Hannah in the Spotlight

by Natasha Mac a'Bháird

  Chapter Nine

  We’d arranged to have the next meeting of Star Club on Friday afternoon. I was hoping to see the other girls in between, but I was busy helping Mum, Ruby was busy with ballet, and Laura didn’t even answer the phone when I called her. Meg didn’t seem to be around either – when I had a bit of time to spare I sneaked into their garden through the hedge, but there was no sign of her when I peeped in the window.

  I did as much as I could on my own though. I typed up the scene we’d worked out together and printed out copies for everyone. I learned all of Pauline’s lines and practised putting in gestures too. The bedroom I shared with Maisie wasn’t exactly ideal for rehearsing – I could only walk a few steps before banging into one of our beds, and that was after picking up all her toys from the floor – but I did my best. All the best artists have to suffer for their art, I told myself, picturing poets struggling to write in garret rooms in Paris, and wildlife photographers crouching in uncomfortable positions under bushes all day long in the hope of getting that one perfect shot. All I had to juggle with was a cramped bedroom and a noisy bunch of siblings.

  By Friday I was really dying to see my friends again and have another rehearsal. I knew Mum wouldn’t mind me spending the afternoon with my friends (I think I’d mentioned the rehearsal about seventeen times). It was looking like another crazy morning in our house though. I was sitting up in bed reading when Dad popped his head around the door. It wasn’t even eight o’clock yet, but there was no chance of a lie-in with Maisie in the bed beside me singing to her teddies.

  ‘Morning, girls,’ Dad said. ‘Hannah, Mum and Emma are still asleep. Emma kept us awake half the night, crying. She’s teething again.’ Dad had those dark circles under his eyes which he always gets when he’s exhausted.

  ‘Oh, poor Emma,’ I said. ‘And poor you too!’

  ‘I know. I just hope I don’t fall asleep in my meeting,’ Dad said, running a hand through his hair and making it stand on end. ‘Try to let Mum sleep if you can. She’s worn out.’

  ‘I’ll take the others downstairs,’ I told him, scrambling out of bed. ‘It’s a good thing Maisie didn’t wake her with her singing!’

  ‘I was using my morning singing voice,’ Maisie said. ‘It’s quieter than my afternoon voice.’

  ‘Thanks, Hannah,’ Dad said. ‘And well done on your lovely, quiet singing, Maisie. Bobby is already downstairs eating breakfast, and Zach’s getting dressed. Just see if you can keep them occupied for an hour or two. I’d better get going.’

  I got dressed quickly and took Maisie downstairs for breakfast, deciding it was easier to just leave her in her pyjamas for now. After breakfast I took out some arts and crafts stuff and helped Maisie and Bobby make houses out of shoe boxes. They made a huge mess but at least they were quiet. Zach was totally absorbed in his library book so he was no trouble.

  It was ten o’clock by the time Mum came downstairs, looking bleary-eyed. ‘She’s teething,’ Mum said, putting a rosy-cheeked Emma into her highchair. ‘She’ll be a lot better once this new tooth comes through.’

  ‘I’ll give her her breakfast,’ I told Mum. ‘You go and have a shower, you’ll feel better then.’

  ‘Thank you, Hannah, that would be great,’ Mum said. ‘But after that you should go out with your friends. You’ve been doing way more than your fair share around here this week, and you need some time off.’

  I wasn’t going to argue with that. Mum trudged back upstairs. I heated up some porridge for Emma, making sure it wasn’t too hot. Giving Emma her breakfast is a complicated affair. It involves a little bit of spoonfeeding her the porridge when she’ll let me (she’d rather just eat it with her hands) and quite a bit of stopping her from picking up the bowl and flinging it on the ground when she’s had enough. Mum gives her those bowls with a rubber base that’s meant to stick on to the highchair tray, but they are not much use against the determined force of Emma.

  I’d just decided it was time to move on to toast when the doorbell rang.

  ‘I’ll get it!’ shouted a voice from under the table. I hadn’t even realised Maisie was in there.

  ‘What are you doing?’ I asked her.

  ‘Feeding my teddies,’ Maisie said. I looked under the table cloth and saw that she’d lined them up on a couple of chairs and had a bowl of cereal from which she was pretending to feed them. From the looks of things the teddies were being a lot more cooperative than Emma.

