The other cast members began to grumble. It would look a little silly having a forest spirit reading off a piece of paper. Everyone shook their heads. Nobody wanted to commit to Tilly’s part. A few people glanced at Amelia, who had stood in for Tilly on a previous occasion, but she shook her head vehemently (which means a very forceful NO WAY).
‘Nobody?’ Miss Lopez asked. ‘Alright then. Ella, can you please come up the front?’
I nervously stood up and picked my way to the front of the room. ‘I have an idea for someone who can fill Tilly’s part. She already knows every line and can sing Fly Free with me. The only thing she would need to learn is where to stand on stage, but that will be pretty easy as the two dryads are always together—she can just follow me.’
‘Who is it?’ Lauren asked. ‘Which one of us has been learning Tilly’s lines?’ She looked around, confused.
‘This person isn’t here today. But she can be here for the final two days of rehearsals,’ I said.
‘Who is it?’ everyone murmured excitedly. ‘Who is this mystery girl that is going to save the musical?’
I smiled and cleared my voice . . .
The next day, I waited anxiously at the front gate of the school. I jiggled excitedly, bouncing from foot to foot. Where were they?
Suddenly, I heard the low rumble of a car engine. That must be them! My breath caught in my throat. It had been so long!
A familiar red car pulled up to the front of the school. A few stray tears filled my eyes. As the car stopped, the back door flung open. And out bounded my little sister, Olivia. She ran to me and threw her arms around my neck. I hadn’t seen her since my first day at Eden College, when she and my family had dropped me off. I hugged her tight. She was slightly taller than the last time I’d seen her, I noticed. The front door of the car opened and Mum jumped out and ran around to hug both me and Olivia at the same time.
‘Mum!’ I gushed, wiping the tears of joy from my eyes.
‘Oh, look at you, Ella! You look so grown up,’ Mum said through her tears of happiness.
‘I missed you like crazy,’ I said, as I breathed in her familiar scent. I closed my eyes and lingered in her embrace. Finally, I pulled back from her and smiled. ‘Thank you so much for bringing Olivia!’ I said. ‘She is the only person who knows the dryad lines.’
‘It’s my pleasure, darling,’ Mum said. ‘We will stay in the motel a couple extra nights, then Dad, Max and Nanna Kate will come up on Saturday for the performance. I must say, I never thought I’d be watching both my girls in the Eden musical!’
‘How are you feeling, Olivia?’ I asked.
My sister looked up at me with her shining green eyes. ‘A bit nervous, but I reckon I’ll be fine!’ She smiled her typical impish grin.
I shook my head in wonder. Olivia is one of the most confident people I know. She takes on every opportunity, head-on, full of courage. Sometimes this leads to disaster, like when she tried to jump off the playhouse roof, but other times it is nothing short of amazing.
‘I can’t wait to introduce you to everyone,’ I said, proudly pulling my sister in to my side. ‘Mrs Sinclair, the Headmistress, says she can’t wait to meet such a brave young lady, too!’
Olivia smiled.
‘We have rehearsals all day so you can practice your part with me on stage,’ I said.
Mum gave us both another hug and said she would be back to pick Olivia up in the afternoon.
I took Olivia through the central courtyard and over to the auditorium. I couldn’t believe my own little sister was right here with me at Eden College! It was like my two worlds had collided into one. As we reached the auditorium doors, I looked down at Olivia.
‘Ready?’ I asked.
‘Ready,’ she said firmly.
Then we headed into rehearsal, arm in arm.
Chapter 17
I stared at my sister, beaming. She looked utterly resplendent. That’s a big word for beautiful and glamorous like a real-life movie star. She wore a flower crown on her head that matched mine, and Tilly’s long draping dress, which swept the floor. The sewing team had made some last-minute adjustments to the costume, because Olivia was a lot smaller than Tilly. But with a quick hem tuck and a tightening of the shoulder strap, Olivia was ready to go.
