How to Keep a Boy from Kissing You

by Tara Eglington

  ‘It’s a waste of materials!’ Jelena said, shaking her head, but everyone ignored her.

  ‘Anyway, it was the most fun I’ve had in ages, and now Scott’s totally normal around me!’

  Cassie’s voice was triumphant. I hugged her, paint stains and all.

  ‘The ice has broken, and you’re on your way to tropical waters!’ I said.

  The ringing of my mobile interrupted our joyous jumping up and down.

  ‘Just let me get that,’ I said. ‘Hello?’

  ‘Hello, darling.’

  ‘Hi, Mum!’ I said, grinning as Scott returned and threatened to spray Cassie with the hose. ‘I bought your ticket for the play today. You’ve got a seat in the third row for Friday.’

  ‘Listen, Aurora, about that,’ Mum said.

  My smile faded.

  ‘I’m not going to be able to make it. I’ve got a business dinner with a client we’ve been courting for six months.’

  ‘You can’t come to the play?’ I cried out.

  My distress was drowned out by Jelena, who’d accidentally been sprayed with the hose and was screaming her head off about her dress being dry-clean only.

  ‘No, of course not,’ Mum said. ‘I want you to change the ticket from Friday night to Saturday.’

  ‘And you’ll definitely be there, right?’ I couldn’t keep the anxiety out of my voice. I’d only just realised how much I wanted my mother to see the play.

  ‘I promise,’ Mum said. ‘This is only the beginning, Aurora. Bright things are ahead of you.’

  ‘I love you.’

  It was the first time I’d said it since the week before she left for Spain. The words felt funny on my tongue.

  ‘We’ll talk Saturday,’ Mum answered.

  CHAPTER 24

  Running Out of Options

  Thursday was one long blur of dance rehearsals, lighting cues and last-minute run-throughs. Without a minute to spare, I was very glad that I had my plan for Friday’s dress rehearsal set up.

  The rehearsal, in front of the whole school, was a nightmare. During the opening scene Byron, who was playing the messenger, forgot his lines and spent the rest of the scene hiding behind a tree. By the time Hayden’s and my big moment arrived, two actors had tripped over the oriental rug that was part of the southern plantation house’s furnishings, the cocktail singer’s backing music had got stuck, and Jeffrey had pulled out a real knife for his law-enforcement scene. The audience’s enthusiasm didn’t seem affected by the mess-ups, however. The air was virtually humming with anticipation as the kiss scene approached. I could see half the cast grinning in the wings. By the time Hayden had one hand on my waist and the other on my cheek, they looked like Cheshire cats.

  Hayden gazed deep into my eyes exactly like we’d planned.

  Was it my imagination or was the whole auditorium leaning forward expectantly?

  I gazed back at Hayden, but instead of saying, ‘I love you with so much of my heart that nothing is left to protest’, I narrowed my eyes and hissed, ‘Kill Claudio’ as menacingly as possible.

  Hayden’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he managed to go seamlessly into his next line as someone in the audience yelled, ‘What happened to the kiss?’

  At the cast meeting an hour later, Mr Peterman was asking the same thing.

  ‘Not only were the scene changes a shambles and people completely negligent about their upcoming cues!’ he shouted, pacing up and down in front of us. ‘But the Beatrice–Benedick scene, which should have been a saving grace in this joke of a dress rehearsal, also died an excruciating death.’

  Mr Peterman stopped his frantic pacing and spun around to face me. ‘Kill Claudio? What happened to the kiss?’

  ‘I panicked,’ I said in my best apologetic tone. Part of me really did feel sorry. ‘I forgot my line.’

  ‘You didn’t think it might have something to do with telling Benedick you loved him?’ Mr Peterman said. ‘As you were heading towards a kiss?’ He hissed the word like a cobra spitting venom.

  ‘Aurora was doing her best,’ Hayden said. ‘Everyone forgets a line at least once.’

  He looked sympathetically at me and I felt a twinge of guilt at his unfailing belief in my honesty.

  ‘Well, I think it was pretty weak of you to just give up on the kiss, Paris.’ Benjamin arched an eyebrow. ‘Being the male lead is all about taking charge. You should have just kissed her.’

  ‘Being an actor,’ Hayden replied archly, ‘is about authenticity. Don’t you think it might have seemed a bit odd to kiss Beatrice after she’d made a murderous statement?’

