by Lyn Gardner
Olivia heard a distinguished man with a large moustache and a polka-dot bow tie murmur to her grandmother, “Your Swans are always so talented and so charming!” Alicia thanked him graciously. Olivia shook her head wonderingly. Maybe it was true and one person’s showing off was another person’s demonstration of talent? Eel and Emmy were both genuinely gifted, after all. Why should she feel embarrassed for them if they didn’t feel embarrassed for themselves? And they were so evidently dancing for their own pleasure and not trying to draw attention to themselves. Olivia would hate to have all those people staring at her, but if it didn’t worry Eel, then why should it worry her?
Tom, Katie and Georgia stepped out on to the dance floor to join Eel and Emmy, and some of the other party guests started to join in too. But Olivia slipped away from the group before one of the others tried to make her dance. For all her delicacy and confidence on the high-wire and trapeze, dancing in public made her feel incredibly self-conscious.
She wandered back into the forest, pushing her way through the heavy branches. The trees seemed to become denser the further in she went, muffling the sound from the disco and making it feel as though she were in her own private world. She began to feel as if she had wandered into Narnia, and even thought she heard a nightingale singing.
Olivia stopped, suddenly aware that she was not as alone as she had first thought. Beyond the next bank of fir trees, as dense as a hedge, she could hear low voices. She suddenly recognised them. It was Kasha and Abbie. She guessed that they must have come here to escape the endless attention they were both getting at the party. Who could blame them? She was about to leap out and surprise them, when she realised that their voices had dropped even lower, and then ceased entirely.
Olivia frowned. What on earth were they doing? She peered through the branches and immediately realised what the silence meant. Kasha and Abbie were gazing raptly at each other, before their lips touched in a tender kiss. Olivia averted her eyes and took a quick step backwards, feeling like a spy. She began to creep away as silently as she could so they wouldn’t realise they had been seen.
Even so, she heard Kasha call out, “Is somebody there?”
Olivia didn’t answer, but hurried on. Her heart was beating very fast. Kasha and Abbie had known each other since they were seven years old and they had always been good friends, looking out for each other. But it appeared as if that friendship had developed into something more.
If Kasha had feelings for Abbie, it explained why he was so keen to get his brother to drop his feud with Abbie’s family. It was, thought Olivia, just like a real-life Romeo and Juliet. She just hoped that it all ended much more happily in real life. Well, she wasn’t going to tell anyone what she had seen. Kasha and Abbie’s secret was safe with her.
“Where have you been?” asked Tom, as Olivia emerged from a thicket. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you. Your gran thinks it’s time we went home because we’ve got school tomorrow.”
“I just went for a little explore,” said Olivia.
“Come across anything interesting?” asked Tom with a smile. Olivia shook her head but couldn’t stop herself from blushing. Tom thought it made her look beautiful. In recent weeks he had often found himself suddenly surprised by Olivia’s beauty. He wondered if she had always been beautiful and he just hadn’t noticed, or whether she was growing into the face that often reminded him of a Madonna in a medieval painting.
“No, just trees and more trees,” Olivia said now, as casually as she could. Tom looked at her curiously. He knew Olivia well enough to know she was keeping something back.
“Come on then,” he said. “The others have gone to the cloakroom to get our coats.”
“I’m just going to say goodbye to Theo,” said Olivia. “He’s over there. I won’t be a second.”
Tom waited patiently as Olivia kissed Theo goodbye and, as he did so, Kasha emerged from the forest at exactly the same spot where Olivia had appeared minutes before. Kasha looked a little awkward when he saw Tom, as if he’d been hoping not to be seen, but he raised a hand in greeting and sauntered away in a studiedly casual fashion.
Olivia ran back to Tom. “Ready?” she asked.
Tom nodded but he seemed a little nettled. “Looks like there was quite a party going on in the forest,” he said quietly.
Olivia was puzzled by his tone. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“Nothing,” said Tom. “Except Kasha just came out of the forest, looking shifty. What’s the big secret?”
