Granny Bumble, Grandpa and Philip Forster had all been in the same class at Smuggler’s Cove High School many years before and had been great friends.
“Maybe we should,” replied Grandpa.
“Maybe you should what?” asked the familiar voice of Colonel Forster as he walked up behind the two deckchairs and greeted his old friends.
Chapter Four
“AH, JOSEPH. TAKING up the lion’s share of the beach, I see!” teased the Colonel. “What brings you over to the Cove?”
Grandpa cleared his throat. “We’ve taken a little house for the week,” he said. “That’s it behind us.”
The Colonel almost choked on seeing the smart modern beach house. “Very good. Looks flashy,” he commented. “Can’t beat the little fisherman’s cottages, though. They’re so full of character.”
“Any luck with finding the pirate ship?” Grandpa asked casually.
“Still looking for the cave, old boy!” said the Colonel. “Still looking!”
“You must come over for supper this week, Philip,” said Granny Bumble. “It would be lovely to catch up.”
“Well, thank you very much. That sounds splendid. I’ll check my orders with Martha and let you know if I’ve got any free evenings. I’d best be off now,” said the Colonel. “I’ve got a pirate ship to find!”
“Honestly,” chuckled Granny Bumble. “I can’t believe you two are still so competitive after all these years. You’re behaving like a pair of overgrown schoolboys!”
Later that afternoon, Poppy and Honey strolled down to Daisy’s house with Dad and the twins. Just as they passed the village shop, Poppy noticed a news-stand selling the local paper, the Camomile Chronicle.
“Hey, look, Honey. Isn’t it that girl Daisy knows? Lilac Farmer, or something?” said Poppy.
“You mean Lilac Farrington,” replied Honey. “She’s so pretty, isn’t she?”
“Dad, can we buy a paper, please?” asked Poppy.
Dad agreed and the girls decided to tuck it into Poppy’s bag and take it to read with the rest of the band.
“Hi, girls!” said Rose as Poppy and Honey walked into the summer house.
“Hi!” they replied as they both flopped onto a beanbag and joined in the general chat.
“How’s the house you’re staying in?” asked Daisy. “I can’t wait to see it.”
“Oh, it’s amazing!” Poppy replied. “We’re having such a cool time here.”
“It’s brilliant that you’re staying in the Cove,” said Lily. “We’ll be able to fit so much more practice in before the contest.”
“I’m worried that Lilac Farrington and her band are going to win,” Daisy said. “Lilac always wins everything and comes top in all the exams at school. Our song is really good, but they look so good. Plus, Lilac was telling me they have a great song too. They’re doing all their rehearsals down in a cave near Sandy Bottom because they don’t want to let anyone hear it before the sound check.”
“Oh, that reminds me,” said Poppy as she fished around in her bag for something. “Dad bought us a local paper. There’s something in it about the contest and Lilac. Look!”
Daisy grabbed the paper and quickly scanned through the article, reading certain bits aloud:
“‘I’m feeling lucky – I really think we could win this,’ said Lilac. ‘And You’re a Star! is my all-time favourite show!’ she continued . . .”
“How is it that she gets asked to give interviews in the newspaper and we never get the chance?” wondered Lily.
“That’s because her dad, our beastly headmaster, Mr Farrington, is friends with one of the judges. They always ask one local person, apparently, and our local judge is Mr Simms, the bookseller, who provides the school with all their textbooks,” explained Daisy.
“It’s so not fair,” complained Rose.
“I know,” agreed Daisy. “But as long as we’re original and we practise loads, I suppose we’ve got as good a chance of winning as Lilac has, even if our dads aren’t friends with one of the judges and we’re not being interviewed in the local paper.”
She pulled out her file all about the contest. “See – on this entry form it says: Original material will be favoured.”
“Well, our song is totally original, because we wrote it ourselves,” said Rose. “Let’s forget about Lilac and concentrate on us. There’s nothing we can do about it anyway.”
