Belle pushed open the door to find Mayu and Bianca loitering on the other side. 'You're late!' Mayu told her.
'And why haven't you got your costume on yet?' Bianca asked. Belle noticed that she was sporting a spectacular black witch-goddess dress, woven with tiny serpents crafted from silver wire, while Mayu was in the long plain dress and white apron of a castle servant. 'Lucy and Serena want everyone on stage in costume,' Bianca whispered. 'Right now.'
'But where is my costume?' Belle asked, rattled by the prospect of being late, and still distracted with worries about Jack and Nick.
'Look in the main dressing room,' Bianca hissed. 'All the costumes are hanging up with name tags on them!'
'Thanks,' Belle muttered.
She soon found her costume. A cardboard tag, clearly bearing the name BELLE MADISON, was firmly attached.
She was a little surprised to find that it was a full suit of armour.
Complete with helmet.
She'd thought it was just knights who wore armour . . . But who was she to argue? Macbeth was set in the olden days, after all. In Scotland. Maybe messengers had to wear armour as they travelled around in those times – to protect them from highwaymen or wolves or something.
But getting into the armour was no easy task. The metal sections were heavy and cumbersome and they fitted together in some mysterious, intricate fashion. It was like a cross between a tank and a Rubik's cube. But Belle was not going to be beaten by an article of clothing, and finally – bruised, battered and dripping with sweat – she was in!
Now she just had to get to the stage. But the armour weighed a ton and the joints were so stiff she had to walk with her arms and legs sticking out like a zombie robot. She peered through the narrow eye-slit in the helmet. The other dressing rooms were all deserted. Everyone else must already be in the theatre, she thought. She lumbered along the corridor – move right leg, clank; drag left leg, clatter – somehow pulled herself up the stairs into the wings and, with a noise like an explosion in a cymbal factory . . .
. . . crashed onto the stage.
She paused, waiting for the clanging to stop reverberating in her ears.
There was silence. Then laughter. Loud, uproarious laughter.
Belle tugged off the helmet and looked around. There were all the other students, in medieval dresses, tunics and breeches. No armour in sight! Not even a breastplate! And there were the other Messengers – all wearing simple tunics and cloaks.
One of those Messengers was Jack. He was laughing at her.
Nick was working on something down on the sound-editing desk. He was laughing at her too.
'Belle Madison! What do you think you are doing?' Mr Sharpe yelled, bristling with rage. 'This is not a fancy dress party! Get off my stage now!'
Serena looked up from pinning the hem of Nathan's tunic. 'Belle, where did you get that costume?' she gasped.
'Do you need a tin-opener, dude?' Zak shouted from the back of the stage, where he was painting scenery with Frankie and Mason.
Every fibre of Belle's body screamed out 'RUN AWAY!' But, clad in several tons of steel, running wasn't an option.
Just when she thought she might die of humiliation, there was a commotion on the other side of the stage. Everyone turned to see Cat rush in, holding up the train of a black velvet cloak. Beneath it was a long blood-red dress with a low bodice that exposed acres of snowy-white cleavage, adorned with a magnificent necklace dripping with ruby-red stones. There was a stunned silence as everyone admired the effect. Even Mr Sharpe was speechless.
But not for long. 'I will not tolerate a Lady Macbeth who is constantly late!' he bellowed. 'You obviously don't realize how important this production is for the reputation of the entire school!'
'Tut, tut!' Mayu simpered, her dimples going into overdrive.
Duncan shook his head sadly. 'Yeah, sorry, Cat, but this is getting a bit much . . .'
'My sentiments precisely,' announced Mr Grampian. The head of the Drama Department had been sitting quietly at the back of the theatre, observing the rehearsal. 'I quite agree that a final warning would be appropriate at this juncture, Mr Sharpe.'
Mr Sharpe harrumphed irritably. Belle had the distinct impression that in his view, Cat had gone way past the final-warning stage some time ago.
Relieved that everyone's attention was now focused on Cat's dramatic arrival, Belle took the opportunity to slink – or rather clank – back to the dressing room.
As she wriggled out of the armour, she was kicking herself. Mentally, that is; actually kicking yourself in full armour would be a very dangerous move.
Why, oh, why hadn't she smelled a big fat rat when Bianca and Mayu informed her, oh-so-helpfully, where to find her costume?
