The Time of Your Life (7 page)

Cat: Inner Peace and Fairy Juice

'OH – MY – GOD!'
Belle groaned. 'That was so-o-o
embarrassing!'

Cat grinned sympathetically as they sat down in
front of the roaring fire in the common room after
supper.
She
was used to putting her foot in it and
making a spectacle of herself – it was all in a day's work!
But poor Belle usually conducted herself in a cool and
dignified manner. Being the school laughing-stock in a
full suit of armour was not exactly in her comfort zone!

'Bianca and Mayu
told
me to look for the costume
with my name on . . .' Belle muttered.

'Yep!' Cat laughed. 'Those two must have thought
they'd hit the jackpot – Belle making a prize eejit of
herself
and
Cat getting a humungous rollicking from
Mr Sharpe.
Two for the price of one!'

Cat was trying to make light of it to cheer Belle up,
but in reality she was quite shaken by Mr Sharpe's
outburst; the thought of letting down the entire school
was
much
harder to laugh off than her usual blips and
blunders. 'We'll
rise above it!'
she said bravely, reminding
Belle of the Bianca-proof slogan they'd coined at the
beginning of term. 'And don't worry – everyone will
have forgotten about the armour-thing by tomorrow.'

'Do you really think so?'

'Yeah – no doubt I'll do another of my amazing
Cat-turns-up-late-again
or
Cat-forgets-her-homework
tricks, and
give them something else to gossip about.' Cat laughed
her sprightliest
am-I-bothered?
laugh, but she knew she'd
just lost one of her nine lives. If Mr Grampian hadn't
stepped in, she was sure Mr Sharpe would have thrown
her out of the play then and there. He hadn't even
given her a chance to explain that she was late because
she'd run to ask Miss Candlemas if she could borrow
the string of red glass beads she'd seen her wearing last
week, for her Lady Macbeth costume.

Belle must have detected the wobble in her voice.
'Cat, I know things are getting a bit crazy. Are you OK?'

Cat grinned. 'Yes, of course!' Although deep down
she wasn't so sure. She was so tired her bones ached.
She felt as if she were running on a treadmill that was
going faster and faster – and she couldn't find the
switch to turn it off . . .

'Tell you what you need!' Belle said.

'A body-double? A time machine?'

Belle laughed and shook her head.
'Upekkha.'

'Up-a-what?'

'Upekkha –
it's a yoga thing – it means balance, inner
peace. Come to my yoga class with me tomorrow
morning . . .'

Cat wasn't
entirely
convinced yoga was going to
solve her problems. She didn't need
inner peace.
She just
needed to run faster or find the off-switch.

'SOMEBODY HELP ME!'

The fake scream was coming from Nick Taggart,
who was racing into the common room with Nathan
and Serena. A group of Year Ten students, including
Ethan Reed and Lucy Cheng, followed.
'I'm a damsel in
distress!'
Nick continued, waving his hands girlishly.
'Behold! Methinks a knight in shining armour approacheth!'
With that, he threw himself at Belle's feet. The others
drew up armchairs around the cosy fireplace, laughing
at Nick's performance.

Eek!
Cat thought. The last thing Belle needed was
Nick winding her up with his court jester act. But to
her astonishment, Belle didn't seem annoyed with Nick
at all. In fact, she was grinning at him as if he'd just
made the wittiest joke in the history of comedy.

'I'll challenge you to a joust if you're not careful,'
Belle quipped, suddenly looking a lot more cheerful.

'You
were
pretty funny, Belle!' Serena laughed as she
pulled a cape from her bag and started sewing braid
around the hem. 'But how did you get the armour? It
was hidden away right at the back of the stores.'

Before Belle could reply, Holly, Gemma and Lettie
arrived, excitedly discussing the meeting they'd just
had with Miss Morgan and Miss LeClair to check the
fitting of the new
pointe
shoes they'd all bought during
the half-term holiday; the advanced ballet class would
be starting their
en pointe
work very soon.

