by Holly Webb
The class brightened up. OK, so it was a mad idea, but it was a good mad idea. Acting classes so far had been fine, but nothing really exciting. Chloe happened to catch Lily’s eye and grinned at her. Lily grinned back, and then they both remembered they officially didn’t get on and scowled.
“Right, Lily, with that face, you definitely have to start.” Mr Lessing handed her the umbrella with a formal bow and Lily looked panicked for a second. Then she straightened up, and the others watched in surprise as she shook out the skirt of her school uniform as though it was a satin dress and strolled off up the room, the umbrella open and held above her head like a parasol.
None of them had seen Lily act that much before and it was amazing how she was suddenly, clearly, a grand lady walking in the park. She wandered idly back down the studio and then her face changed to a look of horror. She tugged at the umbrella and stretched up on tiptoe as though it was pulling away from her. A sudden gust of wind had caught it. She threw it lightly up into the air, and was left looking cross and embarrassed, watching her sunshade fly off across the park. Then she was back to being Lily again, waiting to see what Sam would do with the umbrella now he’d grabbed it.
“That was brilliant,” Chloe whispered to her. She didn’t care that they weren’t friends. She’d been so impressed, she just had to say something. Lily only shrugged and smiled, and they went back to watching.
It was a fantastic class and Chloe was still giggling about it on her way home. She felt like she’d really seen what Shine was about, and she loved it. She’d even got a smile off Lily! She felt on top of the world.
The LAMDA drama exams were the next Monday and the atmosphere at school was electric. Miss James reminded her class about them while she was doing the register, but there was no way anyone could forget.
“Just be really quiet if you’re passing the drama studios. Remember it could be you taking exams soon, so be considerate, please.”
Around the school everyone was mouselike. They might have been annoyed the previous week, but practically all the Year Sevens had done some kind of drama or dance exams before. They knew how nerve-wracking it could be and how even a noise outside might make someone forget their words. That could mean the difference between a distinction and a merit, or even a pass and a fail.
It was a relief for Chloe actually to make a noise down in her little practice room at lunchtime. She really threw herself into the West Side Story songs she’d picked out for today. She was concentrating hard and it was a horrible shock when an alarm bell suddenly exploded right next to her – or that’s what it felt like anyway. They hadn’t had a fire practice yet, but she guessed that was what it was, so after ten seconds of staring at her music like a startled rabbit, she grabbed her stuff and headed for the courtyard, where they’d been told to assemble if the alarm went off.
The corridors were heaving with half-dressed students – it was nearly the end of lunch and people were getting ready for afternoon classes. Chloe spotted the Year Nine girl who’d been so rude to her coming down the corridor from the drama studio, looking furious. Obviously she’d been in her exam as Mr Lessing and a tall, grey-haired lady, who had to be the examiner, were just coming out of the studio too. The Year Nine girl glared at Chloe suspiciously and Chloe quickly stuck out her tongue – she couldn’t resist. She did feel sorry for the girl though. It was terrible timing for a fire alarm.
Quite a few of the students out on the courtyard were in dance clothes and fleeces – luckily it was a fairly nice September day, not too cold. Chloe should have been getting changed for tap, but she’d lost track of time while she had been practising. Some of the ballet people were worst off as they only had tops and tights. The rules for fire alarms were strict – grab your fleece and go, no getting changed or hunting around for bags.
All the students had to line up alphabetically in year groups, which was a bit of a guessing game for the Year Sevens as they hadn’t really learned each other’s surnames. Chloe found herself in between a couple of girls she didn’t know all that well, so she just watched what was going on rather than chatting. The staff seemed to be dashing around everywhere, looking frazzled. Chloe had assumed this was a planned fire practice, but she started to wonder if it was a real alarm. Surely if it was only a practice everyone would know what they were doing a bit more?
A group of Year Eights in the line next to her seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “It’s so stupid!” Chloe caught someone say in a very superior voice. Somehow it wasn’t a surprise to find that it was Lizabeth, the blond girl who’d upset Lily on their first morning. “I mean, why today of all days? I know they have to have a fire practice at the beginning of term so as to get the little ones –” here she cast a disgusted glance at the line of Year Sevens and Chloe rolled her eyes at the girl behind her – “up to speed, but today’s so important. My exam is meant to be in half an hour’s time. I mean honestly, how am I meant to concentrate on my exam pieces? It’s just not fair. I might have to appeal if I don’t get a distinction. Mr Lessing absolutely promised me I would.” Somehow Chloe couldn’t imagine Mr Lessing saying any such thing, but Lizabeth did have a point.
“But I don’t think they did pick today, Lizabeth,” another Year Eight girl put in. “I heard Miss Jasper saying that it was a total shock. She sounded really annoyed about it as well.”
“You mean there’s an actual fire?” Lizabeth’s voice was disbelieving.
“No-oo, I don’t think so. No, she was annoyed because she said someone must have set the alarm off – on purpose.”
“Nobody would do anything that stupid,” Lizabeth said dismissively. “They’d get roasted alive. I mean, let alone what the school would say, if I found out who it was I’d kill them!” Her face was pale with anger and Chloe shuddered. How could someone that pretty be so scary-looking?