We both had a lot of make-up on—more than either of us had ever worn before. Miss Lopez said that on stage, you have to wear heaps more make-up than you ever would in real life, because the bright lights can really wash-out your face. So we wore thick foundation over our skin and had sparkling eye shadow. We also had lots of sparkly glitter all over our arms and faces, which made our skin glisten under the lights.
Now we were standing in the wings of the stage in our matching dryad costumes, waiting for our cue. The beginning of the performance had gone without a blip, and Portia had started the musical with confidence, although she hadn’t sung her solo yet. Playing Arianwen, Portia had been stolen by the Snow Queen and taken to her ice castle. Her siblings were now in the forest, looking for the magic key. I watched as Violet fluttered onto the stage as the beautiful songbird. Her costume was breathtaking. When she stretched out her arms, long white wings billowed around her. She sang her trilling high notes, beckoning the children to follow her. She was spectacular.
But now it was time for the children to meet the dryads. I looked at Oliva and mouthed, Ready?
She nodded, smiling. She was so brave. We clasped our hands together and walked out onto the stage.
The lights were so much brighter than they had seemed in rehearsal. I could barely see the audience. But I could make out shadows in the tech box up the back of the theatre, and it comforted me to know that Zoe and her team were there, shining their lights down on me.
We wove our way through the cardboard trees, which were painted so realistically that it looked like they had real bark on them. The set design team had also used different materials for the leaves of the trees, creating a kind of canopy that hung over us on the stage. They had done a stunning job. For a moment, I truly felt like I was standing in the middle of a forest.
The orchestra was below the stage, with Mrs Lodge conducting. The violins began and a piccolo made a flittering sound over the top. It was the introduction to the dryad song, Fly Free. My throat suddenly felt dry and crackly. I swallowed hard. I was conscious of the tiny microphone which sat gently on my cheek, and the battery pack strapped to the back of my waist. I shifted uncomfortably.
Tilly was meant to be the first to sing. This meant Olivia had to lead the song. I looked at her with wide panicked eyes to see if she was as nervous as I was. But her face was soft and calm. She stepped forward and began to sing.
Her voice was sweet and clear. It was younger than Tilly’s voice and sounded more like a child than a teenager. But it was innocent and pleasant. I stepped forward, too, and took Olivia’s hand in mine. We weren’t really supposed to hold hands, but it felt like the right thing to do in the moment. She squeezed my hand and my fear melted away.
I opened my mouth and sung my lines with confidence. My voice still wavered with nerves, but it actually sounded like a gentle vibrato. Olivia joined back in with a simple harmony, beckoning the children to follow us.
As our piece ended and the music gently tapered off, the audience broke into rousing applause. The spotlights dimmed, and I could see some faces in the crowd. Nanna Kate was in the third row, with tears streaming down her cheeks. I also saw Grace’s parents, clapping their hands over their heads, Alec next to them. For a moment, I was distracted, and frowned slightly when I realised he was wearing headphones over his ears. I wondered if perhaps he wasn’t interested in the musical. Then why would he come at all?
I shook my head lightly and glanced back at Olivia, who was beaming from ear to ear.
I stood backstage and waved to Grace, who was busily working the props. She gave me a thumbs-up sign and smiled. But I was nervous again. Although this time, I wasn’t nervous for me—I was nervous for Portia. It was
time for her big solo, Arianwen’s Song. She was on centrestage all by herself. She looked small standing on the ice castle balcony, which was really just a platform on wheels with painted bits of cardboard all over it to make it look like a castle. She was dressed in a brown tunic, stockings and shoes. Her hair was braided over her head so that it looked like a plaited headband. Her eyes darted around the audience in fear. She licked her lips and I heard her gently cough.
Come on, Portia, you can do this, I thought.
The introduction to the song came on. Portia was meant to join in after the first two bars, but she missed her cue. I glanced down into the orchestra pit and saw Mrs Lodge wildly waving her arms at her musicians, telling them to loop around and play the opening bars of the song again so Portia could come in. The audience wouldn’t have even known that the introduction was longer than it was meant to be. But we knew. And Portia still stood on stage, frozen like a statue. If she didn’t sing soon, it would be very obvious that something was wrong.
‘We’ve gotta help,’ a voice said behind me.