  Maisie scrambled out and made for the door, but Zach was charging down the stairs.

  ‘I said I was getting it!’ Maisie roared at him.

  ‘You’re not allowed answer the door, you’re too little,’ Zach said.

  ‘I am so allowed, if I check who it is first!’ Maisie argued.

  Emma had just about worked the bowl free. I snatched it away from her just in time. I really didn’t need porridge everywhere. Emma let out a cry of protest.

  The doorbell rang again.

  ‘Well, SOMEONE answer it please!’ I called.

  I heard scuffles, but I was too busy trying to soothe Emma to go and investigate. Zach and Maisie came tumbling into the room, each of them complaining loudly about the other.

  ‘Zach never lets me open the door!’

  ‘Maisie’s too little! She should let me do it!’

  ‘OK, OK,’ I said. ‘Did one of you actually answer the door?’

  ‘Eventually!’ It was Meg, looking a little bit overwhelmed. ‘Wow. I think I’ll come through the hedge the next time,’ she joked.

  ‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘They always fight over answering the door.’

  Zach went stomping off upstairs again. Maisie ran after him, still complaining.

  I handed Emma a piece of toast. She stopped crying and quickly started gumming it.

  ‘I just came over to see if you’re free this morning,’ Meg said. ‘I’m going over to Sadie’s house, and I thought you might like to come with me. She’s got a great dressing-up box, and I thought we could have a look for some costumes for the show.’

  ‘Oh, I’d love to,’ I said. I glanced around the kitchen. It looked a little bit like a bomb had hit it. While I’d been occupied with Emma, Maisie had obviously brought her whole tea set in from the playroom to feed her teddies, dropping pieces here and there along the way. One half of the table was covered with arts and crafts stuff from earlier, and someone had spilled a bottle of glue on the floor and then run off and left it. All our breakfast dishes were still left by the sink, and open boxes of cereal and cartons of juice and milk sat on the other counter.

  Meg followed my look. ‘I’ll help you clean up if you like,’ she offered.

  I sighed. ‘Thanks Meg, that would be great. I should really make them all come and clean up after themselves, but it’s more hassle than it’s worth. Sometimes it’s just easier to do it myself.’

  Meg started loading the dishwasher, and I cleared up the art stuff. As I was mopping up the glue Maisie reappeared. ‘Maisie, can you tidy up your tea set please?’ I asked her.

  ‘I’m still playing with it,’ Maisie objected.

  ‘Well, put it all together at least,’ I said. ‘People are going to step on it and break it the way it’s all over the floor.’

  Maisie grumbled a bit, but started picking up after herself.

  Emma had finished her toast and was banging on her highchair tray with her spoon. She seemed happy enough so I left her where she was while I put away the breakfast things. I wiped down the counters with a cloth and looked around. ‘Much better! Thanks for your help Meg.’

  ‘No problem,’ Meg said. ‘So do you think you’ll be allowed go?’

  ‘I think so. I just need to wait until Mum’s ready.’ I heard the shower being switched off, so I knew she wouldn’t be much longer.

  The only thing that needed cleaning now was Emma. She’d managed to get porridge all over her babygro and even in her hair. I wet a facecloth under the tap and started cleaning her up, chatting to Meg all the while.

&n
bsp; ‘I typed up that scene we were practising the last day so we could have a clean copy each. I know everyone had their own lines scribbled down, but I thought we’d need a proper copy.’

  ‘Good idea, it’s not much use in knowing your own lines if you don’t know where they come in,’ Meg said. ‘I’ve been learning mine, but I’m not sure of all the cues.’

  ‘I bet Ruby hasn’t practised anything except her ballet steps,’ I said, smiling.

  I lifted Emma out of the highchair and sat her on my knee, playing clap handies with her.

  Meg was watching me in fascination. ‘I don’t know how you do it,’ she suddenly blurted out. ‘I mean, how do you know how to do all this stuff? I wouldn’t know where to start with a baby.’

  I shrugged. ‘I’m just used to it, I suppose. Maisie’s nearly six now, but I used to help out with her when she was a baby too.’

  Mum came into the kitchen. She looked much better after her shower, even though she hadn’t bothered drying her hair properly.

