Starring Meg

by Mac a'Bháird, Natasha;

  ‘Should we call for you too, Ruby?’ I asked as Hannah headed inside.

  Ruby shook her head. ‘I wish I could walk down with you guys, but Mum got the dates mixed up and thought we weren’t back to school until Wednesday. She made a dentist appointment for me first thing tomorrow morning, so I’m going to be late getting to school. I’ll be there by break time though so we can catch up then.’

  ‘I notice no one’s offering to call for me,’ Laura said with a grin.

  ‘Sorry, Laura,’ I said. Laura’s the only one of us who doesn’t live in Woodland Green. I felt bad for her that she’d be walking to school on her own. I was so glad I’d have Hannah with me.

  ‘That’s OK,’ Laura said. ‘I get more time for daydreaming when I’m on my own!’

  Ruby’s mum was the next one to appear at the door and call her in.

  ‘I’d better go too, I suppose,’ Laura said. She grabbed her bike, which was propped up against the wall, and got ready to go.

  ‘Oh well, if you’re all abandoning me,’ I said with a laugh. I was often the last one to be called in, I’d noticed. I wondered if it was because I was an only child that Mum treated me as a bit more grown up, or maybe just that we’d had such a different lifestyle, free from set routines.

  We all called our goodbyes as we headed off in separate directions.

  When I got inside Mum was ironing my new school uniform while Sadie finished her cup of tea.

  I eyed the uniform in disgust. ‘Ugh, I can’t believe I have to wear that thing.’ Last time I’d been to school, it was an elementary school in New York, when Mum was in a play in Broadway that ran for over a year. Only the posh private schools in New York had uniforms, and my school was definitely not one of those. I much preferred being able to wear my own clothes – T-shirts and shorts in summer, warm skirts, jeans and jumpers in winter and fur-lined boots for walking to school along snowy city footpaths.

  ‘I know, darling, it’s simply awful, isn’t it?’ Mum said, holding the green pleated skirt up. The grey shirt and jumper were already hanging up, with the grey and green striped tie draped over the jumper’s hanger. ‘At least you get to wear your own jacket. When I was in school we had a dreadful blazer to match as well. Too bulky and absolutely no use at keeping you dry!’

  Mum went to Carrickbeg National School too, so at least she can sympathise.

  ‘I remember,’ Sadie said with a shudder. ‘You hated that blazer. In fact I seem to remember it going missing on a few occasions.’

  ‘I can’t think what you mean, Sadie,’ Mum said innocently, winking at me.

  I rubbed the material of the skirt between my fingers. ‘Why do they have to make it so scratchy?’

  ‘At least you’ll blend in, darling,’ Mum said.

  It’s kind of hard to get used to Mum wanting me to blend in, when for the first twelve years of my life she and Dad were always trying to get me to stand out.

  ‘I’d better let you get to bed,’ Sadie said, putting her empty mug down beside the sink. ‘Have a great day tomorrow, Meg – I’m looking forward to hearing all about it.’

  Sadie blew a kiss to Mum. I went to the door to wave her off, and she leaned in to give me a hug, pressing something into my hand. It was a gold locket in the shape of a heart.

  ‘This is my lucky locket,’ she told me. ‘Take it with you tomorrow. You can keep it in your pocket or tuck it inside your school shirt. It’s always brought me luck when I’ve been worried about a performance. Now don’t worry about a thing, you’ll be absolutely fine.’

  She kissed me and dashed off. I opened the locket. Inside, instead of a photo, there was a pressed flower petal. I smiled, remembering now that Sadie had shown me this locket years earlier. The petal came from the bunch of roses Grandad had given Sadie after her very first play, when he was trying to convince her to go on a date with him. The petal was dry and paper thin, but still a beautiful soft pink. I shut the locket carefully and closed my fingers around it, feeling the comforting weight in my hand.

  Back in the kitchen Mum was folding up the ironing board.

  ‘I think I’ll get some toast and hot milk,’ I said. ‘Maybe it will help me sleep.’

  ‘I’ll get it,’ Mum said. ‘You bring that ghastly uniform upstairs and get into your pyjamas, and I’ll have a nice supper waiting for you when you come back down.’

  When I came down a few minutes later Mum had made me a big mug of hot chocolate and a plate of toast with strawberry jam. The hot chocolate was made with foamed milk and looked delicious. Mum’s not the most domesticated person and normally can’t even make hot milk without it boiling over, so I appreciated the gesture. She’d even found some marshmallows, which she’d arranged in a semicircle on the saucer.

