Phoebe Finds Her Voice (17 page)

She turned away and leaned against the sink – as if she didn't have the strength to stand up without support.

“Come with me, Mum,” I said, suddenly. I pulled her away from the sink. I didn't have a clue what I was going to do but I couldn't just stand there doing nothing. “Just come with me, will you.” I dragged her towards the front door, my heart racing.

“Stop it, Phoebe,” she snapped, pushing me away. “I'm really not in the mood for this. Let go of me.”

“No, I won't let go! I don't care! If marrying Dad was the best thing you ever did then you've got to tell him. Just come with me.”

“Stop it! I'm warning you! Let go of me!”

I yanked the front door open and pulled her out. It was stupid really – Dad was probably halfway up to the High Road by now – but I didn't know what else to do. In
The Dream Factory
, Lolly saves Sabine by calling the dream-police in secret – but it's not as if I could dial 999 and say, “Help! My mum and dad won't talk to each other and they don't realize how stupid they're being!”

I looked up the street expecting it to be empty – but I should've realized! Dad wasn't halfway up to the High Road at all. He was right there, stuck outside Number Four, talking to beaky-nose Burton. He had his back to us and Mrs. Burton was yakking on about something and nodding her head like one of those dogs that sits in the back of cars. I wanted to throw my arms round her and kiss her for being such a nosey-parker, head-nodding miracle worker.

“Dad!” I called out, and he jerked round. “Mum wants to talk to you.”

I thought he'd make a run for it but he didn't. He just stood there with his hands shoved deep into his pockets. I pushed Mum towards him and went back inside to Gran and Sara.

I don't know what happened or where they went or what they talked about, but I was halfway through a long list of all the reasons why maybe it hadn't been such a great idea in the first place, when Mum came running up the stairs and straight into my room.

“Thank you, Phoebe,” she said, her eyes bright with tears. And she pulled me into her arms for the biggest cuddle ever.

I was so nervous the next day I could barely eat a thing. I spent most of the morning watching the clock. Ellie texted me to say she'd forgotten all her lines, every single one, and Monty B texted me to say I should bring my dark glasses to the hall because he'd dyed his hair again and it had gone
very
wrong!

We arrived at the hall at five, got changed, and then ran through a couple of scenes and songs to warm up. Everyone was so excited and it was difficult to believe the day of the show had actually arrived after practising and practising for such a long time.

Julian had totally transformed the stage and it looked incredible. During the week he'd come in with a few guys from his work and painted the walls dark grey – covering the turquoise and the fish completely. On the back wall he'd painted a window frame with a silhouette of a city skyline, and to the side of that, an old-fashioned spiral fire escape and some tall, grey gates.

Somehow he'd managed to get hold of these manky old mattresses for us to sleep on and he'd built a special area for the Jelly-Skulls with loads of spiders' webs and eyeballs and things hanging from the ceiling.

For the scenes that took place in Baron-Von-Bolt's office he'd made a sort of extra layer of scenery, which according to know-it-all Sam was called a flat. The flat was painted pale blue with a huge, shimmery moon and lots of silver stars. There was a certificate hanging on the wall stating that Baron-Von-Bolt was President of the Dream Factory and a desk with a giant calculator for Adam to add up all his money. It looked really professional, and not like a church hall at all.

I thought Mandy was going to cry when she saw it.

“Julian,” she shrieked, practically flinging her arms round him. “You're a miracle worker. Thank you so, so much – I
love
it!”

I think Neesha might've been right about Mandy fancying Julian. I hope she was in a way, because he had to be better than Mandy's old boyfriend, the demon Declan.

When we'd finished warming up we went back into the changing room behind the stage to have a snack and something to drink. The audience were starting to come in and Mandy didn't want anyone to see us before the show started. I opened my bag to take out my water bottle, and stuck at the very bottom I noticed a small white envelope. It was a good luck card from Mum and Sara. It had a huge gold star on the front and loads of kisses inside. I knew it was sweet of them, but I couldn't help feeling sad that Dad's name was missing.

Suddenly Neesha flew in through the door.

“I swear the hall's like nearly full! My entire family is in the front row – I saw them on the way back from the loo! I've only been about fifty times! Has my make-up come off, Phoebe?”

I leaned up to pin back a strand of her hair that had come loose. “Your make-up's fine, Neesha, but how full is it, really? Are there any spaces left? How many chairs are there anyway?”

“Oh my God! Trillions! Mandy, how many seats are there in the hall?”

“Well, there are about eighty I think, but tomorrow we'll put out a few more because I think at least a hundred people are coming to the evening performance.”

“Don't be nervous, Phoebe,” said Catharine, putting her arm round me. “Just imagine that everyone in the audience is naked.”

“Except for my nan!” said Monty B. His hair was so bright it was practically psychedelic. “The thought of her naked might really put you off your lines.”

“Oh my God, yeah, and what about the thought of
you
naked,” said Neesha, “that would be enough to put someone off their lunch never mind their lines!”

“Listen up, everyone,” said Mandy, laughing. “It's almost time to go on. You all need to take a few deep breaths. If anyone makes a mistake, just carry on – chances are the audience won't notice. Now remember, I don't want to hear a sound while you're offstage in the wings because the audience will hear, and for goodness' sake, don't forget to smile!”

The door opened again and Arthur popped his head round to wish us luck.

“
Loving
the costumes,” he said. “It's funny, but they look just like some Mrs. Beagle sold at the church jumble sale last month.”

