Alison had no clue where Erica had gone. She had disappeared almost as soon as Mr Kennard had sent them back to their cabins. She hadn't been at dinner either, which was a surprise since she had been complaining of being hungry for the whole time they were at the rock wall and fire pit. She hadn't even been in the cabin that afternoon before dinner. Alison was getting worried when she finally spotted Erica in the camp kitchen that night. The rest of 9C was there too, and it looked as though the play was being rehearsed. She put down the box of materials and props that she had been carrying as Erica started to speak.

"I'm going to need a stand in during rehearsals." Erica turned to look at her classmates. "Alison, you can be my understudy."

Oblivious to the drama that had already unfolded in the room, and confused since she hadn't been present for any of the conversation, Alison looked up from where she had been sorting through the props.

"What? Oh no, I'm doing the props," said Alison when she finally understood what was going on.

"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of those. No-one expects you to be any good anyway. All you have to do is say the lines. There's nothing to it," said Erica smugly.

Alison hesitated, but everyone seemed to like the idea. Even Barry, who was almost pleading with her to take over. "Alright, I guess I can do it."

Fifteen minutes later, Alison was reading the last of the lines. She actually was feeling comfortable on the stage, something she had never really felt before. "You see, when I first got here, I thought I could do it on my own. I felt alone, and miles away from home. But you taught me that home is a place you keep inside you. They're the ones you love, and I know that my home is with you."

Alison looked up when she heard clapping. She had been so lost in the moment that she hadn't realised she had finished her lines. A smile lit up her face as she finally felt like she fit in. The feeling lasted until Erica shushed everyone and turned jealous eyes onto Alison and Barry.

"You can get off the stage now. I think we're done for tonight." Erica stood and collected everyone's scripts, then walked out, leaving everyone confused.

"You did a great job in there Alison. You're really talented," said one the girls as everyone got ready for bed.

"Thank you. But I was only helping out. I'm not in the play," replied Alison shyly.

"You should be. You would make a great Nurse Ella."

"That's Erica's role, not mine. I don't want to be in the play anyway."

Some of the girls snickered and made jokes about how Erica wasn't pretty enough to be Ella. Alison ignored them, since she didn't want to be mean, although she did think that there was a problem since Erica hadn't actually gotten up on stage that night. She was about to speak again when she noticed that there was someone standing at the door. Barry grinned at them when they turned, which lead to everyone chasing him out.

The next morning, Alison found her gown laying on the floor where it had been thrown the night before by Erica. Frowning, she picked it up and put it on her bed, confused as to how it had gotten there. But she quickly forgot about it when she heard Miss Belmont coming past.

"Get up!" shouted their teacher.

Alison was already dressed, so she headed out to have breakfast, wanting to get back to the props and costumes as quickly as possible. A few minutes later, she was sitting alone, having toast for breakfast and deciding what she needed to get done first. She didn't notice that others were trickling in slowly and joining her until she stood up to take her dishes and rubbish away. That was when she noticed that Erica wasn't there.

Maybe she's still in the cabin, thought Alison, although she didn't really believe that. Miss Belmont would have made her come to breakfast. Oh well, it doesn't matter to me.

She headed out to the dining hall that wasn't being used so she could work on the costumes.

That afternoon, everyone was gathered in the dining hall, trying on the costumes Alison had made for them and rehearsing their lines. They were all excited until Erica walked in, frowning and glaring at Alison.

Tom was the only one brave enough to try and break the tension. "Hey, Alison looks great in that costume, doesn't she?"

Alison gave him a small smile. "Well, it's not mine Tom. I made it for Yuk. She is playing Ella."

"Hmm," said Erica angrily. "And who authorised you to start working on the costumes without me approving them?"

"Well, you weren't here."

"I know a mutiny when I see one. Admit it, you wanted to get rid of me and take over the lead." It sounded stupid to everyone, including Erica.

"Hang on, that was your idea."

"You had this planned all along, didn't you Alison Ashley? I trusted you!"

"No, you didn't!"

"Yes, I did!"

Tom finally stepped in. "Look, can we just rehearse or something? Please?"

"Fine by me." Erica took the costume from Alison. "Positions!"

Alison sighed as she turned to watch Erica practice her lines. It didn't take long for her to get embarrassed though, and she slapped Barry when he mentioned that she couldn't act.

Alison was annoyed when she got permission to use the phone that night. Erica had snuck out again, meaning that Miss Belmont was waiting for Alison to return in ten minutes. She got to the kitchen, glad that no-one else was using the phone right then.

"Hi, it's me," she said when her call was answered.

"Alison, is something wrong?" asked her mother.

"No, nothing's wrong. I was just calling to see if you're going to come to the play."

"I thought you weren't in the play?"

"Yeah, well, I am now. I'm actually playing the leading role."

"In a silly play."

"But it's not a silly little play. It's actually quite funny."

"You're being silly now."

"I am not..."

"You are. And I'm not interested in school plays Alison, you know that."

"Can't you even pretend, just for once, to be interested in something that I am doing?!" Alison pleaded before hanging up the phone. She slid down the wall and started to sob, feeling alone again. A moment later, she was startled by a loud bang from a bench hitting the floor.

"I was thirsty," said Erica immediately, trying to excuse her presence. "I wasn't listening or anything."

"Look at you, spying on people, sneaking around," Alison said with a glare. "No wonder you don't have any friends." She walked off angrily.