Maya's Secret by Holly Webb Page B

models need to be here by half-past six, so as to get made up and dressed in plenty of time,” Izzy explained.
    “And we put in a bit about not being allergic to make-up,” Emily added smugly. “They always putthat on the dance things.”
    Mr Finlay handed out the invitations and the audition letters at the end of school – a pile had gone to every class.
    Maya and the others watched rather smugly as the rest of the class read the invitations, and commented to each other. None of the boys sounded very excited about it, but she supposed they shouldn’t have expected that they would be. Nick Drayton made a snorting noise, and scrunched his invitation into a ball to throw it at Jensen, but Mr Finlay made him flatten it out and promise to hand-deliver it to his mother.
    Ali and Lucy’s table was buzzing. “A fashion show? Fairtrade? Like our project?”
    Maya exchanged a delighted glance with Emily as she listened.
    “And auditions tomorrow at lunchtime. Are you going to do it?” Lucy eyed Ali hopefully. None of Ali’s clique would dare go along if Ali said she wasn’t.
    Ali shrugged. “Maybe. Not sure if I want to do some silly little show.”
    “As if she’s an international catwalk model!” Emily hissed furiously.
    Ali turned round and glared at them. “I supposeyou’ll be auditioning, will you? And Izzy, of course!” She sniggered nastily, and Maya watched the red flush rise up Izzy’s fair skin, from her neck upwards in a horrible wave. Maya put an arm round her, and even Emily moved protectively closer. She might not like Izzy much, but she disliked Ali a whole lot more.
    “Izzy will definitely be at the auditions, Ali.” Mr Finlay had come over without them noticing, and Ali looked slightly embarrassed – but only
very
slightly. “Seeing as she’s the show producer, she’ll be the one auditioning
you
.”

SEVEN
    “Her face…” Izzy purred. “It was brilliant…”
    “I don’t know whether we ought to hope Ali does come to the auditions or not,” Emily mused. “She’d probably be quite a good model – she’s so full of herself, she won’t mind prancing down a catwalk. And it would be fun bossing her around. But she might try and take over.”
    “I reckon she’ll have to come.” Poppy was gathering her stuff together for after-school club. “If she doesn’t, everyone will think she’s scared.”
    “Scared of us?” Izzy asked blissfully.
    Poppy grinned at her. “Yup. And she won’t be able to take over, Emily, because if she starts being a pain, you and Izzy can just sack her.”
    “I love this fashion show.” Izzy sighed.
    “Oh, good, I’m glad I’ve caught you girls. Look, here are your posters.” Mrs Brooker handed them asheaf of bright posters, and the girls admired them delightedly.
    “You’re so clever, Poppy,” Maya said, stroking the glossy paper. “It looks great.”
    “Mr Finlay, can we put one up in here?” Emily asked.
    Mr Finlay nodded. “But only one! You need to put the rest round school, and perhaps one at the library.”
    Emily nodded. “My mum’s picking me up today, because Toby and James need new shoes again. She says we can go to Health Organics, that shop by the station, and ask if they’ll donate us some Fairtrade coffee and tea and things. I know they have lots of Fairtrade stuff. They might put up a poster too. Mum reckoned a small shop might be better to ask than the supermarket, because we’d be able to talk to the owner.”
    “That’s a good idea to save money.” Mrs Brooker nodded approvingly. “I’ve worked out that you’re going to need to sell at least twenty tickets before the event, so that we’ve got enough money to pay Mr Sampson for the extra hours, and cover the cost of printing the posters and programmes.”
    The girls looked at each other. Twenty wasn’t allthat many, surely – but it was a bit scary.
    “We haven’t sold any yet,” Maya said nervously. They’d put on the posters and letters that the tickets