copy of Ballet Shoes tucked under my arm. I found Meg spreading a picnic blanket on the lawn. ‘I hope this is OK,’ she said anxiously. ‘We don’t have any garden furniture yet.’
‘Of course it is,’ I said quickly. ‘Although you should know that Ruby will probably turn it into an exercise mat and start doing her stretches on it.’
Meg laughed. ‘She sure is obsessed with ballet, isn’t she?’
There it was again – something in her voice that didn’t sound Irish. Was it American maybe? I was about to comment, but Meg said, ‘I think I hear the doorbell.’
She returned a minute later with Laura and Ruby.
‘Hi, guys,’ I said. ‘Ready for another meeting of Star Club?’
‘Definitely!’ Ruby did a series of ballet leaps and landed on the rug beside me. ‘Look, that was me being Posy showing her sisters a pas de chat. Oh.’ She stopped and looked around. ‘I’m not, like, assuming that I’m Posy or anything.If anyone else wants to be her that’s fine.’ She lowered her eyes and started playing with the fringe on the rug.
‘Yes, I was thinking I’d like to be Posy, actually,’ Laura said, winking at me.
‘Oh,’ Ruby said, still not looking up.
‘Yes, because I like joking around, just like Posy,’ Laura said. ‘Plus the fact that I’m so graceful, and so good at ballet, of the two-left-feet variety.’ She couldn’t keep it up any longer and suddenly burst out laughing. ‘Ruby, you should see the look on your face!’
Ruby blushed. ‘OK, you had me there! So I can be Posy then?’ She looked from me to Meg, still a bit anxious.
‘Of course you can,’ I reassured her.
‘You’re perfect for it,’ Meg added.
It was my turn to suddenly become very interested in Meg’s rug instead of my friends’ faces. ‘Who does everyone else want to be?’
‘I really don’t mind,’ Laura said. ‘It depends what scenes we’re going to do, really.’
‘I’d quite like to be Petrova,’ Meg said shyly. ‘I really like her character. But I don’t mind if you want to be her, Hannah.’
‘I was hoping to be Pauline, actually,’ I admitted.
‘Looks like we’re sorted, so!’ Laura said. ‘I’m happy to be whatever extra character is needed. I can do all sorts of parts – look.’ She suddenly pulled a series of faces, fromgrumpy to miserable to over the moon with excitement, which had us all giggling once again.
We had all brought our copies of the book so we flicked through to scenes we thought we might do. We started reading bits out to each other, trying to get a feel for the characters we were playing.
We were just starting to get somewhere when I realised we had an audience. Maisie was watching us over the hedge.
‘Maisie, what are you doing?’ I demanded.
‘Just watching,’ Maisie said. ‘Can I be in it? I could be the cousin who comes to visit.’
‘There isn’t a cousin,’ I told her.
‘Can I be the dog then? I’m really good at being a dog.’ Maisie’s head disappeared as she got down on all fours and started making barking noises through the hedge. Ruby collapsed into giggles.
‘There isn’t a dog either!’ I told her, marching over to the hedge. ‘Go away please, you’re distracting us.’
Maisie stood up again. ‘I don’t have to go away. I’m only watching. It’s a free country, isn’t it?’ I know she’d heard Zach saying the same thing to Bobby the day before and she’d obviously saved the remark to use later.
‘Maisie!’ I hissed at her. ‘I mean it. Go away or I’m telling Mum.’
‘Fine!’ Maisie stomped off, shouting over her shoulder,‘It was pretty boring anyway, if you want to know!’
I went back over to my friends, feeling embarrassed. ‘Sorry, guys. She can be a real pain sometimes.’
‘She does make a pretty good dog,’ Ruby giggled.
‘We know where to turn if the plot takes an unexpected twist!’ Meg said.
‘Where were we?’ I asked, wanting to drop the subject of Maisie. ‘Laura, it was your
‘Of course it is,’ I said quickly. ‘Although you should know that Ruby will probably turn it into an exercise mat and start doing her stretches on it.’
Meg laughed. ‘She sure is obsessed with ballet, isn’t she?’
There it was again – something in her voice that didn’t sound Irish. Was it American maybe? I was about to comment, but Meg said, ‘I think I hear the doorbell.’
She returned a minute later with Laura and Ruby.
‘Hi, guys,’ I said. ‘Ready for another meeting of Star Club?’
‘Definitely!’ Ruby did a series of ballet leaps and landed on the rug beside me. ‘Look, that was me being Posy showing her sisters a pas de chat. Oh.’ She stopped and looked around. ‘I’m not, like, assuming that I’m Posy or anything.If anyone else wants to be her that’s fine.’ She lowered her eyes and started playing with the fringe on the rug.
‘Yes, I was thinking I’d like to be Posy, actually,’ Laura said, winking at me.
‘Oh,’ Ruby said, still not looking up.
‘Yes, because I like joking around, just like Posy,’ Laura said. ‘Plus the fact that I’m so graceful, and so good at ballet, of the two-left-feet variety.’ She couldn’t keep it up any longer and suddenly burst out laughing. ‘Ruby, you should see the look on your face!’
Ruby blushed. ‘OK, you had me there! So I can be Posy then?’ She looked from me to Meg, still a bit anxious.
‘Of course you can,’ I reassured her.
‘You’re perfect for it,’ Meg added.
It was my turn to suddenly become very interested in Meg’s rug instead of my friends’ faces. ‘Who does everyone else want to be?’
‘I really don’t mind,’ Laura said. ‘It depends what scenes we’re going to do, really.’
‘I’d quite like to be Petrova,’ Meg said shyly. ‘I really like her character. But I don’t mind if you want to be her, Hannah.’
‘I was hoping to be Pauline, actually,’ I admitted.
‘Looks like we’re sorted, so!’ Laura said. ‘I’m happy to be whatever extra character is needed. I can do all sorts of parts – look.’ She suddenly pulled a series of faces, fromgrumpy to miserable to over the moon with excitement, which had us all giggling once again.
We had all brought our copies of the book so we flicked through to scenes we thought we might do. We started reading bits out to each other, trying to get a feel for the characters we were playing.
We were just starting to get somewhere when I realised we had an audience. Maisie was watching us over the hedge.
‘Maisie, what are you doing?’ I demanded.
‘Just watching,’ Maisie said. ‘Can I be in it? I could be the cousin who comes to visit.’
‘There isn’t a cousin,’ I told her.
‘Can I be the dog then? I’m really good at being a dog.’ Maisie’s head disappeared as she got down on all fours and started making barking noises through the hedge. Ruby collapsed into giggles.
‘There isn’t a dog either!’ I told her, marching over to the hedge. ‘Go away please, you’re distracting us.’
Maisie stood up again. ‘I don’t have to go away. I’m only watching. It’s a free country, isn’t it?’ I know she’d heard Zach saying the same thing to Bobby the day before and she’d obviously saved the remark to use later.
‘Maisie!’ I hissed at her. ‘I mean it. Go away or I’m telling Mum.’
‘Fine!’ Maisie stomped off, shouting over her shoulder,‘It was pretty boring anyway, if you want to know!’
I went back over to my friends, feeling embarrassed. ‘Sorry, guys. She can be a real pain sometimes.’
‘She does make a pretty good dog,’ Ruby giggled.
‘We know where to turn if the plot takes an unexpected twist!’ Meg said.
‘Where were we?’ I asked, wanting to drop the subject of Maisie. ‘Laura, it was your
Similar Books
