Free Olivia Plays Her Part by Holly Bell Page A

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The next morning Olivia sat in class without hearing much of what her teacher was saying. She couldn’t stop thinking about the audition. Finally it was almost eleven o’clock. Time to go!
    Maddie gave Olivia the thumbs up. ‘You’ll be awesome!’ she whispered.
    ‘Thanks,’ Olivia said.
    The rest of the girls whispered good luck as Olivia excused herself and rushed out of the classroom.
    Miss Hibbert, Olivia’s drama teacher, was waiting in the school hall. Miss Hibbert was one of Olivia’s favourite teachers and always wore jangly earrings and pretty necklaces. Olivia was surprised to see three other teachers sitting at the table, too. She hadn’t expected anyone else to be there. Butterflies fluttered about in Olivia’s belly. She hoped she wouldn’t be too nervous to sing!
    ‘Olivia,’ Miss Hibbert said with a kind smile. ‘Right on time. Who are you auditioning for today?’
    ‘Dorothy,’ said Olivia.
    ‘Wonderful!’ said Mrs Mitchell. ‘You can start whenever you’re ready.’
    Olivia discreetly kissed the purple lucky clover charm around her neck before moving to stand in front of them. She stuck her left leg out a bit and pointed her toes, the way she did when she was about to begin a gymnastics routine. It made her feel graceful and helped put her into performance mode.

    She plastered a big smile on her face, the way she did at competitions, took a deep breath and began.
    Olivia felt on top of the world when she left the hall five minutes later. The audition had been scarier than she had imagined, but it had gone well. She had looked graceful and hadn’t mucked up any of her moves, and her voice hadn’t been too wobbly when she sang.
    It was recess so Olivia grabbed her snack and met the girls at the monkey bars.
    ‘How did it go?’ Maddie asked.
    ‘Did Miss Hibbert give you the part on the spot?’ said Emma.
    Olivia laughed. ‘It was great,’ she said. ‘But I have to wait until Thursday afternoon to find out, just like everyone else.’
    ‘I bet you get it,’ said Kate. ‘And Abbey will do a brilliant audition this afternoon and she’ll get in too!’
    ‘I put my name down to help out with the costumes,’ Emma said. ‘I’d love to make those sparkly green dresses for the Emerald City.’
    ‘Miss Hibbert said that maybe I could help look after Toto backstage,’ Matilda said. ‘He’s Rhea’s dog and he’s so cute!’
    Olivia felt happy and relieved as her friends kept chatting. Happy that she had done well, and relieved that the waiting would soon be over!

It was the end of the school day on Thursday and Olivia was sitting in the classroom, counting down the seconds until the bell.
    Ding! Ding! Ding!
    Finally!
    She jumped out of her seat and raced out the door along with the rest of her class. By the time she reached the bulletin board, a small crowd had already gathered around it.
    ‘Abbey, you’re the Wicked Witch!’ Matilda squealed from the front of the crowd.
    ‘ Really ?’ Abbey cried.
    Matilda flung her arms around Abbey and they began jumping up and down. Olivia tried to look over people’s heads but she still couldn’t see the board.
    ‘Emma and I are Emerald City ladies!’ she heard Matilda shout. ‘I’ll get to wear green and you’ll get to wear those pretty dresses, Emma!’
    ‘Kate, you’re a munchkin!’ cried Emma.
    ‘What about Olivia?’ Maddie called from behind Olivia. ‘Is her name next to Dorothy?’
    ‘Hang on,’ said Emma, ‘I’m looking.’
    The students were starting to walk away from the board and Olivia moved forward to look at the list.
    There, next to the word ‘Dorothy’ was a name. But it wasn’t hers.
    ‘Lily Ellis?’ said Maddie, looking stunned.
    ‘Lily from Miss Jacobs’ class is Dorothy?’ said Matilda.
    Olivia’s face flushed hot and she felt a twinge in her chest.
    ‘I’m sorry, Olivia,’ said Emma. ‘You practised so hard.’
    ‘It doesn’t matter,’ said Olivia, but her voice sounded