Sam in the Spotlight Read Free

Saturday?”
    â€œCan’t wait!” said Phoebe.
    â€œHey, what’s happened to your hair?” I called out. “It’s so long!”
    â€œExtensions,” she called back. “It’s my new look! What do you think?”
    â€œAmazing,” I said, and the others all nodded, agreeing.
    She stopped suddenly, as if something had just occurred to her, and walked back to us. “Erm…Ellie, aren’t you supposed to be showing the new Year Sevens where they have lunch right about now?”
    â€œOh no!” wailed Ellie. “I told you I was supposed to be somewhere important!” And she flew off down the corridor, tripping over the straps from her bag.
    â€œIt’s nice to see some things never change,” said Mandy, grinning. “See you on Saturday, girls.”
    I love the first day back at Star Makers – it’s always so exciting to see everyone after the holidays. I’d arranged to meet Ellie outside, but she texted me to say she was running late so I went up without her. Most of the group were already there. Mandy was over at the piano with Phoebe’s little sister Sara, and Phoebe and Polly were standing in the middle of the hall talking to two of the boys, Adam and Monty B. I dumped my bag on the front of the stage and went over to join them.
    â€œHey, Sam,” said Polly. “Where’s Ellie?”
    â€œShe’s running late. Probably lost her shoes or something. What’s going on? Why is your sister here, Phoebe?”
    â€œIt’s a nightmare,” groaned Phoebe. “I don’t even want to talk about it. For some bizarre reason, Mandy has agreed to let Sara join Star Makers even though she won’t be ten until the end of the year. Something to do with her being grown up for her age, which is like the biggest joke.”
    â€œShe looks really cute,” said Adam. “Kind of like a puppy.”
    â€œ Cute! ” spluttered Phoebe. “You won’t be saying she’s cute when you get to know her.”
    I looked across at Adam and then did a double-take and looked again. Something had changed. I mean, he’s always been cute and I’ve always been like, Hey, you’re cute – big deal, but suddenly my heart did a strange little flip and I could feel myself start to blush. Me, blush. I’m sorry but I. DO. NOT. BLUSH. I peered a bit closer. What was it? Was he taller? Was it because he was in Year Ten now? Was it…?
    â€œHi, Sam. How was your summer?” OMG, he was speaking to me. Staring straight into my eyes.
    I smiled brightly. “Oh, you know, it was great. Non-stop fun and games!”
    I looked away, blushing even more. Non-stop fun and games? What was I talking about? We all joke about fancying Adam, but this wasn’t funny. Luckily, at that moment Mandy finished talking to Sara and called us over.
    â€œHello, you guys…welcome back and welcome to Phoebe’s sister, Sara, who’s joined today.” We all waved hi to Sara, who looked as if she was about to burst with excitement. “It’s so fantastic to see you all, I’ve missed you like mad!” Mandy went on. “Now, we’re actually going to start off this morning with a game called Murder Handshake.”
    â€œOh, I love this game,” I shouted out. “Can I be the detective, Mandy, please? ”
    â€œYes, okay, Sam,” said Mandy, laughing. “Go and wait outside while I choose the murderer.”
    We’ve played this game before in our drama lessons at school. One person is secretly chosen to be the murderer and then everyone walks round the hall shaking hands. When the murderer shakes your hand they tickle your palm and then you have to shake three more hands before you die.
    A few minutes later Mandy called me back in and I walked around the hall trying to guess who the murderer was while the others began to fall to the floor.
    â€œI’m too young to