Breaking the Mould

DING!!! It was lunchtime at St. Colm's Secondary School and the children were pushing and shoving out the door like there was no tomorrow. Timmy was last out. He walked slowly, on his own, and went to his usual spot on the front steps of the school. Timmy liked being on his own because that way nobody could bother him, or so he thought. From a distance he could see Elizabeth and Jess coming towards him. He didn't budge for fear they would call him a scardy cat.

They walked over with their heads in the air like they were models on a catwalk. They walked over to him, stared and Jess whispered something to Elizabeth and they both started laughing. Elizabeth, the daughter of a very rich businessman, was extremely popular in school as she was very pretty. Her wavy black hair was tied up in a pony tail and her hazel eyes beamed in the sunlight. Beside her stood Jess, her best friend. Jess was also very popular. She had long, red, curly hair that was quite messy, but she was still quite popular.

The girls started calling Timmy names and mocking him. "I'm Timmy. I sit on my own because nobody likes me and I have no friends", said Jess. Timmy replied "Leave me alone". "You're already alone", said Elizabeth giggling. "Yeah!", Jess agreed, "and you always will be". Timmy got very upset and ran back inside the school and hid in the boy's bathroom.

Timmy was quite small for a 14year old. He had short, blonde hair and big, blue eyes. Timmy knew he had no friends as he struggled to make new friends when he moved to St. Colm's. He moved there 2months ago after his parents were killed in a horrific accident. He was forced to go live with his grandparents in South Hill, Co. Limerick. He didn't like it there as there were many thugs around who always bullied him because of his height.

Timmy dried his tears and left the bathroom to go back outside when he bumped into the drama teacher Ms. King. "What's wrong Timmy?", she'd asked. "Nothing", Timmy replied,"just got something in my eye that's all". Ms. King was no fool and she knew something was up. She decided to change the subject. "The school play is coming up. You should audition for it at lunchtime tomorrow". Timmy gets very shy in stage. "No, thanks", he's said, and ran off.

The day of the auditions came and Elizabeth and Jess were rehearsing. Both of them wanted the lead role as the Dame. The auditions got underway and Elizabeth was first up. She was exceptionally good. She even got a standing ovation. Jess was next and she also did famous. Ms. King was getting worried as she didn't know who to pick. Suddenly, from behind the curtain, Timmy appeared. He was very nervous, but he did his comedy and the place erupted with laughter.

After a while, Ms. King gave the results. Timmy had won the lead. He got such a shock. His face was as white as snow. Elizabeth and Jess ran off the rage in tears. After weeks and weeks of practice, it came to the last rehearsal. Everyone did excellent and the show was as good as Broadway.

The big day arrived. Everything was in place. The stage was set. The audience were seated. All the cast was ready to go on. Just as they were about to go on stage, Ms. King noticed that Timmy was missing!! Everyone searched and searched but they couldn't find him anywhere.

Ms. King held a really quick audition between Jess and Elizabeth. Ms. King picked Jess and Elizabeth got very upset and told Jess they are no longer friends. She ran off stage and out of the corner of her eye, she sees Timmy hiding behind the curtain. She went over to him and he was crying his eyes out. She told him she was sorry that she is always mean to him. He looked at her and said "I can't do it Elizabeth. I'm too scared and people will be staring at me". Elizabeth replied, "You can do it Timmy. Trust me. I will be right there beside you on stage eh!! We'll do it together". "I don't think so", said Timmy, "but thanks". She then whispered into his ear.

Just as Jess was about to go on stage, he lights went up. Nobody knew what was going on. As people looked on stage, they could make out a small figure. It wasn't Jess or Elizabeth. It was....Timmy!! Everyone in the hall went silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ms. King rushed everyone else on stage. The show started. By the end, the crowd were on their feet. It was a great sight to see. As the curtains were closing, Jess asked Elizabeth,"What did you say to him?". She smiled and said,"I told him is he couldn't believe in himself nobody could believe in him". Then Timmy turned around and said to Elizabeth, "I did it. I really did it!!". "Yeah you did Timmy", Elizabeth replied, "Timmy you broke the Mould".

By Nora O'Sullivan.