'Lucky Holly,' Gemma teased. 'Miss Morgan says
she's got
perfect
feet!'

Ethan laughed and made room on the arm of his
chair for Holly, who sat down with a shy smile and
exchanged a little True Romance look with him.
Those
two are so sweet together I'm getting a sugar-rush just looking
at them!
Cat thought. If it was anyone other than Holly,
it would be totally sick-making.

And now Nick and Lettie were sharing a bag of
Maltesers, engrossed in a technical sound-editing
conversation – but, Cat noticed, Nick had a daft,
dreamy look on his face that had nothing to do with
the choice of music for the banquet scene in
Macbeth.

Then Jack poked his head into the common room,
looking for a library book he'd mislaid. 'Oh, how's the
belly-dancing going, Lettie?' he called over with a big
grin. Lettie stared at him blankly.

What was that all about?
Cat asked herself. Belle
blushed, and gazed at Jack as he did a quick book search
before hurrying off to look in the dining room. Nick
glanced at Belle, smiled, and then winked knowingly at
Cat. He'd obviously seen her reaction too.

What was going on? Cat wondered. Were they
putting something in the water at Superstar High? It was
like the scene from
A Midsummer Night's Dream
where
everyone wakes up with fairy juice on their eyelids and
falls in love with the first person they see . . .

Cat was almost
relieved
when Bianca and Mayu came
into the common room. At least
those
two could be
relied upon to break up the love-a-thon with a bit of
good old-fashioned, no-nonsense spite.

'Come on, Lettie,' Bianca called. 'We're going to
get ice creams at Café Roma – and wait till you
hear this: the most
hysterical
thing happened at the
costume call today . . .'

Yep! Bianca is nothing if not predictable!
Cat thought.

Lettie smiled awkwardly and got up to join Bianca
and Mayu. 'What happened?' she asked.

'Ooh, can't tell you here.' Bianca smiled wickedly,
looking straight at Belle. 'Sir Prance-a-lot might get
upset and run me through with her sword!'

'So what
did
happen?' Holly asked after they'd left.
Cat and Belle recounted the story of the Armour
Fiasco and the Delayed Arrival of Lady Macbeth. They
could both see the funny side of it now, and everyone
was soon roaring with laughter.

'So that explains it!' Gemma said, still laughing. 'I
wondered
why Bianca and Mayu were fossicking about
in the wardrobe storeroom this afternoon when I went
to look for Serena.
Said
they were helping clear out
some old costumes. I thought that seemed a bit too
useful
for those two!'

Gradually everyone started heading off to their
rooms. Holly waved goodbye to Ethan, who left rather
reluctantly to revise for a French test.

Cat stared into the embers of the fire and sighed.
'Time to tackle that history essay,' she murmured to
nobody in particular. A miserable ache oozed through
her body at the thought of an evening with Henry VIII
and her laptop.

'You should take a night off,' Belle told her. 'You
look shattered.'

Suddenly Holly jumped up. 'Ooh, Bianca's just
given me a Great Idea!' she announced. 'Meet me in
your room in half an hour.'

Cat and Belle exchanged bamboozled looks.

What Great Idea could Holly Devenish – the kind
of girl who helps old ladies across the road and rescues
stray hedgehogs – possibly have that had been inspired
by
Bianca Hayford's
scheming brain?

Belle: Girls' Night In

'Ta-da!'
Holly fanfared, throwing open the door and
letting the contents of her overloaded arms tumble
onto the coffee table. 'There's Chocolate Chip
Cookie-dough, Very Berry Swirl and Rocky Road . . .
courtesy of Café Roma!'

So that was Bianca's Great Idea!

Belle had to admit that for once Bianca was
right. Whatever the question was, family-size tubs
of Italian ice cream were definitely the answer!
But how had Holly got permission to go off alone to
Café Roma at this time? Year Eight students weren't
allowed out of school unaccompanied after 6.30 p.m.
'I asked Ethan to run out and get it for me,'
Holly explained. 'Year Tens can sign out until eight
o'clock.'