No wonder they were laughing louder than anyone else when she appeared on stage looking like the Tin Man meets Frankenstein's Monster.
They'd set a trap – and she'd walked right into it!
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Cat: Inner Peace and Fairy Juice
'OH – MY – GOD!' Belle groaned. 'That was so-o-o embarrassing!'
Cat grinned sympathetically as they sat down in front of the roaring fire in the common room after supper. She was used to putting her foot in it and making a spectacle of herself – it was all in a day's work! But poor Belle usually conducted herself in a cool and dignified manner. Being the school laughing-stock in a full suit of armour was not exactly in her comfort zone!
'Bianca and Mayu told me to look for the costume with my name on . . .' Belle muttered.
'Yep!' Cat laughed. 'Those two must have thought they'd hit the jackpot – Belle making a prize eejit of herself and Cat getting a humungous rollicking from Mr Sharpe. Two for the price of one!'
Cat was trying to make light of it to cheer Belle up, but in reality she was quite shaken by Mr Sharpe's outburst; the thought of letting down the entire school was much harder to laugh off than her usual blips and blunders. 'We'll rise above it!' she said bravely, reminding Belle of the Bianca-proof slogan they'd coined at the beginning of term. 'And don't worry – everyone will have forgotten about the armour-thing by tomorrow.'
'Do you really think so?'
'Yeah – no doubt I'll do another of my amazing Cat-turns-up-late-again or Cat-forgets-her-homework tricks, and give them something else to gossip about.' Cat laughed her sprightliest am-I-bothered? laugh, but she knew she'd just lost one of her nine lives. If Mr Grampian hadn't stepped in, she was sure Mr Sharpe would have thrown her out of the play then and there. He hadn't even given her a chance to explain that she was late because she'd run to ask Miss Candlemas if she could borrow the string of red glass beads she'd seen her wearing last week, for her Lady Macbeth costume.
Belle must have detected the wobble in her voice. 'Cat, I know things are getting a bit crazy. Are you OK?'
Cat grinned. 'Yes, of course!' Although deep down she wasn't so sure. She was so tired her bones ached. She felt as if she were running on a treadmill that was going faster and faster – and she couldn't find the switch to turn it off . . .
'Tell you what you need!' Belle said.
'A body-double? A time machine?'
Belle laughed and shook her head. 'Upekkha.'
'Up-a-what?'
'Upekkha – it's a yoga thing – it means balance, inner peace. Come to my yoga class with me tomorrow morning . . .'
Cat wasn't entirely convinced yoga was going to solve her problems. She didn't need inner peace. She just needed to run faster or find the off-switch.
'SOMEBODY HELP ME!'
The fake scream was coming from Nick Taggart, who was racing into the common room with Nathan and Serena. A group of Year Ten students, including Ethan Reed and Lucy Cheng, followed. 'I'm a damsel in distress!' Nick continued, waving his hands girlishly. 'Behold! Methinks a knight in shining armour approacheth!' With that, he threw himself at Belle's feet. The others drew up armchairs around the cosy fireplace, laughing at Nick's performance.
Eek! Cat thought. Th
e last thing Belle needed was Nick winding her up with his court jester act. But to her astonishment, Belle didn't seem annoyed with Nick at all. In fact, she was grinning at him as if he'd just made the wittiest joke in the history of comedy.
'I'll challenge you to a joust if you're not careful,' Belle quipped, suddenly looking a lot more cheerful.
'You were pretty funny, Belle!' Serena laughed as she pulled a cape from her bag and started sewing braid around the hem. 'But how did you get the armour? It was hidden away right at the back of the stores.'
Before Belle could reply, Holly, Gemma and Lettie arrived, excitedly discussing the meeting they'd just had with Miss Morgan and Miss LeClair to check the fitting of the new pointe shoes they'd all bought during the half-term holiday; the advanced ballet class would be starting their en pointe work very soon.
'Lucky Holly,' Gemma teased. 'Miss Morgan says she's got perfect feet!'
Ethan laughed and made room on the arm of his chair for Holly, who sat down with a shy smile and exchanged a little True Romance look with him. Those two are so sweet together I'm getting a sugar-rush just looking at them! Cat thought. If it was anyone other than Holly, it would be totally sick-making.
