Bright Lights

by Linda Chapman

  ‘And what was that?’ Steve asked.

  I grinned. ‘Chief squirrel. A really important part – not!’

  To my delight, Steve laughed. He looked down at my notes. ‘How old are you, Sophie?’

  ‘Eleven,’ I replied.

  Steve nodded and I saw him scribble something on his notes. My heart leapt with excitement. He hadn't done that when Beth had spoken. Steve talked to the other girls. They were all quite shy – apart from Justine. She, of course, doesn't know the meaning of the word. She spoke loudly and smiled and twirled her hair. She told him about being Lucy, but she didn't make him laugh like I had. However, I saw him scribble something on her sheet as she finished speaking, just like he had on mine.

  ‘Well, that's great for now,’ he said. ‘Let's take you back to your parents.’

  He walked to the door. We all followed him back to the waiting room. ‘Mrs Tennison?’ Steve said. ‘And Mrs Wilcox?’

  My mum and Justine's mum exchanged surprised glances.

  ‘Yes?’ they both said, standing up.

  ‘If I could just have a quick word with you and the girls outside,’ Steve said.

  For one moment I forgot how much Justine and I didn't get on. We stared at each other, the same feelings of hope and excitement leaping into our eyes.

  ‘Sophie and Justine did very well,’ Steve said to Mum and Mrs Wilcox when we left the waiting room. ‘And what I'd like to discuss is the possibility of them auditioning for small speaking roles in the film. The main child parts are going to be played by experienced child actors, but we are hoping to cast some of the smaller speaking roles from among the local children we've been seeing this weekend. It would only be to speak a line or two, but if Justine and Sophie are interested then they'll need to attend a further audition next week.’

  I looked at Mum. ‘Can I? I gasped.

  ‘I don't see why not,’ she said.

  ‘Justine's a super little actress. She'd be perfect for a speaking part,’ Mrs Wilcox put in.

  ‘Well, like I say, they'll both need to audition again,’ Steve said. ‘I'll put their names down on the list and contact you with an audition time next week. You'll need to learn an audition piece this time,’ he said to Justine and me. ‘Ask Cathy on the way out and she'll give you the scene.’

  ‘Thanks,’ I stammered.

  Wow! The chance to audition for a speaking role! Just wait till I told Ally and Harriet about this!

  In the car on the way home I read the scene that Cathy had given me.

  ‘What's it about?’ Mum asked.

  ‘It's between Sara – she's the main character – and Becky, the servant girl, her best friend,’ I answered. ‘Sara's still rich and she's just come in from a dancing lesson to find Becky asleep in a chair in her room. Instead of being angry with her, she's nice and they start talking and make friends.’

  ‘Which part do you have to learn?’ Mum asked.

  ‘The instructions on the top say we can learn either part.’ I frowned. ‘But I might learn Becky's part. It's more interesting and I bet everyone else will be Sara, because she's the main character.’

  ‘Maybe it would be a good idea to be Becky, then,’ Mum agreed. ‘It'll make your audition stand out more.’

  I nodded. Yes, I'd be Becky.

  ‘I was talking to a few of the other mums while you were out of the room,’ Mum told me. ‘Some of them had really interesting jobs.’

  ‘What like?’ I said.

  ‘One's a journalist, one's started her own jewellery business and Justine's mum owns a clothes shop,’ Mum replied. She sighed. ‘I felt very boring.’

  ‘You could always change jobs,’ I said. ‘You could work with animals. That would be loads better than working in an office.’

  ‘I'd love to work with animals,’ Mum agreed. ‘But what could I do? To be a vet nurse or something like that, you need qualifications.’

  ‘There must be some job with animals you could do,’ I said.

  Mum frowned thoughtfully. ‘Maybe I'll look into it,’ she said.

  When we got home I jumped out of the car and ran into the house.

  Music was coming from Jessica's bedroom. I knocked on her door. ‘It's me, Jess.’

  She opened the door. ‘Soph! How did it go?’

  ‘I've got a second audition!’ I said, bouncing into her room and sitting on the bed.

  ‘That's great!’ Jess exclaimed.

  ‘I know, and, even better, I've got an audition for a speaking part. If I get it, I'll have some lines to say.’

  ‘Wow!’ Jess said, looking very impressed.