“Well, if it was just a practice, we’d be going back in by now,” her friend pointed out. “It’s been ages and they’ve marked us all off. And look, why’s Ms Purcell talking to the staff like that? There’s none of this messing about normally, it’s back into school as soon as we’re out. No one wants us to miss class time.”
Just as she spoke, the school principal stepped forward, and motioned for silence. Ms Purcell didn’t teach many drama classes any more, she was too busy, but Chloe could see why everyone raved about them. She had so much presence.
“As many of you may have guessed, this was not a scheduled fire alarm drill.” Her beautiful voice carried easily across the courtyard. A low hum of chatter ran round the lines at her words, but she hushed it with an upraised hand. “It seems that the fire alarm was set off deliberately and we don’t know who by. Please be certain, though, that we will be investigating. Setting off a fire alarm on a day like today, when you have all been asked to keep noise levels down out of consideration for students taking exams, is incredibly selfish and stupid. Not to mention rude to our visiting examiner. If anyone has anything to say about this, they had better to speak to their form tutor. Now, everyone back to their classes please, this silly little stunt has wasted quite enough time already.” And she swept round and led the way back into school, every inch of her radiating outrage.
The staff followed her and Chloe spotted Mr Lessing and the examiner again. He was looking very apologetic. The Year Nine girl who’d been in her exam broke out of her line and chased after them, and seemed to be telling them something very important, if her hands were anything to go by. She was flapping about like a mad thing. Mr Lessing looked thoughtfully at Chloe as he went past the lines and the Year Nine girl gave her another scowl, but this time she looked almost triumphant and Chloe wondered why. She decided against sticking her tongue out again.
The school followed, class by class, everyone chattering now. Who could have done it? Who would dare? Chloe hung back to wait for Carmen and Ella, who were wearing an odd selection of school uniform and tap clothes. She was too buzzy with curiosity to notice the reserved looks that came over th
eir faces when they saw her.
“Isn’t it mad?” She giggled. “I wonder who it was. Do you think someone panicked about their exam and smashed the fire alarm to get out of it?”
When the twins didn’t answer she gave them a questioning look. “What’s up?”
Carmen shrugged and exchanged glances with Ella. “Well, we did wonder if it was you…” she admitted.
“What?” Chloe was stunned.
“You said in drama on Friday that someone ought to get those seniors back for being such pains and, well, someone has, haven’t they?”
“But it wasn’t me!” Chloe gazed at the twins, horror-struck. She’d never try and deliberately ruin someone’s chances in an exam. Even though she had said that someone should… Oh, help! “It really wasn’t, honestly. I mean, I know I said that, but I just meant, I don’t know, hide their dance clothes or something. Not interrupt the exams!”
It was such a shock – just like the scene in the changing rooms all over again. Chloe felt really hurt that the twins thought she was the sort of person who would do that, but then they’d seen her messing around in loads of classes. She’d got Bethany into trouble, hadn’t she? And then had a fight with her about it. She gulped. What if other people thought the same thing? Chloe felt suddenly sick as she remembered the Year Nine girl and the odd look Mr Lessing had given her. Had that girl told him Chloe was hanging around in the corridor? Had she told Mr Lessing it was Chloe who’d set off the fire alarm?
Chloe had never danced as badly as she did that day. Ms Driver gave her several questioning looks as she messed up her steps and then eventually lost her patience. Chloe had just gone in completely the wrong direction, crashing into the rest of her line, and now half the class was glaring at her.
“Chloe, concentrate! What is the matter with you this afternoon?” Ms Driver snapped.
“She knows she’s in big trouble,” somebody muttered from the back of the class. Chloe wasn’t sure who it was. Her dancing didn’t improve much, but at least she managed to go the same way as everyone else for the rest of the lesson. She skulked at the back for most of their singing class and worriedly noticed several more curious looks from the rest of her year. Tom and Jake gave her admiring glances as they passed her, and Chloe felt sicker and sicker. Did everyone think she’d set off the fire alarm?
At final registration, Miss James was looking really grim and Chloe just knew what was coming. When she’d finished the register, she beckoned Chloe over and Chloe knew the rest of the class was staring at her as she trailed up to the front. Miss James was clearly trying not to look too disgusted with her, but she couldn’t keep the disappointment out of her voice. “Chloe, get your things and go down to Ms Purcell’s office, please. She wants to see you.”
Chloe felt rather than heard the buzz of whispering that broke out behind her.
“It was her!”
“I told you!”
“Do you think she’ll get expelled?”
Staring at the floor, not wanting to see the class all eyeing her suspiciously, she fetched her bag and headed for the office. She didn’t see Lily, Sara and Bethany staring worriedly after her.
Chloe stood outside the door of the office, wondering miserably what she was supposed to do now. Did she knock, or just wait for Ms Purcell to come out? The secretary wasn’t at her desk to ask. Suddenly the door opened, nearly bumping into her, and she skipped backwards.
