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opened her mouth and out came the most ridiculous high-pitched sound that was so angelic it made my voice sound like a gargoyle’s.
    Lucky I was saved from having to show off my own range, because Stella got the pianist to start. I shook out my pages and pretended that I was still at Silver Shoes and knew exactly what I was doing.
    Good thing I was a terrific actress. I hadn’t gotten into Mary Poppins for nothing!
    I would fake it and keep my eyes and ears open, and learn. We’d see who would be breaking the windows with their mezzo-soprano then.

Chapter Twelve
    I sat in the corner of the rehearsal space feeling very un-Ellie like.
    All around me people were sitting in groups, chatting and sharing the lunches they’d packed for rehearsal break.
    And here I was, eating my lunch all alone, after a morning of being told off because I kept missing the downbeats in my tapping, and getting so flustered over trying to getit right that I felt my head was about to fall off.
    I was meant to be making an impression! This was my big break, my first musical theatre experience! In my dreams I’d always wowed people with my talent, this girl who’d come out of nowhere and won everyone’s hearts.
    But some of the cast didn’t even know me. Today, one of the adults had asked me to move up and said, ‘Sorry, what’s your name again, sweetie?’
    What? Everyone knows my name is Eleanor Irvin. Even the juniors at Silver Shoes, even their parents! I have a whole shelf full of trophies and medals from talent shows, competitions, exams and eisteddfods. And this adult was asking me to move up ?
    I shuffled over on the bench to where a group of kids were sitting on the floor, eating cake one of them had brought in.
    I wrinkled my nose. Coconut. Me and the Silver Shoes girls always had caramel and Jamaican apple – Riley’s mum made the best cake you’ve ever tasted.
    â€˜Remember when we were at music camp,’ one of them was saying. The others nodded so I nodded too, although I’d never been to a music camp in all my life. ‘And we did that tribute to Little Shop of Horrors but Macey’s flower mask was so big and she couldn’t see where she was going?’
    The others burst out laughing. I went to smile but all that went up was my eyebrows. I sighed.
    Jelly snakes were the only things that would save me now. I dug some out of my bag and carried them outside.
    There was a garden near where Lucas had been playing on the monkey bars. It was bricked in and had overgrown bushesand twisty paths, and I followed them until I found a park bench under a eucalyptus tree.
    I undid the tie around the snakes packet. Inside was a folded-up piece of paper. I smoothed it out and found something written inside:
    We miss you, Broadway Baby! Have fun at rehearsals! Love P, R & A
    They must have snuck it in there at Silver Shoes when I hadn’t noticed.
    I held the note in my hand and struggled not to cry. If only Mary Poppins had an Ashley, or a Riley, or a Paige, it would be ten times more fun.
    A sherbet bomb dropped onto my head.
    â€˜Huh?’ I stared at it lying in my lap. A girly giggle floated down from the leaves above me.
    I looked up.
    Cadence Kohdean was sitting up in the branches. You couldn’t have surprised me moreif Jasmine had opened her mouth and said something nice.
    â€˜Hello!’ said Cadence.
    â€˜Hi,’ I managed to say.
    â€˜Do you like climbing trees, Ellie?’ asked Cadence. She slithered down the trunk with more skill than her perfect clothes and pretty little hands suggested.
    â€˜It’s okay,’ I said. ‘Not really my number one hobby. I wouldn’t have thought it was yours, either.’
    â€˜Four brothers.’ Cadence giggled again, seating herself next to me. ‘They also taught me how to fart in my armpit!’ She clutched at my arm. ‘Don’t tell anyone, though.’
    â€˜Um,’ I said,