Starring Meg

by Mac a'Bháird, Natasha;

  ‘Oh I love it!’ I said. ‘That sounds perfect!’

  ‘And maybe instead of losing her shoe at the ball, Cinderella could lose her handbag at the disco!’ Hannah said.

  ‘Yes! And then the handsome boy she meets has to try to track her down,’ said Laura.

  ‘We have to keep the mean stepsisters though!’ Ruby said. ‘The story wouldn’t be the same without them!’

  ‘Well, lots of people do have stepsisters they don’t get on with,’ I said. ‘And sisters too …’

  ‘Yes, let’s keep the stepsisters,’ Hannah said. ‘But we could probably skip the stepmother, couldn’t we? If we’re doing it a different way anyway, and it’s all about going to a disco. It would mean one less part to have to double up on.’

  ‘That makes sense,’ I said. ‘So we’d have scenes with Cinderella and the stepsisters, then Cinderella and the cool aunt, and then the disco scene would have to have Cinderella and the sisters and the handsome boy.’

  ‘So one person could play the cool aunt and the handsome boy, because they’re not in the same scene,’ Laura finished.

  ‘We’ll just need a clever costume change then if we’re having the same person in both parts!’ I said. ‘Like maybe even a wig or something?’

  ‘I hate to interrupt your meeting, but have you girls seen the time?’ It was Hannah’s mum, Claire, standing at the back door with baby Emma on her hip. ‘Ruby, didn’t you say your mum wanted you home by six?’

  ‘Thanks, Claire, I hadn’t realised the time,’ Ruby said. ‘I’d better go, you guys.’

  Claire went back inside and Ruby and Laura began gathering up their things.

  ‘OK, so why don’t we all have a think about it over the next few days and on Friday we can start planning out the scenes and see who’s going to play who?’ Hannah said.

  ‘Sounds good to me,’ said Ruby. ‘We can meet at my house on Friday.’

  I took a deep breath. ‘Could I just say something before we finish up? It’s just about Mum and Dad’s jobs and all that.’ Hannah immediately turned scarlet again and looked down at the ground. I rushed on, wanting to get it over with so I didn’t embarrass her any more than necessary. ‘I’m not getting at you Hannah, honest. I know it was a mistake. I just wanted to remind everyone to please be careful not to say anything. I just want a chance to get to know people at school before I tell them. I mean, I’m so glad I got to know you guys before you found out. Admit it, you’d have thought of me differently if you were introduced to me as the daughter of an actress and a film director.’

  Laura always tells it like it is. ‘We probably would,’ she said. ‘And I’m sure Star Club wouldn’t have worked out the way it has.’

  ‘We’d have had to make you the director instead of Hannah,’ Ruby giggled.

  ‘And that would have been a disaster!’ I said. ‘I love acting but I’m really not interested in directing.’

  Hannah’s blushes were starting to fade. ‘I really do understand, Meg. It was a total mistake today, and I’ll be much more careful from now on.’

  She was still looking at me warily as if she expected me to bite her head off again. Impulsively, I reached over and hugged her. ‘Thanks Hannah, I know you will. You’re a great friend – you all are!’

  ‘Group hug!’ cried Ruby, and we all threw our arms around each other, giggling.

  ‘OK, see you on Friday in Ruby’s house,’ Hannah said. ‘And we’ll get started properly. Yay – it’s going to be great doing a new show!’

  Hannah went to see Laura and Ruby out the front way, while I made my way to the gap in the hedge. I glanced back to watch my friends leave, thinking again how lucky it was that I had got to know them as just me. Because the thing was, I had another secret, one that even my Star Club friends didn’t know about yet.

  A delicious spicy smell hit me as soon as I opened the back door. Mum was standing at the cooker, stirring something in a saucepan and humming to herself. Clearly her domestic goddess thing was still going strong.

  ‘Meg, darling! How was your first day?’ Mum flung the wooden spoon down any old way and threw her arms around me. ‘I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to collect you, but I simply couldn’t leave early after being off all last week. My boss just can’t seem to manage without me.’

  Mum works in an office in town. I’m still not entirely sure what she does, except that it involves using some complicated computer program that she had to bluff her way through to get the job. Luckily bluffing comes easily to Mum.