“Oh, Chloe, you’re here.” Mr Lessing frowned down at her. “You’d better come in.” He stood back to let her pass him and Chloe stumbled across what seemed like miles of carpet towards Ms Purcell’s desk. The principal looked thoughtfully at her.
“I imagine you know why you’re here, Chloe?”
Chloe just nodded and Ms Purcell’s expression hardened. “We really don’t like stupid stunts like that here. You could have jeopardized several people’s drama exams today.”
“But I didn’t! I was practising and I heard the bell. It wasn’t me!” Chloe’s voice was a panicked squeak, she was so eager to convince Ms Purcell.
“One of the exam candidates saw you hanging around, Chloe, and she seems to think you set off the alarm during her exam as some kind of revenge for an incident last week. The rest of your class doesn’t seem very surprised that you were involved, either. And Mr Lessing has just been telling me about your little outburst in his class last week – and that he also saw you up by the studios just after the alarm had been set off. You were on your own, while the rest of your year were changing for their tap class. Why was that?”
“I forgot,” Chloe muttered. It didn’t sound very convincing, she realized.
“Mmmm. And you say you were practising? On your own?” Ms Purcell was watching her carefully.
“Yes. I was in one of the practice rooms, just doing some singing practice…” Chloe trailed off. No one was ever going to believe this.
“I have to say, Chloe, that the reports I’ve had of you from various members of staff don’t suggest that you’re the sort of person who would be practising her singing – on her own.”
Chloe blinked, feeling the tears welling up and her stupid nose starting to run again. “I was,” she muttered. “I can’t prove it, but I was.”
Ms Purcell sighed and exchanged a glance with Mr Lessing. “Well, as you say, you can’t prove that you weren’t setting off the fire alarm – and we can’t prove that you were. I’m sorry, Chloe, but your behaviour so far this term hasn’t helped you. If you say you didn’t do it, I have to accept that, but please consider yourself warned. If I have any more complaints about you this term, you’ll be suspended. You can go.”
By this time the tears were streaming down Chloe’s face and she made blindly for the door. Thankfully the corridors had cleared in the time the interview had taken and only the odd person was around to stare at her as she scurried out of school. She didn’t even stop to get her coat, just got away as fast as she could. Chloe wasn’t sure she could ever go back.
The next morning, the whole school seemed to know that it had been a red-haired Year Seven girl who set off the fire alarm. Chloe crept through the entrance hall feeling like a famous actress who’d been spotted having a bad hair day.
She’d spent her whole journey home the previous day making plans for changing schools, but she’d realized when she got home that there was no way her parents would ever let her, not after just two weeks. And that was another thing – what were they going to say? How could she even start to explain?
It turned out that she didn’t need to. Ms Purcell had already rung home and Chloe’s mum was furious. Not with Chloe, but with the school. From the sound of it, she’d really told Ms Purcell where to get off. Chloe wasn’t sure if she was exaggerating a bit – she couldn’t imagine anyone having a go at Ms Purcell, but it certainly sounded as if Mum had stuck up for her.
She met Chloe at the door, with her hair all sticking up where she’d run her fingers through it while she was on the phone. Chloe knew that look – she always thought of it as her mum’s angry cat pose. “What have you been doing, Chloe?” she demanded crossly.
“It wasn’t me!” Chloe’s voice was horrified. She’d been hoping to have some more time to gather her thoughts before she had to mention this to Mum and Dad. Like maybe another week or so…
“Oh, I know you didn’t set off the fire alarm, but that woman kept saying that you’d been misbehaving in classes. She said you hang around with a group of boys and you’re a bad influence on each other. That doesn’t sound like you!”
Chloe shrugged. She was beginning to feel that since starting at Shine she’d turned into an entirely different person. She didn’t know who she was any more, so why should her mum?
“Don’t shrug at me like that, Chloe, this is important! I could see you were having a hard time settling in at school, but I never imagined I’d get a phone call like that about you.”
Chloe said nothing. What could she say, after all? Sorry? She was sorry, but that wasn’t
going to make everything better. She wasn’t sure that anything could.
“Maybe we were wrong to let you audition for that school,” her mum said worriedly. “You wanted it so much, but it’s obviously not right for you. You might be better off at St Joe’s after all.”
“No!” Chloe even startled herself.
Her mum looked at her like she’d grown wings. “It was only a thought, darling!”
“Please. Please, Mum.” She hadn’t realized until her mum suggested it how much she would hate to go to school anywhere else. OK, so on the way home she’d been planning how to persuade her parents to let her leave Shine, but now her mum seemed to be seriously thinking about it… Well, she just couldn’t! Even if for the rest of her time at school everyone thought she was the girl who’d set off the fire alarm, she was staying.
Chloe scurried up the stairs to her form room, wishing she’d thought to bring a big hat. Or maybe a blanket to put over her head. Everyone she passed stared at her and muttered to their friends. Thank goodness Lizabeth wasn’t around. Chloe had seen what she could do and she didn’t fancy being in the same state as Lily had been on the first day. She kept her head down as she shot up the stairs, really not wanting to see anyone.Unfortunately this meant she entirely missed Bethany, Sara and Lily who were at the top…