“Thank you, Arthur,” said Mandy, steering him firmly towards the door and practically pushing him out. “Thank you so much.”

We all started to giggle.

“Okay, shush, everyone, we're starting. Tara's mum is going to stand in the wings and make sure you all appear when you're supposed to. I'm going out to the piano now. As soon as I start playing, that's your cue to come on.”

We stood in the wings, straining to hear the piano, but the only sound I could hear was my stomach churning over and over and I had to concentrate really hard not to run straight out to the loo. Then the lights went down – the hall was suddenly silent – and Mandy began to play.

We survived Act One without any major disasters. Catharine was amazing and we got a really big cheer at the end of
Scream!
A couple of people forgot their lines, but somehow we carried on.

In the interval I started to feel seriously ill. Everyone else was rushing around, excited now that the first scary bit was over, dying to get back onstage – but of course for me the scariest part was still to come. I sat down, but that was a mistake; my legs turned to jelly and I wasn't sure I'd be able to get up again before Act Two started.

“Wasn't that
amazing
?” Monty B plonked himself down next to me, practically knocking me off the chair.

“I so wish we were doing more than three performances,” said Sam, coming over to us. “Adam, you were brilliant! I nearly wet myself in one of our scenes – you added loads of stuff that wasn't in the script.”

“It's called improvising,” said Monty B. “All the best actors do it!”

“Yeah, well it nearly gave me a heart attack. So warn me next time, will you?”

“Well you can't actually
warn
someone you're going to improvise,” Adam started to explain, but just then Mandy popped her head round the door. Her eyes were shining and she looked very excited.

“Well done, you lot! That was fantastic! Keep your energy levels up; I want Act Two to be even better. Let's talk it through. We're going back on in about five, so quieten down for a bit or you'll lose concentration.”

The rest of the show seemed to race by and suddenly it was time for my solo. Somehow I walked to the front of the stage, every muscle in my body tensed up as if I was about to take part in a boxing match.

Mandy played the introduction and even though I'd heard it a trillion times before, for a second it got all confused in my head. I missed my first two lines, forgot the third and fourth, and just about managed to get out the last, before Sabine rushed on, gave me a cuddle, and the lights went down.
What a star!

Backstage, it was chaos. Everyone was talking at once:

“Did you see me turn the wrong way in
Don't Let the Bed-Bugs Bite
?”

“I nearly died when that telephone fell off the table!”

“The bows were brilliant. You got such a loud cheer, Sam!”

“Where are my jeans? I can't find them anywhere!”

I really wanted to join in with all the noise and excitement but I couldn't.

“Shame about your solo, Phoebe,” Polly said suddenly. “Never mind, I'm sure no one else noticed.” I looked around to see if any of her friends were listening, but she was by herself. I couldn't work out if she really meant it was a shame – or if she was being sarcastic, so I turned away and carried on getting changed.

“Hang your costumes up,” Mandy shouted above the din. “Don't leave anything on the floor, especially you, Ellie!” She came over and put her arm round me. “You were fantastic, Phoebe! I told you you'd be fine.”

But I knew she was just saying it because I wasn't fine at all – I was rubbish.

After a bit Gran came in to get me.

“Phoebe Franks! That was amazing. Did you hear me cheering at the end? You were SO good, sweetheart. Come here and give me a cuddle.”

“Don't be so nice,” I felt like saying as she pulled me close. I could feel tears start to prickle at the corners of my eyes, but I really didn't want to spoil the evening.

“Didn't you see, Gran? I missed out the first four lines of my solo, and I only have five!”

“Don't be daft, Phoebe, no one in the audience would notice something like that. All I know is that you sang and danced like a professional, and I could hear every word you said. Your grandpa would have been so proud. Now come on, love, let's go home. You must be worn out.”

I felt a bit calmer in the morning but I was still nervous about doing my solo. I kept telling myself that I was a
star
in
the
making
and I'd said Donny's mantra about a million times. The trouble was, I didn't really believe in his stupid mantra any more than I believed in myself!

Dad rang to say he was coming to see the matinee with Sara and that he'd pick her up a bit later. I still really wanted Mum and Dad to watch the show together but Mum had already arranged to come to the evening performance by herself. It was stupid but I just had this weird feeling inside that if they came to see the show together I'd be able to sing my solo and everything would be okay.

In the end, even though I tried
so
hard, the matinee performance wasn't much better than the opening night. It would be difficult to describe how the music I'd listened to so many times before could suddenly sound so completely unfamiliar, but it did, and as I walked to the front of the stage I missed my entrance
again
. I just stood there doing my very best impersonation of a fish until finally my brain connected to my mouth, and the last couple of words came out. Thank goodness I
didn't
get the part of Sabine; it would have been the biggest joke ever!

In the break between the matinee and the evening performance, I noticed that Polly Carter's dad was there. Polly hadn't mentioned her new baby brother at drama or at school, and she seemed to be going out of her way to pretend her dad didn't exist either. I wanted to ask her about the baby, what his name was and stuff, but I was pretty sure she'd just tell me to get lost.

I almost managed to get
my
dad out of the hall without him talking to anyone about magic auras or hands-on healing, but just as we were about to escape through the door Monty B came bounding over to us.

“Hi, Mr. Franks,” he said. “What did you think of the show? Wasn't it great?”

“Hey, Monty B, nice to see you. No need to call me Mr. Franks…”