Musical Mystery

by Laura Sieveking

  ‘It’s probably safer if we take the rest of our practice outside,’ Miss Lopez said. ‘I don’t need anyone falling and breaking a limb during the first rehearsal!’

  We all stood up and walked to the back doors of the auditorium, and out into the blazing sunlight. Miss Lopez guided us to Centenary Lawn.

  ‘The curse of the theatre strikes again,’ Saskia whispered in a spooky voice to me and Violet.

  Violet startled, looking wide-eyed and a little afraid. Saskia cackled loudly.

  I patted Violet on the shoulder. ‘She’s just teasing,’ I whispered.

  Violet nodded slowly. But I could still see uncertainty in her face.

  I knew I’d have to keep an eye on Saskia. I could tell she was looking for trouble.

  Chapter 9

  × −

  From:

  Ella

  Sent:

  Wednesday, 8:10 AM

  To:

  Olivia

  Subject:

  Weird start

  Attachment: Enchantment the Musical Script

  Hi Olivia,

  How are you going? What happened with the art competition? Did your portrait of Max win a place?

  I thought it looked fantabulous! What else is happening? Everything is good here. We started our musical rehearsals this week, but things were just a tiny bit weird. Miss Lopez is amazing—I can’t believe it’s the same woman we saw in Cats with Nanna Kate. She’s such an awesome singer. Why would she come here to do a school musical?

  But that’s not even the weird bit. Portia told us a story about how the auditorium is cursed because some scary mask was hidden somewhere underneath it, years ago. Apparently the old theatre that used to stand there burnt down in a fire because of the curse! I didn’t believe it for even a second. But then something odd happened. The lights shut down during our first rehearsal. Seems like nothing, I know, but it happened right in the middle of the rehearsal and we all had to leave the building. I hope it’s just a one-off. I don’t think I could handle being in a cursed musical!

  Thank you SO much for your offer to run the dryad lines with me! I’ve attached some pages of the dryad scenes in the script. We can video call later and you can be Tilly’s part and I’ll be mine. I’m a bit worried about how difficult my dryad lines will be to remember, but I’m sure

  I can nail this if I’m doing extra rehearsals with you!!

  Love, Ella

  xx

  When I walked into the classroom at lunch for our Eden Press meeting, Ivy, the Editor, was already sitting at the table with some other girls. I waved to Tilly and sat next to her. Now that we were dryads together in the musical, we’d started to hang out a little bit more. Sometimes we’d walk around after school, running our lines before dinner.

  Saskia was seated with some of the other Year 7 girls and had her pen out, ready to take notes of our brainstorming session for the next edition of the online paper.

  ‘Readership of Eden Press continues to grow really strongly with each edition we publish!’ Ivy said, excited. She flicked her blonde ponytail over her shoulder. Even though Ivy had a very different personality to Saskia, you could tell by looking at them that they were sisters.

  It seemed that our new direction to put high-interest stories in the paper was paying off. I’d already done one piece on the Eden thief and another piece on a secret journal that I’d found hidden in the bell tower. Ivy said my articles were getting loads of hits, so she wanted me to keep thinking of more interesting stuff going on around the school that we could use as special-interest stories.

  ‘So, what can we be reporting on for the next edition?’ Ivy asked, her laptop open.

  ‘What about an article on moving up into the Seniors’ section of the school?’ one of the Year 9 girls suggested. Eden Press was mainly for Junior girls in Years 7 to 9, so lots of the readers would be Year 9 students who were on the cusp of moving into the Senior grades, Years 10 to 12. Some of them were obviously nervous about the change.

  Ivy nodded. ‘That would be good for our Year 9 readers. You could interview some Senior girls and get the lowdown on what it’s like in the upper years, how they manage the stress and what privileges we can look forward to. What else?’

  ‘I have an idea,’ Saskia said, raising her hand.

  Ivy nodded at her younger sister.

  ‘We could do something on the musical,’ she said.

  ‘OK, but how can we make that really interesting?’ Ivy asked. ‘A simple report on the musical would be pretty boring.’

