Polly Plays Her Part

by Anne-Marie Conway

  Mandy stopped sorting through the costumes and looked up.

  “Anyway,” Sam went on, “that’s the reason she didn’t learn her lines, it was all way too traumatic, but now she has learned them, so can we all go back to the parts we had before?”

  “Oh, Polly. That’s awful. Why didn’t you let me know about your cat?”

  I shrugged and looked down at the floor. It all seemed so silly now we were actually telling her.

  “Well I’m not really happy about swapping the parts back at such a late stage…” She stopped and I held my breath, certain she was going to say no. “But I suppose I should give you one last chance, Polly, especially if you’ve been having such a bad time.”

  I felt like jumping up and down and cheering. “Do you really mean it?”

  “I do, but if you miss even one line today we’ll have to change straight back. Give that costume to Polly, Sam, and I’ll find the other one in a sec. And you’d better go and tell Phoebe and Rachel so they know what’s going on.”

  “That’s that then,” said Sam. “All sorted.”

  I still couldn’t get over how nice she was being. I kept expecting her to turn round and say “April Fool” or something, even though it was the middle of June.

  Mandy handed Sam her costume and mask. “I’m really proud of you, Sam. Polly’s so lucky to have such a good friend.”

  We went over to find the others and tell them what was going on. Phoebe was so happy she nearly burst into tears.

  “That’s amazing,” she said. “I’m so pleased it’s all worked out.”

  “Thanks to you and Monty B,” I said. “I can’t believe you did that for me.”

  “Well you are my friend, Polly,” she said. “Even if you act like a total idiot sometimes.”

  I stared at the floor, feeling a bit guilty. I hadn’t been a very good friend to Phoebe at all over the last few weeks but I was determined to make it up to her. I gave her a hug and went off to find Rachel. She was happy as well. She said she’d been having nightmares about doing so many extra lines, especially as she’d never even been in a school play before, let alone a proper show like this one.

  When everyone was ready, Mandy sat us down for a chat.

  “Those of you who did the last show at Star Makers know that we have to treat this rehearsal like a proper performance. We can’t stop and start like we did last week, we’ve got to run straight through. The next time we perform it will be in front of a packed audience, so we’ve got to get it right today.”

  I started to feel a bit nervous. I really didn’t want to let her down.

  “But you do all look fantastic,” she added. “So I’ll just take a few photos of you up on the stage and then we’ll get going.”

  The set was amazing. Mandy’s boyfriend, Julian, had made these giant circuit boards out of huge sheets of wood covered in bright green felt. He’d stuck old takeaway cartons and other bits and pieces onto the boards and sprayed them all metallic silver. There were rows of matches and small yoghurt pots and different-sized bottle tops all carefully arranged to look like wires and ports and cables. The boards were big enough to go all the way round the stage, so it looked as if we were actually inside a real computer.

  We got into groups for the photos, depending on our character in the show. I was with Monty B and Sam was with all the other viruses. Phoebe had her photo by herself. Her costume was a rainbow-striped minidress with bright pink and purple tights and sparkly purple platforms – she looked so funky!

  “So ze dream-team are togezer again,” said Monty B when we went up onto the stage for our turn.

  “Yeah, well, thanks for going round to Sam’s. Phoebe did try to convince me I should tell her about my cat getting run over but I didn’t think it would make any difference.”

  “Your cat!” snorted Monty B. “You think she changed her mind because of your cat?”

  “Why did she change it then? What did you do – threaten her or something?”

  “No! I just promised her that if we ever did another ballroom dance contest she could definitely be my partner. You don’t think she was going to turn down an offer like that, do you?”

  I burst out laughing and Mandy clicked the camera.

  “Try to look a bit more frightened, Polly,” she called out. “It’s not supposed to be a comedy!”

