judges.â
âListen,â Murphy said, and he shook his notepad as if to call order. âHereâs what you need to do. Number one, remember your audience and forget about them at the same time. You are there to entertain, and the audience will help you do that.â
Murphy continued reading from his list. âNumber two, enjoy yourselfâat least, look like youâre enjoying yourself. Number three, treat the microphone as if itâs your best friend. Number four, every once in a while take a look at your managerâthatâs me. Heâll give you confidence.â Murphy laughed. âNumber five, remember you are performing mostly with your face. Your face will win or lose it for you.â
âMy face,â Molly said. âAre you kidding?â
âReally. Itâs your face that communicates with the audience and the judges.â Murphy shook the notepad again. âIâm not finished.â
By the time Murphy got to number seven, Paige and the girls, plus several other competitors, were crowded around him, listening. âPractice, practice, practice, until you know your piece so well you donât have to think about it.â
âIs that all?â Molly asked. âAre you sure there arenât a hundred other things I need to remember?â
âYeah, thereâs one more thing,â he said. âPlay to win.â
âMurphy!â Molly shook her head. âStop all the pressure.â
âClarissa said the performer who is the most convincing is going to win. Thatâs a quote,â he said. âYou will convince everyone you should win because you love to sing, Mollgirl.â
Paige said, âI think you have the wrong client.â
Dede and Fi started to laugh. âThereâs no contest,â said Fi. âDid you hear what else Clarissa said? Style? Confidence? Skill? Doesnât sound like Molly to me.â
âDoes to me,â Murphy said.
Paige smiled. âWell, good luck with that, Murph. But if you want a winning client, you know my number.â
âYou need more than a manager, Plague ,â Danny said. âIf you think you can beat Molly, you are in for a big surprise.â
Before Paige could argue, Clarissa said, âHey, come on, kids. Donât ruin the competition.â
âThen tell Paige to shut up,â Danny said as Paige pasted a big fake smile on her face. âSheâs the one slagging our team.â
âWeâre just kidding, Danny,â Paige said in a syrupy voice. She turned to Clarissa. âClarissa, thank you so much for your help. Are you one of the judges?â
âThe judges are listed on the poster,â Murphy said.
When Clarissa walked out the door, Danny said, âIt couldnât be any more obvious that youâre just kissing butt.â
Paige ignored him. âMolly should stick to soccer,â she said. âI hear she can run and kick better than some guys around here. Or maybe Molly is one of the boys?â She tossed her head, and her ponytail swayed as she sashayed into the hall with the other girls shuffling behind her.
âYou gotta beat that girl, Molly,â Danny said.
When Molly got to the field after school, Paige, Dede and Fi were standing on the sidelines beside Albert. It was the last game of the regular season, with the Strikers playing the Searchlight Middle School Stars.
Ten minutes in, the referee called a penalty on the Starsâ wingman. Free shot. The Strikers huddled for a few seconds before Jeff emerged and picked up the ball.
A Stars defenseman laughed out loud. âNo worries,â he shouted. âFN boys canât kick.â
âFirst Nations boys can kick your butt,â Danny said.
âThatâs enough,â the referee warned, pointing his finger at the Stars player.
Jeff set the ball in its place, looked at the goalie, wound up and drove the ball high and over the left side of the