by Lyn Gardner
Aeysha, Tom and Georgia were drinking hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles and Aeysha had just filled the others in on Alicia’s sudden departure for Hollywood. Abbie and Jason Hay, the young actor who was playing Rolf and who had recently graduated from RADA, were sitting at another table in the corner together.
“Do you think they’re going out?” whispered Aeysha.
Some of the cast from Les Miserables, which everyone in the business called “The Glums”, crowded into the café, gossiping about one of the ensemble members who had broken her contract because she’d been offered a big TV role.
“So unprofessional,” said one girl.
“She’ll never work in the West End again,” said another.
“She won’t need to if the TV’s a success. But it’s not right. Her agent must be a shark…”
The children tuned them out and turned to their hot chocolates. “I’m completely whacked,” said Georgia.
“But was it fun?” asked Aeysha.
“Brilliant,” said Georgia. “But for one thing.” She paused. “Or rather one person.”
“Who?”
“Katie Wilkes-Cox,” said Tom and Georgia together.
“Katie is in The Sound of Music?” exclaimed Aeysha, stunned by this news.
“Don’t even mention that girl’s name,” groaned Tom. “I thought we’d got her out of our lives for ever and instead she’s waltzed back in and is playing Louisa. I know she’s going to be trouble. I can feel it in my ancient twelve-year-old bones.” A text came through on his phone and he reached into his pocket.
“It wouldn’t matter so much if she was in another team, but it’s just our luck that she’s with us in Alps,” said Georgia. “She’s already being manipulative. Really sucking up to Cassie Usher and Jon James. The kids who play Marta and Gretl think she’s really pretty and keep following her around, but she just ignores them.”
Tom suddenly made a strangled noise. He was holding his mobile far away from him as if it was a dangerous animal that might bite. He looked completely horrified.
“What is it, Tom?” asked Georgia urgently. He showed her and Aeysha the text. They gasped.
“Are you sure it’s from Livy?” asked Georgia.
Tom shrugged. “That’s what it says.” He continued talking as if in a daze. “My mum texted asking what time I’d be back. I replied, and then I realised I had an unread message. Liv must have sent it during the afternoon while we were in rehearsals.”
“I can’t believe it,” said Aeysha. “It’s so nasty.”
“We all know that Livy can be a prickly, private sort of person,” said Georgia. “But that’s what makes her interesting, and she’s always been so kind and brave too. But reading that text makes me think that I’ve never really known her at all. It’s so vicious, so cowardly, she sounds just like Katie Wilkes-Cox.”
“I don’t get it,” said Aeysha, looking puzzled. “This morning she seemed really eager to make up with you. I was going to lend her my phone so she could ring you to say sorry. But then she’d said she’d changed her mind. I thought it was because she wanted to talk to you in person.” She added wistfully, “I’d hoped we’d all be friends again. It’s not the same without Livy.”
“It is odd,” said Tom. “Liv doesn’t have a mobile. She’s always complaining that Alicia won’t let her have one.”
“Well, she must have got hold of one somehow,” said Georgia.
“What am I going to do?” asked Tom. He looked devastated. “Maybe I should have it out with her once and for all. I’ll go to school early in the morning and try and talk to her. There must be some explanation. Maybe Alicia’s sudden departure has made her flip in some way. She’s always found the Swan quite a difficult place.”
Aeysha and Georgia looked at each other. Seeing how upset Tom was now, they were worried that if he confronted Olivia he might end up feeling even more hurt.
“I’m not sure that’s a great idea, Tom,” said Georgia. “Maybe you should stay away from her?”
“But I want to get to the bottom of this. I’m beginning to think that I don’t know Liv at all,” replied Tom sadly.
“Well, maybe we don’t?” said Aeysha. “Maybe she’s just not the person we thought she was. She’s certainly made her feelings very clear about us. Livy doesn’t want anything to do with you, Tom. And that means she doesn’t want anything to do with us either. If you’re cat food to her, then, I’m sorry, but she’s dog food to us.”
