CHAPTER ONE: It’s All a Dream
Dreams. Ambitions. Everyone has them.
Some people dream of scoring a penalty in the World Cup Final. Others want to travel around the world… Ellie Stevenson dreams of being a singer.
Ellie is a normal seventeen-year-old girl. She lives in a quiet village in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. She goes to school, has a part-time job in her Dad’s shop and enjoys spending time with her best friends, Cassie and Skye.
This is the story of Ellie and how dreams, sometimes, do come true.
‘Pencils down, please!’
I quickly try to finish writing one last sentence but Miss Jones sees me. ‘Ellie Stevenson! The exam is over!’
‘Please, Miss… another thirty seconds… five?’
‘Humph!’ she says and takes my paper.
There’s nothing I can do now. I hate biology! I want to be a singer. I wanted to study music at A level.
‘You can’t study music!’ said Dad when I told him at the start of sixth form, in September last year.
‘If you want a good career you need to study science.’
‘He’s right. The sciences are important, Ellie,’ agreed Skye. ‘I’m going to study chemistry, biology, physics and maths.’
Boring! Why don’t you study French like me?’ suggested Cassie, my other best friend. ‘Mr Lake, the French teacher, is gorgeous!’
I never told anyone about my dream after that.
Now here I am trying not to fall asleep as Miss Jones finishes collecting the answer papers after the biology exam.
I start to yawn. I stayed up studying all night. I’m really tired. I close my eyes. I only want to rest for a minute. But soon I’m not in the exam room…
I’m on stage in front of thousands of fans. My fans! They are shouting my name… I start to play the guitar and they all cheer… they sing the words to my latest hit…
‘Ellie! Ellie!’ Miss Jones’s angry voice wakes me up.
‘Eh…? Sorry?’
‘It’s time to go home!’ she says, shaking her head.
I’m the only person left in the room. Everyone else has already gone.
I was dreaming… again.
I feel stupid as I pick up my bag and walk towards the exit.
Outside, it’s raining. It’s spring but the sky is grey and miserable. It seems like it will rain forever and I haven’t got an umbrella.
‘Ellie! Ellie! Wait for me!’ I turn around and see Skye running towards me. The only thing I can see is her wild black curly hair. The rest of her is hidden behind a pile of library books.
Skye is one of my best friends but she is the last person you want to see after an exam. You know the type… when Skye gets a B, she’s disappointed!
‘That was soooo difficult!’ She starts to ask me what I answered for question four when my mobile rings. It’s Cassie.
‘Hi, Cassie!’ I say, glad of the interruption.
‘Can you come to my Dad’s stables?’ she asks. She doesn’t say ‘hello, how are you?’ Typical Cassie.
‘I have to work in my Dad’s shop this evening. I have to start at 4.30 and it’s already 4.’
‘Don’t worry about that! I’ve got something much more important to talk to you about. Meet me at the stables in five minutes. And bring Skye with you.’
‘But…’ I start to say, but she has already hung up.
When we get to the stables, Cassie is busy riding one of the horses. She looks elegant in her riding clothes. Her make-up and nails, as usual, are perfect. She finishes one final lap and then climbs down from her handsome black horse.
‘Good. You’re here! Now… I’ve got a surprise for you both… you know my Dad asked me what I wanted for a present after studying hard for the exams at the end of the first year?’
Skye starts to laugh. Cassie has never studied for an exam in her life! Everyone knows that. Everyone except Cassie’s Dad!
‘Well… here it is… what do you think?’ She gives us each a piece of paper with a smile.
Tickets? There is silence as we read. Glastonbury Festival? No! It can’t be! I read it again, just to be sure.
‘Glastonbury! I can’t believe it! I’ve always wanted to go to Glastonbury!’
‘Tickets for Glastonbury are really expensive!’ says Skye. ‘I can’t afford tickets for Glastonbury.’
‘Don’t worry about that. They’re a present from me… well, from my Dad. He’s got to go away on a business trip. He’s going to see some new horses in Saudi Arabia. I think he feels guilty, leaving me for a month.’
For a moment she looks sad. Her Dad is always going away and leaving her at home with the housekeeper.
Suddenly, I have a horrible thought… Dad. He’ll never let me go. The Glastonbury Festival lasts three days. My Dad worries if I go out for more than three hours.
‘What’s wrong, Ellie?’ asks Cassie. ‘Aren’t you happy? I thought you loved music!’
‘I do!’ I say quickly. ‘I do! And of course I want to go! It’s just that…’
I feel stupid. I’m seventeen years old but I sound like a baby. ‘I just don’t know how I’m going to persuade my Dad to let me go.’
‘That’s a shame, Ellie…’ says Cassie. ‘You see… on MTV this afternoon they said that another group is going to perform too. But if you don’t want to see Murphy play live…’
‘Murphy?’ I ask, my voice shaking. My heart starts to beat loudly.
‘That’s what I said… Murphy. The sexiest, most gorgeous man alive. But if you don’t want to upset your Dad…’ she tries to take the ticket back.
No! I shout, quickly pulling the ticket away from her. ‘I’ll be there!’
Cook him a nice dinner,’ suggests Cassie.
‘Work extra hours in the shop,’ suggests Skye.
The shop! I suddenly remember and quickly look at my watch: 4.35.
‘What is it?’ asks Cassie.
‘The shop!’ I say running towards the door. ‘I’m late for work!’
I can hear Cassie and Skye laughing as I run out of the stables and into the cold rain. But I don’t care and soon I am laughing too.
I’m going to see Murphy!