Hannah in the Spotlight (9 page)

Mum’s ankle was broken.

Cordelia called to tell me the news, saying she knew I’d be anxious to hear. ‘The doctor has given her something for the pain, so she’s pretty wiped out,’ she told me. ‘I’m going to bring her home now and I think the poor lamb had better just go to bed for the afternoon.’

‘Oh poor Mum,’ I said. ‘Is she going to be on crutches for a few weeks?’

‘Yes.’ Cordelia hesitated. ‘She’ll be able to get about on crutches a bit, but Hannah darling, the doctor is simply insisting that she stay off her feet as much as possible for the next fortnight.’

My heart sank. Mum – laid up for a fortnight? How would she cope with not being able to get around? And how would the rest of us cope without her?

‘When is your dad due back from China?’ Cordelia asked.

‘Not for another week,’ I told her. I tried to sound as cheerful as I could. ‘It’s OK, we’ll be fine.’

‘Now you’re not to worry about a thing,’ Cordelia said. ‘I’ll help as much as I can. I’m in work this week so I won’t be around much, but I can get some shopping in for you, and I’ll make you a pasta bake tomorrow. Heaven knows I’m not much of a cook, but I can manage a pasta bake all right!’

‘Thanks, that’s so nice of you,’ I said.

The enormity of what this would mean was just starting to hit me. Looking after four children (even though I knew Zach, at least, would be a help), making sure we were all fed, taking care of Mum in her sick bed, and trying to keep Emma from poisoning herself (I had to put down the phone for a minute to take a chunk of modelling clay away from her). My head was whirling trying to plan ahead as best I could. I wished Mum was home so I could see for myself how she was. And I wished I could talk to Dad and tell him what had happened, but I thought I’d better wait until Mum was home.

Half an hour later Cordelia’s car pulled up outside the house. I ran out and opened the passenger door. Mum looked even paler than she had earlier, but she smiled at me and said ‘Don’t worry Hannah, I’m going to be fine.’

With my support she struggled to her feet. ‘I’ve got crutches, but I think I’m going to need a bit of practice getting used to them,’ she told me.

‘Just leave the crutches for now, you can lean on me,’ I said.

Cordelia came around to take the other side and we slowly made our way into the sitting room where Mum collapsed onto the couch. ‘Oh, it’s good to be home!’

Meg was hovering anxiously in the background. ‘Can I get you anything, Claire? Do you want a cup of tea?’

‘No, I’m fine thanks. I think I’ll just have a little sleep,’ Mum said, stretching out. She looked half asleep already.

I took the cosy purple throw and spread it carefully over her. ‘Yes, just have a sleep Mum, you’ll feel better.’

Zach and Maisie were peering around the door. I shooed them out. ‘Mum needs some rest, you can see her later, OK?’

Cordelia was getting ready to leave. ‘Meg and I need to call over to see her grandparents now Hannah, but I’ll check in later to see how you are.’

‘We’ll be fine,’ I said, trying to sound confident. ‘Thanks so much for all your help.’

‘Oh, don’t mention it,’ Cordelia said. ‘Your mum would do just the same for me! I’m just sorry we didn’t get to see that handsome doctor. Such a disappointment. Take it easy this afternoon – a nice quiet activity maybe!’

‘We will,’ I said.

Meg gave me a hug. ‘Good luck, Hannah! I’ll see you later.’

Once I had waved them off I took Mum’s phone and sent Dad a text, asking him to Skype me. I took out the
iPad and immediately got involved in an argument with Bobby, who wanted to play games on it.

‘But why can’t I use it?’ he whined.

‘Because I need it, OK?’ I told him.

‘Can I have it after you?’

‘I’ll see.’

‘Mum said we’re allowed to use it on weekends once we’ve tidied our rooms!’

‘Oh, have you tidied your room?’ I asked, knowing he hadn’t.

‘I’ll do it now, then it’s my turn, OK?’

I was saved by Dad’s photo flashing up on the screen. I pressed answer. ‘Hi, Dad!’

‘Hi, Hannah! Hi, Maisie!’

Maisie had appeared behind me.

‘I’m having the best time,’ Dad told us. ‘We had no meetings today so our hosts took us to see the Great Wall of China. What a sight! You wouldn’t believe it, girls. So what’s going on with you?’

‘Mum broke her ankle,’ Maisie said.