  We had so much fun doing the photos that I forgot for a minute about proving to Mandy that I could do Marcia’s part. I had practised at home, and with Phoebe at school, but that was last week, before Mandy had given the part to Sam. And anyway, acting out the lines in my bedroom or with Phoebe wasn’t the same as doing it here in front of everyone else.

  When all the photos were done we helped Mandy set the stage up ready for the opening.

  “Okay, Polly,” she said. “I want you to sit at Marcia’s desk until I give you the signal to start. The rest of you need to wait offstage and I don’t want to hear a sound.”

  Phoebe and the others squashed themselves into the wings, giggling and mucking about. I almost wished I could squash in there with them, but I had to sit all by myself at the desk and wait for Mandy.

  “When you’re ready, Polly,” said Mandy, as soon as the others were quiet.

  But I wasn’t ready and for one terrible moment the lines were gone. I couldn’t even remember the first word. It was completely silent in the hall. Mandy sat at the piano, waiting. I so didn’t want to mess it up but my mind was totally blank.

  “We’ve really got to get going,” said Mandy. She didn’t sound cross but I could tell she was starting to lose patience.

  It had all been such a rush coming to drama, what with Sam turning up and everything, that I’d totally forgotten to bring my script. I hadn’t even looked at the lines since last Saturday. My palms started to sweat. I knew if I blew it today Mandy would give the part straight back to Sam.

  “We’re going to run out of time, Polly,” said Mandy. “What’s the problem?”

  I looked across at Sam in the wings. She was mouthing something at me.

  I shook my head to show her I didn’t understand. It was a nightmare.

  “It’s so lonely sometimes,” she hissed. “Stuck here in my room, day after day, all by myself.”

  And suddenly the words came flooding back, as if someone was holding the script up right in front of me. I grinned at Sam, wiped my hands on my jeans and started to speak. Once I’d got going, the rest of Act One was fine. Everyone remembered their lines, and when they were supposed to come on, and all the dance moves.

  “That was fantastic,” said Mandy, when we stopped for a break. “I can’t believe how good it was. It was almost too good,” she joked. “Something’s bound to go wrong at some point.”

  But Act Two went just as well. It was so different from last term when our dress rehearsal had been a total disaster; mostly because Arthur had double-booked the hall and another group had turned up to rehearse their play at the same time.

  “You guys are amazing,” Mandy kept saying. “I can hear every word and it’s so slick and professional.”

  When Phoebe came on to sing her big solo she looked scared out of her wits and, for a horrible second, I thought she was going to run straight back offstage.

  Come on, Phoebs. You can do it, I said inside my head, and it was as if she could actually hear me. She took a deep, shaky breath, opened her mouth and started to sing. Her voice was beautiful. It seemed to fill every corner of the hall and I was so proud of her I felt like cheering.

  We ran right through to the end with no problems at all and then we stopped to sort out the bows and the finale.

  “Brilliant, Polly!” Mandy called out when I ran onstage with Monty B. “You were just brilliant!”

  It was weird, but I’d hardly thought about the Diamond Den all morning and standing on the stage with everyone – singing the last song and having so much fun – it seemed totally crazy that I was even thinking of stealing from my own dad. It was as if the friend2friend
website had taken over my brain in some way and I knew exactly what I was going to do the second I got home.

  “You were great, Polly,” said Sam when we’d finished the bows.

  “So were you,” I said. “I bet Mandy will give you the biggest part next time. And if she doesn’t I’ll have a word with her.”

  “We all will,” said Phoebe.

  Just then Arthur came in.

  “Oh, hello, Mandy, my dear,” he said. “Rehearsal going well?”

  “Yes, thanks, Arthur,” she said, smiling. “What can I do for you?”

  He waved a bit of paper at her. “The piano was delivered yesterday,” he announced. “And Mr. Duke, the manager at the old people’s home, has kindly sent through this picture on the computer. It’s just marvellous, isn’t it, the way we communicate these days? Anyway, we’re all very grateful, so like I said the other week, if there’s anything at all I can do to help…”

  Mandy looked at the picture of the piano. “Well there is something,” she said slowly. “I see you have a colour printer.”