“Who else is appearing in the contest?” asked Honey, trying to steer the conversation away from the gorgeous Lilac, who seemed to be denting everyone’s confidence.
The older girls told them about a local Elvis impersonator called Jamie Johnston. And a sweet little girl called April, who was singing a medley from Grease.
“Hey, guess what my brother told me about the boys’ band, Caves ’n’ Rocks?” said Lily. “Apparently they’ve written a song all about cars called Gearhead.”
“Wow, that sounds super dull – nothing to worry about there then,” smiled Rose.
Although no one said it aloud, they were quite convinced it was only Lilac and the Mermaids that stood between the Beach Babes and the big finals in the City.
“Let’s get on with our rehearsal, shall we?” said Daisy positively. “We’ve really got to work on the tricky musical bits to make sure we’re note perfect on the big day. Your dad will be collecting you and Honey for supper soon, Poppy, so we haven’t got much time today.”
The next morning, the girls met at the Lighthouse Café. With all the fuss about the contest – some of the people from the local TV station were starting to arrive – it was even busier than it usually was during the summer holidays. As soon as they entered the packed café, they saw Lilac and her band sitting at one table and the members of the You’re a Star! crew at another. Lilac smiled and waved at Daisy and her friends.
“Look, that’s Johnny McDonald!” said Lily, recognizing one of the judges. “How cool that we’re in the same café as him!”
They couldn’t see a free table right away, but the owner, Fleur, soon found them a booth next to the one where Lilac and her band were sitting. As soon as they had settled in, Lilac leaned over to say hello.
“Hi there, Beach Babes! How’s the rehearsing going?” she asked, flicking her hair and looking over at the judges’ table.
“Pretty good, thanks. How about you?” Daisy replied.
“Oh, amazingly well, actually. It’s really coming together,” she said. “See you on Wednesday at the sound checks. Good luck!”
“Yeah, you too,” said Daisy, hoping with all her heart that the Beach Babes would win the contest.
“At least we’ll hear their song at the sound checks and see what we’re up against,” said Rose quietly so that Lilac and the Mermaids couldn’t hear.
“Let’s just run through our stage movements again. We can mark up my song sheet,” said Lily.
The girls jotted down all their moves on Lily’s sheet, and after enjoying a delicious milkshake each, they decided to go their own separate ways.
Poppy and Honey arrived back at The Pebbles to find Mum and Dad packing a picnic lunch to take down to the beach. The twins were playing with building blocks on the kitchen floor, Granny Bumble was in the garden, flicking through her favourite cookery magazine, and Grandpa was poring over a map of the coast.
“What are you looking at that for?” Poppy asked him.
“Well, I’m going off on a mission to find the old pirate ship in one of the caves down at Sandy Bottom,” announced Grandpa, “before that pesky Colonel Forster tracks it down!”
“You sound very competitive, Dad,” laughed Poppy’s mum. “I thought you were against all that sort of stuff?”
“I am. Well, most of the time I am anyway, except when it comes to old Forster. I remember when he beat me in the maths challenge and came first in the triathlon. Oooh! Now he even says he discovered the pirate ship and restored it. But I found it and I did all the work too!”
Everyone laughed. Grandpa was usually so c
ool and calm about everything. Poppy had certainly never seen his competitive streak before.
“Philip tells me he has a granddaughter in the talent contest too,” said Grandpa, trying to steer the attention away from his rivalry with the Colonel. “I think he said she’s called Lilac. Do you know her?”
Poppy and Honey’s jaws both fell open.
“Lilac Farrington?” they chorused.
“Um, yes,” replied Grandpa. “that’s right. Her father is the headmaster.”
“She’s brilliant, Grandpa,” they told him.
“I’m sure she is,” Grandpa said. “but if she’s anything like her grandfather, she won’t always win by fair means.”
Chapter Five
GRANDPA MADE HIS way along the familiar yellow sands, remembering the wrecked pirate ship he had found all those years ago. Just as he reached the inlets where he had spent so much of his boyhood, he bumped into the Colonel and they decided to look for the ship together.
