Molly's Promise (9 page)

“I'm sure of it,” Molly said, taking her eyes off the boys, who were practicing shooting on Murphy in the net. “We're a little weak on offense now that you aren't playing. But we've got Murphy—what else do we need?”

Albert slapped her lightly on the back. “I'm talking about the talent competition.”

“Oh, that team.” Molly nudged him back in a friendly way.

“Yeah, that team,” Albert said. “Sorry I didn't make your practice this morning. These days I feel like crap in the mornings. It sucks.”

Molly had been thinking so hard about singing and soccer that she had forgotten Albert had gone for another cancer treatment.

“And what about your team at the hospital?” she asked, noting the dark circles under his eyes and the grey color of his skin.

“The doctor said we're winning,” he said. “Three more trips to Vancouver and that's it.”

“That's it?!”

“Then I have to wait and see if the cancer is all gone.”

Molly hated waiting. Waiting for a doctor to say whether or not you still had cancer sounded brutal. “Waiting must suck worse than anything,” she said.

“I don't care about waiting so much,” Albert said in a flat tone. “All I care about is not having any more treatments.”

Molly didn't know what to say. She hadn't ever asked Albert what the treatments were like. He went down to Vancouver and then, after a few days, he returned, looking sick and tired.

They stood quietly for a few minutes and watched the boys drill the ball at Murphy.

“I have to win the game I'm playing,” Albert said.

A lump formed in Molly's stomach. Albert had more pressure on him than she wanted to think about.

“I think you should sing to win as well, Moll,” he said. “'Cause if you can, you should.”

“I hear you,” she said. “Thanks.”

After a few minutes, Albert said, “Whatever you did to your hair, it looks cool.”

Chapter Twelve

“Hey, Molly.” Nell ran to meet her as she entered the schoolyard the next day. “Your hair. It's totally fantastic. I can't believe it's you. You look so…so…”

“So…so what?” Molly asked.

“So…fantastically cool,” Nell squealed.

Molly laughed. “Settle down.”

Nell reached out and stroked Molly's hair. “You look older. You look hot. Paige is going to be soooo jealous.”

“Paige? Jealous? Of what?” Molly asked.

“You, of course.”

“Me? Why?” Molly asked.

“Your hair, for one thing. Oh my gawd, no one will believe it's you,” Nell said. “And your voice. I hear you can really sing.”

“You are telling me that Paige, Miss Stunningly Beautiful, is going to be jealous of me because I got a haircut? Are you kidding me?”

“Yes, that's what I'm saying,” Nell said.

Molly said, “Paige thinks I'm a pathetic nobody. Now I'll be a pathetic nobody who got a haircut. And neither of you guys have even heard me sing, so I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Paige doesn't need to hear you. She's jealous because the guys say you are great.”

“She never used to even look at Murphy and his friends until they became soccer heroes,” Molly said.

Dede and Fi swiveled around and gasped when Molly entered the washroom. Before Molly had time to back out the door, Paige and Nell came in behind her. Molly was trapped.

“Hey, have you guys seen Molly?” Paige asked.

Fi and Dede said, “Huh?”

“Duh. Molly. You know—Molly, the little boy. She's trying to be a girl for a change. Now that she thinks she's some kind of jazz singer, she's got the hots for Murphy,” Paige said.

The other girls fumbled with their ponytails.

“Yeah, we just saw her,” Fi said. “She's got a fancy hairdo.”

“She probably thinks it'll make her win on Saturday,” Paige said. She threw her head back and laughed hysterically.

“She's just jealous of you, Paige,” Fi said. She stepped in front of Molly and looked right past her, as if she wasn't there.

Molly's knees felt watery. When she turned to find a way to escape, she couldn't get her feet to move.

“She's going to totally embarrass herself this weekend,” Fi said.

Paige shot a nasty look at Molly. “I'm terrified.” The girls laughed. “I'm not kidding. I'm terrified she's going to ruin the whole show. She'll embarrass us all.”

Molly headed for the door. “Excuse me.”

To her surprise, Paige moved aside. As Molly passed, Paige bumped her hard with her elbow. “Don't think you can beat me, you little creep,” she said.

Molly dragged her soggy legs into the hall.

Murphy was waiting there with his notepad and calendar. He had already marked that day's date with a giant
X
. “Five more days, Molly,” he said.

“That's not long,” Paige said, sauntering out of the washroom with the other girls behind her. “Does that mean you've decided to be my manager?”

