Rushing back to the hall afterwards, Millie and I complained about the hard Math questions that had been included, especially towards the very end. The last few were so complicated. “I skipped several of them,” I admitted. “They were way too hard! And I’m certainly not looking forward to getting my result, that’s for sure! If we’re ever asked to do one of those competitions again, I’m just going to refuse!” Millie agreed with me but on entering the hall, we quickly put the Math comp behind us. The seating and decorations were finally all in place and Miss Sheldon was directing a group of kids on the stage who were having a last minute rehearsal. I scanned the hall, looking for all the members of our dance troupe so that we could also have a final rehearsal. We’d been discussing it that morning and had planned to meet up just after the lunch break, but they were nowhere to be seen. “Maybe they’re all out the back or in the dressing rooms. I’ll race out and have a look.” I watched Millie head off to look for them and just as I was about to search the adjoining rehearsal room, Miss Sheldon called me over. “Julia!” she said, “Just the person I was looking for!” “Yes, Miss?” I replied questioningly. “I’d like you to come with me. The junior girls need a last minute practice and I also need you to help me with the Grade Five item. There’s still kids who could do with some extra help and I think one more run through is really going to benefit them.” The look of dismay on my face must have been obvious. “Aren’t you feeling well?” she queried. “Is your leg a problem? Perhaps you should be at home resting it!” “Oh no,” I replied quickly. “My leg is fine.” There was no way I was going to tell her that it was actually quite painful. If I did, I was worried that she’d ban me from performing. “I was just going to have a last rehearsal with the kids in my dance group,” I tried to explain, but her stressed expression prevented me from continuing. “It’s ok, though! I know the dance really well, they can just go ahead without me.” Trying to sound convincing, I followed her into the rehearsal room where the group of junior girls were waiting. I thought anxiously of Millie and the others, knowing they would be wondering where I was but I didn’t dare leave to go and tell them. Miss Sheldon was a great teacher, but when she was stressed or angry, we all knew we just had to be quiet and do as we were told. Thankfully, it didn’t take long to get the junior girls in order and by the second run through, they had pretty much perfected the mistakes they’d been making. With a huge sigh I then moved onto the Grade Five kids, many of whom were racing crazily around the hall by that stage. There were some pretty hyperactive boys in that group and they could not sit still, let alone follow instructions and it took all my strength not to start yelling at them to be quiet and listen. I was relieved when Miss Sheldon came over and told them off. That finally managed to calm them down and we were able to run through their entire item. Just as we finished and I was about to go and look for Millie and the others, I heard an unmistakable voice. “Julia, where have you been?” We’ve been working our butts off trying to get our dance perfect and you didn’t even bother to show up! Do you want our dance to be a success or not?” The uncomfortable looks on the faces of all the others, just added to my humiliation. “I had to help Miss Sheldon,” I tried to explain. “Yeah, right!” I could feel my face turning bright red at Sara’s abrupt remarks. “You’re such a teacher’s pet! You’ll do anything to get on side with the teachers, even if it means letting your team down. Unbelievable!” And with a flick of her long blonde hair, she strode off towards the change rooms. I looked towards Millie who just rolled her eyes and said, “Don’t worry about her, Julia. You know the dance so well, we’ll be great tonight, let’s just go and get ready.” Feeling upset for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day, I slowly walked towards the change room door. I knew that the junior school kids were opening the show and I needed to be back stage to help them into their costumes. Taking a deep breath, I tried to muster some enthusiasm as I entered the bustling room that was filled with girls at different stages of preparation. I suddenly looked at my watch. Seeing a few girls in the midst of getting their hair and make-up done, reminded me of the missing head bands and I anxiously hoped that my mother would make it in time. The girls were expecting to wear the head pieces and apart from the decorative effect they created, they really were needed to help keep their hair tied back. With the throbbing in my head becoming worse, I walked over to the dressing area to assist the remaining girls with their costumes and make-up. When they were finally organized, I decided I had better get dressed myself. If I didn’t hurry, I would never be ready on time. Searching frantically for my back pack, I scoured the area where I thought I had left it when I had arrived