Page 28 of A Secret Cornish Wish
The prize winners are all encouraged to leave the stage by the wings. I glance back and the last thing I see is some of the older boys, carrying guitars and a drum kit, hurrying onto the stage, and Marnie, now wearing a long shimmering dress in turquoise blue, looking far too beautiful, preparing her microphone to sing again.
‘Hey,’ Rob says as he pushes past me out of the wings and down a couple of steps into the school corridor, presumably in a hurry to get to the front of the stage to see Marnie again. ‘Fancy a dance later, Frankie?’
I’m about to say, ‘Yes, that would be wonderful!’ when I remember what Mandy had said.
‘No, thanks.’ I stop at the top of the steps so I’m that little bit higher than he is, as he looks back at me with a confused expression. ‘I’ll be spending this evening with my friends. My real friends, that is.’
Rob stares at me for a moment, absorbing what I’ve just said.
‘Sure,’ he says, looking a tad bewildered. ‘If that’s what you want?’
‘It is.’
‘Right, then.’ He nods. ‘I need to get to the stage. I really want to see the show.’
I bet you do, I think silently.I can’t believe you’re actually admitting it to my face.
Rob’s about to leave when he pauses and reaches into his pocket. ‘I almost forgot. Did you drop this?’ he asks, holding out a shell in the palm of his hand. ‘I assumed it came off one of your costumes. I found it on the stage just now.’
The shell looks like a cross between a conch shell and a horn shell, but, instead of being rough and spiky on the outside, it’s incredibly smooth and its mother-of-pearl appearance sparkles under the fluorescent light above us.
‘I don’t think so. It’s a bit too big to have come off any of our outfits.’
‘Well, you might as well have it,’ he says, hurriedly pressing it into my hand. ‘I’ve no use for it any more . . . Have I?’ He looks hopefully up at me, as the front of his sandy hair falls over his dark eyes, and for a moment I almost give in to his forlorn gaze.
But I hold my ground, and don’t say anything.
‘Fine. I see how it is.’ Rob gives me one last look, then he turns smartly and walks purposefully away down the corridor.
And all I can think about isn’t how jealous I am, or how upset he’s made me, but only why I hadn’t wished for something different . . .
Eight
Two nights earlier . . .
‘So that’s it, then,’ Eddie declares proudly. ‘Our last rehearsal. In two days’ time, we’ll be up on the stage about now.’
It’s Thursday evening and we are at Morvoren Cove. Suzy is with us to watch our last rehearsal, and there’s an air of relief mixed with apprehension as we complete our final run-through.
‘We’re gonna be great!’ Mandy says with her usual confidence, flopping down onto the picnic rug next to Suzy. ‘We’ll whop the others. No one has an act like ours.’
‘How do you know?’ Claire asks from the rock we mermaids have been perched on until now. ‘We don’t know what everyone is doing yet. I’ve only heard a few rumours.’
‘Have confidence in yourself for once, Claire!’ Mandy props herself up with her hand behind her head. ‘If you believe we’ll be the best, then we will.’
I climb down off the rock and sit on the second rug we’ve brought with us, and I’m pleased when Rob comes and sits next to me, after putting his guitar safely away in its case to protect it from the sand.
‘Drink, anyone?’ Mandy asks, leaning over and pulling a large bottle of cider from the carrier bag next to her. ‘I have glasses too!’ She pulls a stack of clear plastic cups from the bag.
‘How did you get that?’ Eddie asks, kneeling on the rug next to Mandy and Suzy.
‘I have my ways.’ Mandy taps the side of her nose. ‘Be a dear and hold the cups, Eddie, so I can pour without spilling it.’
‘But we’re not old enough to drink,’ Claire says, looking worried. ‘We’ll get in trouble if anyone sees us.’
Mandy opens the bottle. ‘Claire, look around you. The beach is deserted, it’s only us here and now the tide has turned, the chances of anyone joining us is unlikely. You know how small this cove gets when the tide is in; there’s hardly any sand, unless like us you know where to go.’
Claire nods, but still looks concerned.