  “Yes, it’s a marvel, isn’t it? Don’t know how to work it myself but the lovely Mrs. Beagle is a whiz.”

  “Only I’m having a bit of trouble with my computer at the moment,” said Mandy, “and I was right in the middle of printing out the programmes for our show. The thing is I’ve got so much to do and…”

  “Say no more!” boomed Arthur, holding up his hand to stop Mandy. “Just give me the details and the job will be done.”

  “Are you sure that was a good idea?” said Catharine, after Arthur had skipped off back to his office, clutching a copy of the programme.

  “I know what you mean,” said Mandy. “But it’s so straightforward, what could possibly go wrong?”

  I couldn’t wait to get home to tell Dad and Diane how well the rehearsal had gone – and that Mandy had agreed to let me be Marcia again. I hadn’t actually told them I’d lost the part in the first place but I was suddenly bursting to tell them the whole story. I raced all the way back from the bus stop, thinking about the show and how great it was going to be, and how Mandy had said I was brilliant. I didn’t even feel that upset about Mum not being there to watch me. I pulled the door key out of my pocket, but before I could get it into the lock, the door flew open from the inside.

  It was Dad.

  And he was holding his credit card.

  I suppose I could’ve lied. I could’ve said I was using the credit card to buy Diane a thank-you present for saving Cosmo’s life. Or I could’ve got angry and demanded to know what Dad was doing in my room in the first place. I mean he is always going on about how it’s my private space and stuff like that. But in the end I didn’t lie or get angry. I just froze, with my eyes fixed on the card.

  Dad grabbed my arm and yanked me into the lounge. “Right then,” he said. “Perhaps you’d like to explain why my credit card was in your room? And why the computer says you only have a few hours left to enter your personal details?”

  He was so angry he looked as if he was about to explode.

  “It was just this w-website,” I stammered. “And I needed your credit card to get into the…the…Diamond Den.” It sounded so pathetic when I said it out loud.

  Diane walked in from the kitchen. “What’s going on?” she said.

  “Polly has been using my credit card.”

  “No I haven’t actually used it!” I cried. “I took it this morning but I didn’t use it. I was going to give it back as soon as I got home, I swear.”

  “But why should I believe you?” Dad shouted. “You’ve lied to me before so why should I believe you now? And how could you be so stupid? Don’t you know how dangerous it is to give out your personal details on the computer? I thought you had a bit more sense than that!”

  Diane put her hand on his arm. “Calm down, Simon. Polly’s trying to explain. Why don’t you sit down together and talk it through? I’ll go and make a cup of tea.”

  He shook off her hand. “A cup of tea’s not going to make things right this time,” he snapped. “You know, I’m sick to death of tiptoeing around her. Trying to understand. Giving her time to settle in. It’s about time she started to grow up a bit and take some responsibility for her actions.”

  I’d never seen Dad this angry. Diane scooted out of the room and I shrank back in my seat.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I know it was wrong. I was just so caught up with this website and this friend I made and the more we chatted the harder it was to stop and it helped me feel better; you know, about Mum leaving and Cosmo and stuff like that, but I wasn’t going to go on it any more and I’m not lying.”

  Dad started to pace around the room. He went round and round, his huge, muscly arms folded across his chest and it was obvious he wasn’t calming down at all.

  “Even if I decide to believe you about not going on the site again,” he said, still pacing, “you need to understand just how serious it was to take my credit card and to enter your personal details onto the computer.”

  “But Dad, I do understand!”

  “I want you to show me this website,” he went on, ignoring me. “Don’t you understand how dangerous it is? You have absolutely no idea who you’ve been talking to. You didn’t arrange to meet anyone, did you?”

  “Of course not!”

  “It’s my fault as well. I should’ve kept a closer eye on you. I knew it was stupid to let you have a computer in your bedroom. No more hiding away upstairs talking to a bunch of strangers. Are you listening, Polly?”

