The Time of Your Life

by Isabella Cass

  . . . the applause grew louder and louder as they raised their hands and bowed. Louder still, with cheers and whistles, and then there was movement. It was a standing ovation.

  Suddenly Mr Sharpe and Mr Fortune were standing on either side of her, placing bouquets in her arms.

  Hardly able to breathe, Cat scanned the rows of smiling faces. Mum had promised to come, but Cat hadn't been able to spot her in the audience yet. She could see Holly and Gemma . . . And then she saw her. Mum was standing on her chair to see over the crowd, clapping and cheering. And there was Fiona, waving from her wheelchair in the aisle, and Dad and Danny and Kieran too.

  They had all come to see her!

  Cat was overflowing with joy and pride. The hard work, the nerves, the treadmill – it was all worth it for this moment! She knew she had given the performance of her life and that she was one step nearer to her dream of becoming a superstar.

  A serious, classical Shakespearean superstar, of course!

  This was the best feeling in the world!

  When Cat arrived back at her dressing room, Holly and Belle were already waiting to scoop her up in a celebratory group hug.

  There was a knock at the door.

  'Oh, hello,' Cat panted, a little surprised to see Jack. 'Come in and join the celebrations!'

  Jack stepped hesitantly into the room, the door swinging shut behind him. Belle stood there, frozen to the spot, a bedazzled look on her face.

  Suddenly Cat felt her elbow being grabbed. 'Come on, Cat,' Holly said. 'We've got to go. I just remembered that really important . . . er, important thing we've got to do . . .'

  'N-no, don't go,' Belle stammered.

  'Oh yes, that really important thing . . .' Cat grinned, suddenly catching onto Holly's cunning plan. 'Yep, off we go . . .'

  As she pulled open the door, Bianca almost fell into the room on top of her – she must have been crouching outside with her eye pressed to the keyhole.

  'Jack!' Bianca called, in a voice like a rapier dipped in honey, as she jostled past Cat and Holly. 'Whatever are you doing in here? My parents are dying to meet you . . .'

  'Er, no thanks,' Jack replied, without even turning to look at her. 'I'm busy right now.'

  'Come on, Ja-a-a-ck – I thought we were best friends . . .' Bianca wheedled.

  'Yeah, so did I,' Jack replied coldly. 'Shut the door on your way out, would you, Bianca?'

  Cat was flabbergasted. Jack usually obeyed Bianca's every wish! Bianca was obviously just as shocked. She stepped back to join them in the corridor, shutting the door as if in a trance.

  'You told him?' Cat whispered.

  Holly nodded.

  'What precisely did you tell him?' Bianca demanded.

  'Oh, just something interesting your parents said. About Foo-Foo,' Holly replied innocently.

  'You . . . you . . . you . . .' Bianca spluttered, her face contorting with rage at being caught out in her lies. Cat hadn't seen anything so scary since the New Zealand rugby team doing the haka.

  'Ah, there you are, Cat!' came a cheery voice.

  Cat turned to see her mum click-clacking towards her in her high heels, as bright as a budgie in an extravagant blue and orange silk dress. 'You were tremendous, darling. Everyone's talking about how fabulous you were!' she crowed, her eyes swimming with tears of pride. 'Ooh, give us a hug,' she said, enveloping Cat in her arms and squeezing her tight. 'My little star!'

  'Little?' Cat laughed, resting her chin on the top of Mum's red curls. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Bianca turn on her heel and march off down the corridor.

  'I'm sorry, darling,' Mum gulped. 'I was being a pushy old dragon – I can see that now. This is where you belong. I'm so proud of you.'

  'No, I'm sorry, Mum, for . . . well, being a stroppy cow,' Cat told her, holding back tears. It felt so good to be back on the same side again.

  'Now, come on, let's get to the after-show party,' Mum said. 'I've left Fiona with Dad and the boys. I couldn't get her chair down the steps. Heaven knows where they'll end up! You know your dad couldn't find his way out of a paper bag . . .'

  'You go on ahead, Mum. I'll catch you up.' Cat pointed at her Lady Macbeth white nightgown. 'It's not a pyjama party. I'll have to change.' She turned to Holly and grinned. 'And I think my dressing room's going to be occupied for a few minutes.'

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Belle: The Time of Our Lives

  Trapped!

  Jack was standing in front of the door and there was no window. Belle stared at the floor, tempted to start tunnelling with her bare hands.

  She had avoided being alone with Jack since the awful moment she'd seen him with Bianca in the practice room. Belle knew she'd treated him appallingly. She'd jumped to conclusions and assumed the worst about him, and then ignored him for weeks. She'd behaved like a neurotic little drama-queen. And now she didn't know what to say for herself. On a scale of embarrassment from one to ten, this was one hundred!

  But unless she wanted to end her days imprisoned in this dressing room, she was going to have to make a move. The quickest way out, she decided, would be to mutter an apology and then make a dash for the door.

  'I'm really sorry . . .' Belle muttered.