  ‘Thanks, Mum,’ I said. ‘This is great.’

  Mum looked pleased with herself. ‘I know you’re feeling nervous about your big day, so I wanted to be extra nice to you, darling!’

  ‘I am a bit nervous,’ I admitted. ‘It’s pretty nerve-wracking starting at a new school in sixth class. Everyone else is going to have known each other since they were four or five.’

  ‘Oh, that reminds me!’ Mum exclaimed. ‘The woman next door called in earlier. She said they’d been away visiting relatives for August so she hadn’t called in before. Funny sort of woman. She kept staring at my hair as if there was something extraordinary about it.’

  I tried not to smile. Mum generally looks quite glamorous (for a mother) but today she’d tied a headscarf round her head to protect it from all the dust in her cleaning frenzy. She probably thought she looked sophisticated in a fifties movie star sort of way, but since the headscarf was actually a sarong I’d had on holidays, with ice cream cones and love-hearts printed all over it, she did look a tiny bit odd.

  ‘She has a daughter in your class – Tracey, I think she said,’ Mum went on. ‘She’s been away staying with her aunt since they came home from their holidays, otherwise I’m sure you would have bumped into her. But she’s home now and her mum said she could walk to school with you tomorrow and show you the way. I told her that would be wonderful, since you’ve absolutely refused to let your old mum go with you!’

  ‘Oh, but I’ve said I’ll walk with Hannah,’ I said.

  Mum dismissed this with a wave of her hand. ‘You can all go together, can’t you? Nice for you to make more friends. There are other things in life besides Star Club, you know!’

  I tried to picture the girl next door as I sipped my hot chocolate. I thought I remembered seeing her just after we’d moved in, but I didn’t remember Hannah saying anything about her. Though maybe if she’d been away most of the holidays that was why.

  ‘Goodness, look at the time!’ Mum exclaimed. ‘You’d better get off to bed, Meg. Early start tomorrow.’

  ‘Don’t remind me,’ I said. ‘I think the whole getting up early thing might actually be worse than the uniform.’

  ‘Now don’t exaggerate, honey,’ Mum said. ‘Nothing could be worse than that thing!’ She shuddered again. ‘I think we should go shopping at the weekend and buy you some nice hair things so at least you have something to brighten it up a bit! Now off you go.’

  I kissed Mum goodnight and headed upstairs, still feeling a bit nervous about what the new day would bring.

  I was standing in the centre of the stage wearing a long emerald green gown with a sweeping train. A diamond-studded tiara sparkled on my hair, which was swept up on top of my head in an elegant chignon. The audience were roaring my name as my fellow actors clapped and I took one bow after another.

  Then a deafening ringing sound interrupted the applause. At first I wondered if the theatre was on fire, but through a sleepy fog I realised it was my alarm clock. The stage faded away as I reached out to switch it off and struggled to open my eyes to the familiar sight of my bedroom. I was at home in Carrickbeg, and I had to get up for school.

  I groaned and pulled my duvet over my head. After a summer of lie-ins, being woken by that ho
rrible noise felt cruel.

  Mum appeared at my bedroom door, already dressed in one of the smart suits she’d bought when she started her new job in an office. ‘Oh, good, you’re awake, I was just coming to call you.’

  I peered at my alarm clock, trying to make my eyes open properly. ‘Is it really 7.30? It feels like the middle of the night.’

  Mum laughed. ‘I’m afraid so, darling. The sun is shining and the birds are singing! Come on, up you get. Breakfast in fifteen minutes.’

  I stumbled out of bed, grimacing once more when I saw my new uniform hanging on the wardrobe door. Horrible scratchy thing. That was one thing I was convinced I’d never get used to.

  Delicious smells started wafting upstairs as I got dressed. What was Mum doing? This domestic goddess thing was so unlike her, but I certainly wasn’t going to complain.

  ‘Ta – da!’ Mum said as I came into the kitchen, holding out a plate of pancakes with a flourish. ‘Pancakes for my special girl on her special day!’

  ‘Did you really make these?’ I asked, looking in awe at the pile of golden fluffy pancakes topped with blueberries and maple syrup.

  Mum looked delighted with herself. ‘I really did. I just googled simple pancake recipes and it turned out to be far easier than I thought! Aren’t they fabulous? Quick, come and eat them before they go cold.’