“Aeysha’s right,” said Georgia sadly. “But still, something doesn’t feel right about it. I just can’t put my finger on what it is. Show me the message again.” Tom flicked open his phone and showed it to them. Georgia stared at the text for a moment and shuddered. “I can’t believe she’d do such a thing. It’s just so nasty and bullying. You should delete it.” She glanced at the clock above the counter. “I’ve got to go. My mum’s cooking shepherds’ pie tonight. I can’t be late.”
Olivia was waiting in exactly the same spot she’d waited in the previous morning. She had been there since quarter to eight and had become increasingly anxious by Tom’s non-appearance. Perhaps he hadn’t got her message? Maybe she had misremembered his number? There had to be an explanation. She knew Tom. She knew how kind and generous he was and she was one hundred per cent confident that he wouldn’t have ignored her apology.
She’d been so looking forward to seeing his grinning, freckled face, and sure that he would have forgiven her now she’d said sorry. When he didn’t turn up, she wondered whether perhaps he’d had a rehearsal at the Duke’s this morning after all. Many of the Sound of Music rehearsals for the children were scheduled for the afternoons so as to interfere as little as possible with their academic lessons, but there were a number of exceptions.
The bell had already gone. She had just decided sadly that Tom and Georgia weren’t coming to the Swan this morning when she saw the pair of them hurrying up the road with Aeysha. Olivia’s tummy felt as if an elastic band had twanged inside it. Tom couldn’t have got her text! She waved at them, and was surprised when none of them waved back. She came out of the glass doors and ran down the first couple of steps to meet them.
“Tom!” she called out eagerly. He didn’t break his step or say a single word. It was almost as if her just saying his name made him flinch. He walked on past her as if she was completely invisible or, worse, didn’t exist at all. Georgia and Aeysha followed, both avoiding Olivia’s eye. They had completely blanked her! Olivia was so stunned she couldn’t react. Her knees felt as if somebody had removed all the bones from them. She stared after her friends, astonished.
They had gone a few steps when suddenly Aeysha turned around and ran back to her. For a minute Olivia thought that it must have been some kind of silly joke and that Aeysha was going to burst out laughing. But her friend’s face was deadly serious.
“Livy,” she said urgently. “Did you text Tom yesterday?”
Olivia smiled and nodded eagerly. “Yes!”
“Oh,” said Aeysha, sounding disappointed.
Olivia opened her mouth again but Aeysha silenced her. “No need to explain,” she said coldly. Then she added, “None of us can understand how you could do such a nasty thing. It’s unforgivable, Livy, Tom’s really upset.” She turned on her heel and ran after the others.
Olivia looked after Aeysha, stunned. What had she done that was so wrong? She stood rooted to the spot, feeling utterly devastated by her friends’ behaviour.
“Olivia Marvell, what are you doing standing out here when you should be in lessons?” said Miss Hanbury, appearing from nowhere. Although she was acting as temporary guardian for Olivia, Miss Hanbury was not going to give her any special treatment. “I’ve warned you before about dawdling in the mornings. Take a misconduct.”
Chapter Eight
Abbie and Jason were on stage singing “You Are Sixteen Going On Seventeen”. There was a real chemistry between them and they were both singing like nightingales. Even t
he stagehands had stopped to listen. There was a tiny silence as the song ended. Then Jon James said, “Thank you, both of you. If you can perform like that on press night when all the critics and everyone from the business will be here, your careers will be made.”
It was rare to get such praise during a rehearsal and as they walked towards the wings everybody in the auditorium broke into a spontaneous round of applause. There were a lot of people in the theatre today because all the children’s teams were there as well as all the technical staff. Tom and Georgia were sitting together in row G with Freya and Mia just in front of them, and Joshua was a few seats to their left. Katie was sitting with the adults at the end of row B. She never sat with the other children if she could help it. When Jason came through the pass door, she stood up and cooed, “Oh, Jason, you were wonderful. Such a star.”
Joshua looked around at Tom and Georgia, raised his eyebrows and mouthed, “Such a star!” Georgia grinned back. Katie’s aloofness hadn’t made her popular with the other children in Alps, although Mia still hankered after the older girl’s attention and was thrilled when Katie made her run little errands for her.