  Mum ushered me over to the kitchen table, still talking. ‘Come and sit down, darling, and tell me all about it. What’s your teacher like? Was Sadie there on time? Did she give you a snack? How’s Grandad getting on with Polonius?’

  ‘Slow down, Mum,’ I said, laughing. ‘That’s a lot of questions. I feel like I’m back in school!’

  Mum laughed. ‘Sorry, darling. Well, just tell me how you got on, I’m dying to hear.’

  I hesitated, wondering where to start. ‘Uh – it was fine, really. Our teacher is called Miss Brennan, and she’s very nice. A bit strict about talking in class, but I guess most teachers are.’

  ‘And who are you sitting beside?’

  ‘I’m sitting beside Tracey, the girl from next door. I walked to school with her this morning.’ I wondered if Mum would ask why I hadn’t walked with Hannah, but she just seemed pleased that I was meeting more people.

  ‘Oh, how nice!’ Mum clapped her hands together. ‘You’re making new friends already. I knew you’d get on just fine! And how did you get on with the schoolwork? I hope you weren’t too far behind!’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ I said. ‘The maths was OK, anyway. And I felt like my Irish was coming back to me once we started some reading.’

  ‘Oh to be young,’ Mum sighed. ‘Your brain is just like a little sponge, ready to soak everything up! I feel like I’ve already forgotten most of what I ever learnt.’

  Suddenly I realised that the lovely spicy smell had been replaced by a nasty one. ‘Mum – is something burning?’ I asked.

  ‘My dhal!’ exclaimed Mum. She ran to the cooker and grabbed the saucepan, moving it off the ring. As soon as she took off the lid steam came rushing out and the putrid smell started to fill the whole kitchen.

  ‘Oh no, it’s ruined!’ Mum wailed. ‘And I spent ages grating fresh ginger and everything. Open the door, Meg. I’m going to throw it into the garden before the whole house is filled with the smell – it’s simply appalling!’

  I opened the door, and Mum threw the dhal, saucepan and all, into the garden. She banged the door shut and the two of us stood for a moment looking at it as it steamed quietly away in the grass. Then Mum caught my eye and the two of us burst into giggles.

  ‘So, how about eating out to celebrate your first day of school?’ Mum suggested. ‘I’ve been meaning to try that new diner on the main road.’

  ‘Excellent plan,’ I told her. ‘I really didn’t feel like dhal anyway.’

  Later that evening, Dad Skyped us to see how my first day had gone. I knew Mum had probably texted him to remind him. Dad is not great at remembering things like that on his own, especially not when he’s in the middle of one of his projects. I didn’t mind, though. It was lovely that he wanted to talk to me, even if he seemed a bit distracted.

  ‘How’s my favourite girl?’ he asked, shading his eyes so he could see the screen better in the bright California sunshine. It looked like he was sitting on the balcony of his hotel room – in the background I could see palm trees framed against a clear blue sky. For a moment I wished I could be back in LA, feeling the sun soaking into my skin and the sand between my toes as I walked along a beautiful beach. I thought of strolling along the boardwalk at Venice Beach, stopping to look at the stalls or watch some of the street performers, and the smells of exotic food from all the cafes nearby.

  ‘Fine,’ I said. ‘I survived my first day, anyway!’

  ‘Of course you did!’ Dad said. ‘I just hope that sch
ool realise how lucky they are to have such a special girl in their midst! So when are you coming out to visit? You must have a mid-term break coming up soon?’

  ‘Don’t be silly, Doug.’ Mum was calling across the kitchen from where she was drying the dishes – Dad couldn’t see her, but I had no doubt that he could hear her. ‘She’s only just started!’

  ‘Oh well, I suppose you might need a few weeks to settle in,’ Dad said, rolling his eyes at me as if he and I were conspiring against Mum. ‘But it would be fantastic to get you out here after that, help me out with some publicity for the new film!’

  Mum dropped the tea towel and came marching over the table to stand behind me. I saw her appear suddenly in the small picture on the screen showing our side of the conversation, and Dad immediately leaned back in his chair, almost as if she had just lunged towards him in real life.