  The pancakes were as delicious as they looked. ‘Watch out, Mum,’ I joked as I finished the last one. ‘I’m going to be expecting this every morning now.’

  Mum laughed. ‘Sorry, darling, but I can’t see that happening, can you? I’ve had to get up ten minutes earlier as it is, and you know how I like my beauty sleep.’

  She drained the last of her coffee. ‘Is that the time? I’d better get going. Can’t be late on my first day back. Now, are you sure you don’t want me to give you a lift to school?’

  ‘Positive,’ I said firmly. ‘I’ll walk with Hannah – and Tracey too, I suppose.’

  ‘All right then – but I bet you’ll be glad of a lift another day when it’s lashing rain!’

  Mum put her phone in her handbag and found her keys. Then she grabbed me in a tight hug and kissed me on both cheeks before dashing off to work.

  I put the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher, brushed my teeth and checked my new schoolbag once again to make sure I had everything in it. I took out the Irish book to have a look at it again – it was a long time since I’d done Irish, I hoped it wasn’t going to be too hard to keep up with the rest of the class.

  I was ready to go by 8.10, but 8.15 came and went and there was no sign of Hannah. I locked the front door and went out to the garden, leaning against the wall between our two houses as I waited for her to show up.

  I checked my watch again – it was 8.20 now. If we didn’t leave soon we’d be late, and I wasn’t exactly keen on getting into trouble on my first day. I decided I’d better pop over to Hannah’s and see what was keeping her.

  As I reached the doorstep I could hear the sound of complete bedlam inside – but that’s not unusual for Hannah’s family. Hannah is the oldest of five, and her brothers Zach and Bobby and her sister Maisie would be getting ready for school too, while baby Emma would probably be mad at being left out. I rang the doorbell, wondering if it would be heard over all the noise.

  There was the usual scuffle that always seems to follow the doorbell ringing in the Kiely house and I heard shouts of ‘I’ll get it’ and ‘No, I said I was getting it!’ from different kids. Eventually Bobby, who’s the middle child in the family and seems to be extra noisy to make up for it, opened the door. He was still in his pyjamas and was eating a piece of toast. Maisie, who’s six, squeezed her head around Bobby to see who it was.

  ‘Hi guys,’ I said. ‘Is Hannah ready?’

  ‘I doubt it,’ Maisie said. ‘We slept in.’ She looked pretty happy about this, I thought.

  Hannah came running down the stairs, also still in her pyjamas. My heart sank – just how late were we going to be?

  ‘Meg, I’m so sorry,’ she said. ‘We all slept in – Dad was supposed to call us, but someone was playing with his phone yesterday and switched off the alarm.’ She cast a cross look at Bobby, who looked as unconcerned as Maisie and went on munching on his toast.

  ‘How long do you think you’ll be?’ I asked, trying not to sound as worried as I felt.

  ‘At least another ten minutes,’ Hannah said. ‘I’m really sorry. Dad said he’ll drive us so we’re not too late, but we don’t have room in the car for you too.’

  I swallowed a lump in my throat. ‘No worries. I’ll just head off now and I’ll see you there.’

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ Hannah said for the third time. ‘You know where you’re going, right?’

  ‘Of course – straight down the hill – it would be hard to go wrong.’ I made my voice sound as light-hearted as possible. ‘I’d better go then. See you later.’

  Bobby was already closing the door. I turned and walked quickly down Hannah’s drive, not wanting them to see how upset I was.

  ‘Hi, you must be Meg.’ A girl with frizzy brown hair and freckles was standing on the path just outside my house. She was wearing the grey Carrickbeg National School uniform and carrying a schoolbag covered in graffiti.

  ‘Hi,’ I said. ‘Are you Tracey?’

  ‘Yes – we can walk to school together if you like,’ Tracey said. Her eyes swept up and down me as if she was examining my uniform, though it was exactly the same as her own.

  ‘Sure,’ I said. ‘I was supposed to go with Hannah, but she’s not ready.’

  ‘Oh no, I hope you’re not too upset,’ Tracey said, her eyes widening in concern. ‘It’s awful when you’re depending on someone and they let you down.’

  ‘No, it’s fine,’ I said. ‘Hannah couldn’t help it – her dad’s alarm didn’t go off.’