And now Nick and Lettie were sharing a bag of Maltesers, engrossed in a technical sound-editing conversation – but, Cat noticed, Nick had a daft, dreamy look on his face that had nothing to do with the choice of music for the banquet scene in Macbeth.
Then Jack poked his head into the common room, looking for a library book he'd mislaid. 'Oh, how's the belly-dancing going, Lettie?' he called over with a big grin. Lettie stared at him blankly.
What was that all about? Cat asked herself. Belle blushed, and gazed at Jack as he did a quick book search before hurrying off to look in the dining room. Nick glanced at Belle, smiled, and then winked knowingly at Cat. He'd obviously seen her reaction too.
What was going on? Cat wondered. Were they putting something in the water at Superstar High? It was like the scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream where everyone wakes up with fairy juice on their eyelids and falls in love with the first person they see . . .
Cat was almost relieved when Bianca and Mayu came into the common room. At least those two could be relied upon to break up the love-a-thon with a bit of good old-fashioned, no-nonsense spite.
'Come on, Lettie,' Bianca called. 'We're going to get ice creams at Café Roma – and wait till you hear this: the most hysterical thing happened at the costume call today . . .'
Yep! Bianca is nothing if not predictable! Cat thought.
Lettie smiled awkwardly and got up to join Bianca and Mayu. 'What happened?' she asked.
'Ooh, can't tell you here.' Bianca smiled wickedly, looking straight at Belle. 'Sir Prance-a-lot might get upset and run me through with her sword!'
'So what did happen?' Holly asked after they'd left. Cat and Belle recounted the story of the Armour Fiasco and the Delayed Arrival of Lady Macbeth. They could both see the funny side of it now, and everyone was soon roaring with laughter.
'So that explains it!' Gemma said, still laughing. 'I wondered why Bianca and Mayu were fossicking about in the wardrobe storeroom this afternoon when I went to look for Serena. Said they were helping clear out some old costumes. I thought that seemed a bit too useful for those two!'
Gradually everyone started heading off to their rooms. Holly waved goodbye to Ethan, who left rather reluctantly to revise for a French test.
Cat stared into the embers of the fire and sighed. 'Time to tackle that history essay,' she murmured to nobody in particular. A miserable ache oozed through her body at the thought of an evening with Henry VIII and her laptop.
'You should take a night off,' Belle told her. 'You look shattered.'
Suddenly Holly jumped up. 'Ooh, Bianca's just given me a Great Idea!' she announced. 'Meet me in your room in half an hour.'
Cat and Belle exchanged bamboozled looks.
What Great Idea could Holly Devenish – the kind of girl who helps old ladies across the road and rescues stray hedgehogs – possibly have that had been inspired by Bianca Hayford's scheming brain?
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Belle: Girls' Night In
'Ta-da!' Holly fanfared, throwing open the door and letting the contents of her overloaded arms tumble onto the coffee table. 'There's Chocolate Chip Cookie-dough, Very Berry Swirl and Rocky Road . . . courtesy of Café Roma!'
So that was Bianca's Great Idea!
Belle had to admit that for once Bianca was right. Whatever the question was, family-size tubs of Italian ice cream were definitely the answer! But how had Holly got permission to go off alone to Café Roma at this time? Year Eight students weren't allowed out of school unaccompanied after 6.30 p.m. 'I asked Ethan to run out and get it for me,' Holly explained. 'Year Tens can sign out until eight o'clock.'
'I don't know about you, Hols, but I'm in love with Ethan already!' Cat laughed, pulling the lid off the tub of Rocky Road.
'And for my next trick' – Holly whipped an envelope out of her bag like a rabbit out of a hat – 'Mamma Mia! Mum posted me the DVD.'
'Girls' night in!' Cat shouted, jumping on her bed and sweeping aside piles of clothes and books to make seating room.
'Way to go!' Holly was a genius, Belle thought. This was exactly what they all needed. 'Er, let me help you with that, Cat,' she added.
Cat's attempts to tidy up were just spreading the chaos around the room. Pairs of tights were now dangling from the curtain rail, and a Spanish dictionary was splayed across the dressing-table mirror.
'Is this that Macbeth script you were looking for?' Belle asked, holding up a sheaf of papers she'd excavated from under Cat's bed.
