The Time of Your Life

• Extract
  
• By the Same Author
  
• Title Page
  
• Copyright Page
  
• Dedication
  
• CHAPTER ONE
  
• CHAPTER TWO
  
• CHAPTER THREE
  
• CHAPTER FOUR
  
• CHAPTER FIVE
  
• CHAPTER SIX
  
• CHAPTER SEVEN
  
• CHAPTER EIGHT
  
• CHAPTER NINE
  
• CHAPTER TEN
  
• CHAPTER ELEVEN
  
• CHAPTER TWELVE
  
• CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  
• CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  
• CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  
• CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  
• CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  
• CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  
• CHAPTER NINETEEN
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  
• CHAPTER THIRTY
  
• CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  
• CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  
• CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  
• CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  
• CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  
• TURN OVER FOR TOP TIPS ON BEING A SUPERSTAR
  
• TEN TIPS FOR STAYING ON TOP!
  
• Also available in the Superstar High series
  
  • THREE GIRLS ONE DREAM THEIR CHANCE TO SHINE!
    

'So, do you think I stand a chance with Jack?'
Belle blurted out.

'Hmm . . .' Cat murmured. 'Is he likely to be
interested in the most elegant, tall, blonde and
gorgeous girl in the year? She's clever, funny,
loyal, generous . . . What do you think, Hols?'

Holly grinned. 'It's a no-brainer! But he's
going to have to have the operation first . . .'

'Operation?'
Belle winced. 'What operation?'

Holly laughed. 'The one to have Bianca
surgically removed from his side!'

Belle giggled and swatted her with a cushion.
'Come on, start the film. My ice cream's melting!'

Soon they were singing along to Abba's
I Have a Dream . . .

Yes!
Belle thought, a wave of confidence
washing over her.
The three of us all have our dreams
and our songs to sing, and together we really
can
cope
with anything . . .

www.
kids
at
randomhouse
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Also available in the Superstar High series:

NOBODY'S ANGELS

WHERE YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE

Isabella Cass

This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author's and publisher's rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

ISBN 9781407051345

Version 1.0

www.randomhouse.co.uk

SUPERSTAR HIGH: THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE
A CORGI BOOK

ISBN: 9781407051345

Version 1.0

Published in Great Britain by Corgi Books,
an imprint of Random House Children's Books
A Random House Group Company

This edition published 2009

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Special thanks to Helen Moss

Series created and developed by Amber Caravéo
Copyright © Random House Children's Books, 2009
Cover illustration by Jerry Paris

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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

For Mac

Cat: Totally Under Control

Cat Wickham was walking on air!

OK, so she wasn't
exactly
defying the laws of gravity
and bobbing around like a helium balloon. But she
was
fizzing with nervous excitement as she hurried to join
her best friends, Holly Devenish and Belle Madison, on
their favourite sofa in the elegant wood-panelled
entrance hall.

It was the end of a long, busy afternoon at the end
of a long, busy week – the first week back after the
autumn half-term holiday – at London's world-famous
Garrick School of the Performing Arts. And in just a
few minutes Cat would be setting off to audition for
a part in the end-of-term production of
Macbeth.

And not just for any old part . . .

It was for the part of
Lady Macbeth!

How brilliant was that?
Cat marvelled for the
millionth time. Only one of the best-known characters
in a Shakespeare play – in fact,
any
play in the western
world. Admittedly, not the
nicest
lady you could wish
to meet – in fact, Lady Macbeth made the Wicked
Witch of the West look like Snow White – but an
actress's
dream!
First she bullies her husband into
murdering the King so he can take the crown;
then
she
places the blood-soaked dagger in the hands of the
sleeping guards so it looks as if
they
did it.

What an amazing character!

Cat had never
dared
to hope that she might be up
for a leading role in her very first term at Superstar
High – as the Garrick was usually known. As a brand-new
Year Eight student, she'd originally tried out for a
smaller part as Second Witch – but the directors had
called her back for The Big One.

What an amazing chance!

This was no ordinary production. The Garrick
staged a variety of spectacular dance shows, concerts
and plays throughout the year, and their annual
Shakespeare production was renowned in the theatre
world as a major showcase for upcoming talent.
London's top casting agents and theatre reviewers were
always invited, and could be spotted in the audience, on
the lookout for the stage stars of the future.

And being a serious actress was all Cat had ever
dreamed of. Playing Lady Macbeth could be the
launch pad that would rocket her into the stratosphere,
warp-speeding her on her way to leading roles at the
Globe and with the Royal Shakespeare Company in
Stratford . . .

Back down to earth!
Cat warned herself. She had to
get
the part of Lady Macbeth first! And right now she
needed a moment to catch her breath after the high-energy
salsa marathon – otherwise known as advanced
Latin dance class with Miss LeClair – that she and
Holly had just completed. Holly was still wearing
sweats over her leotard, her braids tucked under a wide
hairband and her flawless brown skin still glowing
with exertion. But Cat had sprinted up to her room
for a high-speed change into a slinky black dress and
killer heels. She just couldn't see Lady Macbeth in a
tracksuit, somehow.

