Starring Meg

by Mac a'Bháird, Natasha;

  ‘You’re in sixth class, aren’t you?’ Tracey said.

  I nodded. So confident, so nonchalant about the whole thing, I didn’t even need to speak.

  ‘We have to line up over here,’ she told me, indicating a line in the yard where kids were already standing in little groups, chatting and laughing. The girls were greeting each other with hugs and the boys with friendly punches – that was one thing that was just the same as my old school, I thought. I spotted Laura with some other girls and was about to go and join her, but Tracey grabbed my arm.

  ‘We’d better go in at the back here,’ she said. ‘The principal is really strict about the lines in the morning. You don’t want to make a bad impression.’

  ‘Oh, right, thanks,’ I said, grateful to Tracey for the advice.

  We joined the back of the line, behind some boys who were chatting about their summer holidays, just as the bell started ringing. As the oldest class in the school, it looked like our class had to go in first, and the kids at the top of the line started moving off. I lost sight of Laura as we trooped into the narrow school corridor.

  Tracey showed me which was our classroom – a bright, airy room, looking almost painfully neat with the desks lined up in perfectly straight rows. Apart from a couple of charts the walls were completely bare after the summer holidays, though I knew in a few weeks they’d be covered in artwork and projects once more. Miss Brennan, a young, smiley woman with her hair in a ponytail, was standing near the door, greeting the kids as they came in. Everyone was exclaiming over each other like long-lost friends, and Tracey started chatting to one of the boys. I hung back, feeling a bit left out. But Tracey soon turned back to me, smiling at me warmly.

  ‘We can sit wherever we like for the first week,’ she told me. ‘Why don’t we grab these two seats beside Jamie?’

  She indicated the back row, where the boy she’d been talking to had just sat down. There were only two seats left. I hesitated – where were my Star Club friends going to be sitting? Shouldn’t I wait for them?

  I spotted Laura waving to me from the front row, and pointing to a seat beside her. I looked at Tracey, not wanting to abandon her after she’d been so nice. I saw there were a few empty seats near Laura.

  ‘Let’s go up the front near Laura,’ I suggested. ‘There’s plenty of room for us both.’

  Tracey grabbed my bag and set it down on the chair in the back row. ‘No, we’re fine here. I’m not sitting right in front of the teacher. You don’t want people to think you’re a teacher’s pet, do you?’

  Laura was looking at me with a funny expression on her face, still gesturing to the seat beside her. I stood there, wavering, wondering how to handle it. I thought of Hannah and how we were supposed to walk to school together. If she’d kept her promise I’d be sitting beside her now and I wouldn’t have to risk offending either Laura or Tracey. A feeling of resentment swept over me – why did Hannah have to let me down?

  ‘All right, settle down class, take your seats!’ The teacher strode to the front of the classroom. The decision was made for me – there was no way I was going to draw attention to myself now by moving up front. I hurriedly took the seat beside Tracey, trying to ignore the hurt look Laura gave me.

  Just then Hannah came rushing into the room, her schoolbag flying behind her. She stopped dead when she saw me, a look of shock on her face. I took no notice, concentrating hard on taking out my pencil case and notebook and lining them up on the desk in front of me.

  ‘Ah, Hannah, you made it,’ Miss Brennan said. ‘I hope this isn’t a case of starting as you mean to go on?’

  ‘No, miss, sorry – our alarm didn’t go off,’ Hannah murmured, sliding into the seat beside Laura as quickly as she could.

  ‘Well, you’re just in time,’ Miss Brennan said. ‘Now class, I’m your teacher, Miss Brennan. And I believe we have a new student joining us this year. Where is Meg Howard?’

  I raised my hand, blushing red at having attention drawn to me like this. I hoped Miss Brennan wasn’t going to ask me to stand up and tell the class something about myself. I would absolutely die of embarrassment.

  But Miss Brennan just smiled at me and said, ‘You’re very welcome, Meg. Please let me know if you need any help with anything. And that goes for the rest of you too, boys and girls! Now, I’d like to get to know you all a little better. Why don’t you tell me something about what you did in your summer holidays? Who’d like to go first?’