  Saskia seemed to think. Then her eyes sparkled. ‘I know! Portia was telling us all about this curse. Apparently, there used to be another theatre where the auditorium now is, but it burned down when a cursed mask was brought on set.’

  ‘That’s a fun story,’ Ivy said slowly, ‘but it’s pretty fanciful. It doesn’t sound like facts, Saskia.’

  ‘True, but it could be fun researching it while we continue with the musical rehearsals. We could note down anything odd and see if the story stacks up,’ Saskia said. ‘We’ve already had a pretty weird start to rehearsals with that blackout the other day.’

  ‘We don’t want to cause panic, though,’ I frowned. ‘Nobody will want to perform in a haunted musical.’

  Saskia narrowed her eyes and a sly smile spread across her face. ‘I’m not suggesting scaring anyone. Besides, the musical will be finished before we publish the article. Ella, since you have such a main part in the musical, you could help me write it. Then you can be sure I’m not saying anything too far-fetched.’

  I looked up at Ivy, who shrugged. ‘It might work. Are you keen, Ella?’

  I thought about it. I really didn’t want to get involved in the drama of a cursed musical. But if the curse was just a silly story, we were unlikely to find anything anyway. And then I could just shut down the whole idea before Saskia caused a big kerfuffle.

  ‘OK,’ I said.

  Ivy smiled. ‘Great! Let’s break into smaller groups and start working on our articles for this edition.’

  ‘How about Ella and I start by going to the library to research the old theatre?’ Saskia suggested.

  Ivy nodded. ‘Good plan.’

  Saskia bounced around happily, excited that we were following her plans for a change, while she waited for me to pack up my gear. There was only half an hour of lunchtime left, so we didn’t have a lot of time.

  As we walked through the school, everyone was having lunch. Some girls sat on the manicured lawns and others at the table and chair sets that peppered the various courtyards and grassy areas. Lots of girls congregated around the fountain in the central courtyard of the school, with its calming rush of water. As we passed a group of Year 12 girls, Lauren, who was playing the Snow Queen, waved.

  ‘Hi, Saskia! Hi, Ella!’ she called.

  We waved back. We’d been getting to know the older girls better since we’d started the musical rehearsals, but Lauren had always been really good at mixing with girls from the other year levels. As she sat there amongst her friends, I realised that she and her group would be graduating out of Eden at the end of the year. My heart ached just a little. Is this how it would feel every year when a year group left? Like family moving out of home?

  When we got to the library, we trotted up the steps and in through the wide open doors. I paused to breathe in the comforting scent of books. It smelt like home. I had a flashback of sitting with Olivia in front of the fireplace in my dressing gown and slippers as Mum braided my hair, while Dad read aloud to us. I sighed at the memory.

  Saskia looked over at me. She raised her eyebrows and I quickly gathered myself, slightly embarrassed, and walked on past the front desk. Miss Mason, the Librarian, greeted us with a wave and told us that she was there to help if we needed anything. But I already knew where we were going.

  I led Saskia to the reference section of the library, where there were books and records of Eden’s history. There were even grainy old newspaper clippings, each one yel
lowed with the crinkles of time.

  I pulled out An Eden History, a book I’d used in my research for the last edition of Eden Press, when I was trying to find out about an old student of the school. I flicked through and found the page about the old campus—it showed grey photographs of the original buildings, which were so different to the buildings we used now.

  ‘Look!’ Saskia said, as she leaned over my shoulder and excitedly pointed to a heading: ‘The Grand Theatre’.

  I raised my eyebrows at her enthusiasm, but then looked to where she was pointing. The old theatre was definitely completely different to the auditorium that was there now, so Portia was right about that. I began to read aloud.

  ‘The Grand Theatre was opened at the same time as Eden College and was an original part of the campus. But sadly, in 1928, the theatre burned to the ground after a lightning strike hit the roof of the building. The site remained empty throughout the Great Depression and the Second World War, until it was rebuilt in 1959. This is the building that was renovated into the auditorium in 2012.’

