‘I’m surprised he hasn’t made a fuss about you, Ivy,’ said Olivia.
‘If he did,’ Ivy replied, ‘he would have to admit that he was the person who first brought itching powder into the theatre.’
Olivia heard something crackle in Ivy’s headphones.
‘She’s ready!’ Ivy said and hurried up the centre aisle to the back of the auditorium. She held open one of the doors and Camilla appeared, a dark silhouette against the lights in the lobby. The theatre fell completely silent as she came down the steps to the front of the stage, a thumb hooked into one of her red braces.
‘In my hand,’ she said in an ominous tone, ‘I have the final cast list.’
Being a director really suits Camilla, thought Olivia.
She glanced at Jackson, who looked as relaxed as if he was waiting to hear what was in the cafeteria for lunch tomorrow. Olivia felt more like she was about to hear whether or not she was going to be lunch tomorrow.
‘Thank you all for taking the time to audition,’ Camilla continued, ‘and please remember: if you don’t get a part, we need lots of support backstage with props and painting sets.’
Olivia glanced around at everyone else in the seats. The girl with the ponytail looked stony-faced and pale, and the boy with the Robin Hood cap looked like he’d won his role already. It was very tense.
Camilla cleared her throat. ‘For the female leads, in the role of Juliet, will be …’
Olivia squeezed Jackson’s hand so hard she made him yelp.
‘Olivia Abbott!’
Over the polite applause, Charlotte glared at Olivia. ‘No way!’
But Olivia refused to let that dampen her spirits. She squealed and clapped and grabbed Jackson in a huge hug, which was awkward with the arm of the chair between them.
I did it! she thought. I’m going to play Juliet… with Jackson playing Romeo! We will finally have our first kiss.
The babble died down and Camilla made her next announcement. ‘The second female lead, the part of the nurse, will be played by Charlotte Brown.’
‘The nurse?’ Charlotte whined. ‘Isn’t she old?’
Camilla ignored her. ‘For the male leads, in the role of Mercutio will be … Jackson Caulfield.’
‘What!’ Olivia said. Jackson didn’t even audition for that role, she thought.
The whole audience murmured their surprise.
‘That’s great,’ Jackson said, without a trace of confusion. ‘He’s such a complex character.’
Olivia couldn’t believe it. Jackson seemed genuinely pleased.
But wait, she thought. This is ridiculous – he’s the most famous young movie star in the whole world! How can he not have gotten the lead?
Camilla called for quiet, but the audience kept muttering about who could possibly have the lead role if Jackson didn’t.
But Jackson is a professional! Who at this school could possibly have out-acted him? Olivia wondered.
Suddenly, a shrill whistle pierced the air, making everyone shut up. ‘I said: quiet, please.’ Camilla took her two fingers out of her mouth. ‘Thank you. In the role of Romeo, will be … Garrick Stephens.’
‘Yessss!’ shouted Garrick, leaping out of his seat.
‘Double what!’ Olivia said. ‘Garrick is Romeo?’
‘The supporting roles will be posted outside momentarily.’ Camilla had to shout over the noise of the auditionees – some disappointed at not getting lead roles but most chattering about Garrick. ‘Will the four leads please stay behind for a briefing? The rest of you may go.’
Olivia was stunned. Garrick had spent his entire audition twitching and hopping all over the place … He was awful! At one point, he was actually lying down on the stage! She couldn’t make sense of it, but made her way up to the front, following Jackson through the dispersing crowd.