Molly leaned against the wall and slithered down to the floor. She wished she had the strength to stand up and tell Paige to shut her mouth. But she couldn't move.

Murphy said, “I thought I said Molly.” He turned to Albert. “Did you hear me say Molly?”

Albert laughed. “I heard you say Molly.”

“Did anyone hear Murphy talking to Paige?” Danny asked.

Paige's face turned red. She swung around and saw Molly sitting on the floor. “Looks like your singer is a real winner, Murph. I'm giving you one more chance.”

Murphy ignored Paige and said, “You okay, Moll?”

Jeff pulled Molly to her feet. Her legs felt like wet noodles.

“I'm okay,” she said.

Paige strutted down the hall with Fi and Dede close behind her. Nell was pale and shaky. She put her hand on Molly's arm. “I'm sorry,” she said. “That was horrible.” Then she followed Paige and the other girls.

“I booked the stage in the multipurpose room for three o'clock tomorrow to practice,” Murphy said.

“Do I have to?” Molly asked.

“Yes, you do. Forget those girls. They're stupid,” Murphy said. “Tomorrow we'll have a stage and a microphone.”

“Grandma had a stage,” Molly said. She would love to forget the girls, but the competition was making that more impossible every day.

Murphy said, “But you need to practice with a mic. Plus Clarissa's going to be there.”

After school the next day, Murphy and the boys were waiting for her when Molly arrived at the multipurpose room. And sure enough, Paige and the other girls lingered in the hall nearby.

“Oh, hey, Murph,” Paige said, feigning surprise to see him. “What are you doing here?”

“We're on at three,” he said.

Paige said, “I'm on tomorrow afternoon at four. You're invited.” She pushed her hips a little closer to him. “If you want to watch someone worth seeing, that is.”

Danny said, “Don't you ever quit?”

Murphy ignored Danny and Paige. “Okay, Moll, I googled using microphones, and I've got some stuff we need to go over.”

“I'm listening,” Molly said.

“The first thing is distance—the mic can't be too far or too close from your lips.”

“Sounds good,” Molly said.

Nell appeared in the hall. She walked past Paige and stood in front of Molly and Murphy. She waited for Murphy to finish and then she said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “Hey, Murphy, can I watch Molly this afternoon? Maybe I can help.”

“Are you switching teams?” Danny asked.

“Yeah,” Nell said. “I want to be on Molly's team.”

“Nell, are you kidding?” Paige said. “You're
my
stage manager, in case you forgot.”

Clarissa and Veronica came through the door. “Your playing is exceptional,” Clarissa was saying to her. “You might want to think of accompanying a singer sometime.”

“Like Molly,” Murphy said, overhearing the conversation. “That would be awesome.”

“No kidding,” Veronica said. “But let's wait until after the competition. Can I join you guys for Molly's practice?”

Murphy nodded. “For sure.”

Chapter Thirteen

“Testing. Testing,” Jeff said, tapping the microphone.

Molly sat on the edge of the stage with Nell. “Thanks for being here,” she said.

“I'm so sorry, Moll. For everything,” Nell said. “I'm soooo done with Paige, Fi and Dede.”

“Are we all ready?” Murphy asked.

“Ready,” several voices said.

“Then the show is all yours, Moll. Take it away,” Murphy said.

Molly took her time. She held the microphone and breathed. It was quiet in her head. She looked out at the little crowd. They wanted her to sing. She waited until she heard music in her brain. She tapped her foot. She found the note. And she began to sing, “
Summertime
…”

When she finished, everyone jumped up and cheered.

Nell ran onto the stage and hugged Molly. “I can't believe it. Why didn't I know you could sing like that?”

Clarissa turned to Murphy and said, “No wonder you want to manage this girl. You've got a star on your hands.”

“Okay,” Murphy said. “Enough! We've got business to do here. That was great, Moll. But you have to use the mic more. And remember to stand straight. No slouching. How did you feel up there, Moll?”

She didn't want to say, “I love being on the stage.” But that was exactly how she felt. “Okay,” she said. She stepped forward and then back, trying to find the right distance from the microphone.

“Hang on, Moll,” he said. “Clarissa, do you have any suggestions?”

“No,” she said. “Well, I could say two things. Molly's a star performer, Murphy is a star manager, and these guys in the audience are a star audience. So I'm thinking you guys have a winning team. Let's hear it for all of you.”

Everyone clapped.