  ‘Oh, is that what she said? Wow, that’s pretty careless. If I was supposed to be meeting someone on their first day at a new school I’d set my own alarm,’ Tracey said. ‘Still, I’m sure Hannah didn’t mean to leave you stranded like that. But don’t worry, I’ll show you the way to go and everything.’

  ‘Thanks,’ I said. I wondered if I should stick up for Hannah, but actually I felt pretty cross that she wasn’t there for me. She knew how nervous I was about starting at a new school and how much it meant to me that we would go in together. Why couldn’t she have made sure she was ready on time like she promised?

  I decided to change the subject. ‘So how come I haven’t seen you about all summer?’

  ‘We were away for ages in America,’ Tracey said. ‘We were visiting my uncle in Florida, and then when we got home I went to stay with my aunt in Dublin for a few days.’

  ‘Oh, lucky you!’ I said. ‘Was it really hot in Florida?’

  ‘Boiling,’ Tracey said. ‘We couldn’t even go outside in the middle of the day. But my uncle has a pool in his back garden so as soon as it got to about three o’clock we were out there sunbathing and jumping into the water to cool down. I so want to move there some day!’

  ‘I miss the sun,’ I said with a sigh. The Irish weather was one thing I was struggling to get used to.

  ‘Did you used to live somewhere sunny?’ Tracey asked.

  ‘Yes, we were in the States for the last few years – California. My dad got transferred out there for work.’ I didn’t look at her as I spoke, not wanting her to think these were lines I’d rehearsed, even though that was exactly what they were. Mum and I had talked about it a lot and agreed that this was the best approach – not an outright lie, but definitely not telling the whole story either. People were bound to look at me differently if they knew my mum was an actress and my dad was a film director in Hollywood. It was better if they got to know me as me and not because of who my family were.

  ‘Wow, you’re the lucky one,’ Tracey said. ‘I’d love to live in California – it must be amazing!’

  ‘It was great for a few years, but I was kind of glad to come home real
ly,’ I said. ‘I missed Sadie and Grandad.’ I told her about my grandparents, and she chatted about her family too – her mum and dad and her little brother Tyler, who sounded pretty annoying if Tracey’s descriptions were anything to go by. Most people seem to find their siblings annoying – something that’s hard for me to understand as an only child.

  ‘Have you been hanging out with Hannah and the others the whole time?’ Tracey asked.

  ‘Pretty much,’ I said. ‘It’s been so nice to make some new friends.’

  ‘I saw a bit of that show you did in Hannah’s garden,’ Tracey told me. ‘You were amazing! Have you done a lot of acting?’

  ‘Oh – a bit,’ I said, blushing again. ‘Do you like acting?’

  ‘I love it,’ Tracey said. ‘I’d have loved to join in, but I knew Hannah wouldn’t want me.’

  ‘Why?’ I asked, feeling puzzled. Hannah had been so kind to me and made me part of her gang. I couldn’t imagine her leaving someone out.

  ‘Oh, I know she doesn’t mean to exclude people,’ Tracey said. ‘She’s just so busy with all her brothers and sisters, and she and Laura and Ruby have been friends for years. I guess they don’t really have room for anyone else.’

  I felt a bit uneasy. Was Tracey right? Maybe I was pushing my way into a group of friends that didn’t want new people. Maybe Hannah had just felt she had to look after me because I was new to the area.

  ‘Anyway, things are always different in the summer holidays, aren’t they?’ Tracey went on, not seeming to notice my discomfort. ‘You hang out with neighbours a lot more because you’re at home and you’ve got loads of time. It’ll all be different now that we’re back at school.’

  As we got closer to the school, the footpath became crowded with boys and girls wearing the same grey uniform as us – little ones being dropped off by their parents, carrying schoolbags almost as big as themselves, kids on scooters and bikes, and bigger ones our age walking along in twos and threes.

  We reached the school gates, and I felt butterflies rise up in my tummy once more. This was so much worse than getting on a stage. At least then I was being someone else and had lines learned off and knew exactly what I had to do. That thought gave me an idea. I might not have my lines learned, but I could certainly pretend to be someone else – someone who was an ordinary schoolgirl who knew exactly what she was doing and wouldn’t dream of being nervous about such a simple thing as walking into school. Someone who wasn’t trying to hide who she really was. I slipped my hand into my pocket where I’d put Sadie’s locket and ran my fingers over the intricate pattern. I held my head up high as we went into the yard.