‘Hmm.’ Camilla took a first, testing spoonful of cold cereal . . . and made a disgusted face. ‘Yuck! I can’t believe you eat this for fun.’
Olivia rolled her eyes. ‘Not all of us eat French croissants for breakfast every day, Madam Director.’
‘Whatever.’ Camilla shoved the cereal bowl to one side. ‘Here’s the real point. You’ve been at high school for just one day, and you already have a bunch of homework. Do you really want to add to your boatload of stress by trying to match-make two people you’ve only just met?’
Olivia sat back. ‘Why not? If it’ll make life better for everyone –’
‘Trust me,’ said Camilla, ‘every time people meddle in romance in the movies, it always goes wrong and creates chaos.’
‘But I really think I’m on to something here!’ Olivia held up her two spoons to make a point, ignoring the milk and potato salad dripping from them. ‘See, this is Finn and this is Amelia.’ She wobbled the two spoons meaningfully. ‘They want to move forwards, but they can’t. The social divisions in the school are too defined. Without some help, they’re going to be stuck in Act One forever.’
Narrowing her eyes, she spoke in the secret language guaranteed to get Camilla on board: ‘They need an inciting incident to propel them into Act Two . . . and we are just the directors to make it happen!’
‘Hmm.’ Camilla’s own eyes narrowed. Then her lips curved into a beaming grin. ‘But of course. How could I refuse when you begged me in film-speak?’
‘I knew it.’ Olivia beamed. ‘I’m getting good at Camilla-ese, aren’t I?’
‘You’re definitely learning. And maybe . . . maybe we could rewrite the script.’ Camilla’s eyes narrowed and her jaw pushed outwards into her all-business look as her fingers started tapping rapidly on the table. Olivia waited patiently as the wheels turned. Suddenly, Camilla’s face lit up.
‘Of course!’ Camilla shook her head. ‘How could I have been so blind? What the soon-to-be “Famelia” need is a good, old-fashioned “meet cute”!’
‘I beg your pardon?’ Olivia gave her friend a stern look. ‘If you’re going to be involved in this project, ma’am, our producers insist that you break up the Camilla-ese with a little bit of English from time to time!’
‘I’ll try.’ Camilla giggled. ‘But it’s so perfect! Can’t you see? Movie romances almost always start by having the couple meet in a wacky way. It has to be a funny story they can tell their friends about later on – and then when things get rough in the second half of Act Two, one of them can always lament the twist of fate that brought them together. You know, “If only I hadn’t walked into that police station . . .”’
‘Have you gone a little bit wacky yourself ?’ Olivia stared at her, setting down her spoons. ‘First of all, I do not see Finn and Amelia ever ending up in a police station. And secondly . . .’ She shook her head. ‘Why do things have to get rough?’
Camilla shrugged. ‘Every romance needs a narrative obstacle, right?’
‘No!’ Olivia protested. ‘Trust me. Jackson and I have had more than our fair share of those over the last year-and-a-bit, and they were not fun! I wouldn’t wish them on anybody.’
She shuddered at the memories . . . especially of that long, bleak period when they had actually broken up. I never want to feel that way again! She hung on to the memory of their latest phone call like a talisman. Thank goodness we’re back together.
‘Yeah, but you’re reunited now, right?’ Camilla raised her eyebrows. ‘So it was all worth it, wasn’t it?’
Olivia nodded. ‘Totally.’ As she finished her cereal, though, she thought hard. ‘There’s just one problem with your meet-cute plan,’ she said. ‘Finn and Amelia have already met . . . and no matter how that went down, it can’t have been that adorable or wacky, because now they barely speak to each other. They don’t even want anyone else to notice when they make eye contact!’ Pushing aside her empty cereal bowl, she gave her friend a challenging look. ‘What does Hollywood teach us about this situation?’
Camilla’s eyes narrowed in concentration. ‘What they need is to be forced into close proximity. They need to be put in a life or death situation that brings them together and forces them to face up to what is in their hearts! If they have no choice but to communicate, they’ll eventually have to run out of topics other than their true feelings. Then –’
‘Ahem.’ Olivia cleared her throat. ‘Did you just say life or death ?’ She raised her eyebrows at her friend. ‘In Franklin Grove ?’
Camilla burst into laughter. ‘OK, OK! Well, maybe it doesn’t have to be that extreme . . . but it has to be a situation that makes them both so uncomfortable that they start bonding. Something like . . . oh, I don’t know –’ she waved one hand in loose circles, obviously searching for inspiration – ‘maybe they could be paired up on a science project together. I know – Chemistry!’
‘Seriously?’ Olivia groaned. ‘That’s the worst you can think of ? You always had so much imagination! Maybe high school is changing you, too.’
‘Well, I didn’t mean it to be as boring as it sounds.’ Camilla grimaced. ‘But think about it: a sudden explosion is just the sort of dramatic, inciting incident to push an odd-couple relationship along!’
‘I suppose . . .’ Olivia sighed. ‘But I want to get Finn and Amelia together, not singe off their eyebrows in a chem-experiment!’
Camilla shrugged. ‘Detention, then? They can bond over their shared resentment of having to stay behind! Oh, yeah. Instead of thinking about how they broke a school rule –’ She waggled her eyebrows meaningfully – ‘they can think about how much they looove each other!’
Olivia stared at her. ‘How long was I away in London? It can’t have been long enough for you to undergo a full metamorphosis. Have you always been a Sappy Sally?’
Camilla rolled her eyes. ‘This is for the good of the narrative, Olivia. That’s all it’s about.’
‘Yeah, right.’ Olivia poked her best friend in the shoulder, grinning. ‘Come on, admit it. You’re a secret romantic, aren’t you?’
‘Focus, Abbott!’ Camilla shoved aside the potato salad bowl, looking as scary as a real film director. ‘This is no time for jokes! We have a script to write. Now help me brainstorm while we make something appropriate for an evening meal.’