Chapter 8

Willow carried her bag into the house.

“Good week, love?”

“Interesting, Mum. I enjoyed it, and, best of all, the crowds enjoyed it.”

“What sort of crowd, all Hooray Henrys and Snooty Susans?”

“Not really. Most were in their teens or twenties, and as bent as a paper clip. It was a gay club, but a lot of fun. We found out that we’re ‘icons of female empowerment’ in that crowd, and we spent every night in a cloud of different perfumes. And that was just on the guys!”

Chapter 6

Wendy and Willow were only slightly included in the discussions. Their new home was deemed to be substantial enough without being ostentatious, perfect for small gatherings and interviews. After an hour, they all walked the short distance to the Parliament.

“We’re not sitting, at the moment, but some will be here to catch up on ministry business. Only talk to a person who talks to you.”

They looked at the Commons, and a few of the offices.

Chapter 4

Willow finished making the drinks, put the three mugs on a tray with some biscuits and took them through to the sitting room, where her parents were watching the late-night news bulletin. She had a text on her phone as she was carrying it in, so sat and read it. It was from the estate agent, telling her that they could inspect the property at two-thirty on Sunday afternoon. She replied with a confirmation.

“What was the call, love?”

Chapter 2

They all hugged and hi-fived. They had a project, and it had enough different facets to use all the skills that the class contained. For the rest of the afternoon, they talked about it. Vivienne went to the board and wrote up the basic album plotline and the song titles, explaining how they fitted into the story.

Some of the class volunteered to come back next week with some ideas on extra dialogue, while Willow and Vivienne said that they would think about extra songs, and how they could alter the existing ones to be more operatic.

Chapter 23.

They went and joined the rest of the orchestra, Willow starting to take control. The mayhem wasn’t helped by camera and sound crews setting things out. Mister Bamborough arrived in tails, and it got settled enough to run a sound check.

After that, they left the hall and went to the side rooms where there was a meal for them. When that was finished, and they had got comfortable, checked their teeth and make-up, they lined up in order to wait for their entrance. Willow took the opportunity to have a word with Zara.

Chapter 21

Mister Bamborough looked at Willow with a grin.

“Tell me more, Miss Rose.”

Chapter 19

Back at home, they put the shopping away and Willow went to help Wendy with the laundry. Being Saturday, they went to the club to have dinner and catch up with the villagers. When Ashley was asked about his head, he just told them that he had run into something wooden.

Maisie and Gina came along, so the two friends sat together. Willow told Gina about what Racheal had told her that morning.

Chapter 17

On the short trip to the Luna Park, Gina gave Samantha a medallion that she had in her bag, and they both carefully signed her copy of the Berlin show. They did a loop around to take the road over the bridge, and then another loop on the other side to arrive at the entrance to Luna Park. There must have been about fifty teenagers waiting for them and they cheered as the three got out of the car. Barry was there, with a grinning cameraman, and a sour-looking woman, made up as if she was a teenager.

Chapter 15

After the food had been eaten, Malcolm went to the stage, asked for quiet, and then smiled at the full house.

Chapter 13.

The new neighbours had expressed a desire to see inside Broadcasting House, so it was a big group who were escorted to the studio where the show was to be recorded. It was set up for TV, and the presenter apologised for the change in format.

“Since you were last here, you’ve all gone from strength to strength. This will be a special on both One and Three, as your appeal covers both demographics. If you can go with our make-up girl, she’ll give you the matt skin that looks better.”

Chapter 11

That night, Willow took a little while to drop off to sleep, snapshots of the day in her brain. But sleep she did, and she woke, refreshed, in the early morning. She went to the bathroom, then showered and dressed for school. On the way, the two friends spoke about the strangeness of yesterday, with them hosting the entire orchestra in the studio.

“We’ll need to go in one evening and tidy up”

Chapter 9

Next morning, Jacob avoided looking at her when he got on the vehicle. She wasn’t going to let him get away with it.

“Enjoy the show, Jacob?”

“It was all right.”

“How did your new girlfriend like it?”

Gina looked at Willow, eyes wide. Jacob looked around, his face glowing.

“Her name is Anita. She is the younger sister of one of the Hikers. I was rostered on as her escort, as she wanted to see the show and her brother is in Spain.”

Chapter 7

On Thursday, it was the last of the Music Studies with the Musical. There was some listening to snippets of various performances and discussion on them, with a question-and-answer session that everyone had to be part of. That evening, Willow packed her case and filled a garment bag with her four stage outfits.

Friday, she saw Jill poke her head into the lunchroom so beckoned her over.

“Welcome to the zoo feeding time, Jill.”

“It’s much nicer than the school I went to. What are we doing this afternoon?”

Chapter 5

When Wilhelm dropped them off, it was still mid-afternoon, so Willow walked to the church to check the hymns. It was soothing to be sitting at the keyboard, doodling Bach. She thought about the morning and the joy of having the band around her. They hadn’t played as the full band since the last show in London.

Chapter 3

What was the parking space had been cleaned and painted. There was a girder frame around the walls, supported by uprights on each corner, and across the back wall it supported a pair of steel doors that totally hid the doors to the lane. The single door at the other side had been bricked up. There was an industrial rack to the left, the same as used in the distribution area and big enough to take pallets.

Ending of Book 3

On Sunday, she played the refurbished organ for the service, had lunch in the club and spent the rest of the day sorting out her school uniform for the next morning, along with an overnight case and a garment bag with her soloists outfit for Monday evening in the Albert Hall. The first term of her third year was certainly going to start in a different way to any other term she had known. She wondered if this school year was going to be as momentous as the last one. She knew, in her heart, that she would enjoy it.

Chapter 1

Chapter 22

The Saturday and Sunday shows were equally as exciting. Jill told them, on Sunday afternoon, that the sales of the Kansas DVD had picked up, and the ‘Homegrown’ CD had already reached Gold status, but the presentations would be postponed until they reached London.

Chapter 20

It was a constant stream of customers for the next two hours. Many had brought all three items and wanted all three signed. It did give the band time to answer questions while they were signing. They all signed with only their birth name, to allow enough space for all eleven on the plastic case. After the first few had bypassed the two at the end of her table, Willow got up and got Vivienne to sit in her seat. Being one of those that everyone wanted the signature of, she created a slowing of the line so that everyone had product presented to them.

Chapter 18

They stopped for a quick kiss before going into class, with Jacob giving the teacher a note from the nurse. Towards the end of lunch, Miss Russell came in and asked the two of them to go with her to the nurse’s room. When they got there, the nurse showed them the pathology result.

Chapter 16

The four girls had the same room as before, so settled down easily. For Willow, it was like having a slumber party without late night movies, her second in a week. In the morning, they had breakfast in the dining room and then went to get ready. Back in the reception, the band looked as if they were about to perform. The outfits were great, fitted well, and made them stand out from the crowd. Jim Jamieson was non-plussed. He hadn’t been to their shows and had never seen Summer Rose play except for the school concerts.

Chapter 14

At Monday lunch, the first person that Willow saw was Vivienne, who came over and hugged her.

“Thank you so much for your comments and ideas, Willow. You’re right, as usual. I’d been scared at putting myself forward and kept the song simple. I see why you thought it unresolved. I’ll work on it between now and the practise at the club. I’m honoured that you think it worthy of an album.”