  ‘You know what I think?’ Jeffrey piped up. ‘It’s weird that Aurora could forget the kiss. I mean, who forgets a piece of action like that? Maybe it was intention—’

  Thankfully Mr Peterman interrupted before Jeffrey could finish. ‘That’s enough!’ he bellowed. ‘Let me just say one thing. Tonight is opening night. And NOTHING is to go wrong. NOTHING, do you hear me?’

  I nodded, feeling sick. It was obvious that if I pulled the ‘Kill Claudio’ trick again, Mr Peterman was going to have my head. Plus, it was highly unlikely that anyone would believe I could forget the same line twice. My actions were already being called into question by Jeffrey, who wasn’t the most alert person. With minus seven hours to go before our opening-night performance, what on earth could I do?

  Alex’s cool voice broke into my thoughts. ‘I think we need a good party once this thing is over.’

  Jelena looked at him, her eyes gleaming. ‘I could arrange a cast and crew party for Saturday night.’

  Alex smiled his Mr Perfect smile. ‘Babe, you are one cool woman.’

  ‘I know,’ Jelena said. ‘Mr Peterman, could we have a cast party in the gym? I’ll do all the organising, of course.’

  Mr Peterman was slumped in his director’s chair. ‘While Rome was burning, Nero played,’ he muttered, shaking his head.

  Obviously he’d progressed from angry to morose.

  ‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ Jelena said, and winked at Alex.

  ‘Oh, Mr Peterman?’ Benjamin called out in his deep stage voice. ‘I have a suggestion.’

  ‘Yes, Benjamin?’ Mr Peterman’s voice was weary.

  Benjamin turned to face me. ‘Aurora needs brighter lighting whenever she’s onstage. You know, so she can shine like a star.’

  I stared at him in shock.

  ‘Do you think we could have this all wrong?’ I asked, feeling strangely disembodied as Jelena fussed with my hair and Sara straightened my necklace.

  ‘All wrong?’ Jelena looked at me like I was crazy. ‘He said it loud and clear. Aurora needs to “shine like a star”.’

  ‘Just like in the poem,’ Sara chimed in.

  ‘The poem’s phrase was “she’s like the stars”, not “she needs to shine like a star”,’ I said.

  ‘She shines like the stars, she is a star, same difference.’ Jelena appraised me from head to foot.

  ‘Oh, I can’t believe that Benjamin Zane is your secret admirer!’ Lindsay beamed at me. ‘How exciting!’

  ‘But why would he announce it in front of everyone? Why not tell me in private?’ I said.

  ‘He’s an actor,’ Lindsay said. ‘He likes having an audience.’

  But if he liked an audience, why had Benjamin been a secret admirer? Why hadn’t he just wooed me publicly from the beginning? Something felt odd about the whole thing.

  ‘Cass?’ I asked. ‘What do you think?’

  Cassie’s brow creased. ‘His words were very similar to the poem. And he’s artistic and literary, so he’d be able to write it. He also comes from a well-off family, so he’d be able to send a bouquet as expensive as the one you received.’ She paused. ‘I don’t know. I’d started to think it was someone else.’

  ‘Who?’ I looked at her, confused. She hadn’t mentioned any suspicions.

  ‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said quickly. ‘I guess I had it all wrong.’

  ‘I think the way things
have worked out is perfect,’ Jelena said. ‘Benjamin is rich, good-looking and talented. Just think, if his career takes off, you could end up dating a Hollywood actor.’

  ‘Yeah.’

  I couldn’t work out why I wasn’t happy. My secret admirer had turned up and he was a guy half the girls in school would die to go out with.

  ‘So what are you waiting for?’ Jelena and Sara were looking at me expectantly. ‘Go talk to him!’

  ‘Now?’ I said. ‘I mean, I have lines to look over and —’

  Jelena interrupted my admittedly feeble protests. ‘When else? Do I have to remind you that the Hayden–Aurora kiss is this very evening?’

  ‘And I just found out that Benjamin’s in his dressing room,’ Sara said. ‘So you’ll be able to talk to him privately. First, though, we should give you some kissing tips.’

  ‘Start off slowly,’ Jelena said.

  ‘And softly,’ Lindsay added.

  ‘If he goes for the tongue —’ Sara started.

  ‘Tongue?’ The thought of rushing into my first kiss was confronting enough without having to consider Benjamin’s tongue.

  ‘Guys, she’ll be fine,’ Cassie said. ‘Kissing’s not something that you can work on in theory. What makes a kiss truly great is feeling something for the other person.’

  I knew Cassie intended her statement to be reassuring, but I felt even more apprehensive as I headed towards Benjamin’s dressing room. I had no idea how I felt about Benjamin. I thought he was a talented actor. And he did have amazing crystal-blue eyes. But beyond that?