  ‘See?! It’s true! It did burn down!’ Saskia said, jumping up and down with excitement. She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the page in the book.

  ‘There’s nothing in here that said it was during a performance. Or anything about a curse,’ I said slowly. ‘It’s not really the evidence we need for a story.’

  ‘No, but it’s a good start,’ Saskia smiled.

  ‘Why are you so happy about there potentially being a curse on the musical that you are performing in?’ I asked, slightly annoyed.

  Saskia’s face cooled. ‘Look, Ella, I want the musical to be as good as you do. But I also want to write an epic story for Eden Press. Since I’m just a stupid wolf, it’s not like I’m going to be all that busy at rehearsals. I may as well do a bit of investigative journalism at the same time.’

  I sighed. ‘I guess. Well, let’s just hope that nothing major happens. I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t want to be in the musical that burns the school down.’

  Saskia laughed and shook her head, her long blonde ponytail swishing from side to side.

  Suddenly, the bell pierced through the quiet library air.

  ‘Let’s go,’ Saskia said. ‘We can continue this investigation later.’

  She trotted off towards the library doors, as I put the book back on its shelf. I wasn’t sure why, but I had a strange feeling that I would need to keep a close eye on Saskia.

  Chapter 10

  When I was little, I was a bit scared of the water. I knew I could swim, but I always had a sense of trepidation when it came to swimming races, especially if it was in a long deep pool. Trepidation is that fluttery worried feeling you have when you think about something you don’t want to do, like a big maths test or jumping off the high diving board or telling your mum that it was you who broke her favourite necklace.

  In Year 3, we had our swimming carnival at the aquatic centre’s big Olympic-sized pool. I had swum the 50 metres a million times before in smaller pools, swimming lap after lap without tiring. But swimming it in one vast, long open lane filled me with dread. At the deep end, it looked like the whole pool dropped down into a great abyss. It really scared me.

  Nanna Kate said that if I drank her special rainbow potion, then I would be the most fearless swimmer ever. The drink she gave me had purple, pink and blue swirls in it and I just knew it had come from somewhere magical.

  On the morning of the carnival, I drank my rainbow potion. And as I stood on the starting blocks, a confident energy surged through my body. I dived off the blocks and swam the fastest I’d ever swum before. Even when the deep end seemed to break off and drop into eternity, I swam on.

  That afternoon, Nanna Kate offered me and Olivia some more of her magical rainbow potion. We were meant to play outside while she got our treats, but I walked back into the kitchen to tell her something. So I saw her pour the creamy milk out of the carton into our glasses and add little drops of food colouring. The purple, pink and blue swirled around in the milk, making an intoxicating whirlpool.

  And I realised that the rainbow potion wasn’t a magical potion at all. It was just regular milk, with food colouring. There was no magic. I asked Nanna Kate how I had swum so fast and so fearlessly if the milk was just normal milk. She said I always had the power inside me, I just needed to believe.

  Thinking about that moment as I stared down at my script for Enchantment the Musical, I wondered if I really did have the ability to conquer this challenge, too. We’d been practicing loads over the last couple of weeks, but I still wasn’t quite getting it. Maybe I just lacked the confidence. Maybe I just needed some ‘magic milk’ to believe in myself.

  ‘OK, girls, we are doing the scene in the forest where the dryads and the songbird lead the children to the magic key they need to get into the Snow Queen’s castle. So, I need everyone in the woodland chorus, the children (except for Arianwen) and the dryads and songbird on stage,’ Miss Lopez said.

  ‘Let me guess, evil wolves can take a break?’ Saskia spat, rolling her eyes. Miss Lopez ignored her. ‘Ugh, come on, Charlotte,’ she said, dragging a Year 8 girl who was also a wolf by the hand.

  I stood up on the stage, close to Tilly, with my script clutched in my hand. She made me feel like I wasn’t alone in this.

  ‘Starting with you, Ella,’ Miss Lopez said.

  I cleared my throat.

  ‘Come hither and follow the song of the bird,

  Keep watchful and silent without any word.

