Star of Silver Spires

by Ann Bryant

  About This Book

  Secrets, hopes and dreams… School friends are for ever!

  Silver Spires is the best boarding school in the world! I’m in a dorm with five brilliant friends, and there’s always something exciting going on – like the Silver Spires Star contest.

  To enter the contest you have to write a song and play it live onstage. I’d really love to do that…then I’d feel like a proper musician, just like I’ve always wanted. The problem is that I hate performing in public – it’s my biggest fear ever. But can I risk missing the chance to prove myself?

  For all my piano pupils, past and present!

  Contents

  About This Book

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  School Friends Fun!

  Sneak Preview of Party at Silver Spires

  About the Author

  Want to know more about the Silver Spires girls?

  Collect the whole School Friends series

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  “No, I can’t!” I insisted, shaking my head firmly. “Not in a million years!” I added, in case any of my friends hadn’t quite got the message.

  “But you’re so talented, Mia!” said Georgie, my very best friend. “You play the piano like…brilliantly, and you sing like…brilliantly!”

  I couldn’t help laughing. She looked so funny, throwing her hands in the air dramatically, as only Georgie can.

  “And that song you made up is lovely,” added Naomi, smiling.

  “No, I really can’t,” I repeated. “I’d just be too scared. I mean far too scared!” I folded my arms, and probably looked stubborn and immature. But I couldn’t help it. The thought of entering the Silver Spires junior singer/songwriter contest simply filled me with dread.

  “I know what you mean about being nervous,” said Grace. “I still get nervous every time I do any competitive sport.”

  I smiled gratefully at Grace. “And this is in front of the whole school,” I said quietly. But in my heart I knew that even if it was in front of just the Year Sevens, I’d still never be able to manage it. “I’d…die.”

  “Which wouldn’t be very helpful if you were just about to sing!” said Georgie, looking at me as though I was hopeless.

  “Don’t pressure her,” said Naomi. “Not everyone’s as outgoing as you, Georgie!”

  I thanked Naomi for that, with my eyes. She’s the wise one of the group and I was really pleased that she understood how I felt.

  “Well I think Mia needs to be pushed!” said Jess, folding her arms. “She’s just too modest!”

  The five of us were sitting under one of the trees on the grass behind the main Silver Spires building. Well actually only four of us were sitting under the tree. Georgie was stretched out in the sun. She’d rolled her school skirt over at the waist to make it as short as possible, and she’d tied a knot in her shirt so her stomach could get tanned as well as her legs. It was morning break, and there were loads of other Silver Spires students dotted all over the huge grassy area, some of them lying back sunbathing, others just sitting and chatting. It was the second half of the summer term and also the beginning of the lovely hot weather. It gives me such a nice feeling to be able to look round and know that I’m a part of this beautiful place. Silver Spires is just the best boarding school in the world.

  My eyes flicked round my friends and landed on Georgie. “You’re getting very pink,” I told her. “Did you put sun cream on?”

  She sighed. “Why did I have to be born with such pale skin? Why can’t I be black, like Naomi? Or at least a bit darker than I am, like Grace.”

  Grace is from Thailand and it’s true she’s got lovely olive-coloured skin. She sighed and mumbled something about thinking her looks were boring, while Naomi laughed, then turned suddenly serious and stared into the distance. “We should just be happy with what we are, shouldn’t we?”

  I guessed she was thinking about some of the poor people she’s met in Ghana, which is the country she comes from. Naomi is actually a Ghanaian princess, but she hates people knowing that. She feels very lucky to have been born into a wealthy family, and she spends loads of time in the school holidays working for a charity that builds wells in Ghana.

  “Well, I’m just as pale as you, Georgie,” I quickly said, because Naomi looked sad, and I wanted to bring her back to the here and now.

  “And I’ve got freckles but I don’t care!” laughed Jess.

  “Yes, that’s another complaint I’ve got,” Georgie said, sitting up suddenly. “I’d be fine with being pale as long as I had a ‘don’t care’ attitude like you two!”

  So then we all laughed, and I felt happy that we’d got away from the subject of the Silver Spires Star contest, because the very thought of singing my own song in front of an audience made me feel quite panicky, and I didn’t like my friends trying to push me into it. It was embarrassing and pathetic that I had such a fear of performing in public, especially because music is so important to me and I love playing the piano. But what happened when I was six years old has left a terrible mark on me.

  It was my first local music festival and I was playing a piece by Handel. We were all supposed to announce our pieces and say the name of the composer before we played. I remember looking out at all the faces and trying to find Mum and Dad and my baby brother, but Mum’s seat was empty. It turned out that she’d had to take my little brother out because he’d started to cry, but I didn’t know that at the time and I just felt frightened to see all the faces but no Mum. When I came to announce my piece, in my worried state I couldn’t remember the name of the composer, but I knew it reminded me of a doorknob, so that’s what I said… “Intermezzo, by Door Knob.” And I remember wanting to cry because I didn’t understand why people started laughing. And I got so upset then that my fingers didn’t seem to work properly and I played the piece terribly and got the worst mark of anyone.