  When the bell rang for break I was about to go and join Laura and Hannah, but Tracey put a hand on my arm to stop me. ‘Make sure Hannah knows you’re still upset that she let you down this morning,’ she whispered. ‘You should wait until she comes to you.’

  I looked at her in surprise. ‘What do you mean?’

  Tracey glanced quickly at Hannah from beneath her fringe, then turned to whisper to me again, gripping my arm. ‘Don’t just go up to her like nothing happened or she’ll think she can walk all over you.’

  ‘It’s not like that,’ I said. I’d had time to get over what had happened earlier, and even though I’d been upset I knew Hannah would never have deliberately let me down. ‘It’s no big deal.’

  Tracey seemed to change her attitude at once. Straightening up, she said quickly, ‘No, you’re right, better to let it go. It’s always nice to be the bigger person!’

  ‘Come on, let’s go outside,’ Jamie said. ‘We usually play rounders at break time.’

  As soon as we got out to the yard Laura and Hannah came running over to me. Tracey and Jamie went off to join another group who were picking teams for rounders.

  ‘How come you’re not sitting with us?’ Laura asked. ‘I saved a place for you.’

  ‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘Tracey didn’t want to sit up the front, and I didn’t really want to leave her. She was really nice showing me the way to school.’

  Laura made a kind of snorting noise. ‘Tracey? She’s only ever nice when she wants something.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ I asked, confused.

  Laura and Hannah looked at each other, as if each of them wanted the other to say something.

  ‘Let’s not get into all that,’ Hannah said quickly. ‘It doesn’t really matter where we sit, anyway. Miss Brennan will probably mix us all up again by the end of the week. They only usually let us sit where we like for the first few days.’

  ‘Miss Brennan seems nice, doesn’t she?’ I said, relieved to change the subject. ‘Have you guys had her before?’

  ‘No, she’s kind of new to the school,’ Hannah said. ‘I think she just started the year before last.’

  ‘Didn’t Isabel’s brother’s class have her last year?’ Laura said.

  ‘No, they had Mr Simms, don’t you remember how Ben used to complain about him the whole time?’ Hannah said.

  ‘Oh, that’s right, and we were all like, what are you complaining about? Miss Ford is so much worse,’ Laura said.

  ‘Miss Ford! She was such a nightmare!’ Hannah said. ‘Remember how she used to take ten minutes off Golden Time if someone got a spelling wrong? It was so unfair!’

  ‘I know! Ten minutes for one tiny little mistake! Some weeks we didn’t get any Golden Time at all! She was so mean.’

  I felt kind of left out. I didn’t know any of the teachers they were talking about, or Isabel or Ben either. And I didn’t know what on earth Golden Time was. It was like there was this whole new world of school that I wasn’t a part of, but my friends were.

  Hannah and Laura were still talking about Miss Ford and how awful she was. I tried to change the subject. ‘Do you think Miss Brennan will let us do drama?’

  ‘She’ll have to because it’s on the curriculum,’ Laura said.

  ‘Yeah, but it does depend on the teacher how much time we get to spend on it,’ Hannah pointed out. ‘Remember Miss Ford hardly did any?’

  ‘Anyway, we’ve got Star Club later,’ I said, hoping they wouldn’t start complaining about Miss Ford again. ‘Are we going to start
planning another show?’

  ‘Definitely,’ Hannah said. ‘I can’t wait to get started on something. Let’s all try to have some ideas for later, OK? Oh look, here’s Ruby, I’ll tell her too.’

  Ruby came running over to join us, her schoolbag still on her back. ‘Hi guys! No fillings today, phew! I’d better put my schoolbag in the classroom.’

  ‘Just leave it on the bench,’ Laura said. ‘Otherwise you’re going to waste too much of break time!’

  ‘Good idea,’ Ruby said, dumping her bag on the nearest bench. ‘What’s going on? Are you not playing rounders today?’

  ‘We’re just talking about our Star Club meeting,’ Hannah said. ‘I was just saying everyone should bring some ideas to the meeting later.’

  ‘Are we going to do something from another book?’ Ruby asked. ‘Ballet Shoes was so much fun.’