They spent several hours looking in many of the caves – without success.
“Hang on. This looks like it, Joseph!” exclaimed the Colonel suddenly as he recognized the opening to a large cave.
Grandpa followed him in through the entrance to the dark, damp cave. It did indeed look familiar and it was certainly large enough to fit a pirate ship in. As they went further, they thought they could make out the shape of their ship in the shadowy distance.
Soon they could hear voices – laughing and singing. They went in further to explore, their eyesight straining through the gloom. Sure enough, their pirate ship was nestling gently in shallow waters, but dancing all over it were Lilac and the Mermaids! They were singing a rather tuneless ditty about a mermaid lagoon.
“This is rubbish!” said one of the girls. “We’ll have to think of something better than this before the sound-check rehearsals on Wednesday night.”
“I know,” said another. “It’s going to be soooooooooooooooo embarrassing – the Saturday performance will be on local telly and everything!”
“I think I might have an idea!” said Lilac. “I’ve got something that might help us back at my house. Let’s go!”
As they were packing up their things, Grandpa and Colonel Forster walked up to the ship.
“Lilac, dear,” said Colonel Forster. “what are you doing here?”
“Oh, hi, Grumps!” said Lilac sweetly. “We’re just rehearsing for the contest. In fact we’re just heading back to my house. See you later.”
“Jolly good,” replied Colonel Forster. “I know you’re going to do me proud, sweetheart.”
When the girls had gone, Grandpa and the Colonel explored the ship just as if they were little boys, and argued good-naturedly over who had found it.
As Grandpa made his way back to the beach house, he found himself thinking about the talent contest. Lilac and the Mermaids aren’t nearly as good as Poppy seems to think they are, he mused. I don’t think they’re such a threat after all. I must tell the girls.
Grandpa arrived back at The Pebbles to find that everyone was either playing on the beach or swimming, so he decided to settle down with his paper and enjoy some rare peace and quiet. It was a real treat being on holiday with his family, but they were awfully noisy!
The next day, after breakfast, Grandpa and Dad were left in charge of everything while Mum and Granny Bumble went food shopping. They were having a huge barbecue party that night for some friends and family from Honeypot Hill, as well as Daisy’s parents, Delphi and Daniel, and her brother, Edward, and Lily and Rose’s families.
Dad was in a bit of a pickle, trying to keep the twins amused, doing the dishes and playing a board game with Honey and Poppy all at once.
“What can I do?” asked Grandpa.
“Maybe you could entertain the twins while I get Poppy and Honey organized for their rehearsal at Daisy’s,” suggested Dad.
“Right-o – I’ll get the building blocks,” replied Grandpa.
“OK, girls,” said Dad, sounding much more in control of things now that Grandpa was handling the twins. “Get ready for your rehearsal – you’re due at Daisy’s in fifteen minutes. Now, I must get on with the dishes.”
Poppy and Honey ran to brush their teeth and change their T-shirts. With a brush of their hair and a smear of lip gloss, they were ready to go.
“Bye,” they chorused as they skipped through the kitchen towards the back door.
“Have fun, girls,” called Dad. “and don’t forget, you need to be back here in good time for supper.”
“Oh, just one thing before you go,” said Grandpa, suddenly remembering what he’d seen in the cave the previous day. “Don’t say I told you so, but you haven’t got much to worry about with regard to Lilac and the Mermaids. I happened to hear them rehearsing yesterday and, well, they’re not a patch on the Beach Babes!”
Poppy grinned. “I hope you’re right, Grandpa. I can’t wait to hear everyone else’s songs at the sound check tomorrow!” she said.
Honey and Poppy walked quickly over to Daisy’s, feeling full of excitement. The rest of the Babes were already tuning up their instruments.
“Hi, girls!” said Daisy cheerfully when she saw Poppy and Honey. “We’re going to do a quick run-through of the full routine.”
“Oh, by the way, Lily,” said Rose. “did you find your song sheet at the Lighthouse Café?”