I turned and saw Saskia. She was dressed head to toe in her grey wolf costume. Long strips of grey material hung off her body like wiry fur. Her blonde hair had been sprayed with glittery silver hairspray. And her face was covered in silver make-up. For a ferocious wolf, she looked gorgeous.
‘Wolves, we need to help her,’ she whispered to the other wolves.
‘How?’ Charlotte, another wolf, asked.
Saskia thought for a second. Then she looked out to where her friend was floundering on the stage. ‘We’re going to creep on stage, surround Portia and lie down at her feet. The audience will never know that isn’t part of the musical—the wolves live at the castle, after all. It will look fine.’
‘How’s that going to help?’ Charlotte whispered.
Saskia looked out at Portia again. ‘Sometimes, you just need to know you’re not alone.’
The other wolves nodded, and they stalked onto the stage. Portia appeared to startle as she saw the wolves creep around her. The introductory music kept looping around. She needed to sing.
Then Saskia prowled up the platform and stood right next to Portia. She nodded to her friend and settled down at her feet, like a sleeping dog. Portia gently placed her hand on Saskia’s head. Then she looked up and began to sing.
I saw Mrs Lodge breathe a big sigh of relief in the orchestra pit. And Miss Lopez closed her eyes in the front row.
Portia’s voice filled the room. It was strong and clear and beautiful. As the song went on, Portia’s confidence grew. She closed her eyes, completely immersed in the music. Her voice rang out powerfully and I could see a few faces in the crowd looking shocked at the sheer beauty of Portia’s voice.
As she finished her final note, eyes closed, the orchestra went silent. There was a moment of quiet, where she opened her eyes, alarmed. Then the audience broke into raucous applause. Some people even stood up and clapped their hands above their heads. Portia let out a visible sigh. The wolves stood up and stalked off stage. But before Saskia left, she gave Portia the biggest smile I’d ever seen.
Chapter 18
‘You were AMAZING!’ Miss Lopez gushed, as she embraced Portia in the backstage room after the show. ‘Do you think you can do it again tomorrow?’
We had two more shows tomorrow—a matinee in the daytime, then the closing performance a few hours later. Portia smiled and linked arms with Saskia. ‘Do you think I could bring my pet wolf on stage again?’
Saskia and Miss Lopez laughed. ‘Of course!’ Miss Lopez said.
Over in a corner of the dressing room, my friends had crowded around Olivia.
‘You were amazing, Olivia,’ Zoe said, hugging her tightly.
‘The cutest dryad I’ve ever seen,’ Grace added.
‘Ella! Olivia!’ a voice called from the doorway.
‘Max!’ I yelled, running to my little brother and pulling him into a gigantic hug. I hadn’t seen Max yet, and I was amazed at how much the little guy had grown since I’d left for Eden College.
‘Max, this is Violet and Grace,’ I said, pointing to my friends. ‘And, of course, you already know Zoe.’
‘Hi, Max!’ the girls chorused.
‘Violet!’ We all looked up as three mini-Violets came running into the room. It was Violet’s three younger sisters. Usually Violet looks pretty small, but seeing her little sisters somehow turned her into a giant.
‘Everyone, these are my sisters!’ Violet said, hugging each one. ‘This is Sophie, Annie and Emma.’
We waved as the three little girls danced around Violet, stroking her soft wings and marvelling at her face paint.
‘Hey, get Alec to come in,’ I said to Grace. ‘Then we will have met all the siblings!’
Grace’s face reddened. ‘Oh, I don’t know, he’s probably tired from the trip.’
I frowned, and glanced at Zoe. It was a weird thing to say. Maybe she was embarrassed that I’d seen him with headphones on.
‘I saw his headphones during the show—I guess musicals aren’t his thing!’ I laughed, trying to put her at ease.
Grace didn’t laugh. She sighed heavily and shook her head, as if she’d made a decision about something in that moment.
‘Guys,’ she said slowly, ‘I haven’t introduced Alec to you because Alec is a bit . . . different. He does love music and musicals, but he has some sensory problems, which means it’s really hard for him to listen to loud noises. The musical was a bit too noisy, so he had the headphones on.’