  Knights of the forest, guide our footfall

  As we tread oh so gently, gazing canopies tall

  And lofty with pine so sweet to the senses.

  Abandon your doubt and foolish pretences.’

  ‘Hold it there, Ella,’ Miss Lopez said, lifting her hand. ‘It feels like you are tense. And if you are tense, the audience is tense. You are a dryad—a free flowing spirit of the forest. You need to let the words spill out of you with airiness and wistfulness,’ she said, as she swayed from side to side. In the seats behind Miss Lopez, I saw Saskia roll her eyes. I nodded, ignoring Saskia.

  ‘OK, so now, Violet, our songbird, you sing the song that directs the children to the secret box buried under the willow tree. Let’s try it.’ Miss Lopez clicked the backing track on and light piano music filled the auditorium. Violet sounded like an actual songbird as she sang, her high notes trilling with that beautiful wavering vibrato.

  I could tell from the way Miss Lopez closed her eyes that she was enjoying Violet’s performance immensely. I felt a tiny pang of jealousy. Then I pushed it aside. I didn’t want to be jealous of my own friend. But I so badly wanted to do my part as well as Violet was doing hers.

  The girls playing the parts of the siblings followed me, Tilly and Violet through the ‘forest’ and pretended to fossick around at the base of what would be a prop tree in the corner of the stage. Miss Lopez had placed an ornate wooden box there, which would serve as the box holding the magical key in the play. She’d told us that she didn’t have the key prop yet, but we could open the box and just pretend to pull one out. So the eldest sibling ‘discovered’ the box and held it up for the audience to see.

  ‘Look amazed,’ Miss Lopez instructed everyone on stage. ‘Now gather in tightly around the box as Ashley opens it to reveal the magical key.’

  We all leaned in close, and Ashley slowly opened the wooden box.

  Then a scream of terror left her mouth. She flung the box away from her, sending cockroaches flying out everywhere.

  We all screamed and ran in different directions, shaking our arms and legs and running our hands through our hair in case one of the little brown insects had landed on our heads.

  ‘IT’S ON ME!’ Tilly shrieked, as a cockroach scurried down her leg. She jiggled around, shaking her leg wildly. I ran up and quickly flicked the cockroach off her, sending it scuttling across the stage.

  Everyone either ran for the wings or jumped off the st
age itself. Those sitting in the auditorium chairs then leapt up, fearful that the stampeding girls from the stage might be bringing the creepy crawlies down with them.

  ‘Everyone, outside!’ Miss Lopez bellowed. She knew she would never calm us down while we were still in the presence of the cockroaches. ‘I don’t understand how this happened!’ she cursed, as she followed us up the aisle and out the back doors. ‘There was nothing in that box when I put it on stage a moment ago!’

  I looked at all the horrified faces around me. Some girls even had tears in their eyes. Everyone looked completely panicked—all except two. I frowned quizzically as I saw Saskia and Charlotte laughing their heads off at the base of the stage.

  Chapter 11

  × −

  From:

  Ella

  Sent:

  Tuesday, 8:35 AM

  To:

  Olivia

  Subject:

  Help!!!

  Hi Olivia,

  What’s happening with you?

  Things here are getting even weirder. You know how I told you about the lights going off in our first rehearsal? Well, even stranger things have happened since then.

  At first it was just little things, like props going missing, the backing track getting scratched and one of the girls tripping over a cord that had been left in the wrong spot. But then yesterday, Ashley opened up the magic key box and a whole bunch of creepy cockroaches came flying out! It was weird, weird, WEIRD! Everyone is talking about the old theatre curse, saying that this musical might be cursed, too. I pointed out that in the story, it was a cursed mask and we don’t have any masks on set yet. So our musical’s probably not cursed. But nobody listened.

  Saskia sure seems to want the musical to be cursed—she thinks it would make a great story for Eden Press. I reckon she’s just annoyed she’s a wolf, so she’s secretly happy things are going wrong. But here’s the other thing—Saskia was one of the only people not afraid of the cockroaches. It was almost like she knew they were going to be there. Curious, huh?