Olivia turned even redder than before. “There’s no secret, it’s just a coincidence,” she said, and hurried Tom towards the cloakroom to get their coats, worried that if they hung around he might spot Abbie emerging from the forest too.
They got their coats and were just heading towards the stairs when they heard shouts from the disco.
The Swans ran back to see what was happening. Two men, one of whom Olivia recognised as Kasha’s brother, Hamo, were standing in the middle of the dance floor shouting at each other. Kasha was trying to pull his brother back with some help from Sam and Theo. Olivia also recognised Abbie’s dad, Pete, who was trying to soothe the second young man, whose face was red with fury. A group of security guards plunged into the mêlée and separated the two. At that moment Abbie emerged from under the trees. Her eyes widened in horror at what was going on.
“Oh! Tyler! Please!” she began. She took a step towards her cousin, but before she could say anything more, the movie’s publicity people hurried her away, looking around anxiously to check that nobody had taken any photographs and no journalists had witnessed the fight.
Chapter Three
Olivia was sitting in Alicia’s office with her feet twisted around the chair leg, looking uncomfortable. Alicia gave a sigh. The last time her granddaughter had sat in her office like this, Alicia had been trying to convince her that she should audition for the title role in a movie called Zelda. It had been a waste of breath. Olivia had refused point blank, and Alicia felt pretty sure that her granddaughter, who continued to call herself a high-wire walker not an actor, was unlikely to be any more receptive to her latest proposition.
“It comes down to this, Livy,” she said. “The Romeo and Juliet producers, not surprisingly, are keen to get a big name to play opposite Kasha, and they will be seeing people over the next couple of weeks. I’ve heard that various names are in the frame,” said Alicia. She gave a dramatic little pause and then added wickedly, “Including some who can’t act at all, like Amber Lavelle.”
Olivia looked completely horrified, and with good reason. Amber, a former Swan, had a voice like a songbird but the acting ability of a gerbil. Her knack of stripping a line of any emotion whatsoever had come near to scuppering the Swan pantomime last Christmas.
“Amber play Juliet?” cried Olivia passionately. “You can’t be serious! It would be a travesty. It would make Romeo and Juliet into a complete farce. The audience would be longing for Juliet to die.” Olivia was appalled to think that her beloved Shakespeare might be mangled like this.
“Indeed,” said Alicia. “And you are not the only one who’s worried. Jon James is beside himself at the prospect of having someone like Amber foisted on him.”
“Well, he must refuse! It would be a crime against Shakespeare. Can’t Jon think of someone else?”
“He can,” said Alicia lightly. “And he has.”
“Who?” asked Olivia, leaning forward with interest.
“You,” said her grandmother. Seeing Olivia’s disbelieving face she continued, “He asked me whether you might consider auditioning to play Juliet, Livy.”
Olivia opened her mouth in astonishment and then closed it again. “Me? Audition to play Juliet in the West End opposite Kasha Kasparian?”
Alicia nodded.
Olivia frowned and shook her head. “But that’s insane! I’m not a name. Nobody knows who I am. I’m not even old enough. Juliet’s supposed to be fourteen.”
“Well, you’ll be f
ourteen in a couple of weeks, won’t you, and that makes you the perfect age. Jon wants to play the whole thing ferociously young and give it a mix of the timeless and the distinctly twenty-first century. It’s going to be very modern. He wants a Lady Capulet who’s in her early thirties and he’s already cast Cassie Usher as the nurse and she’s only in her late twenties. You and Kasha would be pretty much the same age as Shakespeare intended Romeo and Juliet to be. And that would drum up huge amounts of press interest. Maybe even more than a big name would.” Alicia paused, watching Olivia closely. “So Jon would like to see you, and if none of the ‘names’ are any good and he thinks it would work, he reckons he might just be able to sell you to the producers.”
Olivia still seemed to be in shock. “But – Juliet! I couldn’t. I’m too young. I couldn’t manage it. The emotions … the verse … I don’t have the technique…”
“Your mother was only just sixteen when she played Juliet…” said Alicia softly, and her eyes clouded with the memory that was so painful and yet so sweet.
