You're My Number One

Chapter Three

The next day, work on the tour began in real earnest. We had an early start in the dance studio with our choreographer Priscilla Samuels. Priscilla demanded no less than 100%. She took no prisoners and it was vital that you stayed on her right side or else. We were told to get there for 9:00am or face the consequences.

9:00am came and went. We'd been sat there fifteen minutes when she breezed into the studio. She clapped her hands for attention. "Right S Club, get off your backsides and let's do it."

We all passed knowing looks to each other and prepared for a long, hard day at it.

"The dancers won't be here until this afternoon but we'll have to make a start now or we won't get anywhere," she explained. "Right, the show opens with Don't Stop Movin' but I'm not gonna spend a lot of time on that."

That made sense. Don't Stop Movin' was being released into the charts in a few weeks and the routine had been drilled into us so much that we were doing it in our sleep.

Priscilla continued. "So I'm gonna start with You're My Number One, which follows it."

I inwardly groaned. It wasn't one of my favourites. Then again, it would be different singing it on tour because there would be a dance break in the middle of it. I became more interested. Especially with what Priscilla said next.

"Now for this, you'll be working in pairs."

On hearing the word "pairs", I had a feeling of dread. Who would I be working with? Surely not...

"Rachel, Jon and Tina," explained Priscilla. "You'll be working with one of the dancers,"

Here it comes...

"...Which leaves Jo with Brad and Hannah with Paul."

Great. I just knew it! In the two years I'd been with S Club I'd never been paired up with Paul. Jon, yes. Even Bradley on occasion. But never Paul. Why did it have to start now when I felt uncomfortable just being in the same room as him?

But Priscilla hadn't finished. She said there was no point doing the pair work as the dancers weren't coming till this afternoon.

Phew. Safe for now then.

But there were other steps to the routine that we had to learn. And that meant dancing alongside Paul. Yet again, I tried to make a joke of the situation.

"Looks like I drew the short straw Moley," I said as I went and stood next to him. Moley is my nickname for him - short for Cattermole.

"Likewise Spun," he replied. Don't ask me why he calls me that - I'm not entirely sure myself but it's stuck! Everyone else calls me Spanner but for some reason he's always called me Spun. It just works I guess.

Fortunately, Priscilla worked us rely hard all morning so we didn't get much chance to talk. And when we did start the pair work I just tried to get on with job in hand.

That was until Paul started messing around with me. So I started flirting with him. And okay, I really enjoyed it. And Priscilla was thrilled. She thought we were really getting into it.

"Go for it everybody, like Hannah and Paul," she'd yell.

That afternoon I changed my mind about that song. It was those words:

What is love - cos baby I don't know
I got a funny feeling in my heart
If this is love - it feels like butterflies
So tell me baby is this how it starts

I know I've never felt like this before
You're like a drug you got me wanting more
I've got to let you know - I've got to let you know...