by Jacky Gray
“Right, everyone, hush up.” Miss Maines had a herculean task trying to silence drama-brats, but she was more than equal to it. Kat grinned as the drama teacher continued.
“I’m afraid we don’t have enough full copies of Bugsy for everyone to have one. The principals get one each and the rest of you have to share. Some of the minor parts only need a couple of pages; there’s a pile of photocopies clearly marked with the character name.” She pointed to a table.
“As many of you know, we don’t have a massive budget for costumes so anything you can provide will be gratefully accepted, particularly accessories. Remember it’s the 1920’s gangster period, so hats, gloves and feather boas.” She held one up to demonstrate and a couple of the girls high fived.
“If you can get on it straight away we’ll have an idea of what’s left to make or buy. Here’s a note for your parents with suggestions and pictures.”
As Liv and Terry handed out the letters, Kat remembered yesterday’s drama lesson. Ray’s wheelchair presented the department’s biggest challenge to date; and her drama class were tasked to brainstorm staging concepts. Terry and Kat’s group had the idea of splitting the stage with Dandy Dan’s country residence on one side, and Fat Sam’s office in his speakeasy club up on the balcony. They also suggested a detachable framework for Ray’s chair during the car chase scene.
At the end of the lesson, she’d stopped to clear up and overheard a conversation about this year’s cast in the drama office. Mr Johnston was enthusiastic about the principal players, but Miss Maines said there would be days along the way when she’d wonder why she put herself through this every year. Kat had the utmost sympathy; she knew some of the classes gave her a hard time, but they were two of the nicest teachers in the school. She wondered if maybe they were an item.
Kat’s attention was drawn back as Miss Maines clapped her hands. “Ok, we’ll start off with the last song. This involves everyone, so don’t worry if you don’t know all the words, it’s a warm-up, really. So, ‘Bad Guys.’ Take it away Mrs Mackintosh.”
“We could have been anything ...”
After a tentative start, and with plenty of encouragement from both teachers, the cast finally warmed up, and even managed another chorus number. Then Miss Maines asked each of the principals to sing one of their solos so everyone could get an idea of the characters.
“I know most of this is sight-reading so I won’t be expecting miracles this time, but most of you have seen the movie and know the songs. Let’s start with you, Liv. You already impressed us with this one, so don’t worry about the audience. Do it as though there’s only you and me in the room or, better still, think of your favourite film star and pretend you’re doing it for him.”
~*~
Liv had stiffened with nerves, and Miss Maines’ words were exactly what she needed. She took her glasses off so everyone went fuzzy round the edges, and sang it to Ray. Not the boy sat in the wheelchair, but the one in her mind who was fully mobile and in totally in love with her.
“Very good Liv, keep it up and you’ll steal the show. I’m not expecting that standard from everyone today, but I am by tomorrow, so I want you to spend the whole night learning nothing but the songs.”
“Way to go, Liv.” Kat saluted with a high five as she passed for her turn.
“You am one red hot mama.” Ray pretended to fan himself with his script.
Liv could almost believe he was gazing at her with the same admiration he normally reserved for Jude. “You’d better believe it, honeychile,” she purred, swaying her hips as she walked in front of him.
“Yo, Liv. That was the biz,” whispered Luke as she sat next to Jude, who squeezed her arm and murmured, “What a star.”
Liv’s heart thumped in her chest as she tried to come down off the high. She barely registered Kat and Terry’s performances or Miss Maines’ efforts to distribute the few remaining boys into gang members for Ray and Luke. They ended up with girls playing some of the parts. The final thing before they finished was to announce the understudies.
“Now this is not set in stone. I want to try you all out first, so can you have a go at learning a few lines and at least one solo please. Tallulah: Judith Briskell, Blowsy: Alison Waring.”
Liv exchanged thumbs-up with Jude and Kat, missing the rest of the names.
Miss Maines finished the list and smiled at the excited cast. “Ok, see you all tomorrow, same time, same place. Jude, can I have a quick word?”
