Star of Silver Spires (13 page)

A few minutes later Georgie knew everything. She'd been a bit cross that I hadn't said anything to her, but only a bit. Now she was more excited about the whole
Stars in the Wings
show.

“You're going to be a star!” she said grabbing my hands and staring at me, with big sparkling eyes. “And
I
know you!” she added, looking suddenly awestruck. “Can I have your autograph?”

Miss Carol laughed, but I didn't even manage a smile. “Nobody will want me to do it,” I mumbled. “Bella was first choice. I'm sorry, I just don't want to do it, Miss Carol. I can't.”

“Well I think everyone will be very disappointed if you say no, Mia,” said Miss Carol, looking concerned. “I mean, your parents, the teachers, your piano teacher… Everyone will want you to enter.”

“Mrs. Roach won't,” I said, trying not to sigh. “She'll be happy that I can get back to my proper practice.”

“You're wrong there, Mia. Naturally, Miss York kept Mrs. Roach in the picture about what's been happening, and apparently Mrs. Roach had no idea you were quite so talented.”

“She didn't think the Star contest was important at all,” I said quietly.

“Well I think Miss York might have been singing your praises, Mia, because I can assure you that Mrs. Roach wants to support you in your singing and composing as much as she possibly can. In fact, she actually told Miss York she thought she'd been a bit short-sighted, because she had no idea that you had a serious talent as a singer/songwriter.”

I sank back into the settee, feeling one big pressure sliding off my shoulders. But there was still no way I could audition for
Stars in the Wings
and I knew my other worry was showing on my face, because Georgie frowned at me with big concentration as she leaned forwards and spoke carefully to Miss Carol.

“Do Bella's friends know she cheated?”

“I'm afraid they do, yes. Her dorm mates wanted to know why she was crying and she told them. Unfortunately for her, I should think the whole of Year Eight probably knows by now.”

I felt myself tensing up. Poor Bella.

Miss Carol tipped her head to one side and gave me a sympathetic smile. “After summer it'll all be forgotten, Mia. Bella is a popular girl. Her friends will forgive her. It's nothing for you to worry about.”

“Please say you'll try out for
Stars in the Wings,
Mia…” said Georgie, coming right up to my face with praying hands.

I shook my head. “No. I just can't.”

Miss Carol was right about everyone finding out that Bella had cheated, because at lunchtime there seemed to be no other topic of conversation in the dining hall. The whole place was buzzing with the shocking news.

“Who's going to represent the school now?” I heard a Year Nine girl say, as I stood in the lunch queue near her table with my tray.

Then someone from the same table must have spotted me and called out, “Hey, Mia, was it you or Demonstrate who came second?”

I bit my lip. “Er…I think it was me.”

Georgie was right behind me. “It
was
Mia!” she said firmly. “All the teachers want Mia to sing for
Stars in the Wings
but she's got this stupid idea in her head that she didn't win and she hasn't got any right to do it!” Georgie rolled her eyes dramatically. “Can you believe it?”

The queue had shuffled forwards and I quickly moved on with it. I didn't want to be a part of this conversation any more, because it was obvious nobody would want little me in Bella's place.

By the time I'd got my lunch and sat down with the others, there was no sign of Georgie. I glanced over at the table where the Year Nine girls were and saw that they'd gone too, which puzzled me.

“Hey, Mia!” called out a Year Seven named Bryony, from two tables away. “Naomi says you're not going to do
Stars in the Wings.
Are you mad or something?”

“Did you come second then, Mia?” asked a friend of Bryony's.

“Yes she did!” Katy answered for me. She must have been able to see that I was getting embarrassed.

“You're brilliant, Mia!” said someone else from Bryony's table. “You've
got
to do it.”

It was kind of Bryony and her friends to stick up for me, but they were only Year Seven. The older students wouldn't want me representing Silver Spires, I just knew it.

“Shh!” Bryony said to her friend. “Ms. Carmichael.”

I looked towards the door. Sure enough, Ms. Carmichael had come in with Miss York, and just behind her were the Year Nine girls who'd been talking to Georgie. And then, there was Georgie herself. The whole dining room went quiet. It wasn't just that Ms. Carmichael was there – she often came in. It was the fact that there was something going on. She was whispering to Miss York and looking around the room. Then her eyes alighted on me, as Georgie came nipping over and squashed herself in between me and Katy.

“What's happening?” I whispered.

“Nothing,” she answered, trying to look innocent.

But a second later there was complete silence, because Ms. Carmichael had rung a little bell.