“Abbie’s fantastic, isn’t she?” said Georgia to Tom. But Tom didn’t reply. He looked pale and wan. A lingering cold was affecting his singing and it had brought him to the attention of Jon James, but not in a good way. Then he’d been late for musical rehearsals yesterday morning because of a broken-down train on the Circle line. Even though it wasn’t his fault, it was a black mark. Alicia was always stressing how important punctuality was in the theatre because one person’s lateness could cause disruption for so many. Tom just hoped that the musical director hadn’t told Jon and Josie.
“Are you all right, Tom?” asked Georgia.
Tom sighed. “I’ve been better. Oh, Georgia, did you see Liv this morning in school? She looks like I feel. Dreadful. I feel like a complete snake for ignoring her all the time. Maybe it’s time to start talking and have it out with her…”
Georgia nudged Tom. Katie had slipped into the row behind them. Tom broke off what he was saying. Katie was the last person he wanted to know about his falling-out with Liv. She’d enjoy it far too much. Katie had moved by, but the moment had passed and Abbie came and sat down next to them. She looked concerned by Tom’s pale face.
“You don’t look good, Tom. Is everything OK?” Tom nodded mutely. “Well, there’s something going round. Some of the kids in the other teams have got a nasty bug.” She leaned forward: “I shouldn’t say this, but it means that Alps is in with a big chance of doing the press night, which would be brilliant! Everyone wants their kids to do press night, all the mums and dads and their stage schools, and of course only one team can. When I was in Annie, I got picked to do press night, and when the mum of the other girl playing Annie found out, she punched the director on the nose!”
“What happened then?” asked Freya, who had turned around to listen, wide-eyed.
“The mum got banned from the theatre for the rest of the run. But it felt really awkward because I got all the reviews and Linnet got nothing even though she’d worked just as hard as me and deserved it just as much. The reviews and everything were what got me the TV role in Jane Eyre. There’s so much luck involved. Linnet’s done all right though. She’s a couple of years older than me and she’s in the Mamma Mia! ensemble.”
“Alps team on stage, with Abbie and Cassie, please,” called Josie. The children stood up. Tom felt under his seat for his stage shoes. They weren’t there. He looked around frantically because he knew he’d put them there, but there was no sign of them. Georgia and the others were all up on stage ready to sing “So Long, Farewell”. All faces were turned to him expectantly.
“Is there a problem, Tom?” enquired Josie.
“My shoes, they’re not here,” stuttered Tom. “I put them under my seat and now they’re gone.”
“OK, did anybody take Tom’s shoes?” asked Josie. Everyone shook their heads.
“It must have been the ghost with cold feet,” said Jason and everyone laughed, except Tom who had gone beetroot red and was becoming increasingly flustered. “I know I brought them down,” he said.
“Well, get up here, Tom. You’ll have to manage barefoot and I’ll send somebody from wardrobe to take a look in your dressing room,” said Josie.
As Tom ran towards the pass door he heard Josie say to Jon, “He was late for rehearsal yesterday, too. It was in the report from the Clapham rehearsal-room stage manager.” Tom had always loved performing, but suddenly his mouth felt dry and he was as nervous as a mouse in a cattery. He took his place next to Katie, just as she bent down to scratch her ankle.
Jon nodded to the musical director, who struck up on the piano and the children began to sing, “There’s a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the hall…”
Their voices were true as bells and there was something almost unearthly about the sound as it drifted over the near empty auditorium, which when it was full would hold almost two thousand people. Georgia got a tingly feeling down her spine as she imagined what it would be like to stand in this very spot on stage in a couple of weeks’ time and sing the same song with the theatre full to the rafters. It was strange to think that they would all be looking at her and the others. It made her feel very small.
Tom was feeling very small too. His solo line was coming up. He cleared his throat. Abbie peeled off and the chorus began again.
“So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye.” Tom took a step forward, opened his mouth and let out an almighty scream. He hopped around in agony. He had stepped on a drawing pin. The pianist stopped playing. Abbie rushed over to help him.