  For our first show, we’d picked scenes from Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild. I hadn’t read it before the other girls told me about it, but Hannah loaned it to me and I loved it right away. It’s set in London in the 1930s and is about three orphan girls who have to go to stage school so they can earn their own living. I played Petrova, the middle sister, who is much more interested in cars and aeroplanes than in being on the stage. I loved playing the part – probably because Petrova is so different from me, it was quite a fun challenge bringing her to life.

  ‘Maybe we could write something ourselves this time,’ Laura said. ‘I’ve got a few ideas we could talk about later.’

  ‘That sounds like fun,’ I said. ‘It would be a good challenge to create characters from scratch.’

  ‘What’s your dad working on at the moment?’ Hannah asked. ‘He’s gone back to Hollywood, hasn’t he?’

  Just as she said it Hannah turned bright red and clapped her hand over her mouth, looking at someone over my shoulder.

  ‘Does your dad work in Hollywood?’ It was Tracey, who seemed to have crept up behind us as quietly as a cat. ‘What is he, some kind of an actor? Is he famous?’

  I said the first thing that came into my head. ‘Oh, Hannah’s just joking around. You know I told you my dad worked in California for a while, so that’s all she means. But nothing as glamorous as Hollywood I’m afraid.’ I forced a laugh.

  ‘Oh, that’s too bad, I was hoping he might take us all to some fabulous film premiere!’ Tracey laughed. ‘There’s the bell – we’d better line up.’

  I moved quickly to the line, trying to look totally unconcerned, though my heart was pounding. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. After all the times I’d stressed to my friends that I didn’t want everyone knowing about my family, Hannah had gone and let the secret out on the very first day of school. I just had to hope I’d managed to convince Tracey there was nothing in it.

  Hannah came running up to me as we reached the classroom door, her face still crimson. ‘Meg, I’m so sorry,’ she whispered. ‘I had no idea Tracey was there.’

  ‘Just be more careful, will you?’ I snapped. ‘You know I don’t want people knowing.’

  ‘I know. I’m really sorry. I’ve got such a big mouth.’

  Hannah looked so guilt-stricken that I relaxed a bit. ‘OK, I know you didn’t mean it. Hopefully no one else heard. Tracey seems really nice, anyway. Maybe I should just tell her, since we’re neighbours.’

  ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ Hannah said quickly. ‘You see …’

  ‘All right, girls, break time’s over, into your places.’ Miss Brennan was already handing out worksheets. I sat down beside Tracey, who smiled warmly at me. Hannah hesitated a moment before going back to her seat beside Laura. I realised Ruby was sitting beside them too. The three of them looked so close – like they didn’t need anyone else in their little group. To my horror I felt a lump rising up in my throat. I swallowed quickly and clutched Sadie’s locket tightly in my hand.

  ‘Are you stuck? Look, start with this one, it’s the easiest,’ Tracey whispered to me, showing me what to do on the worksheet. I smiled at her gratefully. I found myself thinking about what Laura had said about Tracey and deciding it couldn’t possibly be true. Then again, it wasn’t like Laura to make things up – or was it? Maybe I didn’t know her – or any of them – as well as I thought.

  It was quite a relief when the final bell went. Hannah rushed to catch up with me as we lined up to leave the classroom. ‘Let’s walk home together,’ she suggested.

  ‘I can’t,’ I said.

  ‘You’re not still mad about earlier, are you?’ Hannah asked anxiously.

  ‘No, it’s fine, but Sadie’s actually picking me up,’ I told her.

  Mum would still be in work when school finished, and she’d arranged for Sadie to collect me and take me back to her house for a while. Other days I’d go home on my own, but today it was kind of a relief that the decision of who to walk with was taken out of my hands.

  ‘Oh. Well, we’ll definitely walk to school together tomorrow, okay?’

  ‘Sure,’ I said.

  ‘And I’ll see you later for Star Club?’

  ‘Yes, see you then!’

  Sadie was waiting for me outside the gate, her red car parked just a little way down the hill. She leaned over to give me a hug as I got in the passenger side. ‘Hi, honey – how was your first day?’