“Girls, I'm sorry to interrupt your lunch but I wanted a quick word with you, and I want it now, while our Star contest is still fresh in your minds. I think most of you, if not all of you, will know by now that sadly the songs Bella sang in the contest were not her own material. As we cannot tolerate cheating or deception such as this here at Silver Spires, I'm afraid we have taken the decision that it would be best for Bella to be sent home for the last week of term. Bella has apologized and is most repentant, and next term will be a clean slate for her, because she's a lovely, talented girl who simply made a mistake – one that she won't ever make again.” She paused, letting her eyes travel round the silent room.

“In the meantime, we have a problem on our hands, because in second place in our contest, by a very narrow margin, was Mia Roberts…”

All heads seemed to turn to look for me, and a second later I was sure my face was bright pink, because I could sense so many pairs of eyes on me.

“Hey!” said a few girls nearby, breaking into applause, and I noticed the Demonstrate girls amongst them. “Go, Mia!”

And then it was like fire spreading round the hall, and I couldn't help feeling tingles of happiness, even though I was still embarrassed.

Ms. Carmichael carried on talking. “The problem is that Mia doesn't feel that she deserves to enter
Stars in the Wings
and has told us that she doesn't want to do it…”

One of the Year Tens was suddenly on her feet. “Mia, you've got to do it. You were the best!”

“I was second,” I quickly pointed out.

“You were
the best
,” the Year Ten girl came straight back at me. Then her voice softened. “Because you wrote your own songs, Mia.”

A huge cheer went up all over the dining hall and then everyone was stamping and banging their fists on the tables and chanting, “Mi-a, Mi-a, Mi-a, Mi-a…”

“There!” said Georgie, putting her arm round me and whispering right into my ear, because it was impossible to hear a thing with so much noise going on all around me. “
Now
will you believe me?”

I looked up at Ms. Carmichael and saw that she was smiling at me with raised eyebrows. “Well?” she mouthed.

I stood up slowly, feeling my heart beat with excitement and happiness, and instantly there was silence again.

“Thank you,” I said quietly. “I'm convinced now that you want me to do it…so I will.”

Then there was another burst of cheering and clapping and stamping and Miss York actually came over and gave me a big hug. Everyone was crowding around me, but Georgie put her hands up like a policeman stopping the traffic. “Give her a bit of space, people!” she said, pretending to be bossy. “I'm her manager, you know, and I'm not having her crushed like this!”

I'd never felt so popular in my whole life. Or so happy. I couldn't wait to tell Mum and Dad.

The sun was so bright as Georgie and the rest of my dormies and I left the dining room and made our way over to afternoon lessons. My eyes went straight to the tall spires of the main building. They shone as brightly as real silver and glinted and sparkled like everlasting fireworks.

“Look!” I whispered.

Everyone followed my gaze.

“Aren't we lucky?” said Naomi.

No one replied, but I knew we were all agreeing with her in our minds. It was just a beautiful moment that we didn't want to disturb by speaking out loud.

Beside me, Georgie reached for my hand and I saw that her eyes were sparkling.

“Yes,” she said, breaking the silence. “We must be the luckiest girls in the world.”

I smiled at her and thought,
Yes, and I must be the very luckiest of all because I truly
am
a real musician.

And that's all I've ever wanted to be.

Performing in the Silver Spires Star contest was something I thought I'd never be able to do! But with the help of my lovely friends, I actually learned to enjoy singing in front of people. And you can too!

How to give a star performance!

* Stage fright can creep up on everyone, even superstars. And it doesn't matter what sort of performance you're giving, a little confidence boost can make all the difference. So, if you've got your eyes on singing stardom, like me, here's some fun ideas to try out with your friends!

* Whether you're going solo or forming a band it's important to get your sound spot-on. Spend time listening to different types of music before settling on a song that suits your voice and ability. Don't be afraid to experiment and swap tunes with your friends for inspiration.

* Grab a video camera and record each other's performances. Watching yourself on tape can be cringe-worthy, but you'll be able to see what you're doing right, and where you need a bit more practice.

* Get your friends together for a pop party! Dress up like your fave pop princess or girl group, perfect those dance moves and practise singing like divas. Even the top pop stars started out by practising in front of the mirror with a hairbrush…

* Katy's cool makeover really boosted my confidence, so why not do the same with your friends? Borrow each other's clothes or try a funky hairstyle for a totally fresh look. Just remember, you'll feel more confident if your new style still expresses who you are, so don't do anything too drastic! !

So what are you waiting for? Grab your friends and have some School Friends fun!

Now turn the page for a sneak preview of the next unmissable School Friends story…

My name's Nicole Williamson and today is the very first day of my new life at Silver Spires Boarding School for Girls. I can't believe I'm here at last after all the days and weeks and months of waiting. I've actually only been here about two hours, but everything is just as brilliant as I'd hoped and dreamed it would be.