Penguin Books Australia

Chapter One

One day, in the middle of class, Sophie Callendar made a decision.

Her teacher, Mrs Pavlich, had written on the board, What are you going to be when you grow up? Sophie had never thought much about this before, but now, for the first time, she knew exactly what she wanted to be.

'Yes, Sophie?' Mrs Pavlich said. 'What are you going to be when you grow up?'

'I'm going to be famous,' said Sophie.

'Me too,' said Emma, the class show-off.

'Me too,' said Brutus, the class bad boy.

Mrs Pavlich sighed and shook her head. 'You can't just want to be famous when you grow up,' she said. 'That's not a job.'

'If you're famous you don't need a job,' said Brutus.

Mrs Pavlich frowned. 'That's not what I meant. Even if you are famous, you have to be famous for being able to do something. Like being a famous scientist, for example. Or a famous runner. Or a famous writer.'

'There're plenty of people on TV who can't do anything,' said Emma. They're just there because they're pretty. Like me.'

Brutus leaned over and pulled Emma's ponytail.

'Ow!' said Emma.

'Sorry!' grinned Brutus.

'Let's think more about the kinds of jobs you can do,' said Mrs Pavlich. 'Now, what kinds of jobs would you find in a hospital, for example?'

Sophie propped her chin on her hand and looked out of the window. Nobody believed her. Sure, everybody wanted to be famous, but right at that moment, Sophie wanted to be famous more than anything in the world. If she was famous, people like Emma and Brutus wouldn't make fun of her ideas - they'd listen to everything she said as if it was important. She wouldn't have to worry about things like maths or finishing her English homework. She could stay in hotels all the time and go on big holidays, and even if people didn't know her, they'd treat her with respect when she walked down the street. Right now, Sophie was ordinary, but if she was famous, it would change everything. Her whole life would be better, she just knew it.

Sophie wrote in her exercise book:

Sophie Callendar­-

The most famous eleven-year-old in Australia!

It looked good. It felt good.

All she had to do was make it happen.