'I don't know about you, Hols, but I'm in love with
Ethan already!' Cat laughed, pulling the lid off the tub
of Rocky Road.

'And for my next trick' – Holly whipped an envelope
out of her bag like a rabbit out of a hat –
'Mamma Mia!
Mum posted me the DVD.'

'Girls' night in!' Cat shouted, jumping on her bed
and sweeping aside piles of clothes and books to make
seating room.

'Way to go!' Holly was a genius, Belle thought. This
was exactly what they all needed. 'Er, let me help you
with that, Cat,' she added.

Cat's attempts to tidy up were just spreading the
chaos around the room. Pairs of tights were now
dangling from the curtain rail, and a Spanish dictionary
was splayed across the dressing-table mirror.

'Is this that Macbeth script you were looking
for?' Belle asked, holding up a sheaf of papers she'd
excavated from under Cat's bed.

'My baby!' Cat cried, kissing the script. 'You've
come back to me!' But suddenly her face fell. 'Eugh!
I've just remembered: homework – I had a date with
Henry the Eighth tonight . . .'

Holly grinned. 'Dump him! This is a girls-only
zone!'

'And you can borrow all my Tudor notes tomorrow,'
Belle offered.

Cat didn't need any more convincing.

Belle snuggled up among the cushions on Cat's bed,
took her first mouthful of Very Berry Swirl and sighed
contentedly. Cat was settling in next to her, with
Shreddie purring on her lap, and Holly was starting
up the DVD on the laptop. This is perfect, Belle
thought. In fact, maybe it was the perfect moment to
share her big secret. 'I have this kinda . . . secret . . .' she
started hesitantly.

Holly pressed the Pause button. 'Ooh, I love secrets!'

'Er, you know that new boy, Jack Thorne . . . ' Belle
went on.

'Mm-mm,' Cat mumbled through a recklessly large
mouthful of Rocky Road.

'What do you think of him?' Belle asked, trying to
sound casual.

Holly giggled. 'Not as much as you do!'

'Is that it? Your deep, dark secret?' Cat laughed. 'That
you fancy Jack? I thought you were going to tell us
something we didn't know!'

'You mean you could tell?' Belle asked, watching in
horror as Cat and Holly both nodded, grinning. She
squirmed with embarrassment; she'd been so sure
she'd kept all her emotions safely under wraps. What
if everyone knew? 'Oh, no, is it that obvious?' she
stammered.

'Only to us,' Holly said reassuringly. 'With our
finely honed powers of observation. Oh, and I'm sure
Bianca suspects—'

'And Nick Taggart, of course . . .' Cat added.

'Oh yes, Nick,' Belle said. 'I thought I'd really hurt
his feelings in Mr Garcia's class today – but then he
was acting his usual goofball self in the common room,
so I think we're OK again.' She sighed. She'd been so
relieved when Nick started poking fun at her about the
armour; he obviously wasn't mad at her. Maybe it'd
been worth making a fool of herself after all, if that's
what it took to get their friendship back on track.

Cat smiled. 'Don't worry about Nick,' she said. 'He's
got other things on his mind—'

'Like Lettie Atkins,' Holly interrupted.

'Argggh!
Brain-freeze!' Cat yelled, clapping her hand
to her forehead.

Of course!
Belle thought.
Now it's starting to make
sense.
When Nick insisted that he wanted to work with
Lettie in the singing class, he wasn't just covering up his
injured pride. He really
did
want to work with Lettie.
He was probably annoyed because Bianca was teasing
him and Belle, not because he was heartbroken that
Belle might want to work with Jack!

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

'Hmm . . .' Cat murmured, scrunching up her
forehead as if pondering a fiendishly difficult question.
'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,' she added
seriously, '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 transported to a sunny Greek island
and 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 . . .

Cat: Honeysuckle and Avocado Heaven

Cat was still singing
I Have a Dream
as she ran herself a
bath the next morning.