‘Maisie!’ I’d been planning to break the news a bit more gently.

‘What?!’ Dad looked aghast.

‘She was screaming and screaming and an ambulance had to come and go nee-naw nee-naw and speed her off to hospital so they could save her life,’ Maisie went on.

‘Seriously?’

‘Maisie, stop exaggerating!’ I told her. I turned to Dad. ‘It wasn’t like that, Dad. Mum is OK. And we didn’t need an ambulance – Cordelia took her to the hospital. But she did break her ankle. She fell down the stairs.’

‘Oh no. Where is she now?’ Dad demanded.

‘She’s asleep on the couch,’ I told him. I explained to him, a bit less dramatically than Maisie, exactly what had happened. Dad looked very upset, and I could see he was trying to work out how to handle this. Suddenly I found myself wishing harder than ever that he was here to give me a hug and tell me everything was going to be OK.

‘Don’t worry, girls. I’m sure Mum will be fine,’ Dad said. ‘Maisie, have you been doing any drawings this week? Can you find some and show me?’

‘Does that mean you want to talk to Hannah on your own?’ Maisie asked. That girl really doesn’t miss much.

Dad laughed. ‘I do actually. Can you give us a few minutes?’

‘Yes. You only had to ask,’ Maisie informed him. ‘I need to get back to my game anyway.’

Dad waited until she’d moved away. ‘I should have known Maisie would see right through me,’ he said with a grin. ‘Hannah, I don’t want you to disturb Mum now, but get her to Skype me as soon as she wakes up, OK?’

‘Won’t it be the middle of the night there?’ I asked him. We’d talked on Skype a few times that week and it was always mid-afternoon for us while Dad was just about to go to bed. The kitchen clock said it was nearly 4pm, so I knew it must be pretty late in China.

‘That doesn’t matter,’ Dad said. ‘I’ll leave my phone on the bed beside me. I’m going to check out flights now, see if I can come home earlier.’

‘No, you don’t need to do that, Dad,’ I said. ‘We’ll be fine – it’s only another six days.’

‘But how will you manage? The boys are a handful, never mind feeding Emma, and changing her, and looking after Maisie too. And what about meals?’

‘Meg’s mum said she’d help out,’ I told him. ‘And I’m sure Ruby’s mum will too, once she finds out. Really, we’ll be OK.’

Dad was scratching his beard, which always means he’s thinking. After a minute, he said, ‘Well, I’ll talk to Mum later and see what she thinks. But if you can manage I really would like to stay for the next two meetings at least. It’s so important for the business, you see.’

‘I know. It’ll be fine, really,’ I said.

Bobby came running back into the room. ‘Hannah, I’ve finished tidying, can I have the iPad now? Oh, hi, Dad!’

‘Hi, Bobby. What’s this I hear, tidying your room? What’s come over you?’

‘He wants to play games on the iPad,’ I said, laughing. ‘He’s allowed once his room is tidy.’

‘Well, I’d better let you go so,’ Dad said. ‘Where’s Zach?’

‘He’s walking Emma around the garden in her pram,’ I told him. ‘She wouldn’t fall asleep so he said he’d try that.’

Dad smiled. ‘I’d forgotten what a great help Zach can be. Maybe you will be OK after all.’

‘Of course we will,’ I said.

‘We can Skype again tomorrow, so tell Zach I said hello and I’ll talk to him then. And tell Maisie I’ll see her pictures then too. Bye, kids!’

Dad’s image disappeared from the screen.

‘Can I have it now, Hannah?’ Bobby asked.

I handed him the iPad – at least that would keep him busy for a few minutes. Zach was still patiently walking Emma up and down the garden, and Maisie hadn’t reappeared. I realised I’d better start thinking about dinner. I knew Mum wouldn’t mind if I ordered a pizza delivery, but I was determined not to go for the easy option. I wanted to show Dad that I could cope with things here, so he wouldn’t feel he had to rush home. I knew how important this trip was to him. I reached for Mum’s cookbook. I’d seen her make curry thousands of times – how hard could it be?

An hour later I was beginning to regret ever having heard of curry. The first lot of rice had got burnt and stuck
to the bottom of the saucepan. The second lot was taking forever to cook because I was afraid to turn the heat up too high. The curry looked a completely different colour from when Mum made it, and was starting to get all congealed looking because it had been ready for ages while I was busy burning the rice. The sink was piled high with dirty dishes and the countertops were covered with vegetable peelings and empty tins which I hadn’t had a chance to clear away yet.

