The Pollyanna Plan by Talli Roland Page B

rest of her.
    Alice raised an eyebrow. ‘Lucky you! You’re already one step ahead of everyone else. Hop over and say hi.’
    Emma shook her head furiously. ‘No way, Alice. Anyway, he probably wouldn’t remember me.’
    ‘I’ll go with you!’ Never one to miss an opportunity to mingle with blokes, Alice was already standing.
    Emma tugged her down with a thud. ‘Let’s wait until they get settled a bit first,’ she said, hoping Alice might forget—although the chances of that were unlikely. ‘We still haven’t decided what to sing.’
    ‘Oh, right.’ Alice grabbed the binder again. As she perused the song list, Emma’s eyes travelled back over to the group of men, now swigging from their beer bottles and choosing their songs. Will was good-looking, she thought, watching as he leafed through the list. But there was something about the way he was holding him self—separate from the group, despite being firmly in their midst—that made her think he was different from the blokey gang around him.
    ‘Okay, if you don’t want “Like a Virgin,” how about “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun?” Can’t go wrong with Cyndi Lauper!’
    Emma nodded. At least she knew most of the words and could get away with mouthing them. Anyway, it wasn’t like she planned to be front and centre. She’d hide in the shadows and let Alice be the star. Maybe Will wouldn’t even spot her. ‘Okay, sounds good.’
    Suzy the organiser stepped onto the stage and clapped her hands. ‘Right, everyone! I think we’re ready to start. Thank you all for coming to karaoke speed dating. We’ll take it in turns—one girl group, then one boy group. Does everyone have their scor ecard ready?’
    The crowd of girls at the front whooped and screamed as they raised theirs in the air. Emma noticed Will’s gang eyeing them with interest, and her heart squeezed with a combination of relief and … disappointment? Those girls would keep them entertained, at least. That was a good thing.
    ‘First we have’—Suzy looked down at the clipboard—‘Emma and Alice. Come on up, ladies.’
    What? Emma swung a horrified face towards her friend. ‘We’re going first? I need more to drink!’ In a panic, she gulped back her almost full glass of wine.
    ‘Going first is great,’ Alice said. ‘People will remember us before they get too drunk. Come on!’ And before Emma could protest, Alice bounded onstage, tossing her blonde hair confidently. Keeping her head down as best she could, Emma followed her friend. But in her unfamiliar heels, every step was a challenge. As she raised her foot to get onto the small platform at the front of the room, her heel caught on the edge, sending her reeling into the mic. O h, G od. Feeling her face flame, Emma combed her dark hair forward to cover her cheeks and shrank behind Alice.
    ‘Whoa!’ Suzy shot a grin in Emma’s direction and grabbed the swaying mic before it crashed onto the stage. ‘Looks like we’re off to a flying start already! So what are you going to sing, ladies?’
    ‘“Like a Virgin”,’ Alice said, taking the mic from Suzy and smiling around the room.
    Emma’s mouth dropped open, and she poked Alice from behind. ‘That’s not what we decided!’
    ‘Oh, yeah, sorry. I mean “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”,’ Alice said.
    But it was too late. The opening chords of Madonna’s all-too-familiar hit song were filling the room, and Alice just shrugged as the techie handed Emma the other microphone and pointed to a small screen displaying the words.
    Stone-cold sober despite her best efforts, Emma lowered her head even more and backed further into the shadows, praying the next few minutes would be over fast. But she should have known her friend wouldn’t let her off easily. As the chorus approached, Alice tugged Emma forward, gesturing for her to take over the song. Emma froze for a moment, blinded by the bright light as the backup music thumped in her ears.
    She was going to kill Alice.
    ‘Come