  ‘Now don’t start this again, Doug!’ Mum said, sounding really cross. ‘You know what we agreed! Meg is twelve years old and she’s had more than enough of Hollywood for now. She’s perfectly happy here with her new school and her friends and we’re settling down to a normal family life for a while.’

  ‘But she’s a natural,’ Dad argued. ‘You can’t keep her away from it, Cordelia. You saw what happened as soon as you moved home – she’s joined that little drama club, and straight away they’re putting on that wonderful show, which I’ve no doubt was mostly Meg’s work!’

  I wanted to step in and say that it hadn’t been at all – Hannah was our director, and she was brilliant at organising everyone and making the whole production work smoothly. All I wanted to do was act – I was quite happy to leave everything else to other people, whether that was directing, or planning, or all this publicity work Dad seemed to want me to be involved in. But I couldn’t get a word in between Mum and Dad, and I knew Dad would believe what he wanted to believe anyway.

  ‘You’re talking nonsense as usual, Doug!’ Mum said, her voice becoming shriller. ‘Of course Meg is free to enjoy her drama club with her friends! That’s a completely different thing from what you have in mind and you know it!’

  ‘Just a week or two, Cordelia – what harm could it do?’ Dad pleaded.

  ‘Absolutely not!’ Mum said. ‘We’ve done it your way long enough, and now we’re doing it my way for a while.’

  Do I get any say in this, I wondered?

  ‘What about what Meg wants?’ Dad asked, as if reading my mind. ‘You’d love to come back out here, wouldn’t you honey?’

  ‘Now don’t start trying to make her choose between us!’ Mum said. ‘That’s a cheap trick and you know it!’

  I got up from my chair. ‘If you two are just going to argue I may as well go and finish my homework!’ I said. ‘I thought Dad was calling to see how I got on in my first day at school, not so you can argue about the same old things over and over again!’

  ‘Meg, wait!’ Dad called, and Mum reached out a hand to me, but I stormed off.

  In my room, I took out one of my school books and pretended to be studying just in case Mum came after me, but in reality my mind was far away. Mum wanted me to be ordinary. Dad wanted me to be extraordinary. But what did I want to be?

  Next morning Tracey was waiting for me in the driveway, ready to walk to school together.

  ‘Hi Meg – let’s get going, will we?’

  ‘I said I’d wait for Hannah,’ I told her. ‘We can all walk down together when she comes.’

  ‘Oh, you don’t want to wait for Hannah,’ Tracey said. ‘You know what she’s like – she’ll have lost her homework or the baby will have spilled porridge all over her. Or they’re all still in bed!’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Come on, we don’t want to be late.’

  ‘I’d better wait for her,’ I said, feeling a bit uncomfortable. ‘I said I would. I’m sure she won’t be long.’

  ‘Oh well, if you’d rather walk with her than me …’ Tracey said, tossing her hair over her shoulder and stalking off before I could say anything else.

  I stared after Tracey, wondering what had gotten into her. Why couldn’t we all just walk to school together?

  Hannah came running out of her house, her schoolbag flapping behind her. ‘Hi Meg! I’m not late, am I? I set my own alarm today just in case!’

  ‘No, you’re fine,’ I told her.

  Tracey had already passed Ruby’s house, taking absolutely no notice of Ruby who was sitting on her wall waiting for us, and was almost at the entrance to Woodland Green. I was about to tell Hannah how odd she was being, but Hannah started talking first.

  ‘So Maisie caught me reading Cinderella and now she’s convinced we need her for the show!’ she said. ‘She wants to be one of the birds that helps Cinderella make her ballgown.’

  ‘Oh, I can just picture her!’ I said, imagining Maisie prancing around the stage flapping her wings and adjusting Cinderella’s dress. ‘I bet she’d love a costume covered in feathers.’

  ‘Don’t give her any ideas!’ Hannah warned. ‘I’ve told her she’s not being in it. I’d like a slightly more peaceful experience this time!’

  Ruby jumped down from the wall as we reached her house. ‘Hi you guys! So did anyone else have Cinderella nightmares last night?’

  ‘Uhhh – no …’ said Hannah. ‘What happened?’