‘Hannah, I’m starving. Is dinner nearly ready?’ asked Bobby.

‘Nearly.’ I looked anxiously at the rice.

Zach peered over my shoulder. ‘We could have naan bread instead of rice,’ he suggested.

‘Good idea,’ I told him. ‘Why don’t you get some out?’

Zach started rummaging in the cupboard, while I switched off the hob and started stirring the curry again. It definitely didn’t look right, but it probably wouldn’t kill us.

‘I don’t think we have any.’ Zach’s voice was muffled from the depths of the cupboard.

‘Let me look.’ I moved him out of the way, but he was right – no naan bread.

‘But I’m HUNGRY!’ Bobby whined.

‘We’ll just have to have toast with it,’ I said. ‘Stop whining, Bobby. If you set the table we’ll be ready to eat quicker.’

I started making toast, kind of glad Mum was still asleep and couldn’t see what a mess I’d made of dinner. Pizza was definitely the way to go tomorrow, I decided.

It was a really weird dinner. Maisie absolutely refused to eat the curry because ‘it’s not meant to be that colour’, so I made her a banana sandwich instead. Zach ate some and tried to convince Bobby it tasted fine, but Bobby just ate the toast. I was so fed up of the smell of cooking that I wasn’t even hungry any more. I took the big pot of leftover curry and silently scraped it into the bin.

Mum woke up in time to feed Emma. I decided to skip her bath for once and managed to get her to bed, although I was interrupted about seventeen times by Maisie who couldn’t find the pyjamas she wanted and didn’t like any of my alternative suggestions. Then she couldn’t find Flopsy, her blue bunny who she can’t sleep without. Then she wanted me to read her a story, and wouldn’t let Zach when he offered to read it instead.

Finally they were all in bed. I came downstairs, saw the mountain of dishes waiting for me in the kitchen and walked straight back out again. They’d just have to wait – I’d had enough, I collapsed on the couch beside Mum, too tired even to flick channels. I thought about all I’d had to do that afternoon, and how I hadn’t even done half the things properly, and how there were still another six days of this to go.

Something was going to have to give. And that something would be Star Club.

I rang the girls the next morning to arrange an emergency meeting of Star Club for that afternoon. Ruby offered to have it at her house.

I was dreading breaking the news to my friends that we’d have to cancel the show. I could just picture their faces – after all the hard work we’d put in, it was heartbreaking not to be able to go through with our performance. And whenever I thought about my own part, I got a lump in my throat. I’d put my heart and soul into transforming myself into Pauline these last few weeks. The thought that I’d never get to bring her to life in front of an audience was too much to bear.

It was pouring rain as I walked over to Ruby’s house. The weather seemed to match my mood.

‘Thanks for coming, everyone,’ I said when we had all taken up our usual spots in Ruby’s bedroom. ‘I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.’

I explained what had happened to Mum, and how she was going to be laid up for the rest of the week, and how
Dad wasn’t due back from China until Friday, the day before Maisie’s party.

‘I’m sorry, guys,’ I said at last. ‘But you know what this means, don’t you? We’re going to have to call off the show.’

‘What?’ cried Ruby. ‘Call it off completely?’

‘I’m afraid so,’ I said. ‘I’m going to have to be at home all the time so I can help Mum with the kids and everything. I’m just not going to have time to rehearse any more. I was only able to get away now because I put on a DVD for them.’

‘But what about Maisie’s party?’ Laura asked. ‘That’s still going ahead, isn’t it?’

‘The party will,’ I said. ‘We can’t cancel it, she’d be devastated. Dad and I will just have to organise some games for her friends – Pass the Parcel and Musical Chairs and all that sort of thing. But we can’t do the show. And at least it means I can cancel all those extra people Mum invited to it.’ I managed a shaky laugh.

Ruby looked distraught. Laura was trying to be understanding, but she was clearly upset too. Only Meg looked as calm as ever.

‘You know,’ Meg said suddenly, ‘we’re a drama club. We’re only twelve years old, but we’ve worked really hard to make it the best drama club we can. And there’s a saying in show business that I think we need to remember. The show must go on.’

‘What do you mean?’ I asked.

