Julie Burns

Written age 13
Belmont Academy, South Ayrshire

THE PLAY

'Okay Girls, stand by. Five minutes 'til you're on.'

A ripple of nervous giggles ran through the crowd of small excited girls. Their eyes shone as bright as the gold tinsel halos they donned upon their heads. Their cheeks rosy red from the backstage heat and bustle.

But one girl was not pleased.

Arms folded, as a defence to the world, a small red-headed girl sat on a plastic chair, scowling.

Gabby hated school plays.

She hated the stupid songs you had to sing, she hated the tight, fusty costumes you had to wear. But most of all, she hated being up on stage, in front of everyone, looking like a fool.

And as school plays went, this one wasn't a great success.

One of the Three Kings had tripped over and torn his paper crown, Mary had burst into tears twice, and almost everyone had forgotten their lines.

No wonder they did, thought Gabby, with Mrs Hill sitting at the side of the stage whispering every word to her budding actors during their practices.

Everybody seemed to really enjoy the rehearsals, not bothering to learn anything. Now nobody was so cocky with Mrs Hill sitting three feet away next to the Comber. Gabby liked watching her from the side of the curtain making maniac signals to the kids on stage, Joseph absent-mindedly saying, 'Oh, I think there's a storm coming' when Mrs Hill was waving her arms frantically telling him to go stage left.

Gabby glanced at her simpering classmates. How on earth did they like this? Did they enjoy looking like the contents of a box of Christmas decorations? She peered over at Patsy Leonard, already showing off before she had even gotten on the stage yet, flicking her blond curls and blinking her big blue eyes. She was the angel Gabriel, but by the way she was acting it was as if she had been crowned Queen of England instead.

Gabby herself wouldn't have minded being Gabriel. It would have made the whole experience much more bearable with something more productive to do than stand at the back of the stage with the plastic trees. Besides, it wasn't a whole world from her own name, Gabby.

Suddenly a horrible wailing started up. The shepherds must be singing their solo. She would be on soon. She craned her neck to see four tea towels secured with elastic bands warbling to their white woolly-jumpered sheep.

Her big brother had been a sheep in the school play years before. But Declan had been a talking, singing sheep; lead sheep in fact.

'The Very Special Sheep' had gone down a storm that year.

Gabby could remember going to watch him as a toddler. Even then she had hated the bright lights and cheesy music and had to be taken out before Mary even gave birth.

Declan couldn't understand why she loathed school plays so much.

'Come on Gabs, it's a laugh. It's only me, Mum and Dad there.'

Pah, easy for him to say. Now Declan was at secondary he would never have to go through that trauma again.

'Right girls, time to go on.'

Mrs Allen, a classroom assistant turned stagehand, whispered cheerily, grabbing the nearest angel by the hand and dragging her to the wings. Gabby slowly and reluctantly got up.

Oh great, here goes.

The girls formed a wonky line, Gabby watched as Patsy smiled smugly as she was led around another way. She got to enter through a special trapdoor.

Gabby folded her arms again. Lines to say and a trapdoor.

Now that was just too unfair.

Suddenly a loud expressionless voice croaked, 'Hark, what is that light?'

Mrs Allen gave them a mighty push, urging them on with a weak smile and a thumbs up.

Gabby rolled her eyes, but started blinking them in the harsh white stage light. As her eyes adjusted she saw a dark sea of heads, waving and smiling excitedly to their children.

Good grief, was she the only sane one around here?

She scanned the audience as usual, and spotted her family in the third row. Trust them to be as close to the front as possible.

But what were they holding? Oh no... it couldn't be... It was.

A camera.

Gabby froze.

Her life was over. They would replay this torture for years on end. She'd never live it down.

She had to go.

She started making a break for the safety of the curtain, not even giving a glance to Patsy as she burst out of the floor and ran to the front.

Almost there, she broke into a run.

Totally forgetting about the trapdoor.

The open trapdoor...

Gabby really hated school plays.