Polly Plays Her Part

by Anne-Marie Conway

  I started to feel a bit sick. Sick of people having little chats with me! She climbed down off the stage and led me over to the piano. I could feel Sam staring at me; her eyes boring into the back of my neck.

  Mandy held my hands tight and looked me right in the eye.

  “I don’t know what’s been going on with you, Polly,” she said. “But it doesn’t seem to me as if you’ve taken your part in the show very seriously.”

  “I know but…but…” I struggled to find the right words but it was hopeless. I couldn’t even think properly let alone string a sentence together.

  “If there is a problem, something you’re worried about, you can always come to me. I can’t promise I’ll be able to help but I can try.”

  I shook my head. “There isn’t a problem,” I muttered. “I’m fine.”

  Mandy sighed. “The thing is, when you have a big part in a show, the main part, it’s a responsibility – I thought I’d made that clear the last time we spoke. And I did keep giving you chances,” she added gently. “And you kept promising me you’d learn the lines – I even spoke to your dad, remember?”

  I nodded miserably.

  “So when you didn’t turn up on Saturday I had to ask Sam to read your part. I didn’t want to, Polly, but you didn’t really leave me any other choice.”

  I stared at the floor, blinking furiously to stop myself from crying. I wanted to turn round and run out of the room but Mandy hadn’t finished. “It’s a little bit complicated,” she went on, “because Phoebe’s going to do Sam’s part and Rachel is going to do Phoebe’s. But it’s not as bad as it sounds. You’ll still be able to sing in all the chorus numbers and I really am happy to see you here today.” She stopped speaking and squeezed my hands. “Are you okay, Polly?”

  I nodded again, even though I wasn’t okay at all. I wanted to go home. I wanted to walk out and never come back, but I didn’t have the guts.

  The session seemed to last for days. First of all, Mandy got everyone to try on their costumes to make sure they were okay before the dress rehearsal. Marcia’s costume was pretty plain, because she was just an ordinary girl sitting at home playing on her computer, but some of the others were incredible. They all rushed off to the toilets but I just sat at the side not really sure what I was supposed to be doing.

  “Don’t worry, Polly, I’ll sort you out a virus costume for next week,” said Mandy. “I’ve got a couple of spares here but I’ll have to adjust the size.” I felt like a virus all right, sitting there all by myself. Like I had some deadly disease and everyone had been ordered to stay as far away from me as possible, just in case they caught it.

  When Mandy had finished adjusting the costumes and they were all packed away, we ran through the whole show, stopping and starting and doing bits over and over, and it was a nightmare. Sam was strutting about as if she was in charge of the entire production. Phoebe looked as if she was going to burst out crying at any minute and Rachel kept saying how sorry she was, and how she didn’t even want Phoebe’s part because it was only her first show and she was horribly nervous.

  Monty B was the only one who tried to cheer me up.

  “I’m going to start a campaign!” he announced at break. “The Give Polly Her Part Back campaign. I’ll get thousands of people to sign a petition and we’ll take it to the Prime Minister! The Queen! Anyone who will listen!”

  “I’ve never heard of anyone listening to a baboon’s bottom,” said Adam.

  “How about you, Sam?” said Monty B, ignoring Adam. “You’ll sign, won’t you?”

  Sam didn’t answer, she just gave him a look, but then just before we packed up to leave she came over to me with this horribly smug look on her face.

  “Really sorry about your part, Polly,” she said, sarcastically. “But I guess Mandy felt she had to choose someone she could rely on.”

  “It’s fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “It’s not like I wanted the crummy part anyway.”

  She was talking to me just like I used to talk to Phoebe last term; pretending she was sorry when it was obvious she didn’t care at all. But she was right in a way. Mandy did need someone she could rely on and she had given me loads of chances. It wouldn’t matter how many people signed Monty B’s petition – I’d blown it.

  Mandy tried to give me some tickets before I went home but I said I didn’t want them. She’d handed them out the week before and apparently they were selling like mad, but it’s not as if I was going to ask Dad and Diane to come and see Sam Lester playing my part!

