I grinned at her. ‘I know. But you’ll sing it better.’
And she would.
Rose was a good singer, can’t take that away from her. She could carry a tune, she kept time. I have to admit she even looked pretty. But there was nothing special about her voice, nothing at all. I could tell that now, now that I had heard Lauren. Mr Hammond wandered around the auditorium as he listened, finally standing right at the back.
Then she was done. Everyone applauded apart from Erin and the rest, who went wild.
Lauren leant across to me. ‘I think she already has the part. I’m going home.’ She was ready to stand up and leave and I could understand why. Even Mr Hammond was clapping and he hadn’t done that with anyone else.
‘Lovely, Rose. Thank you.’ It was almost as if he had made up his mind too.
I gripped Lauren’s hand, squeezed it. ‘It’s Lauren’s turn now, sir.’
He turned towards us and his smile disappeared. But if there was something I could say about Mr Hammond, it was that he was fair – one of those teachers who always tries to do the right thing. I just hoped he wasn’t going to let me down now.
‘OK, Lauren. On you come.’ Then his beady eye settled on me once again. ‘And this had better not be a joke, Hannah.’
I realised then that he thought Lauren was going to be deliberately rubbish, and the whole audition would end in chaos. In fact, when I looked around I knew that was what they all thought. They weren’t interested in Lauren’s singing at all. Some were slumped on seats, talking, or flicking through magazines. If they were watching it was only because they were ready for a laugh.
Lauren almost tripped on to the stage and that sent Erin off, whistling again.
‘Go for it, Lauren!’ I called out from the back, just to let her know we were all there for her, no matter what.
And Lauren started to sing, and then they all listened.
Boy, did they listen. They stopped riffling through magazines, they all shut up, they all watched her. No one had ever heard her sing before. I had never heard her sing so well. Just a few bars in and Lauren forgot her nerves. Her voice carried right to the back of the auditorium and as Mr Hammond wandered up and stood behind us, I knew he was impressed with that too. And Lauren didn’t just sing. She moved with the music, her face animated, singing as if she meant every word.
People started clapping, swaying with the rhythm, joining in the chorus – really enjoying the song. They hadn’t done that with Rose. I knew then that if Lauren didn’t get that part it would be a total cheat.
When she’d finished everyone was silent. Lauren blinked and looked round the auditorium, wondering why no one was clapping her. It was big Anil who clapped first. This was his leading lady. And he liked it. And then everyone in the auditorium erupted, whistling, cheering, stamping feet. Lauren blushed and smiled. Wizzie slunk down further in her seat. ‘Now she really does look like a Lip Gloss Girl.’ But she wasn’t smiling about it.
Mr Hammond had to shut everyone up. The only ones who didn’t applaud were Erin and the rest. A rage hung over them like a wet blanket.
Mr Hammond strode to the front of the stage, still clapping.
‘Was that all right, sir?’ Lauren asked.
‘That was better than all right, Lauren,’ he said. ‘Where have you been hiding yourself?’ Lauren looked out towards us. ‘It was Hannah’s idea. She heard me sing and said I should try out for this.’
Then he turned, looked directly at me. ‘Ah, so you only discovered you could sing since you’ve been in Hannah’s gang.’
I felt Wizzie stiffen beside me. Hannah’s gang. Not Wizzie’s. She didn’t like that.
But I did.
Hannah’s gang.
Mr Hammond consulted his flip chart where he’d been jotting down notes all through the auditions. ‘Well, you’ve all been wonderful, but I think we’ve found our Sandy.’ And he stepped forward and held out his hand to Lauren. ‘Congratulations.’
The place went wild. We leapt on to the seats, cheering and shouting. It was a great moment, especially when I watched Erin and Rose, almost in tears, run from the auditorium. Rose turned to me at the door. I’d never seen her so angry. Her heart had been set on this part. She’d been sure it was in her pocket. And Lauren had won it over her. Good.
Let her be angry. I wanted her angry and disappointed and hurt. Let her stew.
This was my great moment, and I was going to enjoy it.
Chapter Forty-Eight
I wasn’t surprised to find them all waiting for us when we strode out of the auditorium. Lauren had been kept back by Mr Hammond so we were outnumbered. Not a problem. Everyone else had cleared off. They knew trouble was coming.