“You poor thing,” she cried, rubbing the bottom of his foot where there was a pinprick of blood.
“It’s all right, it doesn’t really hurt, it was just the shock,” said Tom, aware that everyone was looking at him.
“He could have been really hurt,” said Jon, ordering the stage to be swept. “I can’t afford to lose anyone from Alps or we’ll have to substitute children from the other teams and they’re already missing kids due to illness.”
“If he’d been wearing his shoes it wouldn’t have happened,” said Josie tartly, and at that moment Lacey from wardrobe walked on to the stage, waving Tom’s shoes.
“Where did you find them?” asked Tom.
“On your dressing-room table where you’d left them, silly boy,” said Lacey, ruffling his hair with a smile. Tom looked puzzled, but Jon was already nodding at the pianist.
“We’ve wasted enough time. From the top, please, everyone.” The song began again. But Tom felt completely rattled. He knew that he had brought his shoes down. Or had he? He was beginning to doubt it himself. He tried to concentrate but he couldn’t, and when it came to his line, “I leave and heave a sigh and say goodbye,” he was badly off key. Nobody said anything and they continued on, but he saw Jon and Josie exchange a glance and felt his confidence crumble even further.
Things didn’t improve for Tom the next day. The children had all been called down on to the stage from their dressing rooms. Joshua had gone on ahead, but when Tom had come to leave the dressing room he found he couldn’t get out. The door was stuck. It wouldn’t budge however hard he tried. It was as if somebody had locked it from the outside. But he’d never seen a key in the door.
He banged for a while, but nobody heard because they were all down on the stage or in the Green Room, the backstage area where the actors could relax. He tried ringing Georgia and Josie but their mobiles were switched off. He put his head out of the window and shouted for help, but there was nobody about in the small passageway that separated the Duke’s from the theatre next door.
The others had all assembled on stage ready to begin.
“Where’s our Kurt?” asked Jon James impatiently.
“He said he was just coming,” said Joshua.
“Well, he’s late again. That boy’s turning into a liability.” He turned to Josie. “These kids
are a bit of a nightmare. I’ve got one off with laryngitis in Lakes team, a Marta with a twisted ankle in Meadows and Lakes’s Gretl seems to be sickening for something too. Go and see where he’s got to, love.”
“I’ll go,” said Katie, and before anyone could say anything she had rushed off stage.
Josie didn’t mind – it saved her legs the climb upstairs. Katie appeared a few minutes later with a red-faced Tom in tow who apologised profusely. “I’m so sorry everyone. I got locked in.”
The others looked at Katie for an explanation but she just pulled a face and gave an exaggerated shrug. “I turned the handle, and the door opened easily,” she said.
The others had all looked at Tom curiously then, even Georgia, so nobody, not even poor flustered Tom, had noticed the smug little expression of triumph that flashed across Katie’s face.
Chapter Nine
Tom stood outside the Clapham rehearsal room. It was all locked up. He looked at his watch. It was ten past ten, and there was still no sign of any of the others. He frowned; where could everybody else be? The call sheet, which told everyone where they needed to be the next day and at what time, had been pinned up on the notice board the day before as usual. Tom had carefully checked it before leaving the theatre. He knew that not checking the call sheet was considered very unprofessional. There was never any excuse for being late or being in the wrong place. Alps team had been called for the Duke’s at 10 a.m.
But early that morning, while he had been eating his breakfast, the house phone had rung and his mum had answered.
“That was Josie Cutwell from the theatre, Tom,” she’d said. “She sounded ever so young! There’s been a last-minute change of plan and you’re to go to Clapham this morning. Ten sharp. You’re going to have to hurry to get there in time.”
He had quickly gathered up his things and raced across London to Clapham, and had arrived at the rehearsal room in the nick of time only to discover that nobody else was there. It was very mysterious and quite annoying. He had really killed himself to get there on time. He was about to try to ring Georgia to find out where everyone had got to when a call came through on his mobile. It was Josie.