  As soon as I got home I logged straight on to friend2friend. I only needed thirty more points to reach my target and I chatted and chatted until my head was fit to burst. Phoebe texted me a few times but I didn’t text back. I didn’t care about Star Makers or about Sam pinching my part – the only thing I cared about was getting into that room.

  I had to stop for tea but I went straight back upstairs as soon as I’d finished. I was determined to get into the Diamond Den before I went to bed and I’d almost reached my target. I’d just started chatting to Pixie in the Emerald room when the screen changed suddenly.

  “YOU’VE MADE IT, MARCIA MOON!” it said. “YOU HAVE 1000 POINTS.”

  I held my breath, waiting to see what would happen next. It had taken me so long to get to this point and I was desperate to know what was in the Diamond Den but I couldn’t help feeling scared – as if in some way it was too late to turn back. And then the screen changed again. Everything disappeared and the only thing left was a door with a diamond handle. A new message flashed across the screen…

  “BUT TO ENTER THE DIAMOND DEN YOU MUST COMPLETE ONE FINAL STEP.”

  Congratulations, Marcia, you are one of the chosen few. Only SPECIAL people like you are granted access to the Diamond Den. To take up this rare opportunity you must pay £100 and enter the following details.

  Full Name:

  Address:

  Date of Birth:

  Name of Credit Card Holder:

  Credit Card Number:

  This is a one-off payment. You will not be asked for any more money. Your bank details will be safe with us. We will not share this information with anyone else.

  Hurry, Marcia. You have only one week to pay.

  Your time starts now.

  A clock appeared on the screen and started to tick. The ticking seemed to grow louder until it was right inside my head. No one had mentioned paying money when I first logged on to the site and Skye had never said anything about it either. Filling in my name, address, and date of birth would be easy, but I didn’t have a credit card and I certainly didn’t have a hundred pounds.

  I tried to reason with myself that my details would be safe. It’s not like I was giving them out to some stranger in the Emerald room. And, anyway, I deserved to enter that room. I’d been chatting for so long and I’d earned so many points and it didn’t seem fair that Skye had entered the room and left me behind.

  The more I thought about it the more unfair it seemed. The more unfair everything seemed. I mean it wasn’t really my fault that I’d let Mandy down so badly. The way I saw it, if Dad hadn’t dumped Mum to move in with Diane, then Mum would never have moved to Spain and none of this would’ve happened in the first place. Basically, it was all Dad’s fault: Mum leaving, Cosmo’s accident and me losing my part at drama. And since he was to blame for everything, it was only fair that he should pay for me to enter the Diamond Den, wasn’t it?

  I sat there for ages just staring at the screen. The room grew cold around me. I didn’t want to enter my personal details and I didn’t want to steal money off Dad but I did want to get through that door more than anything. In the end I logged off and went to bed, but it was impossible to get to sleep. I tossed and turned all night going over everything that had happened. It was like I had a virus inside my head – whirling round and round, twisting everything up – until I didn’t know what was right any more.

  It was a terrible week. Phoebe kept nagging me to tell Mandy a
bout Mum going to Spain and Cosmo’s accident, but I knew it wouldn’t make any difference; not now. She went on and on about it so much that in the end I told her to get lost.

  Cosmo got more and more fed up with his plastic hood and I was convinced that the minute Mr. Adesina removed it he’d be straight back down to number 25. On Thursday, Mum called to say she wouldn’t be able to get back for the show because she had a meeting she couldn’t afford to miss, something to do with her promotion. She was really upset and she promised she’d make it up to me, but it was obvious her job was more important to her than her own daughter.

  And every night I went to bed and thought about getting into the Diamond Den – I went over and over it until I thought my head was going to explode.

  Friday night was the worst. I had to make my mind up by the next morning and I still didn’t know what to do for the best. Obviously it would be really bad to take Dad’s credit card, but I couldn’t help feeling that somehow he owed me the money. I had never taken anything from anyone in my life but, for some reason, this felt different. I heard Jake wake up at one point, deep in the night, and I heard Diane soothe him back to sleep. I almost called out to her, to tell her I couldn’t sleep; to ask her to soothe me back to sleep – but of course I didn’t.