  'I'm really sorry . . .' Jack said at exactly the same moment.

  They both stopped and laughed awkwardly.

  Belle looked up. Jack was leaning against the door, hands in pockets, smiling at her. His clear hazel eyes were searing deep into her soul, but she forced herself to meet his gaze and hold it. Somehow she couldn't help smiling too.

  Jack stepped forward, and as if hypnotized, Belle took a step forward too. And another.

  'Am I forgiven?' Jack asked softly.

  'It was all my fault,' Belle said.

  'Would you still like to go to the Tower of London?'

  'And ice-skating!' Belle nodded. 'Yes, please.' Was she dreaming? she wondered. After all this time, it was so easy to talk to each other . . . Why had she waited so long?

  'Tomorrow afternoon?' Jack said, smiling.

  'Tomorrow afternoon!' Belle agreed.

  They both took another step forward. The air between them fizzed and crackled like static electricity. They were standing very close together now, eyes still locked.

  And then, somehow, they were kissing.

  Belle closed her eyes. She felt as if she were dissolving from the inside out. It was like sparklers and bonfires and singing and ice-skating all rolled into one.

  Suddenly she became aware of a commotion, and jumped away from Jack just as the door crashed open to admit a boisterous crowd: Nick, Lettie, Nathan, Holly, Cat, Ethan, Luke, Lucy, Serena – all the friends who'd been involved in Macbeth, including some of the audience, like Felix, Zak and Gemma.

  Belle felt her face burning and her mouth seemed stuck in a huge slice-of-watermelon grin. Everyone must know exactly what she and Jack had been doing, as surely as if she had SNOG-FEST tattooed across her forehead. She braced herself for comments, but to her surprise, no one teased her. They were all too busy high-fiving and hugging and congratulating each other on the resounding success of the play.

  Belle turned to the mirror and picked up a brush, as if intent on tidying her hair. She studied her reflection. Her face was a little pink, but otherwise fairly well under control.

  Nick came over and stood next to her. 'You really nailed that First Messenger part,' he said, grinning into the mirror. 'The way you delivered that line, The king comes here tonight! Genius! And some critics might argue with me here,' he continued, in pompous, theatre-critic tones, 'but I think leaving the suit of armour off was a good call. Controversial, perhaps, but there you go!'

  Belle laughed. 'Glad you liked it! Your music was amazing, Lettie' she added as their friend came and joined them.

  Nick beamed proudly. 'It was, wasn't it?' He draped his arm across Lettie's shoulders and she gazed up at him with her serious brown eyes.

  Suddenly Ethan was rapping on a Coke can for attenti
on. 'Let's hear it for Cat, the greatest Lady Macbeth you ever saw!' he cried.

  Everyone cheered enthusiastically.

  Somehow Cat had managed to change out of her nightgown into her party dress behind the costume rail. She cleared her throat. 'Ahem! I need to say some thank-yous. Firstly to some boys – apparently they can be useful sometimes . . . So, Ethan Reed for time-management therapy, Nathan Almeida for family therapy, and Jack Thorne for fainting at exactly the right moment. But my biggest thank-you goes to Holly – the greatest Lady Macbeth you never saw!'

  There was laughter, and befuddled looks from those who knew nothing of Holly's narrow escape in the rehearsal. But everyone cheered anyway. Holly bowed and tucked her braids behind her ears. Ethan gave her a hug.

  'Come on!' Nick shouted. 'It's p-a-a-a-r-ty time! In the dining room!'

  As people started to leave, Belle felt someone squeeze her hand.

  'See you at the party,' Jack whispered. 'And tomorrow, of course.' He turned and winked, before following Ethan out of the door.

  Soon only Cat and Holly were left in the dressing room with Belle. 'So?' Cat demanded. 'Spill!'

  Belle grinned, still a little dazed. 'It must be a world record.' She laughed. 'We got to kiss and make up before we even went on a first date! Thank you,' she added. 'Both of you. Even though that was a terrible bit of acting – Just remembered that important thing we have to do!'

  'You're welcome!' Holly and Cat chorused.

  'How can I ever repay you?' Belle wondered.

  'Well, for a start,' Cat told her as they left the theatre, 'by not setting your alarm clock tomorrow morning. Being a leading lady, a time-management expert and a matchmaker is exhausting. I'm looking forward to a big fat lie-in.'

  'Sorry . . .' Holly sighed, shaking her head. 'We've got band practice tomorrow morning with The Undertow boys. We've got that Christmas party gig coming up, remember?'

  Belle grinned. 'It's OK, Cat. That's meant to start at nine thirty. Translated into Felix-Baddeley-time, that'll be more like ten. And it'll have to be over by midday – some of us have dates to go on!'

  Cat laughed. 'The life of a superstar! It's just work, work, work . . .'

  Arm in arm, Belle, Cat and Holly crossed the courtyard and stepped into the entrance hall. Loud dance music and a hubbub of chatter were spilling out from the dining room on the other side of the hall. Through the open doors Belle glimpsed Cat's family waving and beckoning them to join the party.