  Ruby fell into step beside us. ‘I dreamt I was being chased through a forest by a giant glass slipper! I tried to escape by climbing an enormous pumpkin, but it was too slippery and I kept sliding off!’

  ‘Oh my God, if you’re already having anxiety dreams about the show what are you going to be like when we’re actually ready to go on stage?’ Hannah giggled.

  ‘Who knows? Mum says I’m going to have to start drinking some camomile tea or something to calm myself down,’ Ruby said.

  When we got to school I started worrying again that Tracey was going to be weird towards me, but when I slid into my seat beside her she was all smiles, as if nothing had happened. ‘Did you manage to get your homework done?’ she asked. ‘I hope those sums weren’t too tricky for you.’

  ‘No, it was fine thanks,’ I said.

  ‘Oh good, well if you need any help just let me know!’ Tracey smiled sweetly at me before turning to talk to Jamie on the other side. I’d noticed that they seemed to get on well, and were always whispering together. Feeling relieved that everything seemed OK between us, I took out my pencil case and listened as Miss Brennan began going through last night’s maths homework.

  * * *

  When Sadie collected me from school that day, I told her all about the plans for our new show. I already knew who I wanted to be – one of the ugly stepsisters. I wasn’t interested in Cinderella, even though it would be the biggest part and she’d get to wear the nicest costumes. I found the idea of a character part much more appealing. I’d have a chance to make my stepsister really comical and get some great reactions from the audience.

  With Ballet Shoes, it had been really easy to choose our own roles. Ruby was the obvious choice for Posy, the youngest sister, as they’re both crazy about ballet. Hannah was really keen on playing Pauline – she felt she had a lot in common with her because they both wanted to be actresses. I loved Pauline too, but I was much more attracted to Petrova’s role – I just found her such an interesting character, because she was forced to train for the stage even though all she wanted to do was mess about with car engines and watch planes. She was pretty much the opposite of me, and I loved the idea of that challenge.

  Laura took on the roles of both Madame Fidolia, who ran the theatre school the girls attended, and Nana who looked after them. She was great – she seemed to love the chance to play two such different parts, and she switched between the two with no trouble at all. She seemed like the obvious choice to play the cool aunt and the handsome boy.

  Sadie loved the idea of a modern-day Cinderella. ‘You can have such fun with that,’ she said. ‘I can’t wait to see what you come up with.’

  Mum was enthusiastic too, suggesting
all sorts of accessories she could lend us for our costumes.

  But when I called Dad to tell him, he didn’t seem to be very interested. ‘That’s nice, honey,’ he said. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve had any luck in talking Mum around, have you?’

  ‘About what?’ I asked, confused.

  ‘About letting you come back out to LA, of course,’ Dad said, sounding impatient. ‘I could really do with your help.’

  ‘Oh, that …’ I twisted a strand of hair around my finger, wondering what to say. The thing was, I was actually quite glad Mum had put her foot down. Even though I’d loved our time in California, I wasn’t in any rush to go back there, especially when all Dad wanted me for was to help him with the promotional work for his film. I had too much going on here – new house, new school, and a new show to plan with Star Club. And even though I didn’t like to admit that Mum was right, it did feel quite nice to be ordinary for a while.

  How could I explain all that to Dad, though? He was so wrapped up in his film he couldn’t understand that it wasn’t the centre of my world like it was his. ‘I don’t think Mum is going to give in,’ I said at last, taking the easy option of blaming Mum. I felt a bit bad – but only a bit. Mum was well able to stand up to Dad if she needed to. I didn’t have her strength.

  Dad sighed. ‘I was afraid you were going to say that. Maybe I need to come home, try to talk her around in person. What do you think?’

  ‘Maybe you should leave it for a little while,’ I said, feeling torn. It would be so great to see Dad – but not if he and Mum were just going to argue.

  ‘Well, I can’t this week anyway,’ Dad said, suddenly sounding full of energy again. ‘I’ve got the meeting with the PR agency to go through the photos, another meeting with the media manager to set up some interviews, and I have to run through some numbers for our finance guy. And that’s just Thursday! Actually, I’d better go now, honey. I have a lunch with the producer, and I’m just back from the gym so I need to hop in the shower. Good luck with Rapunzel!’