  ‘Oh, hi, Meg, nice to see you,’ she said, self-consciously running a hand through her hair. She looked around the kitchen. ‘I was about to apologise for the mess, but you’ve cleaned everything up, Hannah, you star!’

  ‘Meg helped me,’ I said.

  ‘I had an ulterior motive,’ Meg said with a grin. ‘I’m hoping to steal Hannah away for the morning – would that be OK? We want to go to my granny’s house to look at some costumes.’

  ‘Sure,’ Mum said, taking Emma from me. ‘Where does your granny live?’

  ‘She’s over in Glencar, but Mum will give us a lift,’ Meg explained. ‘She’s not starting her new job until Monday.’

  ‘What time do you want me home?’ I asked.

  ‘Oh, there’s no hurry,’ Mum said. ‘Take your time. We’re going to have a quiet day here today, we’ve done enough rushing around lately. Just give me a ring if you’re not going to be home for lunch.’

  Bobby burst into the room. ‘Hannah, can you help me find my Jedi mask? Zach says he didn’t take it, but I know he did.’

  ‘Hannah’s going out,’ Mum said firmly. ‘I’ll talk to Zach.’ She turned to me. ‘Go on, go quickly before something else happens!’

  I didn’t need to be told twice. I grabbed my hoodie and my Star Club notebook, and Meg and I hurried out the door.

  I closed the front door behind us. ‘Freedom!’ I tossed the notebook in the air and caught it again.

  Meg giggled. ‘Now we just need to get past my mum.’

  ‘Oh, you haven’t asked her?’ I said in surprise.

  ‘No, but it’ll be fine. Just don’t tell her why we’re going to Sadie’s, OK?’

  Meg hopped over the wall and put her key in the front door. I followed her in. Cordelia was at the kitchen table, tapping away at her laptop, a mug of coffee beside her on the table. She looked up and smiled when we came in.

  ‘Oh, darling, there you are,’ she said. ‘I’m just trying to figure out how to work this computer program. It’s really quite confusing. I don’t know why they have to make things so complicated these days.’

  ‘Won’t they give you training when you start next week?’ Meg asked her.

  Cordelia wrinkled up her nose. ‘I may have told them I knew how to use it already. In fact, there’s a chance I mentioned something about several years’ experience.’

  ‘Mum!’ exclaimed Meg. ‘You shouldn’t lie about stuff like that!’

  ‘Oh, it’s just a teeny little lie,’ Cordelia said. ‘I desperately wanted the job you see.’

  ‘What happens when they ask you to do something on Monday and you haven’t a clue how it works?’ Meg asked.

  ‘I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it,’ Cordelia said breezily. ‘I’m sure a quick crash course today will bring me right up to speed. What are you two up to today, anyway? No dramatics I hope?’ She laughed.

  ‘No, we’re just hanging out,’ Meg said quickly. ‘Actually, I said I’d go over to Sadie’s this morning, and Hannah’s going to come with me. Could you give us a lift?’

  ‘Sure. I need a break from this dreary old swotting anyway,’ Cordelia said.

  She stood up and drained the last of her coffee, then reached for her car keys and headed for the door.

  I couldn’t help thinking how different things were for Meg, being an only child. If I asked Mum for a lift somewhere, I’d get the third degree about why I needed to go, and then even if she did say she’d bring me we’d have to get all the others into the car too, and that would most likely involve feeding Emma first and changing her nappy and waiting for the bigger three to find all the toys and books they couldn’t possibly manage without for a short car trip. Meg just had to ask her mum, and a minute later we were getting into the car.

  I got into the back seat and Meg sat up front beside her mum.

  ‘I’ll probably spend most of the day on the computer, so why don’t you see if Sadie can keep you for lunch?’ Cordelia suggested as we pulled out of the drive.

  ‘OK, I will. And then maybe we can call over to Laura’s afterwards, she lives just across the road from Sadie.’

  Meg caught my eye in the rearview mirror and gave me a teeny smile. Clearly this had been her plan all along. I smiled back. Meg was a pretty good person to have on my team.

