Free Confessions Of A Karaoke Queen by Ella Kingsley Page A

stairs.
    The crew bustle past. ‘It’s the door on the left,’ I say, guiding them through. Evan brushes close to me and he smells of old mahogany furniture.
    ‘Hang on a sec,’ I say, ‘let me grab the keys.’ I take the steps two at a time and emerge seconds later with a bundle of metal trinkets in the shape of bass clefs and musical instruments. Hidden somewhere among them is access to Sing It Back.
    ‘I should warn you it’s a bit of state down there,’ I say apologetically as I unlock the door. ‘I don’t even know if the lights are working.’
    ‘Perfect!’ says Evan, rubbing his hands together.
    ‘I’ve got to make a couple of phone calls,’ I tell him, mounting the stairs. ‘I’ll be with you in a minute, help yourself to coffee.’
    Upstairs I ring Jennifer at Simply Voices.
    ‘You’ll have to get someone to cover for you,’ she says, brusquely efficient, after I explain. ‘We haven’t seen enough of you lately, Maddie.’
    ‘I know,’ I admit, grabbing a clean towel out the airing cupboard, ‘I’m really sorry. Things have been hectic since Mum and Dad went. I’ll be in tomorrow – I promise.’
    Minutes later I’m speaking to Lou.
    ‘You’ve done
what
?’ she cries, horrified.
    ‘I know, I know.’ I’m breathless after a breakneck summary of my meeting with Evan. ‘But it’s a good opportunity. And I said I was looking for a solution, didn’t I?’
    ‘Not this one!’
    ‘Look, I didn’t have much choice. It was all Peter Andre’s fault.’
    ‘What’s Peter Andre got to do with it? And why didn’t you call me?’
    ‘I tried, you didn’t pick up! Look, I’ll explain everythinglater.’ I pad into the bathroom. ‘Can you come over tonight? I’m getting the others round as well. Once I’ve been through the up-sides I promise you’ll see it makes sense.’ I cross my fingers behind my back, praying it’s the truth. If I do a good enough job convincing them, I might start to feel convinced myself.
    There’s a pause. ‘The others’ll be there?’
    ‘Yes.’ I raise my eyes heavenward. ‘All of them.’ Then I remember Lou’s not the only one with a ginormous crush. Without warning Mystery Man pops into my head – those eyes; that smile. ‘I’ve got loads to tell you.’
    ‘Fine.’ Big sigh. ‘So I guess you want me to cover for you?’
    ‘Do you mind?’
    She lets me hang, but I know she’s going to say yes and I owe her one.
    ‘Fine. But you owe me one.’
    I flick on the shower. ‘You got it. Love you.’

     
    Downstairs, Evan is looking decidedly like the cat that got the cream.
    ‘This is wonderful,’ he purrs, running his hands over the bar as though we’re in a Porsche showroom and it’s the paint-work on his dream car. ‘It’s just perfect.’
    I sip my coffee. ‘I wouldn’t go that far,’ I say, nodding to where Alison’s trying to programme a song into one of the machines, which, after my efforts last night, has finally given up the ghost. ‘In fact I’d say we were rock bottom.’
    ‘But that’s
why
you’re so perfect.’ He flashes me a smile.
    I return it, wishing I could like him a bit more.
    ‘Just sign here.’ Slick as a snake, he unscrews the lid from a shiny racing-green fountain pen.
    I look down to the contract between us, the dotted line awaiting my signature. Quickly I scribble my name, before I can change my mind. I’ve already changed my mind about fifty times this morning – and then changed it back again – so it feels a bit like tossing a coin.
    ‘Whoa, this stuff is
old
,’ announces Alison, flipping through our song lists. Freddie points at something and they both laugh.
    ‘Yeah, we’re working on some updates.’ I turn round on my stool, feeling defensive. Sing It Back might well be a dump, but it’s still
our
dump. ‘I was thinking we could run some theme nights,’ I suggest to Evan, ‘you know, shake things up a bit.’
    ‘We’ll look after all that,’ he says dismissively, easing the