  The next year, my teacher tried to persuade me to enter the music festival again but I refused. When I was eight I finally agreed to give it another try, but I felt so sick when I got onto the stage that I had to run off and straight out of the hall, otherwise I would have been sick in front of the whole audience.

  After that I never entered one of the town music festivals again, and neither did I play piano in concerts at my primary school, even though my teachers and then my friends tried and tried to persuade me. In the end the teachers gave up because I think Mum must have had a word with them, but my friends wouldn’t leave me alone. None of them knew what had happened at the music festivals, and it was far too embarrassing to explain, so I just kept on making excuses that I’d hurt my finger or didn’t have a piece ready, or even that I’d lost my music, which all seems ridiculous now.

  It was a relief when the Year Six concert at my old school came and went without me having to play in it, but then I came here to Silver Spires and now it looks as though my problems are starting all over again. The real trouble is that I should be able to play in public, and I so wish I could. After all, real musicians perform in front of audiences and that’s what I want to be, more than anything. Music is such a big part of my life that I ought to just make myself get over my fear…only I can’t. And even if I managed, by some miracle, to play the piano in public, there are two extra layers of nervousness with this Silver Spires Star contest. You have to write the song yourself, and sing it.

  I’ve only written the one song that my friends had h
eard in my life, and I don’t know if it’s any good. I wrote it almost exactly a year ago, last May, when I was in Year Six at my primary school. I was feeling really sad at the time because I knew I was going to be coming here to Silver Spires Boarding School in September, and although I was excited in some ways, I also knew I’d really miss Mum and Dad and my little brother. And I was right, because I did get homesick during the first few weeks, and I even found it hard coming back to school after the holidays for this third term. But I’m lucky because I’ve got the best, best friend in the world.

  Georgie and I met on the induction day and then had a brilliant surprise on our first day at Silver Spires when we found we’d been put in the same dorm. The dorm is called Amethyst and it’s in Hazeldean boarding house, which we naturally think is the best boarding house. There are six of us in the dorm – me, Georgie, Naomi, Katy, Grace and Jess, and we spend loads of time together. Like right now, because Katy was rushing over to us, looking very excited.

  “Hiya!”

  “Where’ve you been?” Naomi asked her.

  “Bumped into Mam’zelle Clemence and guess what… She told me the Silver Spires Star contest is going to take place in the theatre! And guess what else… She’s actually asked me to be part of a little committee to help decorate the theatre so it looks really striking and wow-ish! I tell you, Mia, I’m so glad I’ve got to know Mam’zelle Clemence through fashion club, because she’s totally full of good ideas. This Star contest is going to be the coolest thing ever!”

  My heart started beating too fast again. It looked like we were right back to my latest least-favourite subject.

  Georgie leaned back on one elbow and squinted into the sun to look at Katy. “I’m afraid we’ve got a problem with our own particular star,” she said, flapping a hand in my direction. “Mia doesn’t want to enter.”

  “Oh no!” said Katy, sounding genuinely disappointed. She turned to me with pleading eyes. “I was so looking forward to sorting out your outfit.”

  I drew my knees up and hugged them tightly, feeling tenser than ever. I really wanted my friends to stop trying to persuade me to enter now, but I couldn’t bring myself to talk about how much I hated performing in front of an audience and how it had built up over the years into this massive fear. So instead I decided it would be best to pretend it was all to do with the songwriting.

  “This is turning into a nightmare!” I said, trying to sound a bit jokey and not show how upset I really was. “Apart from that one song you’ve heard, Georgie – which is far too babyish anyway – I’ve never written any lyrics, only music.” I hesitated over the next bit, but decided to say it in the end. “And anyway, I’m just not the…performing type.”

  Georgie suddenly sat straight up again and put her hands up like a policeman stopping the traffic. “Hold it right there! I’ve had a magnabulous idea!”

  We all laughed. Even me – though something told me I wasn’t going to like this magnabulous idea.

  “You might not be a performer, Mamma Mia, but yours truly most definitely is! So how about you write the music and play the piano, and I’ll write the lyrics and be the singer!” She jumped up and came to sit close beside me and gave me a hug that was a bit awkward, because I was still clasping my arms tightly round my knees, trying to protect myself from all Georgie’s wild enthusiasm. I felt like if I allowed myself to relax even for a second, I might be letting myself in for the dreaded contest. “I mean that wouldn’t be breaking the rules, would it?” Georgie went on. “Miss York clearly said that you can have duets or even whole bands, as long as someone in the group has actually written the song, didn’t she?”

  I could feel that the others were all looking at me, waiting to hear what I’d say to this latest idea. And the truth was that I just didn’t know what to say.

  But deep inside my mind there was the smallest chink of maybe-that-would-be-all-right – maybe I could perform – beginning to show. I’d always dreamed of being a proper musician playing in front of a proper audience, and this could be my chance to prove myself if I just had the courage.

  “Ha! She’s thinking about it, I can tell!” Georgie announced triumphantly, grinning round at the others.