‘Oh,’ I said.
‘And he can’t always read people very well. He’s very literal, so he doesn’t know when people are joking or exaggerating. Sometimes people think he’s weird, but he’s not. He’s the most creative and smart boy I’ve ever met. He’s heaps of fun and can tell you any fact you like about any planet in the solar system!’
‘Why didn’t you just tell us?’ Zoe asked.
‘I didn’t want you to think Alec was strange. Sure, he can be totally annoying, but he’s also the best brother ever . . .’ Grace trailed off.
‘We’d love to meet him,’ I said quietly.
Grace broke into a smile. ‘I’ll be right back,’ she said, and trotted out the door.
While we were waiting, Mrs Sinclair came striding over to us.
‘Oh, Ella and Violet, you were divine!’ she gushed, pulling us all into a hug.
‘Thanks, Mrs Sinclair,’ we chorused.
‘And you,’ she said, turning specifically to Olivia. ‘You are such a brave girl! To go on stage and perform after only a couple of days practicing—you are quite the talent!’
Olivia’s cheeks turned pink with pride.
‘You may be too young for this school just yet, but you have the heart of an Eden Girl,’ Mrs Sinclair declared, and winked at Olivia.
Olivia beamed, as Mrs Sinclair walked off to congratulate Portia.
A few minutes later, Grace came to the door with her brother. He had the same dark hair and green eyes as Grace, but was smaller than her. His headphones were around his neck and he looked about the room, taking it all in. Grace led him over to us.
‘Alec, this is Ella, Violet, Zoe and Olivia,’ Grace said. Alec stuck out his hand and shook all our hands one by one, just like a little businessman. Each time, he said, ‘Hi, I’m Alec.’
‘Did you like the show?’ I asked.
‘I did like the show,’ Alec replied. ‘But I don’t think wolves are that tame in real life. If Arianwen had really tried to pat one, I think she probably would have had her hand bitten off.’
We laughed, but Alec didn’t. We looked around in an awkward silence.
‘Grace says you like astronomy,’ Olivia finally said, smiling. ‘For school, I did this massive project on Mercury, which I think is the best planet.’
‘The best? No way!’ Alec said, his eyes lighting up. ‘Did you know it doesn’t even have the hottest surface temperature, even though it’s closest to the sun?’
�
�Yes, I did,’ Olivia said. ‘Venus is hotter on the surface because the atmosphere is thicker and traps the heat.’
‘I know,’ Alec said. ‘And how can Mercury be better than Jupiter? It’s the largest in the solar system. It is more than twice the size of all the other planets in the solar system combined!’
Grace, Zoe, Violet and I looked at each other and started laughing. We left Alec and Olivia to debate the mysteries of the solar system and walked over to Portia and Saskia.
‘Great job tonight, both of you,’ I said to them.
‘Do you think your sister, Olivia, would be willing to do an interview with me?’ Saskia asked.
I raised my eyebrows.
‘For Eden Press,’ she added. ‘I’ve decided I don’t want to write about the cursed musical anymore. I want to write about the saved musical. How we almost couldn’t perform, until Olivia saved the day. What do you think?’
I smiled. ‘I think that will be a great article,’ I said. ‘And I’m sure my sister would be happy to help.’
I looked over to where Olivia was still energetically debating science with Grace’s brother. She looked taller, her face narrower and more like a tween than like my baby sister. Olivia was definitely growing up.
I felt a pang in my heart when I realised that once the musical was finished tomorrow, she would be going home again. My whole family would be going home without me. And so would Grace’s and Zoe’s and Violet’s families. That was the thing about living at Eden College—we lived with our best friends, who had become like sisters to us, but we also constantly felt the tug of home, like a relentless tide pulling us out to sea. It was a jumble of confusing feelings, of always wanting to be home and also to be here at Eden.
But as I watched Olivia jumping up and down next to Alec, I realised maybe, just maybe, if she became an Eden Girl, too, I could have both my worlds together at last.
Musical Mystery Page 9