CHAPTER THREE

RABBIT HEART (RAISE IT UP)

27th of September

X Factor house

Dear God

Up 'til now, I bet you've been as confused as me as to the purpose of Lockdown. Almost as confused as me. Sure, I knew that we had to be hidden from the general public until the finalists were revealed ect, but why bother to choose us a whole week before putting the show on air? I'd guess I'd assumed it was so we could all get to know each other, get in some extra rehearsing, and enjoy fully our last week of normality. I was right about all that – but there was something else, something essential, that every one of us had missed. What was this? Read on.

…I must become a lion-hearted girl

Ready for a fight

Before I make the final sacrifice…

It is always pleasant to come to in someone's arms – as I first discovered with Dennis. But when those arms are shaking you – however gently – awake, the novelty definitely starts to wear off.

'Diana,' a voice breathed. 'Sweetie, can you shift for me?'

I blinked blearily, and Michael's face swam into focus above mine. 'Hey,' I greeted him drowsily, automatically brushing my fringe away from my face.

He carefully put his hands on my shoulders and pulled me upright with no visible effort. 'Up we get.'

I glanced at the clock, which notified me that it was eight in the morning. I groaned. Two hours sleep and I was feeling like I'd been smashed over the head with a lead weight.

'I feel like Death,' I moaned. 'Cooled down,' I added, shivering.

Michael pulled a face. 'That idiot Barry turned down the heating. I've just cranked it up.'

I nodded at him in gratitude, and then craned to find Chris, crashed out on the couch beside me.

'Hey, how come you didn't wake him up?' I half-complained, slightly stunned at how beautiful he looked when he was sleeping.

Michael shrugged. 'You were the closest to me.'

Not deigning to answer, I rose so that he could wake Chris. I glanced around, and saw that the other contestants were also up, chatting quietly or reading books.

Once Chris was alert, Michael moved into the middle of the room, always the showman.

'Camera room. Now.'

'Why is it called 'the camera room' anyway?' Thomas Scythe muttered as we trooped into it.

'Because it's where we're gonna go to talk about how we're feeling on tape so it can be shown to twelve million people when the live shows get underway,' recited Alexis Aaron smoothly as she brushed past them.

Thomas, having heard none of this, wolf-whistled pointedly at her tits.

'I never could do that,' remarked Chris.

He didn't even have a chance to pompously tell him that it was easy before Michael strode in and told us to sit.

I took a look around the 'camera room', and was surprised to see that it looked just like my classroom back in Lancashire. At least, there were nineteen desks rather than twenty-five, and the board was black rather than a modern white, but everything else was pretty much exactly like a room in a secondary school should be.

I took a seat beside Chris and looked ahead at Michael.

Michael himself, always so cheery on TV, was looking exhausted and ready to kill as he waited for the others to settle down. At last, when the Beach Babes had bickered on for twenty minutes, he took his microphone from where it was lying on his desk, pressed the speaker end hard on the board, and dragged it all the way down with a truly ungodly sound.

A shocked silence.

Satisfied that he'd finally got everyone's undivided attention, he wrote one word across the board.

CO-OPERATION

.

'Co-operation,' he stated. 'Can anyone tell me the definition of it?'

I saw Robbie silently hand Thomas a fiver as Robyn's hand shot into the air, and remembered that Chris had told me that he'd bet that she was a bookworm from the first moment he'd seen her.

'Robyn?' Michael complied.

'Working with someone or helping them for a particular purpose,' she snapped back immediately.

He looked impressed. 'Exactly. Chris?'

Chris knitted his fingers together nervously.

'Why is it so important for you guys to co-operate in the X Factor house?'

He relaxed. 'So that the press can't write stuff about us being bitchy or jealous.'

Michael nodded approvingly. 'You're absolutely right.'

. Presenting a united front even though you are in direct competition.

He chalked it up.

'Now, is there anything we can do to help achieve this?'

Kenneth Want's hand came up into the air so stealthily that it took Michael the best part of five minutes to even notice that it was right in front of his nose.

'Yes?'

'Groups can't just stick together,' he stated quietly. 'We have to interact with others.'

Michael nodded a little bemusedly and obligingly put it up there. Indeed, we were all surprised. No-one had expected a conjoined twin to put in anything about notsticking together. What choice did Kenneth and Kevin have but to stay firmly joined as one? Even Kris seemed shocked.

Michael cleared his throat in an attempt to break the tension. 'Anything else?'

Quite a few hands were up before he plumped for China Ovam.

'We should spend time in the main rooms.'

He accepted this. 'Yeah, you'll be given a schedule with allocated periods of free time – much of which you'll be expected to carry out in the main rooms. There are lots of ways to do this: we have bored games, movies, books, computers…whatever. It's just to ensure that you aren't spending all your time cooped up in your room devouring dictionaries' – he glanced at Robyn – 'or otherwise. Yes, Alexis?'

Alexis ran a couple of fingers through her hair before suggesting that we shouldn't bring the competition off-camera.

'Yes!' Michael agreed enthusiastically. 'I don't care how fierce it gets out there; you are not to let it interfere with your day-to-day lives in this house.' He glared at the Beach Babes, doodling on their desks in obvious contempt. 'Sandy?' The golden-haired girl jumped, and then made an attempt to look innocent. For a moment, even I believed that ice wouldn't melt in her mouth as she batted her lashes cutely.

'What did I just say?'

She shrugged. 'Honey, I don't know what you're on, but I ain'tleaving my girlfriends to hang with thosefreaks!'

She indicated Triple K, who immediately stood, eyes ablaze with fury. Chris and I hurriedly restrained them before things could get ugly.

'This is what I'm talking about,' concluded Michael. 'And this isn't gonna go on.'

Salty raised an eyebrow. 'What-frickin'-ever.'

I rolled my eyes as I took my seat once more, hoping that the Beach Babes were out by Week 2 – and before I lost my mind wondering at just how daring they were.

'Anyway,' continued Michael, happy that the minor dispute was past. 'Any more suggestions? Diana?'

'We could maybe…share out chores and suchlike?' I proposed.

He beamed at her. 'Selfless and clever. Well done.'

I flushed delightedly. 'And maybe the judges could help out as well?'

Michael grinned sympathetically at her. 'Well good luck with that, sweetie.'

I smiled wickedly. 'I'm sure I can persuade them.'

The next person Michael picked was Frieda. 'We could accompany each-other to rehearsals and other activities.'

He shrugged. 'That's kind of a given. But yes, it would be nice if you could.'

She scowled at him.

For a while other suggestions were put forth and discussed, and when everyone was out of ideas, Michael indicated that everyone should look at the board.

Very carefully, he wrote out this phrase:

. The press are the enemy. Stand strong against them to make sure that they don't win.

Then he very slowly smiled around at everyone and declared:

'Continued in tomorrow's lesson.'

Then he left the room, just pausing to add 'You can spend the rest of the day in the main room,' before the door shut behind him.

'Well.' Camilla raised her eyebrows. 'He's a charmer.'