Page 27 of A Secret Cornish Wish
And as I stand there, I begin to cry.
‘There you are!’ Mandy says as she bursts through the toilet door. ‘We wondered where you’d gone. Shit, Frankie, what’s wrong?’
‘Nothing.’ I sniff, furiously trying to wipe my eyes on my bare arm.
Mandy goes into the cubicle and pulls off what seems like half a roll of toilet paper. ‘Here,’ she says, passing it to me. ‘I wouldn’t rub yourself too hard with it, though – that stuff is like sandpaper.’
I dab gently at my eyes with the crunchy paper. ‘Thanks.’
‘Wanna tell me what’s wrong?’ she asks gently. ‘Is it Marnie?’
‘How do you know that?’
‘The way Rob went after her when we came off stage. It was like he’d been hypnotised or something. Completely in a trance he was.’
I look miserably in the mirror at myself. My mascara has now all smudged under my eyes, adding to the ‘mermaid in a horror movie’ look I’m currently sporting.
‘Why do you think he did that?’ I ask in a pitiful voice.
‘Dunno – he’s male, isn’t he? Most of them are a waste of space. That’s what my mum says and I’m starting to agree with her.’
I turn to face Mandy. ‘But I thought you liked boys . . . I mean, men . . . well, the male of the species anyway.’
Mandy shrugs. ‘They have their uses. But my girlfriends are far more important to me. You want my advice?’
‘Maybe?’ I reply hesitantly.
‘Sod him! If he wants to fawn over some blonde bimbo, then so be it. You, Frankie, are worth a hundred of him . . . no, make that a thousand. Don’t let him ruin your evening. We were fabulous out there tonight. Pretty sure we won’t win after the turn the octopuses put in, but even if we don’t, I’m gonna enjoy the rest of the night. I’ve got an amazing dress and I’m going to live it up and I suggest you do too. You don’t need a boy to make you happy, Frankie. Only you can choose to do that.’
Mandy’s unexpectedly wise talking-to does me the world of good. I wash my face as best I can with water, then I go back with Mandy to the drama studio, where I properly remove all my mermaid make-up, replace it with something a little lighter and get changed into my dress for the dance.
‘You lookin’ good, girl!’ Mandy says with a low whistle as she takes my arm ready to head back into the main hall. ‘The singing mermaid has transformed into one hot mumma of a mermaid! Where did you get the dress?’
I tell Mandy about Rose and her vintage dresses as we walk arm in arm back to the party together. The school hall has now been transformed from a theatre into a magical underwater venue for the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. The chairs and the audience members have disappeared, and in their place are fifteen- and sixteen-year-old pupils all milling around looking a little awkward with their friends.
We quickly find the other mermaids, and, after we’ve all admired each other’s outfits, including Eddie’s electric-blue tuxedo and bow tie, we help ourselves to non-alcoholic fruit punch.
I try hard after Mandy’s pep talk not to look around for Rob, but occasionally I find my eyes moving around the room wondering where he is. I can’t see Marnie either, and I can’t help wondering if they’re somewhere together.
‘And so, without further ado,’ Mr Evans, our headmaster, continues his welcome speech from behind the microphone on the stage. ‘It’s time to announce the winners of the Enchantment Under the Sea talent show. Our audience were all asked to complete a voting slip as they left the hall tonight and I now have the results of their vote.’ He pauses to open a gold envelope and quickly scans the piece of paper inside. ‘In reverse order, third place goes to Jane Edwards, Melissa Jenkinson and Louise Roland for their very unusual and some might say unique performance of a traditional sea shanty to theBlue Petertheme tune!’
There’s applause as the girls hurry up onto the stage to receive their prize – a box of seashell-shaped chocolates each.
‘And in second place we have . . . ’ Mr Evans pauses for effect. ‘The Misfit Mermaids with their splendidly sea-themed rendition of the Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ USA”!’
There are some cheers along with applause, and we all traipse up onto the stage to receive a similar box of chocolates with the addition of a sea-scented candle. Rob reappears to claim his prize with us, and I try desperately hard not to look at him.
Then we stand at the back of the stage in front of my backdrop with the other runners-up while Mr Evans announces the winners, who I think most people have guessed already.
‘And the winners of this year’s talent show are . . . the Octopi Orchestra with special guest, Miss Marnie Morrissey!’
So Marnie gets her own billing now, I think sourly. This evening just gets better and better.
The Octopi Orchestra literally skip up onto the stage to receive their prizes – chocolates, candles and a voucher for ice cream donated by one of the ice-cream shops on the harbour.
I can’t help but glance at Rob as the winners claim their prizes, and as I suspected I find he’s gazing doe-eyed at Marnie as she collects her prize from Mr Evans.
‘And I have a wonderful bonus for you all this evening,’ Mr Evans says as I’m desperate to escape the stage. ‘Marnie has agreed to perform for us again this evening, along with some of our leavers. So, without further ado, I wish you all a wonderful evening of dancing, music and laughter, and I pass the microphone over to Miss Marnie Morrissey accompanied by,’ he quickly checks his card, ‘the Friday Rock Project!’