'My baby!' Cat cried, kissing the script. 'You've come back to me!' But suddenly her face fell. 'Eugh! I've just remembered: homework – I had a date with Henry the Eighth tonight . . .'
Holly grinned. 'Dump him! This is a girls-only zone!'
'And you can borrow all my Tudor notes tomorrow,' Belle offered.
Cat didn't need any more convincing.
Belle snuggled up among the cushions on Cat's bed, took her first mouthful of Very Berry Swirl and sighed contentedly. Cat was settling in next to her, with Shreddie purring on her lap, and Holly was starting up the DVD on the laptop. This is perfect, Belle thought. In fact, maybe it was the perfect moment to share her big secret. 'I have this kinda . . . secret . . .' she started hesitantly.
Holly pressed the Pause button. 'Ooh, I love secrets!'
'Er, you know that new boy, Jack Thorne . . . ' Belle went on.
'Mm-mm,' Cat mumbled through a recklessly large mouthful of Rocky Road.
'What do you think of him?' Belle asked, trying to sound casual.
Holly giggled. 'Not as much as you do!'
'Is that it? Your deep, dark secret?' Cat laughed. 'That you fancy Jack? I thought you were going to tell us something we didn't know!'
'You mean you could tell?' Belle asked, watching in horror as Cat and Holly both nodded, grinning. She squirmed with embarrassment; she'd been so sure she'd kept all her emotions safely under wraps. What if everyone knew? 'Oh, no, is it that obvious?' she stammered.
'Only to us,' Holly said reassuringly. 'With our finely honed powers of observation. Oh, and I'm sure Bianca suspects—'
'And Nick Taggart, of course . . .' Cat added.
'Oh yes, Nick,' Belle said. 'I thought I'd really hurt his feelings in Mr Garcia's class today – but then he was acting his usual goofball self in the common room, so I think we're OK again.' She sighed. She'd been so relieved when Nick started poking fun at her about the armour; he obviously wasn't mad at her. Maybe it'd been worth making a fool of herself after all, if that's what it took to get their friendship back on track.
Cat smiled. 'Don't worry about Nick,' she said. 'He's got other things on his mind—'
'Like Lettie Atkins,' Holly interrupted.
'Argggh! Brain-freeze!' Cat yelled, clapping her hand to her forehead.
Of c
ourse! Belle thought. Now it's starting to make sense. When Nick insisted that he wanted to work with Lettie in the singing class, he wasn't just covering up his injured pride. He really did want to work with Lettie. He was probably annoyed because Bianca was teasing him and Belle, not because he was heartbroken that Belle might want to work with Jack!
'So, do you think I stand a chance with Jack?' Belle blurted out.
'Hmm . . .' Cat murmured, scrunching up her forehead as if pondering a fiendishly difficult question. 'Is he likely to be interested in the most elegant, tall, blonde and gorgeous girl in the year? She's clever, funny, loyal, generous . . . What do you think, Hols?'
Holly grinned. 'It's a no-brainer! But,' she added seriously, 'he's going to have to have the operation first . . .'
'Operation?' Belle winced. 'What operation?'
Holly laughed. 'The one to have Bianca surgically removed from his side!'
Belle giggled and swatted her with a cushion. 'Come on, start the film. My ice cream's melting!'
Soon they were transported to a sunny Greek island and singing along to Abba's I Have a Dream . . .
Yes! Belle thought, a wave of confidence washing over her. The three of us all have our dreams and our songs to sing, and together we really can cope with anything . . .
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Cat: Honeysuckle and Avocado Heaven
Cat was still singing I Have a Dream as she ran herself a bath the next morning.
Everything was going to be fine, she told herself. The girls' night in had been just what she needed. Now she was up bright and early, for a relaxing bath and a spot of history homework before breakfast. In fact she was so early she'd managed to nab the nicest of the three bathrooms on their floor – the one with the extra-deep tub.
Cat poured in a generous glug of Honeysuckle and Avocado Heaven and watched it bubble—
'Cat! Are you in there?' Belle was knocking at the door. 'Yoga time – come on!'
Cat groaned, suddenly remembering she'd agreed to join Belle at her yoga class, in search of Inner Peace and Perfectly Toned Muscles. She gazed at her beautiful bath. She could say no, but Belle was so ultra-organized and she was easily offended if you messed up her plans – and she was trying to help . . .
The Time of Your Life Page 6