  Chapter Ten

  Sadie’s attic was like something from a film. It was crammed full with all sorts of everything, but it wasn’t the normal sort of clutter and half-broken stuff most attics were filled with. A stunning Tiffany lamp, the kind with colourful stained glass, stood on top of a mahogany bookcase, whose shelves were filled with stacks of what looked like manuscripts. A gorgeous old-fashioned bike with a wicker basket leaned against one side, and beside it lay a big black telephone, the kind with a separate piece to speak into and a trumpet-shaped piece to hold to your ear. A pile of old curtains lay on top of a throne encrusted with jewels.

  ‘Oh my God. This is amazing!’ I managed to say. Already I was picturing all the scenes we could act out with these fabulous props. The bike made me think of The Wizard of Oz, and the phone was just like the one in It’s a Wonderful Life. The throne would be perfect for any fairytale, and the curtains could be used for so many different things.

  ‘You haven’t even seen the best bit yet,’ Meg said. ‘Give me a hand with this, will you?’

  She indicated a huge brown trunk with leather handles, which lay underneath a scratched folding table. I took one of the handles and together we pulled it out to where there was more space.

  Meg took down a key that was hanging from a chain on a nail above our heads, and inserted it in the lock. I was half expecting to see gold coins and sparkling tiaras, but what was inside was even better.

  ‘Oh my God. Costumes!’

  The trunk was stuffed full with theatrical clothing of all sorts.

  ‘Look at this!’ I found an amazing feather boa, long and thick and deep pink. I flung it around my neck and modelled it for Meg.

  ‘You need this to go with it,’ Meg said, plonking a floppy hat with a feather in it on my head. ‘And this!’ She handed me a huge sparkly shoulder bag.

  A full-length mirror stood under the dormer window. I walked over to it, admiring my reflection in the dim light from the bare bulb overhead.

  Meg came to join me, wearing a full-length ballgown in royal blue and a long string of beads.

  ‘Well, we don’t look much like Pauline and Petrova, but we do look pretty good,’ she giggled.

  I was so engrossed in the amazing costumes I’d actually forgotten what we were supposed to be looking for.

  ‘Where did Sadie get all this stuff?’ I asked. ‘It’s so cool.’ I rummaged through the trunk again and pulled out some more hats – a top hat, slightly out of shape, but still smart, a soldier’s helmet and an Easter bonnet.

  ‘Oh, she just likes collecting old stuff,’ Meg said. ‘Look, this is her wedding dress, can you believe it?’ She showed me a beautiful lace dress with long sleeves an
d little pearls sewn in around the neckline. It was a bit old-fashioned, but still so elegant. Meg held it up against her and went over to the mirror once more.

  ‘How are you getting on up there?’ Sadie called from the bottom of the steps.

  ‘Great. Look what I found,’ Meg said, leaning over the open hatch with the wedding dress.

  ‘Be careful!’ Sadie said quickly. ‘I don’t want you falling. What have you got there? Oh, my beautiful wedding dress! I did hope your mum would wear it for her wedding, but she wanted something a bit more modern.’

  ‘I can’t picture Mum in this,’ Meg agreed. ‘Maybe I’ll wear it some day!’

  ‘I hope you do,’ Sadie said. ‘Well, let me know if you need any help.’

  I heard the patter of her footsteps as she went back downstairs. Meg folded the wedding dress carefully and put it to one side.

  ‘Sadie’s so nice,’ I said to her. ‘You must be glad to be living near her again.’

  ‘Oh yes, it’s great,’ Meg said. ‘It’s the best thing about – well, everything. Oh, look! I knew there was something like this here.’ She pulled out a dark green gingham dress, a bit like an old-fashioned school uniform. ‘Look, don’t you think this would do for one of the girls?’ She held it up against her.

  ‘It’s perfect!’ I said. ‘Wow, it’s so great to be able to use all this stuff.’

  ‘Let’s see what else there is.’

  We rummaged through the rest of the clothes and found a couple of other things we thought might work – a simple jumper and a kilt for one of the girls, a long sweeping black skirt for Madame Fidolia, and a tweed skirt and high-collared white blouse for Nana.

  ‘Lucky Laura gets to have the most fun with her costumes,’ Meg said. ‘She’s going to love all this stuff. Do you think we need anything for Ruby, or will she just wear her normal ballet gear?’

  ‘We’d better find her a jumper and skirt as well if we can,’ I said. ‘Posy wouldn’t be wearing her ballet gear on the first day, when they go to the academy.’