  ‘Fine,’ I said.

  ‘Not too many questions, I hope?’

  ‘Not really,’ I said.

  ‘Oh good.’

  Sadie started the engine and pulled out of the parking space. I wondered if I should tell her what had happened with Hannah. I didn’t want to feel like I was telling tales, but it would be good to talk to someone about it.

  ‘Hannah almost gave me away though,’ I said lightly, trying to show I wasn’t too concerned. ‘She said something about Hollywood and Tracey overheard.’

  Sadie frowned. ‘I thought Hannah would have been more careful. Who’s Tracey? Is that the girl who lives on the other side of you?’

  ‘That’s right,’ I said. ‘I walked to school with her this morning. I was supposed to be going with Hannah but her whole family slept in.’

  ‘Goodness, sounds like Hannah isn’t having the best day,’ Sadie said. ‘So how did Tracey react?’

  I gazed out the window, watching the houses rush by. ‘I pretended Hannah was just joking. I think Tracey believed me. But maybe I should just tell her, Sadie. She was really nice to me all day, and I’m sure she’d keep my secret if I asked her to.’

  ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ Sadie said firmly. ‘The more people you tell the bigger the chance of it all coming out. And what with the project your dad’s finishing off at the moment, the least said right now the better.’

  ‘That’s true,’ I admitted.

  ‘I would leave it for now,’ Sadie said. ‘After all, you thought you could trust Hannah not to tell anyone, but she almost gave you away today!’

  ‘I do trust her – it was just a mistake,’ I said. ‘I’m sure she’ll be more careful next time.’

  ‘Well, why don’t you remind them all again, just to be sure,’ Sadie said. ‘When is your next Star Club meeting?’

  ‘This evening, at 5pm,’ I said. ‘Can you drop me home for then?’

  ‘Sure thing.’ We pulled into Sadie and Grandad’s driveway. ‘Now, come on in and have a snack and tell me all about your day.’

  Grandad was just taking some scones out of the oven as we came in. ‘Hello, poppet. How was your first day?’

  ‘Fine thanks,’ I told him. ‘Oh Grandad, blackberry scones – my favourite!’

  ‘Made with my own blackberries too,’ Grandad told me proudly. ‘There aren’t many left but you can pick the rest to take home with you later.’

  I spread butter on my scone, watching the golden butter melt into the delicious homemade scone, my fingers already stained purple from the blackberries. ‘Mmm, delicious!’

  ‘Well, I had to make a Grandad special, it’s not every day my granddaughter starts
at her mum’s old school, now is it!’ Grandad said.

  ‘Oh, don’t you start,’ Sadie warned him. ‘Cordelia has been making a song and dance of it already and I think poor Meg is finding it a bit overwhelming.’

  Grandad laughed. ‘My Meg isn’t one to be overwhelmed by something like that, are you, poppet?’ He didn’t wait for an answer, but, catching Sadie’s frown, decided to change the subject. ‘What’s Doug up to these days then? Is he coming home soon?’

  I shook my head, my mouth full of scone. When I’d finished I told him, ‘He says he’s up to his eyes with the new film. All the promotional work and everything.’

  ‘Stuff and nonsense,’ Grandad said gruffly. ‘Leave that to the marketing people. In my day actors were actors, and directors were directors, and a film sold itself if it was good enough.’

  ‘Now, John, you know that’s not how it works,’ Sadie said, helping herself to a scone. ‘Your work is very different from Doug’s. I’m sure if he says he needs to be there right now he has a good reason.’

  Like Sadie and my mum, Grandad is an actor. His speciality is Shakespeare – he’s played all the big parts. He even named Mum Cordelia after the youngest daughter in his favourite play, King Lear. Cordelia is the loyal, faithful daughter who sticks by her father when her older sisters betray him. Mum doesn’t have any older sisters, but Grandad certainly doesn’t have to worry about her betraying him. She adores him, and it’s no wonder, because he’s wonderful.

  He doesn’t have much time for my dad’s work, though. Although Grandad has had a few roles in films over the years, he much prefers theatre work. Mum is the same. I’ve heard so many conversations about it over the years.