  I frowned, suddenly feeling that something wasn't right. The music! It was all loud guitars and drums – the sort of thing Tom normally listens to but not Jess. ‘What are you listening to?’

  ‘It's Feeder,’ Jess replied. ‘I like them.’

  I stared at her in astonishment. ‘Since when?’

  ‘Since… just since,’ she said, shrugging. ‘They're cool.’ She turned away. ‘I went to hear Tom's band rehearsing today,’ she said casually.

  ‘What were they like?’ I asked.

  ‘Actually, they were quite good.’

  I was very surprised. Tom and Jessica definitely do not like the same kind of music. Jessica likes pop and R’n’B, whereas Tom is into loud music with guitars – the louder the better. In fact, just like the music Jessica had on her CD player right now. ‘You really liked them?’

  ‘Zak, the lead singer, is brilliant,’ Jess said, nodding. ‘He's got an awesome voice.’ She sat down on the bed and sighed almost dreamily. ‘And he looks like Johnny Depp. He's gorgeous.’

  I frowned. It didn't sound like the sort of thing someone who was supposed to be in love with their boyfriend should say.

  ‘He asked me out,’ Jessica said, giving me a quick sideways glance.

  ‘What did you say?’ I gasped.

  ‘No, of course,’ she said quickly. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. ‘But it was cool that he asked.’

  ‘Did you tell him about Dan?’ I demanded.

  ‘Yeah.’ She shrugged. ‘It didn't seem to put him off though.’

  ‘Sophie!’ Mum called up the stairs. ‘Harriet's on the phone!’

  I went through to Mum and Dad's room and picked up the phone. ‘Hi!’

  ‘How was the audition?’ Harriet asked eagerly.

  I told her all about it.

  ‘That's amazing!’ Harriet squealed when I said about the second audition. ‘You've got to come round and celebrate.’

  ‘All right.’ I grinned. ‘I'll come now.’

  ‘I'll get some pens and paper so we can play a game,’ I said, and, pulling my sleeping bag around me, I hopped awkwardly over to Harriet's desk. It was only 7.30 but we had already changed ready for bed – me into my lilac cropped pyjamas with stars on, Ally into her sunshine-yellow shorts and strappy-top pyjama set and Harriet in a navy nightshirt. Harriet's fifteen-year-old sister, Emily, was downstairs.

  ‘What shall we play?’ Harriet asked as I picked up a pad of paper.

  ‘Consequences,’ I said.

  ‘Cool!’ Ally exclaimed. ‘I love consequences.’

  I took three pens from the silver pen-holder. As usual, Harriet's desk was very tidy. Her hairbrush and comb were lined up neatly and her hair bobbles lay in a little silver dish. Along the back of it sat her collection of Beanie Babies and a framed photo of Scooby, her granny's dog.

  Harriet's house is our favourite place for sleepovers. Her bedroom is so small that there's only just room for the three of us in our sleeping bags, but she always has loads of sweets and her dad is brilliant. He never fusses about what time we go to sleep and he always gets us things like Chinese takeways and pizzas to eat.

  ‘This room looks really nice now it's been painted,’ Ally commented as I hopped back with the pens and paper.

  I nodded, looking round at the pale-blue walls and the silver stars that Harriet and her dad had painted on to the ceiling. ‘
I wish my room looked like this.’

  ‘At least your room's big,’ Harriet told me.

  ‘Yes, but it's not cosy like yours,’ I said quickly.

  I know Harriet's a bit sensitive about the size of her room. She used to live in a large old house in the village and she had a huge bedroom there, but a year ago her mum and dad got divorced and Harriet and Emily moved to this smaller house with their dad.

  I handed out pens and pieces of paper, hoping to change the subject. ‘OK,’ I said, sitting down between them and making myself comfortable. ‘Let's start.’

  ‘Girl's name first?’ Harriet asked.

  I nodded.

  Consequences is one of my all-time favourite games. First you each write a girl's name on a piece of paper and then you fold the paper over so that no one can see what you've written. You pass the paper to the person on your left. Then you write down a boy's name on the new piece of paper and pass it on. Then the place they met, what they might be doing and what the consequences were. At the end you open the pieces of paper and read out what you've got.