  “Well, why not just do the audition and see how you get on,” said Naomi. “Miss York said that it would only be herself and that new young music teacher, Mr. Ray, and Mrs. Harrison and Mam’zelle Clemence at the auditions, so it’s not like having a whole audience or anything.”

  The chink was opening up. I liked Miss York, although I didn’t know her all that well, as she’s the Director of Music at Silver Spires and only teaches the seniors. She auditioned me before I came here though, because Mum and Dad entered me for a music scholarship – I was so happy when I heard that I’d got it! I didn’t really know Mr. Ray either. He was one of those music teachers who just comes into school to teach individual pupils, like my own piano teacher, Mrs. Roach. Mrs. Harrison is our class music teacher, who’s really nice, and I also like Mam’zelle Clemence, our French teacher, very much. Maybe I’d be able to manage it, as long as Georgie was there with me, taking all the limelight, and I could just play the piano. That would be all right. No one would really notice me. But then I found a new worry.

  “My song’s really quiet and slow. I just can’t imagine you’d want to sing it, Georgie. It’s not kind of…whammy enough for you.”

  Georgie smiled and looked round slowly and dramatically, then spoke in scarcely more than a whisper. “I can do quiet and slow, you know.”

  Grace giggled. “Oh, Mia, say you’ll do it! You and Georgie would be such a popular act, I just know it!”

  “At least play us the song after lunch, yeah?” said Katy.

  The chink was starting to close up again. “I’ll try it out with Georgie first…”

  “Okay!” said Georgie. “That’s a start!”

  “But I’m not making any promises,” I quickly added. “We’ll just see if it sounds rubbish…”

  Georgie gave me another hug then. “Oh ye of zippo confidence!”

  After lunch we all trooped over to Hazeldean, because there’d be fewer people around there than in the music block.

  “We’ll wait in the common room,” Jess said. “Come and get us when you’re ready for us to hear it, yeah?”

  So Georgie and I went into the little practice room and I started to play straight away so I could get it over with. I don’t usually mind singing in front of Georgie, but even though she’d heard the song before I still felt a bit embarrassed singing it now. It suddenly seemed more babyish than ever singing about leaving people I love, and I’d hardly sung the first line before I stopped and dragged my hands off the keys, flopping them into my lap. “It’s stupid, Georgie. I can’t do it.”

  She sighed. “It is so not stupid, Mia! It’s lovely, and I bet everyone else will sing loud in-your-face stuff.”

  “Exactly, because that’s what’s popular!”

  Miss York had told us that anyone from Years Seven, Eight and Nine who wanted to be in the contest had to audition in front of the little panel of teachers first. Then, if they got through that all right, they’d sing in the first round of the contest, and there would be three rounds altogether, with people being eliminated each time. I cringed as I imagined me and Georgie managing the audition and then going on to sing in the first round of the contest. “What if we auditioned okay but then got no votes at all when there was an audience?” I said, feeling myself getting into a state.

  Georgie pursed her lips and wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think everyone will be told how many votes people get. It’ll be like X Factor – they’ll just say who’s got the least, and those people will be knocked out.” She tapped the piano impatiently. “Anyway, come on, finish it off.”

  But I didn’t feel like it any more. Just playing the first line had made me realize more than ever how much the song wouldn’t be suitable for Georgie’s bouncy, bright character. And as I was thinking that, my fingers suddenly itched to f
ind the right notes for that little phrase, bouncy and bright. The words were buzzing inside me and I put my hands on the keys and started playing their rhythm in the key of D major, which felt right. Bouncy and bright, bouncy and bright…

  “What’s that?” said Georgie urgently, staring intently at my hands. “What’s that music you’re playing? Did you make it up?”

  Make it up… Make it up…

  I didn’t answer her straight away because I wanted to carry on playing now there were more words singing inside me.

  “That’s so cool, Mia! But just tell me, did you make it up?”

  I nodded. “I’ve been doing it more and more lately. I get words in my head and I want to turn them into music, and then…I play them…”

  Georgie squidged up beside me on the piano stool. “That means you’re a natural composer, Mia!”

  “No I’m not. I’ve only actually composed that ‘goodbye’ song.”

  “But all those bits of tunes are important too. They’re like mini compositions. Honestly, Mia, I think you should turn them into a proper song. Then, hey presto, we’ve got ourselves an act!”

  My stomach did a big yo-yo as a picture of Georgie and me on the stage of the wonderful big Silver Spires theatre came into my head. What if I felt sick again? I swallowed.

  “Please say yes,” said Georgie, turning to me with praying hands. “Pretty pretty please please please!”

  And then it was happening again. My fingers were on the keyboard. Pretty pretty please please please…pretty pretty please please please, they played.

  Georgie threw back her head and laughed. “You’re a genius! I’m going to tell the others!” Then she rushed out of the room, but popped her head back round the door a moment later. “Carry on composing as long as you want. It doesn’t matter about little details like afternoon school! I’ll see you later when you’ve got it all ready!”

  “No, Georgie, it doesn’t happen as quickly as that…” I started to say, but I was talking to myself because by then she was probably at least halfway down the corridor.