Phil.

  ‘I know. So why do you think that is?’ Garnet looked at Phil and Maddie. ‘You two girls should guess straight away!’

  ‘Oh my goodness – are you Ruby Red’s twin?’ asked Maddie.


  ‘That’s right. We used to look like two peas in a pod when we were little, before we started to dress differently,’ said Garnet. ‘Just like you!’

  ‘We’re not actually twins, though,’ said Phil. ‘We’re triplets, Maddie and Tina and me.’

  ‘But I’m the one who’s different,’ I said.

  ‘You’re the one who knows all about butterflies,’ said Garnet, smiling. ‘And you must be Selma, Tina’s friend.’

  ‘I’m her best friend,’ said Selma. ‘And I did nearly all the digging because I’m the strongest.’

  ‘I brought Phil and Maddie along because I thought you’d be interested to see the triplets – they’re a bit of a novelty item,’ said Mum. ‘And they’re all in the same class at school so they were involved with the butterfly garden too.’

  ‘No they weren’t!’ said Selma. She sounded rude, but I knew she was scared of being left out.

  Mum smiled stiffly. ‘Now then, Selma!’ she said.

  ‘Selma did the most,’ I said quickly.

  ‘I’m sure we can use all the girls,’ said Garnet. ‘I’ll just amend the script a little.’ She started scribbling on the papers she was holding.

  ‘Have we got to learn lines?’ Selma asked, looking worried.

  ‘No, no, there’s just an outline of the way the scene will go,’ said Garnet.

  ‘Won’t the scriptwriter mind you changing it?’ asked Phil.

  Garnet laughed. ‘I’m the scriptwriter as well as the producer,’ she said.

  ‘So does Ruby Red have to do what you say?’ I wondered.

  ‘She’s supposed to – but that doesn’t mean she does!’ said Garnet. ‘You girls know what sisters can be like.’

  Phil and Maddie and I all nodded vigorously.

  ‘Now, I’ll take all four of you to make-up and then we’ll go to the studio. Ruby’s already there,’ said Garnet.

  The make-up lady was called Moira. We took turns sitting in the chair with an overall round our neck while she dabbed powder on our noses and combed our hair. Selma begged for a little lipstick, so Moira selected a pale pink pearly one that hardly showed. Then Phil and Maddie wanted it too. And me.

  ‘Dear me, you’re demanding little ladies,’ said Moira, but she was only teasing us.

  Then Garnet took us to the studio. It was a confusing room – very dark in places, with all sorts of wires and leads you could trip over, and then very bright at the end, where the cameras were. There was Ruby Red’s playroom, with her squashy red sofa and her shiny red table and her red play box full of paper and crayons and scissors – and there was Ruby Red herself!

  The butterflies in my tummy fluttered again. It was so strange seeing Ruby in real life, in her familiar red outfit, with her funny plaits, when I was so used to seeing her little on the television. But she smiled as soon as she saw us.

  ‘Hi, you guys!’ she said, dashing up to us. ‘I’m Ruby. So I’m guessing you’re Tina, our butterfly-garden girl?’

  ‘Yes, and these are my sisters Phil and Maddie, and this is my friend Selma,’ I said shyly.

  ‘I’m her best friend,’ said Selma. ‘And I did nearly all the digging for the garden.’

  ‘Yep, I can see you’re the girl with muscles!’ said Ruby, squeezing Selma’s arms and looking impressed.

  Selma smiled proudly.

  ‘Well, I’m going to chat to you all, and we’ll show your beautiful picture, Tina, and then you can tell us about making the butterfly garden,’ said Ruby. ‘Let’s pop a little microphone on all of you.’

  A nice man attached a baby microphone to the tops of our T-shirts and we tucked the battery case into our jeans pockets.

  Selma peered around at the cameras, waving at each one. ‘Can people at home see me waving?’ she asked.

  ‘No, not yet. This is just a recording – we’re not going out live. And try not to look at the cameras. Just look at me,’ said Ruby.

  ‘Right, shall we get started?’ said Garnet. ‘Tina, come and stand beside Ruby. Selma and Phil and Maddie, you sit on the sofa, OK?’

  ‘Good luck, girls!’ said Mum. ‘Don’t be scared, Tina. Try to smile!’

  But all of a sudden I was very, very, very scared. I thought of all the thousands and thousands of children who would be watching Ruby Red. They might all be pointing at me, saying, Look at that stupid titchy girl and her boring picture!

  The butterflies swarmed in my stomach. ‘Please, I think I might be sick!’ I squeaked.

  ‘Oh dear, oh dear,’ said Mum. ‘I’ll take her.’

  She whisked me out of the studio and along the corridor to the ladies’ room. She rushed me into a cubicle and held my head. Even though I felt very sick, nothing happened. I went to the loo instead, but when I got a bit tangled with the microphone lead I wondered if everyone in the studio might have heard me weeing.

  I burst into tears.

  ‘Oh, Tina!’ said Mum. ‘Come here and have a cuddle. Don’t worry, darling. You don’t have to do this if you really don’t want to. I’m sure Phil and Maddie could talk about the butterfly garden instead. You can just hold your pretty picture up. How about that?’