  ‘OK, are you ready?’ I said, unfolding the piece of paper Harriet had just passed to me. Ally and Harriet nodded. ‘Justine Wilcox met Shrek up a mountain,’ I read out. ‘They played tennis and the consequence was that we all get level fours in our SATs.’

  We giggled.

  ‘My turn! My turn!’ Ally cried. ‘This is a really good one. Miss Carter met Brad Pitt by the post office. They did cartwheels and the consequence was that they had a baby!’

  We all burst out laughing.

  ‘Here's mine,’ Harriet said quickly. ‘Ally –’ she grinned at Ally – ‘met Snowy the Beanie Baby in the bus shelter. They snogged and the consequence was they got married and ran away together!’

  We all shrieked with laughter.

  ‘Your true love, Ally!’ I gasped.

  ‘You're meant for each other,’ Harriet cried.

  All leapt out of her sleeping bag and grabbed Snowy, the polar bear Beanie Baby, off the desk. ‘Marry me, Snowy!’ she said dramatically.

  ‘Can I be bridesmaid?’ I cried.

  ‘And me?’ Harriet gasped.

  Suddenly the door flew open. Our laughter stopped abruptly.

  Emily was standing there, looking furious. ‘For goodness' sake!’ she exclaimed. ‘You lot are so irritating. Do you have to make so much noise!’

  There was a moment's pause. I saw Harriet's face fall and then Ally made the Beanie toy jump up and down and squeaked in a little voice, ‘Yes, I will marry you, Ally. I will!’

  That was it. Laughter just exploded out of me, and as soon as I started laughing, Ally and Harriet did too. We rolled around the floor, clutching our sides.

  Emily looked like she didn't know what to do, so she contented herself with shooting us a filthy look. ‘You're pathetic, you know that! You should just –’ she struggled for words – ‘grow up!’ And with that, she swung round and stalked away.

  My sides ached, but I couldn't stop laughing. I am so glad I don't have Emily for a sister!

  Chapter Four

  I'll get the part, I thought. I swallowed. It was 2.10 on Saturday afternoon and, once again, Mum and I were sitting in the waiting room with its plastic orange chairs and faint smell of sweaty feet. Around the room four girls were sitting tensely with their mums or dads. There was definitely less of a relaxed atmosphere than the week before.

  I'll get the part, I thought determinedly. I'd read in one of Jessica's magazines about the power of positive thinking. It said that if you want something really badly, you should imagine yourself getting it and if you think it hard enough then you will get it. I had never wanted anything so much as I wanted a speaking part in the film and so I was determined to be as positive as I could.

  I looked at the door. Justine had gone in for her audition five minutes ago. I was next.

  I will get the part, I thought, taking a deep breath and trying to be confident, like the magazine had suggested. I will definitely get the part. It was working: I felt calm and in control…

  The door opened. My tummy did a double-flip. ‘What if I forget my lines?’ I squeaked to Mum, positive thinking flying out of the window as my body turned to a trembling jelly.

  ‘You won't,’ Mum said reassuringly. ‘You've been practising all week. You'll be just fine.’

  Justine looked very relieved to have the audition over. She hurried to her mum.

  ‘OK. Can I have Sophie Tennison next please?’ Cathy said, consulting her list.

  I stood up and Mum squeezed my hand.

  Cathy smiled at me. ‘This way, Sophie.’

  My heart thumped in my chest as I followed her to the audition room. This time there were three people in there – Steve, whom I'd met last time, a woman about my mum's age and an older man.

  The woman, who was smartly dressed in an olive-green suit, spoke first. ‘Hello, Sophie. I'm Sheila Blake, the casting director. You know Steve –’ Steve smiled at me – ‘and this is Laurence Derrington, the film's director.’

  I looked at the older man. He was sitting deep in his chair. He was about fifty, with a beard, greying hair and thick eyebrows that looked like big grey caterpillars perched above his dark eyes. He was wearing jeans and a white T-shirt.

  ‘What we'd like you to do is to go through the scene you've learned,’ Sheila said. ‘I'll read in the other lines in the scene. Which part have you chosen?’

  ‘Becky,’ I said.

  I sensed all the adults stir slightly in surprise. Laurence Derrington seemed to sit up and look at me more closely.

