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I shake my head. Oh God. Oh God. I can feel the eyes of every parent and pupil in the hall follow the tip of the principal’s finger to find where I’m sitting.
‘Kay-la. Kay-la. Kay-la,’ chanting begins.
I shake my head again. ‘No, no, no,’ I say, but no one can hear me.
The other students have started stomping their feet, keeping in beat to the syllables of my name as they chant. ‘Kay-la. Kay-la.’
Oh God, this is horrendous. No one warned me about having to get up on stage. My eyes widen.Crap, Mrs Maloney isn’t going to expect me to speak, is she? What would I even say?
‘Come on, Kayla. Don’t be shy,’ Mrs Maloney says into the microphone, so it definitely feels more like she’s talking to everyone in the room and not just to me.
I’m borderline freaking out. Mam glances at me, and I notice the super-worried face on her. I bet she thinks this is a crappy idea, too. I’ve been on stage for awards ceremonies before. But I’m always with my teammates. It’s never just me on my own. This feels so uncomfortable and forced.
Miss Hanlon disappears behind the stage curtain and within seconds she’s standing beside me.
‘Can you stand?’ she asks.
Mam shakes her head. Answering for me.Thank God.
‘There’s no ramp,’ Miss Hanlon says and I’m pretty sure she’s telling Mam and not me.
‘Where are the steps?’ Mam asks.
Miss Hanlon points to the stage door. ‘There are about four steps on the other side. They’re not steep or anything.’
‘Kay-la. Kay-la. Kay-la.’ The chanting grows even louder. It feels as if the roof is vibrating.
I glance at Molly sitting on Dad’s lap. I wonder if she’ll be scared by the loud noise and I almost start laughing when I see her bouncing up and down on Dad’s knees shouting her head off and loving every moment. Dad’s face is hilarious because she’s clearly squashing him.
‘I can carry you,’ Aiden says, leaning in from the seat behind me.
‘Screw this,’ I say, getting a fright because I didn’t know that’s where he disappeared to when Mrs Maloney came on stage.
‘Kayla. Please mind your language,’ Mam says. ‘Sorry, Miss Hanlon.’
‘Sorry, Miss,’ I add. ‘But seriously, no. How morto. Aiden cop on.’
‘Well you can at least lean on me, then,’ Aiden says.
‘Oh, Aiden, I don’t know. Steps are tricky for Kayla right now,’ Mam says.
I look at Doctor Patterson. He’s nodding and smiling. And even though I’m freaking out, I know I can do this. I’ll regret it if I don’t. The school have been so great, organising a sports day in the middle of November just for me, I probably should go up on stage to say thanks at least.
‘Go on,’ Doctor Patterson mouths and I smile back at him.
‘Kayla, it’s up to you,’ Miss Hanlon adds. ‘There’s no pressure. If you’re not comfortable…’
I listen to the noise and excitement in the hall that rings in my ears. ‘No pressure,’ I say, pulling a face.
‘Well…’ Miss Hanlon laughs.
‘Right. C’mon,’ I say, not sure what the hell I’m thinking as I stand up. ‘Let’s do this.’
Mam looks on as Aiden crouches slightly so I can drape my arm over his shoulder and Miss Hanlon supports me on the other side.
‘Take it handy,’ Mam warns. ‘Nice and slowly, okay.’
‘Okay,’ I nod, putting one foot in front of the other, relieved that it doesn’t hurt as much as I was expecting it to.