The others waited for her and she came bounding up, full of excitement. “Hey you guys, she only asked me to do my own choreography for the ‘Tomorrow’ scene.”
“Isn’t that in Annie?”
“Different song. It’s the scene where the dogsbody who plays the piano wants to audition but always gets told tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I remember it from the film; she was a really good dancer, that’s great.”
“And you get to dance with David; he’s pretty good.”
“You should know, Kat,” Luke teased with a knowing grin. He dodged as she tried to thump him.
Liv was made up for Jude. “Extra congratulations on getting the Tallulah understudy. I’ll have to watch you don’t knobble me so you get your turn to play her.”
“No way, I couldn’t come anywhere close to being as good as you. And anyway, I’d much rather dance. I’ll be making sure you don’t get ill or anything.”
“Come on you two. Don’t be putting a curse on it even before the first proper rehearsal. Now then, are we going to get together tonight and run through the songs?” Kat went into producer mode. “We can use the den. Liv, you’ve got a DVD of Bugsy, can you bring it?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll have to check if Mum wants me to take care of Davey. Maybe you could all come to mine if she does.”
“Ok, so it’s round mine at seven unless you hear differently.”
8 Are You Saying I’m a Hunk?
Jude could hardly concentrate through double geography; a detailed study of the consequences of world-wide migration. Normally, she’d have found this vaguely interesting, but she was so keyed up by the idea of creating her own dance for the “Tomorrow” song that the movement of some ancient Egyptians to Europe paled into insignificance. Although secretly pleased to be the Tallulah understudy, she had no illusions about her own abilities when it came to acting up a sexy vamp. Maybe Liv could give her a few pointers.
She flinched as Luke nudged her side and hissed that the teacher was watching her. Muttering her thanks, she tried to appear interested but could focus on nothing but the tingling in her side. He hadn’t poked her hard or anything; he’d been extremely gentle. So why should it affect her so much when it was Ray whose smile made her heart leap? With a tiny sigh, she resolved to have a think about it on the way home; except Ray and Liv would be there. She could plead another practice. No, an errand to run for her mum, that would be better. If they believed her.
Luke prodded her a lot harder and she jumped violently, trying to disguise it by reaching down into her bag for her homework journal.
“Something on your mind, Judith?”
“I … er … couldn’t remember if I’d made a note of the French homework. Thought I’d better check it before I forgot about it again.”
“Very sensible. And did you?”
“What? Er ...” She scrabbled to this week’s page. “Yes, there it is.”
“Good, can we continue, then?”
She nodded her head with a weak smile.
“Thank you. Now if you follow this red arrow ...”
When the class finished, Luke apologised. “Sorry about making you jump, earlier. I didn’t mean to get you into trouble.”
“You didn’t. I know you were looking out for me, but I was too wrapped up thinking about the dance for Bugsy.” She blushed a little at the other thoughts she’d had, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“You’ll be great; you could even use some of your skating moves. But I’m having second thoughts abo
ut Fat Sam. I don’t think I’m up to a starring role, whatever Mr Johnston says.”
“Nonsense, you’ll be perfect. All you’ve gotta do is knock them about a bit; I’d have thought you’d enjoy that.”
He stopped walking and she glanced up to see a pained expression on his face as he said bitterly, “Even my best friends think I’m nothing but a bully. What chance do I have?”
Jude was concerned. “I didn’t mean it like that at all. It’s just slapstick humour. I only meant you’d look the part because you’re so big and imposing; it wouldn’t do to have a wimp like Terry in that role.”
“Judith Briskell, are you saying you think I’m a hunk?”
“Yes, I mean, no.” His grin lost some of its cheeky charm and she hastened to repair the damage of her knee-jerk reaction. “You are a hunk, obviously, but ...” She broke off as the blood cells racing round her body all decided her face was the winning post.
His grin struggled hard not to be smug and failed miserably. “I’ll take it as a compliment. You should quit while you’re ahead.”