Everything was going to be fine, she told herself.
The girls' night in had been just what she needed. Now
she was up bright and early, for a relaxing bath and a
spot of history homework before breakfast. In fact she
was so early she'd managed to nab the nicest of the
three bathrooms on their floor – the one with the
extra-deep tub.

Cat poured in a generous glug of Honeysuckle and
Avocado Heaven and watched it bubble—

'Cat! Are you in there?' Belle was knocking at the
door. 'Yoga time – come on!'

Cat groaned, suddenly remembering she'd agreed to
join Belle at her yoga class, in search of
Inner Peace and Perfectly Toned Muscles. She gazed at
her beautiful bath. She could say no, but Belle was so
ultra-organized and she was easily offended if you
messed up her plans – and she was trying to help . . .

'OK! Coming!' Cat sighed, tying her dressing gown
and taking a last longing look at the steaming, foaming
water.

The yoga class was in one of the dance studios off the
courtyard. Cat rolled out her borrowed mat next to
Belle's. She'd had no idea so many people were up this
early in the morning . . . being peaceful! She followed
the instructor's directions through the warm-up of
stretches and sun salutations. '
And now . . . into the
child's pose
. . .' he chanted. Cat copied Belle, kneeling
on the mat, leaning forward, head down. '
And
breathe . . . and relax . .
.'

OK, this isn't too bad,
Cat thought.
Quite calming
really.
But Inner Peace was getting a bit boring now.
There was only so much
breathing
you could do. She
started to run though her Lady Macbeth lines in her
head – that difficult opening monologue:
'What thou
wouldst highly, that wouldst thou holily . .
.' She really
needed to talk to Duncan about that line . . . but she
still had the Henry VIII essay to do . . . and Mrs
Salmon had given them
another
heap of food-chain
homework . . . at least her
Hamlet
review was only
slightly late . . . but she'd not done any practice on her
steps for the Latin dance class this afternoon . . . or
looked over her French vocabulary . . .

'And calm . . . and breathe deep . .
.' the instructor
went on.

Calm?
Cat thought.
I haven't got
time
to be calm . . .

She was back on that treadmill and now it was going
faster than ever!

Suddenly she had the feeling that she'd forgotten
something. Was there some homework she'd not
handed in? Something was tugging at the edges of her
memory . . .

Then it hit her:
she'd left the bath running!

Cat rocketed up off the mat. Head spinning, she
stumbled towards the door, ignoring Belle's call of
'Cat! What's wrong?'

Everything's wrong!
Cat screamed silently as she
bombed out of the studio, across the courtyard and into
the entrance hall. Water would be cascading down the
stairs like a Honeysuckle and Avocado-scented Niagara
Falls. She imagined the beautiful moulded ceiling of
the dining room beneath the bathroom collapsing under
the weight of water. Students having an early breakfast
would be buried under falling plasterwork . . .

She rushed past the dining room.
No despairing cries
from the rubble!
Raced up the staircase.
No torrential
waterfall!
Sprinted along the corridor.
No white-water
rapids!

Only Miss Candlemas – standing outside the
bathroom door in her batik-print dressing gown,
with a mop in her hand and a thunderous look on
her face.

'Aha! I was wondering who'd flooded the bathroom!'
she stormed. 'The guilty party returns to the scene of
the crime . . .'

'I'm really sorry,' Cat panted in a fragile voice.

'Yes, well, luckily Gemma discovered it before it got
too bad,' Miss Candlemas said, her anger abating. 'We
don't need to start building an ark just yet . . .'

'Cat! Cat! What's happened?' Belle was running
along the corridor towards her.

Cat squared her shoulders and tried to arrange her
face into a chirpy smile.
Panic over!
she intended to say.
What am I like? Can you believe I left the bath running?

But it didn't work.

Not even close!

What actually came out of her mouth was a sob.
And then another.

Then she felt Belle put her arm around her and lead
her gently back to their room.