Lily shook her head. “Nope, ’fraid not. Fleur and I looked everywhere but we couldn’t see it. I could have sworn I left it there. Oh well, never mind. I know the whole song by heart anyway, and we all know the dance routine too.”
“You can share mine if you need to,” said Rose.
“Are we all ready?” asked Daisy, keen to get on.
“Oh yeah!” chorused the girls.
After a really thorough rehearsal, the girls collapsed in a heap, exhausted by the concentration. They had to admit, it was as good as it could be. The song sounded great and the dance routine was ideal – even if they did say so themselves!
“See you tonight at our party!” called Poppy to Daisy and her friends as she and Honey left the summer house. “Remember to bring your instruments, and we’ll see what all our friends think about Chocolate Sundae Girls.”
“OK, Princess!” called Daisy. “See you later!”
The girls strolled home, chatting breathlessly about everything that was going on – and about what to wear that night for the party. It was all just so exciting!
Later, as Poppy and Honey got ready in their attic room, they heard familiar voices downstairs. So many friends had arrived from Honeypot Hill for the party: Saffron and David Sage, Sally Meadowsweet, Lily Ann Peach, Holly Mallow, Abigail, and Sweetpea and Mimosa and their families too. And they had all promised to come back to Camomile Cove on Saturday for the show.
Saffron came armed with a bag full of nearly finished dresses, as well as scarves, hair clips and sequinned mules for the girls to accessorize their stage outfits with. Holly had brought along some brand-new jewellery designs for them to choose from too. After a delicious spread of food – barbecued and roasted meats, herb-crusted fish, buttered and minted new potatoes, tender plum tomato salads and fruit puddings with honey-sweetened cream – they all settled down in the big sitting room to listen to the Beach Babes. This would be the final rehearsal before the sound checks the following evening. The girls set up the huge balcony at the front of the house as a stage, tested their instruments, then began to sing Chocolate Sundae Girls.
The whole room fell silent. Everyone was very impressed by the wonderfully high standard of the girls’ work. When they took their bows, there was a huge outcry of stamping, clapping, cheering and shouts of “Bravo!” The girls smiled proudly and hugged one another as the whole audience declared them unbeatable in the contest.
Chapter Six
AFTER A QUIET day on Wednesday, with walks on the beach, antique shopping and street café coffee stops, the Beach Babes – along with their families, who were coming to watch
the performance and lend moral support – headed down to the beach in good time for the sound-check rehearsals.
The families took their seats while the girls had a team chat behind the scenes. A big stage had been set up with lots of sound technology, fancy microphones and amps. Poppy really hoped that everything was working properly. Then she reminded herself that the whole point of tonight was to see what problems there might be and to fix them in time for the big show on Saturday. Daisy would have to get used to the drum kit provided, and they would see how much space they had to move around in too, as they might need to adapt their dance routine slightly.
The judges were seated behind a big desk. Johnny McDonald was flanked by sweet-faced Julianna, a former pop star herself; on the other side was Bronwyn, a record producer, and next to her was GT, a successful band manager. The production crew and presenters wandered around taking instructions from producers and directors as well as engineers. Suddenly it hit Poppy what a big occasion this was. It was all so professional. Maybe their dream of being as successful as their favourite girl band, Rubies and Pearls, would come true after all.
All the performers were given a sound-check order list and the Beach Babes saw that they were due to go on stage second to last, just before Lilac and the Mermaids. But as all the performers milled about backstage, Poppy noticed that Lilac’s dad was in a huddle with the judges. It soon became clear that he was asking if his daughter’s band could go on before the Beach Babes. Lilac was apparently too nervous to go last. When the judges asked the Beach Babes if they minded going last instead, they had a quick chat and decided that in fact it would be an advantage as everyone would go away remembering their act best, even though it was only the sound check and not the real contest.
“OK then,” agreed Daisy, the unofficial spokesperson for the band. “that’s fine with us.”
Lilac smiled. “Thanks, girls, that’s really sweet of you.”
Pop Star Princess Page 2