‘The show must go on,’ Meg repeated. ‘It means no matter what happens, if the leading lady is sick, if the costumes aren’t delivered on time, if you’ve forgotten your lines, it doesn’t matter. You have an audience who have come to see you perform, and you’d better make sure you give them what they’ve come to see.’

‘Meg’s right,’ Laura said suddenly. ‘We’re Star Club. We can’t just give up at the first sign of trouble. The show must go on!’

I sighed. ‘But how can it? We’re just not ready yet, and I’m not going to be able to help you guys organise any of the things that need to be done.’

‘We can split up the jobs between us,’ Laura said. ‘It’s only getting the last few props and doing up some programmes. We’ll manage.’

‘But what about rehearsals?’ I said. ‘You can’t manage without Pauline. And I’m just not going to have time. The only way would be if I brought the whole gang with me.’

‘Then do it,’ Meg said calmly.

‘OK, Meg, I don’t think you know Hannah’s little brothers well enough yet, or you wouldn’t be saying that,’ Laura laughed. ‘If you’re expecting them to sit quietly and watch us rehearse you’re going to be pretty disappointed.’

‘I’m not.’ Meg still sounded remarkably calm. ‘No one wants to sit quietly and watch everyone else perform.
Zach and Bobby can be in it. Maisie too.’

I stared at her incredulously. ‘Meg, have you gone completely crazy? I mean, I know Maisie would love to be in the show, but the only way Zach and Bobby would do it is if they can give a demonstration of fighting with lightsabers in a galaxy far far away.’

‘Well then, that’s what they’ll have to do,’ Meg said, shrugging her shoulders.

I looked at the others. Laura had tilted her head to one side and was considering carefully. Ruby’s eyes had widened to their fullest extent. ‘But – but – but …’ she stammered. ‘I mean, it’s
Ballet Shoes
!’

‘Not any more.’ Meg was firm. ‘It’s a variety show.’

‘What’s a variety show?’ Ruby asked.

‘It’s like it says. It’s a mixture of different acts. We pick a few scenes from
Ballet Shoes
, the ones we think we can do best without too many rehearsals. We put in a
Star Wars
scene for the boys. And then something for Maisie. Basically mix it all up.’

I suddenly felt a tiny bit excited again. ‘Can we really do it in such a short time?’ I asked.

‘Of course we can,’ Laura said. ‘We’ll keep it as simple as we can.’

‘You know, I think this just might work,’ I said, breaking into a smile. ‘Actually, Maisie’s friends might like it even better. To be honest, I was starting to wonder if our
Ballet
Shoes
show was going to be too hard for them to follow.’

‘I was a bit worried about that too,’ Laura admitted. ‘We didn’t really have six-year-olds in mind when we started planning it.’

‘Well, maybe the first thing we should do is appoint Maisie as a junior consultant,’ Meg said. ‘We can try things out on her and ask her opinion on what will work.’

‘She will LOVE that,’ I said.

I glanced over at Ruby. She still hadn’t said very much. I knew she was bound to be feeling upset that we weren’t going to be focusing solely on her beloved
Ballet Shoes
. ‘What do you think, Ruby?’ I asked.

‘I think it will be great,’ Ruby said, putting on a determined smile. ‘It’s not exactly what I had in mind, but things change. I think we can put on a really good show.’

‘And your ballet will still be a really important part of it,’ I told her.

‘Actually, since it’s a variety show now, why not have a ballet solo from Ruby on its own – separate from the
Ballet Shoes
scene?’ Meg suggested. ‘You could do the dance you’re working on for your exam.’

Ruby’s face brightened at once. ‘Could I really? I’ve been working so hard on it – it would be nice to get a bit of encouragement.’

‘Of course,’ I said. ‘It’d be perfect.’

‘We’re definitely putting the variety into variety show,’
Laura giggled.

I looked around at my friends. ‘You guys are amazing,’ I said. ‘I really thought we’d have to abandon our show, but now I think it’s going to be better than ever!’

The rain had cleared up and the sun was just trying to come out as we left Ruby’s. Meg and I walked home together, chatting about which scenes were almost perfect and which would be OK with a bit more work. I had a warm glow inside knowing I was going to be able to play Pauline after all. I planned to grab every spare minute that I could to practise.

I still had one barrier to overcome when I got home. Well, two, to be precise. I knew Maisie would be absolutely thrilled to be involved in the show. But Zach and Bobby were another story.

It was time for some big-sister mind games.