Aisling's Diary

Chapter 19

Saturday 3 December  

2:00p.m. 

We-hell. What can I say? There’s the good news. Thingscertainly started off all right. I was in time, and my ringlet hairpiece didn’t fall out, despite my most radical moves (more of those later). Umm – that’s the end of the good news, and here comes the bad news … 

Just as Killer Kennedy said. Arms straight down, I did all the moves exactly as she said, exactly as we’d practised. Perfectly in time, the best I’ve ever danced since we got to 

Dublin. But then something happened, the music began to really change in my head, as if a different music, something from the flashmob, was playing as well. Then I couldn’t really see the others or the judges or remember what I’d practised. It was so weird. I didn’t really know what I was doing but I guess I must have been doing a couple of my moves, the moves Amelia and I worked out. They just seemed so right, and to match the reel so well, it was only when the music stopped that I realized I’d been doing something different. One of the judges looked straight at me and then wrote something down with a shake of the head that SOOOO was not good. And then I saw Killer Kennedy coming right at me. 

I tried to get away as quick as possible and had almost made it to the changing rooms. But Killer Kennedy appeared in the corridor like the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. And she was awful. She said I hadn’t just let myself down but by dancing the way I had, I’d let down the whole team. I hadn’t thought of that. Anya and Mushira were with her and they just looked really disappointed, which was sort of worse than being cross with me. I felt really bad for them like I’d let them down. I would never have done this in Boston to Amelia and Lauren. So why have I changed so much? KK said if I hadn’t been dancing with Murphy so much maybe I’d have had the time to practise properly and we would have done well. 

Now wait a minute, Mrs Kennedy, Murphy? What has Murphy got to do with any of this? 

Could this be true? Could he be the reason why I’m always late and I’m failing at Irish Dance? He can’t be the bad thing in my life, he’s the good thing in my life. 

I went downstairs and made myself a hot chocolate with real chocolate melted into it and with marshmallows and chocolate chips and the squirty cream. Yum. I didn’t even try to limit myself to the amount of times I could squirt the cream, let it melt, eat it and then squirt again. 

On about my eighth time Mum came into the kitchen and started asking me about the qualifying heats. I didn’t know what to say. I could have told her what happened. But what happened? No one knows how lame I am just yet – we have to wait until we get the judges’ comments for that. And I can’t tell her what Kennedy said about Murphy – she’ll hit the roof. So after one more squirt of cream for luck, I just told her it went OK. That’s not a lie, I mean sometimes really bad can be OK, like having one toe sawn off in a freak accident rather than both legs. Anyway, she looked at me and I thought she was going to ask me what actually happened so I just kept stirring my hot chocolate round and round, watching the foam spin round and hoping she wouldn’t say anything else.Then, luckily Dad burst in saying that he’d decided he was going to take up golf.  

4:06p.m. 

Up in my room. Number of times I’ve gone to the window to see if Murphy’s bike is there: 26 

Number of times Murphy’s bike has been there: 0  

4:32p.m. 

Aisling Fitzsimons Official and Tested List of Songs that make you feel better to listen to:  

• S Club – ‘Reach’