“I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that sort of stuff, you’ve only got to look in the mirror ...”
“Oh, I know I’m a hunk. It feels good when someone else realises it, too.”
As they reached the lockers, outrage and mortification combined to steal her words. Everyone else congregated for a final goodbye and, after making her excuses, she headed toward the row of shops at the back of the school. They included a locksmith; her mum had asked several times if she would get a copy of her front door key to replace the one the next-door neighbour lost.
While she waited, she thought over the last couple of weeks; so much had changed since Ray started at the school. Unlike most girls her age, Jude had never been boy-obsessed; her full and active sporting schedule was more than enough to cope with. But he was new and exciting, not to mention attractive. And, more importantly, interested in her.
Being so sporty meant most of the fanciable boys treated her like an honorary lad; she doubted if many of them even realised she was a girl. She could never tease and flirt with them the way Liv would, but then she hadn’t got her quick wit. And she didn’t have any brothers so she really envied Kat’s easy-going relationship with Luke. Being around all that testosterone-fuelled energy at home meant her friend understood the way the male mind worked; something Jude couldn’t get a handle on.
She appreciated the way Ray supported her in Biology, and she was sure he admired her figure; he couldn’t take his eyes off her well-fitted skating dress. Thinking about the way his gaze roamed over her body made her feel quite warm, and she melted at the thought of …
The man behind the counter brought her back with a jolt. “Excuse me Miss, do you want this key or not?”
“Sorry. Miles away.”
“We could see that.” He chuckled. “Nice young man, is he?”
Jude paid the money and grabbed the key, escaping into the cool air with her cheeks flaming. If she’d been Liv she would have made a smart remark and walked out with her head held high. All the other customers would have been laughing with her, not at her.
A blonde-haired lad sat two seats in front of her on the bus and his shoulders were the same breadth as Luke’s. She peered, trying to work out if it was him and what he might be doing on this bus. The boy turned round as though he could feel her stare and winked at her. He leaned toward his friend, who glanced at her, then said something which made them both laugh; obviously at her expense.
She gazed out of the window, annoyed once again with her cheeks. Why did they have to react so easily? Anyway, he wasn’t half as good-looking as Luke, whose face she knew every inch of. After all, she did have a huge crush on him when they met four years ago. But when she made friends with Kat, she didn’t like to move in on a mate’s territory. Not that Kat had ever given a clue about any romance with Luke, but if there was any chance, Jude didn’t want to get in the way.
She’d had a big row with him last spring over the way he treated Kat when he started acting like a hoodlum because of Jimmy Proud’s influence. Luke didn’t fight back or even try to defend himself, so she’d vowed to forget about him. When she found out the stuff about his mum dying and Pete’s meningitis, she’d felt awful and didn’t know how to apologise. He’d been so unapproachable – until now.
Last week, at the Fernley track meeting, Luke had been really concerned about her blood-soaked socks when Diana had put some staples in her trainer. Since then, he’d been especially nice to her, helping with her homework. But it ramped up a level today, as he looked out for her in geography.
Then all the business earlier about someone else realising he was a hunk. Was he flirting with her? She thought about Liv’s plan for Luke to ask Diana out in order to dump her. What if he fancied Diana?
Jude pictured them at Fernley, rolling around the grass by the long jump. It wasn’t as bad as it sounded; Diana had deliberately overbalanced and pulled him down on top of her. Why did she suddenly feel sick?
Her train of thought broke as she spotted Liv on the pavement; she waved madly but couldn’t get her attention. Then it finally registered: Liv got off the bus two stops after her, so why would she be walking? And it wasn’t just the leisurely stroll they associated with Liv, more like competition walking – no, power walking, that was it.
Bernie had been on about it to one of the older ladies at the ice rink. He said it didn’t do as much damage as jogging but it can reach a reasonable cardio-vascular rate if done properly.