“I know,” said Olivia. “But my mum was an actress, a great actress. Everyone says so.”
“You are an actress, Olivia,” said Alicia quietly. “You may yet be as great an actress as Toni. Maybe even greater. But unless you give yourself the chance to find out, you’ll never know just how good you might be.”
“But I’ve so little experience,” said Olivia.
“You played Wendy in the West End. Only one night, I know, but you did it. You were a remarkable Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Campion’s. You made every line seem as if Shakespeare had just written it.”
Olivia snorted. “Oh, and don’t forget my astonishing turn as the back end of a pantomime horse. I’m sure that’s really going to persuade the producers that I’m a shoo-in for Juliet.”
Alicia tried not to let Olivia see her exasperation. “Jon wouldn’t even suggest it if he didn’t think you were a real talent and a genuine possibility, Livy. And I wouldn’t, either. I wouldn’t dream of exposing you in that way. It would be terribly cruel. But Jon thinks you could do it, and do it well, and so do I. And so does Sebastian.” Olivia raised her eyebrows at that. She had great respect for the Swan’s acting teacher.
“But you’ve got to want to do it, Livy,” continued Alicia, “because there are thousands of girls out there who would die for a chance like this. And of course it is only a chance. Jon may decide after the auditions that you’re too much of a risk, or one of the star names may turn out to be brilliant. And even if Jon does decide that he really wants you, his choice may be vetoed by the producers. So you are no shoo-in, my dear. Just a girl with a chance. A big chance.”
“So I might put myself through the auditions for nothing?” asked Olivia.
Alicia nodded. “Happens all the time. It’s part of being an actor, putting yourself through the audition process day after day and week after week without any return. Endlessly hearing that dreaded phrase ‘We’ll be in touch’, and feeling the door slam in your face. It goes with the job.”
“Yes,” nodded Olivia. “I guess it does, and if you want to be an actor you have to learn to live with it, even though it’s really tough.”
Olivia stood up. Alicia tried not to show her frustration. The battle was obviously lost. The prospect of having to audition had frightened Olivia away. Alicia had clung to the hope that Olivia’s passionate love of Shakespeare might win her over. She was so certain that Olivia would make a glorious Juliet, so wanted her granddaughter to recognise the talent that was so obvious to everyone else. She couldn’t stop herself from bursting out, “Oh, Livy, I wish you wouldn’t just dismiss the idea. At least think about it. Please.”
Olivia looked puzzled. “But, Gran, I already have. I’ll do it. I’ll give it a try. You’ve persuaded me that it’s worth a go.”
Alicia sank back into her chair in surprise. “Oh, Livy, I’m so thrilled,” she said, her eyes suspiciously damp. “I’ll ring Jon and tell him immediately.”
Olivia gave her a big hug. “Don’t get too excited, Gran. I’ll probably make a complete idiot of myself.” She grinned. “Anyway, I’m only doing this because if Shakespeare knew about Amber Lavelle, he’d be spinning in his grave.”
Chapter Four
Georgia and Katie were waiting outside Alicia’s office when Olivia came out. They looked expectantly at her, as if she might shed some light on why they had been asked to see the headmistress. But Olivia just shrugged apologetically. Alicia had asked her to be discreet about the fact that she was up for Juliet, and that made her think that her gran had something else in mind for Georgia and Katie. By discreet, Olivia knew that meant she didn’t have to keep it top secret, but she wasn’t to go spreading the word around. She would tell her dad, Jack, when he phoned. And Eel, of course. Maybe Tom too, and swear him to secrecy. She knew she could always trust Tom.
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you that it’s a job opportunity and a good one,” she said.
She walked down the corridor. A gaggle of people was gathered around the notice board. When Eel saw Olivia she ran excitedly towards her. “They’re looking for more Matildas for the West End show! Emmy and I want to go up for it.”