  ‘You're the first person who's chosen Becky,’ Sheila said. ‘Well, if you'd like to go into the middle of the room, use the chair that's there. Just take your time and start when you're ready.’

  I took a deep breath and went over to the chair. It was old-fashioned, with a high back and arms. Feeling horribly aware of Laurence, Sheila and Steve watching me, I sat down and curled my legs up. Shutting my eyes, I concentrated hard and tried to forget the watching adults. I was Becky, not Sophie. I wasn't in an audition. I'd been up since 4 o'clock in the morning, sweeping out fireplaces, carrying coal, scrubbing floors. I hadn't had any breakfast. I was hungry, dirty and very, very tired.

  There was a moment's silence when the only sound in the room seemed to be the thudding of my heart, and then Sheila, pretending to be Sara, said the first line.

  ‘Oh, look. The poor thing. She's fallen asleep. If Miss Minchin finds her she'll be very cross. What should I do?’

  I gave a gasp and jumped up. ‘Oh, Miss. I'm sorry, really I am,’ I cried. ‘I didn't mean to do it. It was just the warm fire and me being so tired and all.’

  The words tumbled out. I forgot about being nervous. In fact, I forgot I was being watched. I know it sounds weird, but it was almost like I wasn't me, like I was living a different life for a while.

  At the end of the scene, I paused and blinked. The world slowly came back into focus. I wasn't sitting in an old-fashioned bedroom, looking at a girl in a beautiful white dress. I was in an audition room, being watched by three people.

  I looked up. All the adults were sitting up in their chairs, staring at me.

  ‘That… that was really extremely good,’ Laurence said, almost as if he was surprised. ‘Come and sit down a minute, Sophie.’ He pointed to a chair in front of the desk.

  I walked over. I was feeling mega-relieved that I hadn't got any lines wrong.

  ‘So, tell me,’ Laurence said. ‘Why did you choose the part of Becky?’

  ‘I… I just liked it more,’ I replied as I sat down. ‘I mean, I know Sara's the main part, but in that part of the story she's a bit boring. I thought it would be more interesting to be Becky.’

  ‘Well, it was a very good performance,’ Laurence said.

  He stared at me intently without saying anything for a moment. I felt myself going red. What was he looking at me like that for? Why wasn't he saying anything?

  Suddenly he held
out his script. ‘Would you mind reading another of Becky's scenes for us?’

  Would I mind! I shook my head and took the script.

  ‘Page sixty-seven. Go to the middle and have a quick read through,’ Laurence said. ‘When you're ready we'll start. Sheila will read in Sara's words again.’

  I did as he said. As I read through the scene, I noticed that the adults were leaning together and talking in low voices. I could only make out a little of what they were saying. ‘A real wistfulness…’ I heard Laurence say. ‘And those eyes…’ His voice dropped quieter and I couldn't hear any more.

  ‘I'm ready,’ I said at last.

  The scene was only short and, after I had finished it, Laurence asked me to try a few lines again with a different expression.

  I did as he asked and he seemed pleased. ‘Great,’ he said, smiling as I finished. ‘That was spot on. Well done.’

  Sheila stood up. ‘Who brought you here today, Sophie?’

  ‘My mum,’ I replied.

  ‘We'd like to speak to her,’ Sheila said.

  I followed her and Cathy out of the room.

  ‘You were a long time,’ Mum said, standing up as I walked into the waiting room. Her eyes scanned my face. ‘How did it go?’

  Before I could answer, Sheila stepped forward. ‘Mrs Tennison, my name is Sheila Blake,’ she said. ‘I'm the casting director for the film. The director and I would like to have a word with you.’

  Mum looked surprised. ‘With me?’

  Sheila nodded.

  Mum followed her to the door. I went after her, but Cathy stopped me. ‘Sheila and Laurence want to speak to your mum on her own, Sophie. Do you mind waiting here?’

  Feeling more confused than ever, I sat down. What was going on? No one else's mum had been asked to speak to Laurence and Sheila. I looked at the floor. Please, I thought, please let it mean they're giving me a speaking part. Even just one line!

  As soon as I heard the door open I jumped to my feet. Mum came in. She looked shocked.

  ‘What did they say?’ I demanded.

  ‘I… think you'd better come and speak to them yourself,’ she said.