Maybe DD had got to Liv more than she wanted to admit and she was finally going to do something about it. Not before time. Jude didn’t want to criticise, but she couldn’t understand how anyone could let themselves get so out of condition. But to be fair, she adored sports and could eat anything she wanted because of the amount of activity.
Poor old Liv hated sports but she loved food. Except recently, she’d been eating an awful lot of yoghurts and fruit instead of her normal pudding with lashings of custard. And what had happened to her trademark choccy bars?
Jude’s eyes narrowed as she assessed the evidence. But Liv hadn’t said anything; which wasn’t like her, normally she talked about everything. Maybe she was embarrassed about it. Jude resolved to have a quiet word with Kat; it wasn’t exactly the sort of thing you could discuss with the boys.
9 Is She Really Going Out With Him?
As Liv reached Kat’s, she was a little surprised to see Terry, but it made perfect sense; so many scenes included his character. Although Kat was great at the technical direction, she didn’t have Liv’s total devotion to organisation, and was happy for her to take over.
Liv had spent hours going through her copy of the script making a note of all the song titles and page numbers. Next to these, she’d marked the time-stamp on the DVD player which corresponded to the start of each song.
Luke shook his head, admiration in his tone. “Wow, you are one smart cookie, I’d never have thought of doing all that, it must have taken ages.”
“Woah, hold on, Luke. Two compliments in one day? I’ll be thinking you fancy me, next!” She grinned. As if that would ever happen.
Ray winked. “Hey, after today’s performance he can join the queue. If you do it like that on the night, you’ll be fighting them off in coach loads.”
“In my dreams.” Liv bent down to set up the first scene, secretly pleased by the comment. She caught the peculiar expression on Terry’s face and sighed. Poor Terry. But she had no time to worry about him now. “Right. The first scene is with the gang members, we haven’t got any of those so ...”
“Hey, what do you think we are lady, thin air?” Ray’s accent was spot on.
“I said gang members, not gang leaders.” Liv’s eyes desperately wanted to roll, but she kept it down to a mild snark. “Do-oo pay attention, Dandy Dan.”
Luke’s attempt at gangsterdom wasn’t bad. “Are you sayin’ a gang leader ain’t a member of his own gang?”
> Liv slid him a teacher stare. “Stop being a pedant, Fat Sam.”
“Who’re you calling a peasant?”
“Guys, can we get on with this, we don’t have much time.” Kat glanced at her watch.
“Sorry, Mum.” Luke winked at her. “Just tryin’ to get into character. Jude said I’d be good at this bully boy stuff.”
“I said no such thing, you dirty rotten liar.”
“That’s poifect. Now are we going to do dis ting or not?”
Luke’s remark had Liv growling, and Ray squeezed her shoulder, channelling the Sopranos. “Fuhgeddaboudit. Just tell us what to do.”
They began with “Bad Guys” and soon found they could sing along to all the songs without much help from the script. When it came to Jude’s bit, they cleared the room to give her some space. Luke volunteered to be Fizzy, generally being more of a hindrance than a help, but he had an athlete’s sense of timing and strength, even picking her up at one point.
“Hey don’t overdo the lifts, remember you’re supposed to be David Oughton. No way could he lift Jude.” As a drama student, Terry took the staging seriously.
Liv took on her natural role as boss. “More importantly, you’re supposed to be singing so you can’t do anything which might make you out of breath.”
“I could say something really vulgar here, but given the present company, I won’t.” Luke glanced at Ray who understood immediately and grinned.
Jude frowned. “Come on you two, share the joke.”
“Certainly not, it’s a guy thing.” Luke nodded at Terry. “Sorry, mate. I’ll tell you later.”
Terry shrugged. “I get it; I’m simply not that crude.”
“Write it down, someone: Terry gets it.” Liv had no control over her motor-mouth when the snark beckoned.
“Do we know the lucky lady’s name?” Luke gave his arm a friendly punch.
Ray’s remark was anything but friendly. “Or should that be lucky lad?”