  As soon as I got up on Saturday morning I knew what I was going to do. Dad and Diane were in the kitchen with Jake getting breakfast ready, so I had to act fast. I crept into their bedroom and started to rummage around in the drawer next to Dad’s side of the bed. There was a book and one of Jake’s yucky dummies and lots of receipts and things, but no credit card.

  I looked around the room. My heart was thumping and I felt completely sick. I spotted a pair of trousers Dad had left lying across the bed. The pockets were heavy, jangling with keys and coins and I could feel the shape of his wallet in there too.

  “Breakfast,” Diane called up the stairs. “Come on, Polly. It’s on the table.”

  My hands froze, clutching the trousers. “I’ll be down in a sec,” I squeaked. I shoved my hand into one of the front pockets, grabbed the wallet and scooted down the hall to my room.

  There were quite a few cards to sort through: a supermarket loyalty card, a library card and a couple of others. His credit card was red and gold and it had a long number right across the middle. I slipped it under some papers on my desk, stuffed everything else back into the wallet, and then raced down the hall to Dad’s room before I could change my mind.

  “Morning, princess,” said Dad as I walked into the kitchen. He handed me a glass of juice. “How do you fancy a day out? It’s such gorgeous weather we thought we’d meet you straight from drama and find a lovely walk somewhere. We could take that picnic hamper you won at the dance contest. What do you think?”

  “Sorry, Dad, I’m way too tired. I didn’t sleep very well last night.”

  “Oh no! It wasn’t because of Jake, was it?” said Diane. “Did you hear that, Jake?” she said, waggling her finger at the baby. “You’ve kept your big sister awake again.”

  Jake reached his arms out to me and tried to say Polly but it came out sounding more like poo and Dad and Diane burst out laughing.

  I desperately wanted them to stop being so nice. It was almost as if they were doing it on purpose to make me feel guilty. But then I thought about Sam taking my part and how unfair it was and how everything was Dad’s fault and I didn’t feel half as bad.

  “It wasn’t because of Jake,” I mumbled, sitting down at the table. “But I’m not going to drama today – I’m just too knackered.”

  Dad glanced at Diane. “What’s up, Polly?” he said. “You can’t keep missing drama when the show’s so close. It’s the dress rehearsal today, isn’t it?”

  “Look, have something to eat,” said Diane, gently. “Your dad will drive you up there so you won’t have to get the bus.”

  I trailed back upstairs with a slice of toast. It tasted like cardboard and the more I chewed it the harder it was to swallow. I dropped it in the bin and sat down at the computer. I took out Dad’s credit card and typed in the long number. My fingers were trembling but it was like my brain had stopped working. I had to get inside that room and nothing was going to stop me; not Dad or Diane or baby Jake.

  I lifted my hand up to press enter. The clock on the screen was ticking. It was so loud it seemed to fill the whole room. I lowered my finger towards the keyboard and was just about to enter the information when the doorbell rang.

  I froze, my finger suspended over the key. The ticking seemed to get even louder. I heard a muffled voice I didn’t quite recognize. And then feet pounding up the stairs. My bedroom door burst open.

  “For goodness’ sake, Polly, you’re not even dressed! Come on! We’ve got to go!”

  It was Sam!

  “What are you talking about?” I stammered. I minimized the screen and slipped Dad’s credit card back under the papers.

  “It’s the dress rehearsal and we’re going to be late if we don’t get a move on.” She held my jeans out to me.

  “I’m not going,” I said, my heart thumping so loud I was sure she must be able to hear it. “And what are you doing here anyway?”

  She sighed impatiently. “I’ve come to get you, silly!” She sounded just like Mum. “Phoebe and Monty B came round yesterday after school and they told me all about poor Cosmo.”

  I stared at her.

  “Why didn’t you tell me? I saw him just now with that awful plastic collar. Bella had to have one of those once and it nearly broke my heart. She absolutely hated it. Why didn’t you tell me Cosmo had been run over and that’s why you missed drama?”

  I just stood there gawping. I didn’t know what to say.