  I nodded and started to get up from the sofa.

  “Hang on a minute. I haven’t finished.” He started pacing again. I could see he was thinking up some awful punishment. He went round and round the living room. “I’m sorry, Polly,” he said finally. “But as soon as I’ve sorted out the computer, I’m going to phone Mandy and tell her you won’t be able to take part in the production.”

  My heart started to thud. “What? What do you mean? You can’t do that. She’s only just given me my part back!”

  He swung round to face me. “I can, Polly. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do. This is very serious. You were going to steal from me.”

  “But that’s so unfair. I’ll be letting everyone down. I don’t care what else you do to me – but not that! Why do you always have to ruin everything?”

  “She’s right, Simon,” said Diane, coming back into the room. “She can’t let everyone else down just because she’s done something she shouldn’t. I know she took your credit card but she says she didn’t use it and I believe her.”

  “This is none of your business! She’s not even your daughter!” Dad roared at Diane, and then he stormed out of the room.

  I started to cry. It was horrible. I’d never seen him shout at Diane.

  “Don’t worry, Polly,” she said. “I’ll talk to him. Pop up to your room for a bit.”

  I ran upstairs and threw myself on the bed. I could hear Dad and Diane arguing. Their voices grew louder and louder – Dad’s especially. After a bit I went over to the computer and unplugged it. I didn’t even close it down properly, I just ripped the plug out of the wall. I didn’t care about Skye or the Diamond Den or anything to do with the friend2friend website. I just wanted Dad to stop shouting.

  At some point Jake woke up from his afternoon nap and started to cry. I went into his room and picked him up out of his cot. He was clutching hold of Boo and his face was all crumpled and tear-stained. “It’s all right,” I said. “Polly’s here now.” He clung on to me, burying his face in my neck. I managed to keep him happy for a bit, dancing Boo around the edges of the cot and making silly noises, but he was starving and in the end I carried him downstairs to Diane.

  She was sitting on her own in the lounge. Her face was all crumpled up like Jake’s and I could see she’d been crying.

  “What’s happened, Diane? Where’s Dad?”

  “It’s okay, Polly, he’s just popped out to get some fresh air. I’ve
persuaded him to wait until tomorrow before he calls Mandy. I think he’s more frightened about what could have happened than anything. And cross with himself.”

  Dad came up to my room a bit later. He sat on the end of my bed and I told him everything. About pretending to be Marcia and making friends with Skye and how chatting to her helped me to forget about Mum and how much I was missing her. He didn’t interrupt or stop listening halfway through, like he usually does, and when I’d finished he took me in his arms.

  “I’m so sorry, princess,” he said. “I just didn’t realize what a difficult time you were having. You kept on saying you were fine but I should’ve paid more attention. And you know, this friend of yours, Skye. Well, she’s not a real friend, sweetheart. She was probably just chatting to you to draw you into the site and get you to spend lots of money.”

  “I know,” I whispered, “and I’m sorry as well. I’m sorry I took your credit card. I didn’t know what I was doing. I just kept thinking that if I could get inside that room and talk to Skye again all my problems would be solved. And then I realized that I didn’t even care about the Diamond Den any more, that I was happy at drama and that my real friends were so much more important than some stranger I’d never even met. I was on my way home to put back your credit card, but it was too late because you’d already found it in my room.”

  “It’s not too late,” Dad said. “I’m not going to stop you doing your show. But you do need to trust me more and I definitely need to listen to you more. Right now though, I think I’d better go down and beg Diane to forgive me for flying off the handle like that.”

  “Will you say thank you from me?” I said.

  He shook his head. “No, you come down and tell her yourself. She’d appreciate that.”

  But I still didn’t want to. There were all sorts of things I knew I should say to Diane like, Thank you for saving Cosmo, and, Thank you for getting Dad to listen, but I just couldn’t.