  I cried harder.

  ‘Oh dear, you poor pet. I thought this might happen,’ said Mum.

  Then Garnet came into the ladies. I hid my face, horribly embarrassed.

  ‘Don’t worry, Tina,’ she said gently. ‘I know exactly how you feel.’ She gave me a big clean tissue and I mopped at my face.

  ‘When Ruby and I were young we went to an audition to play twins in a children’s television serial. Ruby desperately wanted us to get the parts. She’s always wanted to be an actress. I was so shy and awkward I couldn’t say a word.’

  ‘Really?’ I said, sniffing.

  ‘Yes, really. I was used to Ruby saying everything for me.’

  ‘Yes, well, that’s what I think we ought to do,’ said Mum. ‘Phil and Maddie can say stuff – they’re not a bit shy. Then Tina might feel able to join in a bit.’

  ‘But the butterfly garden was all your idea, wasn’t it, Tina? And you made it all,’ said Garnet.

  ‘With Selma,’ I said.

  ‘Yes, with Selma. So I think it would be lovely if you could be brave enough to tell us all about it. Remember, it’s just a recording. If you suddenly get your words mixed up we can stop and start again.’

  ‘I don’t like the thought of all the people watching me,’ I said, blowing my nose.

  ‘I know, but we’re going to try to forget about them. It’ll just be you and your friend and your sisters and Ruby having a little chat. Do you think you can give it a go? I’d really, really like it if you could, because I think this is going to be one of our best programmes ever. It will be wonderful if we can encourage other children to make their own butterfly gardens,’ said Garnet.

  I had a sudden picture in my head of hundreds of new gardens all over the country, with swarms of butterflies flying over each. It was such a lovely thought that I couldn’t help smiling.

  ‘There!’ said Garnet. ‘Good girl. We’d better whisk you back to make-up to powder that sniffly red nose and then we’ll give it a go, OK?’

  ‘OK,’ I said.

  And it was OK.

  I knew that Phil and Maddie wouldn’t tease me when I got back to the studio, but I was worried about Selma.

  I didn’t need to be.

  ‘Are you all right, Tina?’ she asked anxiously. ‘Were you really sick?’

  ‘No, I just felt it.’

  ‘Well, hold Baby tight. She’ll make you feel better. You can hold New Baby too if you like, for extra comfort,’ she offered.

  ‘No, I’m fine now, I think. But thank you,’ I said, and I squeezed her hand instead of Baby’s.

  Then we started filming.

  ‘Hi. I’m Ruby Red and this is my bright red room,’ said Ruby. ‘Here’s my bright red table and my bright red chair and my bright red play box – and look who’s sitting on my bright red sofa!

  One, two, three, four gir
ls come to say hello. Now, I know this is Tina, because she sent me the most beautiful picture. Come and tell me who the other girls are, Tina.’

  ‘These are my sisters, Phil and Maddie,’ I said, and they each gave me a little wave.

  ‘Hello, Phil. Hello, Maddie. My goodness, you look absolutely identical. So you’re twins?’ asked Ruby.

  ‘No, we’re triplets,’ said Phil.

  ‘Tina’s a triplet too but she’s a bit smaller than us,’ Maddie explained.

  ‘I’m getting a bit bigger now,’ I said.

  ‘She’s still much littler than me!’ Selma pointed out.

  ‘This is Selma, my best friend,’ I said.

  ‘And we made the butterfly garden together. I did all the digging!’ said Selma.

  ‘Yes, you’re the strongest girl,’ said Ruby. ‘I think you’re probably stronger than me, Selma. But it was you who first got interested in butterflies, wasn’t it, Tina?’

  ‘I liked drawing them. Miss Lovejoy gave me a book about butterflies when I was ill,’ I said.

  ‘And who’s Miss Lovejoy?’ Ruby asked.

  ‘She’s our teacher,’ said Selma.

  ‘Is she a nice teacher?’

  ‘She’s a very good teacher, but she’s very strict,’ said Phil.

  ‘She can be really scary at times,’ added Maddie. ‘Even our mum is a bit scared of her!’

  There was a little squeak of protest from the corner of the studio where Mum was watching.

  ‘I’m not scared of her. I like her,’ said Selma unexpectedly.

  ‘I like her too. She’s very kind,’ I said. ‘She helped us raise money for a butterfly garden and bought all the plants with us. And she paid me heaps when I did a sponsored spelling test!’

  ‘Are you good at spelling, Tina?’

  ‘I didn’t use to be. But maybe I am now!’

  ‘And you’re certainly very, very good at drawing pictures. Here’s your butterfly garden picture. Would you like to hold it up and show everyone?’

  I held up my picture. I knew the camera was pointing at it.

  ‘Here’s me, and here’s Selma. And these are all the plants that butterflies like. Buddleia – they like that best. Some people actually call it the “butterfly bush”. And primula, aubretia, bugle, sweet william, lavender, red valerian and asters. They’ve all got lots and lots of nectar,’ I said, pointing to each plant in turn.