  “Come on, don’t just stand there! Get dressed! We’ve got to tell Mandy.”

  “Tell her what?”

  She rolled her eyes as if I was completely stupid. “That you’re Marcia, of course! And that I’m Cydore and Phoebe’s Rainbow and Rachel’s…well, Rachel’s in the chorus because that’s what she wanted in the first place.”

  “You mean you’re giving me my part back?”

  “Well, it’s up to Mandy obviously but there’s no way I’m doing it – not now I know about Cosmo.”

  It was difficult to take in. I couldn’t believe Phoebe had gone round to Sam and told her everything when I’d asked her not to. The last thing I wanted was Sam Carter feeling sorry for me. “Well I don’t want the part just because my cat got run over,” I said, folding my arms across my chest to show her how serious I was.

  “What are you talking about, Polly? No one feels sorry for you, you’ve just been too upset to learn your lines and that’s what we’re going to tell Mandy – if we ever get there! Come on!”

  So Phoebe had been right all along. She was just trying to be a good friend and I’d been so horrible to her. I’d told her to get lost and everything. And now Sam was here – standing in my bedroom – being nice, and caring, and fair. It was like I’d gone to sleep and woken up in some sort of alternative universe where everything was upside down. I didn’t have a clue what Mandy would say when we got to drama but it had to be worth a try.

  “So are you coming or not?” said Sam, grinning.

  I grinned back. I couldn’t help it. “Of course I’m coming. Just wait downstairs for a second while I get ready.”

  As soon as I heard her on the stairs I brought the screen back up on the computer. I still wanted to enter the Diamond Den but I couldn’t think about it just then. I pressed the back key and all the details on the screen disappeared. The only thing left was the clock. It was ticking loudly and underneath it said, “You have only nine hours left to enter your personal details.” I’d be back from drama by two so I’d still have four-and-a-half hours left to decide.

  Downstairs, Sam was sitting on the sofa cuddling Cosmo and chatting away to Dad and Diane.

  “My cat’s called Bella, she’s a Russian Blue – that’s a pedigree, you know. She’s very old now but I used to
enter her in shows all the time and she always came first. She did her last show a few months ago. It was for older cats but she was still the most beautiful cat there.”

  I nearly burst out laughing. She was so bossy and such a show-off but it suddenly seemed funny more than anything else and I felt like giving her the biggest hug.

  “Come on, Sam,” I said. “My dad’s going to drive us up to drama in his van.”

  Dad winked at me over Sam’s head, and just as we left the house I heard Diane say, “Bella might be a Russian Blue, Cosmo, but we wouldn’t swap you for the world.”

  When we got to drama Mandy was in a total panic. Apparently her computer had crashed right in the middle of printing the programmes.

  “I know, I know, it’s the most ridiculous thing ever! We’re doing a show called CRASH! and my computer goes and dies on me just when I need it most.”

  “Can’t you get the programmes printed at a proper printing shop?” Tara suggested.

  Mandy ran her hand through her hair, sighing. “I wish I could, Tara, but it would cost a bomb. I want them printed in colour and we need about two hundred. Anyway, I can’t waste any more time worrying about it right now. Let’s sort out the costumes and crack on.”

  Sam took me by the hand. “Come on, we’ll ask her now.”

  “She’ll never say yes,” I said, pulling back. “She’s in such a bad mood already, it’s hopeless.”

  But Sam didn’t take any notice, she just yanked me back towards Mandy as if I hadn’t said a word.

  “Oh, hello, girls,” said Mandy, handing Sam her costume. “Can you believe what’s happened? It’s like my worst nightmare. Anyway, I’ve done a costume for you, Polly, it’s under here somewhere.” She started to rummage around in a big pile of virus costumes.

  “Could we just talk to you about something, Mandy?” said Sam. Then she carried on without waiting for an answer. “You see, Polly’s cat Cosmo was in a terrible accident. It was a hit and run. The driver didn’t even hang around to see if there was anything he could do. Polly had to carry him for miles to get help and he lost pints of blood and he only just survived after undergoing an emergency operation.”