that morning. My memory of the morning’s events was pretty foggy and I couldn’t remember exactly where I had placed my bag. The change room was in chaos at that point. There were girls, teachers and helpers everywhere. Everyone was at different stages of getting ready and Mrs. Jackson was trying to keep the noise to a minimum. “Sssshhhh, girls!” she was saying in a firm voice. “Please keep your voices down. It is way too noisy in here!” By that stage, the room was totally frantic with excitement, the big night had finally arrived and girls in tutus, leotards and a variety of different costumes were lining up to get their make-up and hair done. I thought fleetingly about the head pieces for the younger girls and looked with concern at the clock on the wall, hoping that my mom would soon arrive. “Millie,” I called, when I spotted her and the other girls from our dance group assisting each other with applying mascara and lipstick. “Can you please help me find my bag? I’m sure I left it in here this morning after getting changed, but I can’t see it anywhere.” “Julia! I was wondering where you were and look at you! You’re not even dressed yet. You need to hurry!” Millie’s worried look made me feel even more anxious. There were bags and costumes and props scattered all over the place, it was no wonder I couldn’t see my bag but after a few minutes of searching, Millie finally handed it to me, “Here it is! I found it hidden under a pile of gear in that corner over there.” Frowning, I answered, “I could have sworn I left it over by the door.” Millie shook her head and said, “Everything is such a mess in here. I’m surprised I found it at all!” Casting my confusion aside, I quickly rifled through my bag, looking for the hip hop outfit that I had carefully folded and placed in there the night before, along with my shoes and accessories. But to my horror, it quickly became obvious that the outfit was missing. Pulling everything out, I threw each item singly onto the floor, desperately hoping that the clothes I needed were hidden amongst my other bits and pieces. At the bottom of my bag, were my shoes and the long socks that we had all planned to wear, but there was no sign of the outfit I was looking for. “NO!!!” I cried out. “What’s wrong, Julia?” Jackie had heard my distressed call and came over to see what the problem was. “My clothes aren’t in here! But I’m sure I packed them last night!” I flopped down on the floor, tears springing from my eyes. The day I had looked forward to for so long had gone from bad to worse. And I wondered how everything could have gone so terribly wrong. “Fifteen minutes till show time, girls!” Mrs. Jackson was calling out. “I will need to start getting you lined up in your groups, so quickly finish getting ready. I looked towards Millie and Jackie in despair. “What am I going to do?” I wailed. “Julia Jones, aren’t you even dressed yet?” Mrs. Jackson was looking at me with an expression of incredulity on her face. “Hurry up! There’s no time to waste!” Shaking her head, she turned her attention to some younger girls who were trying to pin their hair back. “Aren’t these girls supposed to be wearing head pieces?” she asked no one in particular. I didn’t respond to that, thinking that I had much more important things to worry about than the girls’ hair. How on earth was I going to be able to go on stage without my costume? “What’s wrong, Julia?” Sara’s voice rang in my ears. “You’re still not dressed! Have you decided not to perform?” I was sure that her tone was full of sarcasm but as I turned to face her, I couldn’t help but notice how pretty she looked. Her glowing blonde hair was slicked back into a high pony tail and the bright red lipstick adorning her lips, set off her olive complexion beautifully. She looked so good in the outfit that had been designed for us all, and I felt overwhelmed with disappointment at the thought of not being able to take part. “Julia, you can wear this!” the unexpected sight of the familiar shimmering blue fabric in Millie’s hands was the answer to my prayers. “Oh, Millie! Where did you find it?” I asked, barely daring to breathe. “This one belongs to Annie Thompson. When she broke her leg, she returned it to Miss Sheldon and I spotted it in the cupboard in her office when I went looking for towels this morning.” “Oh, my gosh, Millie!” I said gratefully. “You’re a life saver!” I glanced in Sara’s direction and noticed the surprised look on her face. “Looks like I’ll be going on after all, Sara.” I said in a curt tone and quickly rushed to get changed. I tried not to think about the throbbing pain still emanating from my head as well as the gash on my knee. I had pulled the blood soaked bandage off and although my leg really needed to be covered up, I couldn’t very well go on stage with a horrible looking bandage wrapped around it. By the time I was dressed, there was no time to worry about make-up. I swiftly tied my hair back into a pony tail and regardless of the fact that it wasn’t as neat as I would normally like, it just simply had to do.