'Don't let me get too comfortable!' Cat sighed,
sinking back into the cushions and closing her eyes.

'Well, good luck,' Belle said, elbowing her in the ribs.

'Oof, what was that for?' Cat gasped.

Belle grinned. 'Getting too comfortable. You were
practically
snoring!'
She looked effortlessly stylish as
usual, in designer jeans and a simple but perfectly cut
white T-shirt, her long blonde hair swept up in a loose
knot. She'd spent her Friday afternoon in an advanced
singing class rather than Latin dance – the flamboyant
mambo and cha-cha-cha moves were not really Belle's
cool, calm and collected style.

'I was clearing my mind, getting into character!'
Cat countered.

Holly laughed. 'Not
too
much, I hope! Sharing
sofa-space with a dagger-wielding psycho-lady? No,
thank you!'

Cat looked up to see her good friend Nathan
Almeida hurrying across the hall towards them.

'Cat, come quickly! We mustn't be late for the
auditions!' he urged, sweeping his long black fringe off
his forehead and adjusting his wire-framed glasses.

Nathan was followed, at a more leisurely saunter, by
Nick Taggart – who grinned and threw his stocky
frame down into the narrow gap in the middle of the
sofa, bouncing Cat, Belle and Holly up into the air.

'Chill, Nate!' Cat told him as she landed back on the
sofa. 'We've got two whole minutes!' Inside, her heart
was pounding and her stomach was doing a Mexican
wave, but she knew that the best way to deal with her
nerves was to
act
laid-back and unruffled. If she could
convince everyone else she was super-calm, she could
sometimes even fool
herself.

Nathan hovered uncertainly. He was a gifted actor,
but offstage he was terminally shy. He was getting
better, though – at least now he could actually
speak out
loud
in public, which was a major breakthrough. He'd
also struck up a friendship with Nick Taggart – a boy
who didn't know the meaning of the word
shy.
Or the
words
serious
. . . or
sensible
or
solemn . . . Maybe I should
buy him a dictionary for Christmas!
Cat thought.

Noticing Nathan checking his watch
again,
she
attempted to wriggle free from her position, jammed
between Nick and Holly on the sofa.

'So, Nick, you're Scottish – didn't you want to audition
for
Macbeth?'
Holly asked. 'After all, it is called
The
Scottish Play.'

'Och, no, ma wee lassie,' Nick replied, in an over-the-top
Highlands accent. 'Far too much
doom
and
gloom
for me! Anyway,' he continued, 'I'm working on
the sound desk. I've got this
wicked
sound-effect for
when the dagger goes in under King Duncan's ribs – a
sort of
scraping, squelching
—'

Belle laughed, holding up her hands. 'Eugh! Enough
squelching
already!' She was also trying to escape from
the sofa, but was wedged firmly against the arm on the
other side of Nick.

Cat smiled. Belle liked Nick a whole lot more now
than she had at the start of the year – which wouldn't
be difficult, since her first words on the subject of Nick
Taggart had been:
What a dork!
– but she still didn't
always
get his non-stop comedy act. And she probably
wasn't enjoying being pinned to the furniture by his
left elbow much either.

Unable to wait any longer, Nathan grabbed Cat by
the hand and tugged. She popped up from the sofa like
a cork from a bottle.

Now that the all-important audition was getting
closer and closer, she was so nervous her legs felt as
if they'd been replaced by overcooked spaghetti – her
knees almost buckled under her as she stood up.
But she wasn't going to let anyone see. She disguised
the wobble by pretending to check her tights for
ladders.

Holly and Belle jumped up, hugged Cat and wished
her luck. 'We'll follow you over to the Redgrave
Theatre in a minute,' Belle said. 'It's great they're doing
open auditions for the main parts. We can come and
cheer you guys on.'

'Not literally, I hope!' Cat laughed, noticing
Nathan's worried look. 'No yelling,
Go for it, Natey-boy!
as he comes on stage to do his Macduff speech,
you two!'

'Spoilsport!' Holly replied, then turned to Nathan
and hugged him too – so quickly he had no chance
to sidestep the unexpected physical contact. He
grinned shyly.

'I just hope you guys know what you're letting
yourselves in for if you get these parts,' Nick said.
'There's only six weeks from audition to performance.
It's going to be
Biiii-Zeeee
– with a capital B . . . and a
capital Zee!'

But Cat wasn't worried about the mountain of hard
work ahead of her. This
was
Superstar High after all.
And no one ever said being a superstar was easy! With
a jaunty wave she turned and followed Nathan across
the hall.

'Don't panic!' she told Nick over her shoulder. 'I've
got it all
totally
under control.'