Free Olivia Plays Her Part by Holly Bell

‘Give me back my shoe, you horrible witch!’ Olivia cried.
    ‘Never!’ Abbey shouted.
    Olivia pretended to throw a bucket of Chapter Two water over her and Abbey sank to the stone floor of the clubhouse.
    ‘I’m melting!’ Abbey shrieked.
    Maddie, Emma, Kate and Matilda burst into applause, cheering loudly. Olivia and Abbey took a bow.
    ‘That was great, guys!’ Maddie said.
    ‘You’re both going to ace that audition,’ Kate said.
    Olivia hoped Kate was right. She was so excited about the school’s production of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and auditions were the next day! The girls had been helping her learn her lines and Olivia was ready.
    Olivia flopped down into a beanbag, pulled her jacket around her and shivered.

    It was a chilly Sunday afternoon and the friends were trying to keep warm in their clubhouse. Emma and Matilda were snuggled under a blanket, and Maddie and Kate were curled up on the other beanbag. Abbey nestled into her dog, Moby. An icy wind blew through the quarry outside.
    The quarry was an old stone mine that had been abandoned a long time ago. Its huge walls were now surrounded by wild flowers, trees and lots of clover. One hot day, Olivia and her friends had found a four-leaf clover at the quarry. A clover with four leaves is rare, and finding one made the girls feel lucky. The friends decided to wear a four-leaf clover charm as a symbol of their friendship. After all, best friends are like a four-leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have.
    The girls often joked about who saw the four-leaf clover first but Olivia was sure it had been her.
    Soon after, the girls had found an old miners’ shed hidden in the quarry. Olivia, Maddie, Kate, Emma, Abbey and Matilda were the only people who knew it was there. It became their secret clubhouse.
    ‘Did you put your name down for backstage, Maddie?’ Abbey asked.
    Maddie nodded. ‘I couldn’t imagine going on stage in front of hundreds of people and saying all those lines!’ she said with a shudder.
    Olivia and the other girls laughed. Olivia couldn’t believe how different she and her best friend were. Maddie could play soccer on a huge sports field, but the thought of being on stage made her shake at the knees. Olivia loved performing in front of a crowd at her gymnastics competitions.
    ‘Olivia would make the perfect Dorothy,’ Maddie said proudly.
    ‘Yeah, Olivia!’ Abbey said. ‘You’re so graceful. I feel like a total klutz beside you!’
    ‘You didn’t look klutzy,’ said Matilda. ‘Your Wicked Witch is great!’
    ‘Thanks,’ Abbey said. ‘I hope I get it.’
    Olivia agreed that Abbey would make a great Wicked Witch, even though she had never done any performing before. She just hoped her friend wouldn’t be too upset if they picked someone else.
    ‘I’ve got to go,’ Matilda announced. ‘Mum’s making spag bol tonight and I’m going to help.’
    Maddie turned to Olivia and Abbey. ‘And you two should chill out before your big auditions tomorrow,’ she said.
    ‘Chill out?’ Abbey cried. ‘No way! Moby and I are going to play outside with his new ball, aren’t we, boy?’
    ‘You’re going outside in this weather?’ Kate said. ‘I’ll be curled up on the couch with my new science magazine.’
    ‘I’m going to do fifteen somersaults on the trampoline and then finish the book club list for Mrs Mitchell,’ Olivia said. ‘I said I’d help organise it this term.’
    ‘Ugh,’ said Abbey. ‘That sounds like extra homework to me!’
    ‘Oh no, it’s fun, actually,’ Olivia said. ‘First I put them into categories depending on what sort of books they are, and then the authors go in alphabetical order, and …’
    ‘Okay, okay,’ Maddie said with a grin. ‘We get it!’
    ‘You want to come over and help me, Abbey?’ Olivia asked slyly.
    ‘No way!’ Abbey said, shaking her head. ‘I’d rather read Kate’s science magazine!’
    Olivia laughed along with the others as they all got up to head for