  Then Belle noticed three figures sitting on the girls' favourite leather sofa in the hall. She nudged the other two and they all looked across to see Mr Grampian, Mr Garcia and Miss Morgan deep in conversation over their cups of coffee.

  'Next term . . . really spectacular . . . involving all three departments . . .' Mr Garcia was saying. It was hard not to overhear his booming voice, even if you weren't eavesdropping shamelessly. Which Belle was, of course.

  'Don't you think you're being a little ambitious, Enrico?' Miss Morgan warned. 'The Dance Department has Nutcracker Sweeties coming up as well . . .'

  'Ah, but my dear Drusilla, where would we be in this world without ambition?' Mr Grampian asked dramatically.

  Belle looked at Cat and Holly and they all smiled. 'Something really big next term?' Belle said.

  Holly nodded. 'I can't wait to find out what it is!'

  'And be a part of it,' Cat whispered.

  'All of us!' Belle agreed. She could hardly contain her excitement.

  And then she noticed the magnificent Christmas tree that had appeared next to the grand staircase. It was festooned with gold and red tinsel and baubles and sparkled with hundreds of fairy lights. She suddenly realized that there were only a few more days until the Christmas holidays. Cat and Holly would be going home to their families, and Belle . . . Well, for once she was really looking forward to the holiday: Mum had promised to take the whole three weeks off work and they were going to stay in a ski chalet in Chamonix, and then perhaps do some shopping together in Paris . . .

  She wondered where Jack would be for Christmas. Well, she would have plenty of time to ask him tomorrow. She couldn't wait!

  'Stop wobbling it, Joyce, for goodness' sake!' Mrs Butterworth cried, scooting out from behind the tree and bellowing at Miss Candlemas, who was clutching the base of a very tall ladder.

  'I am not wobbling it, Norma!' Miss Candlemas snapped back. 'I told you we should have done this before we decorated.'

  Ignoring her, Mrs B craned her neck and peered upwards. 'Left a bit – no, left!' she yelled.

  Belle looked up to see Mr Fortune balanced on the highest rung of the ladder, attaching an enormous gold star to the top of the tree.

  She glanced at Cat and Holly, who were also gazing up at the star, the flickering tree lights reflected in their shining eyes.

  'Having a good time at the party, girls?' Mr Fortune called down.

  'We're having the time of our lives!' Cat called back.

  Belle's heart skipped a beat as she caught sight of Jack, smiling at her from the dining-room doorway.

  Cat was right. It was the time of their lives.

  And the party was just getting started!

  TURN OVER FOR

  TOP TIPS ON BEING

  A SUPERSTAR

  TEN TIPS FOR

  STAYING ON TOP!

  How you can manage your life

  to become – and stay – a superstar . . .

  Life as a superstar is often jam-packed – practice, rehearsals, classes. It's always useful to make a list of things you need to get done, put them in order of importance and work through them. It will feel really good when you get to the end of the list and everything's ticked off!

  Try and remember that however busy you are, you have to make some time to relax. No superstar can keep going all day, every day. Take a tip from Belle and try a bit of yoga before bed, or chill out and listen to music – whatever works for you.

  If it really feels like everything is getting on top of you and things are too much, make sure you talk to somebody you can trust. Whether it's a teacher, parent or friend, it helps to have someone to listen and help you work it out.

  When things seem stressful, try not to take it out on anybody else. Good friends are really important. If you feel you're about to snap, take a deep breath and count to ten before you speak!

  Try and make the most of the time you do have. Unless you've definitely set an hour aside for a chill-out session, use it wisely. You could listen to a song you need to learn while you're in the bath, for example, or maybe do some homework while you're not needed in rehearsals – there are ways to fit things in.

  Sleep is important for every superstar, especially a busy one! If you need to wake up early to get something done, then make sure you go to bed early to catch up on sleep – no superstar looks great with bags under their eyes!

  Learn how to say no! You can't agree to everything – you just don't have time! If you've been asked to do something you really don't want to do or don't have time for, then don't agree to it just to keep everybody happy. If you explain politely, they're sure to understand.

  When you're busy, it can be easy to let things slip so that they're not up to your usual high standards. Remember that even though you're busy, everything still needs to be done to superstar standard! So take the time you need to do things properly.

  There are times when things will seem too tough. It's important to stay calm. Do what any good superstar would do – put your head up, your shoulders back, take a deep breath and smile!

  When you're struggling with your workload, try to remember that every superstar has gone through the rigorous training and endless practice. The route to stardom is hard work! You will make it – just believe in yourself and persevere!

  Also available in the Superstar High series

  THREE GIRLS

  ONE DREAM

  THEIR CHANCE TO SHINE!

  Holly, Cat and Belle – three superstars

  in the making –
have been chosen from

  thousands to be pupils at the world-famous

  Garrick School of the Performing Arts.

  Welcome to Superstar High – where

  your dreams come true.