Olivia grinned. She reckoned that her cheeky little sister was perfect for Matilda. She just hoped that those doing the casting would see it too. After Eel’s brief experience of playing Gretl in The Sound of Music, and her decision to stay at the Swan rather than take up a place to study ballet at the Imperial, she was desperate to be in a West End show.
“You’ll have to talk to Gran and see what she says,” said Olivia. “But I reckon she’ll think that both you and Emmy deserve to try out.”
Eel high-fived Olivia and then skipped down the corridor with Emmy, both of them singing “When I Grow Up” at the tops of their voices. Olivia watched Eel go. She was so confident. If Gran put her forward for Matilda, Eel wouldn’t mind the auditions at all. In fact, she would relish them, and even if she didn’t get picked, she would just bounce back. Olivia could almost hear Eel saying it was their loss, and she knew that rejection would only make Eel work twice as hard at her singing, dancing and acting so she could prove to them what they were missing.
Olivia climbed the steep stairs to the little rehearsal room at the top of the building where she was meeting Tom for a high-wire rehearsal. She was just starting to set up when her mobile phone rang. It was Jack.
“Hi, Dad,” said Olivia. “How’re things? Is the show going to be good?”
“I’m pretty pleased, Liv,” replied her father. “We’ve got an amazing Wheel of Death act. Even my heart is in my mouth when I watch it. What about you, chick? What’s happening? How was the movie premiere?”
Olivia told him all about the movie, about how good Abbie and Theo had been and about the disco that snowed when people danced.
“And have you and Tom been practising a lot?” Jack asked. “I need you both to be really sharp when I get back so the three of us can start to work up this high-wire act together.”
“Don’t worry, Dad, we’ve been practising every day. You’ll be hard-pressed to keep up with us now you’re getting so old and decrepit.”
Jack laughed. “Hey! Less of the old, young lady! Anyway, we’ve got plenty of time to work on it and get it right, and then we can see if there are any takers.”
“So,” said Olivia slowly, “it hasn’t been signed up by anyone yet?”
“You’d be the first to know if it was, Liv. But I’ve mentioned it to a few people and there’s a lot of interest. We might even manage a couple of gigs over the summer. But there’s no hurry. We can take our time, wait until we are really ready.”
“Dad,” said Olivia quietly. “There’s an outside chance I might be doing something else over the summer.”
“Well, I expect we could work any gigs round it,” said Jack cheerfully. “What is it?”
“I’m going to audition to play Juliet in Romeo and Juliet.” There was a tiny silence at
the end of the line. Olivia knew that her dad was thinking about her mum.
“You wouldn’t mind?” asked Olivia softly.
“Of course not, Liv,” said Jack. “I’ll talk to Alicia, and if it turns out that it interferes with any of our gigs, I’m sure I can persuade her to shift the dates of the production…”
“Actually, Dad, it’s not a Swan production,” said Olivia. Her throat felt dry. “It’s in the West End. A proper run. Jon James is directing and Kasha is playing Romeo.” This time the silence lasted for a very long time.
“Dad?” whispered Olivia. “Are you still there?”
“Yes, Liv,” said Jack eventually. “I’m just a bit surprised. I know Eel is headed for the stage rather than the Big Top, but I didn’t really think you were serious about this acting business. At least, not enough to put yourself through the whole audition thing. And you’re so young, and if you do get the part, it could interfere with your circus training…”
“Look, Dad, let’s worry about all that if I do get it. I probably won’t. They want a name. I probably won’t even get past the first audition. It might never happen.”
“Well, you know I’ll support you in whatever you do, Liv,” said Jack, before adding, “but you’re right, it will probably never happen.”
Olivia thought she detected a tiny note of relief in his voice. It suddenly made her realise how much she did want it to happen. She wanted to play Juliet more than anything else in the world.
“I’ve got to go, Dad,” said Olivia. “Tom will be here any second.”
“Of course, chick, you’ve got a life to get on with.” Jack spoke brightly but she could hear the regret in his voice. “Loved talking to you. It gets a bit lonely here sometimes.”