  As I reached what had formerly been the supplies cupboard but now had a huge gold star and Benjamin’s name on the door, I paused. Could we have this all wrong? If I’d spent so little time with Benjamin that I’d barely formed an opinion of him, then how could he be so enamoured of me?

  Unless it was some kind of love-at-first-sight thing. Maybe he’d taken one look at me and decided that I was his soul mate! Come to think of it, the secret-admirer messages had started not long after we’d begun rehearsing the play. Benjamin had offered to coach me. Maybe that had been his way of suggesting a date!

  Maybe he was my secret admirer after all. I owed it to myself to find out.

  I knocked tentatively.

  ‘I’m trying to focus!’ came the exasperated reply.

  ‘Sorry!’ I yanked my hand away from the door. ‘I’ll … I’ll come back later …’

  ‘Aurora?’ The door swung open and Benjamin looked out with surprise. ‘You should have said it was you. Come in!’

  I paused in the doorway.

  ‘Well, come on.’ He flashed a set of perfectly straight pearly whites at me. ‘I know why you’re here.’

  Well, there was my answer. He’d obviously said the ‘shine like a star’ thing on purpose, knowing that I’d confront him.

  ‘You do?’ I stepped inside, folding my arms to disguise how my fingers were trembling.

  ‘Of course.’

  He shut the door behind me, accentuating how small the dressing room was. Benjamin and his crystal-blue eyes were now thirty centimetres away from me. I focused on the posters of Laurence Olivier that decorated the walls.

  Benjamin looked me square in the eye. ‘It’s about the kiss, isn’t it?’

  I gave a jolt. How on earth did he know that I was on a deadline? Sara. Had she said something while finding out he was in his dressing room? I could feel my cheeks going pink.

  ‘You shouldn’t be embarrassed,’ Benjamin said, like he was reading my mind. He moved closer to me. ‘Not at all.’

  His voice was very low and his hand was heading for my cheek.

  Was he going to kiss me now? In this supply closet? I so didn’t feel ready. Maybe I could put this off, until half an hour or so before the Hayden–Aurora liplock was meant to happen. Then again, how much more ready was I going to feel in a few hours?

  ‘Hayden’s the one that should be embarrassed.’

  Benjamin’s hand missed my cheek. I turned to see him grab a comb from the shelf behind me.

  ‘Hayden?’ I repeated. Why should Hayden be embarrassed about the fact that I’d never been kissed? What on earth did it have to do with him?

  Benjamin shrugged. ‘He should have just kissed you.’

  ‘He what?’

  I stared at Benjamin. Was he saying that Hayden should have realised I was sweet sixteen and unkissed and put a stop to it? Oh my god. Hayden didn’t know, did he? How could he? But if Benjamin, who hardly knew me, was up to speed on my unkissedness, then Hayden had to know.

  And why was my secret admirer all for Hayden kissing me first? My head spun.

  ‘Hayden is far from being the lead actor that this production needs,’ Benjamin said, running the comb through his ebony hair and looking in the mirror. I vaguely noticed that he’d strung little lights all around it.

  ‘The line you forgot was so close to the kiss that Hayden should have just gone directly into it,’ Benjamin went on.

  I stared at him, suddenly comprehending. He’d been referring to the Beatrice–Benedick kiss, not my own love life!

  Benjamin shook his head and examined his reflection carefully. ‘I have no idea how Mr Peterman could have cast him as Benedick instead of me. Anyway, do you want me to run through the scene with you? I can show you some great techniques to create emotion. On my most recent carpet-cleaning ad I had to be dismayed at a wine spill, and the director said it was the most emotionally honest reaction to a stain he’d ever seen.’

  I felt so confused. Benjamin wanted to give me acting tips? I’d thought by now he’d have gone into a spiel about how long he’d loved me and why. Well, he might have all the time in the world, but I didn’t. I had only a few scarce hours to get to know him and force him (nicely) to kiss me.

  ‘Benjamin, did you write me a poem?’ I blurted.

  He turned to face me. ‘A what?’

  I had to repeat it?

  ‘A poem,’ I managed to squeak out.

  Benjamin raised an eyebrow. Was he affronted by my boldness?

  ‘Aurora, I’m an actor, not a poet. I don’t write lines, I speak them.’

  ‘So at no time in the last week or so did you write a poem?’ I repeated the question slowly and carefully, in case he’d somehow misunderstood.

  ‘No.’ He turned back to the mirror and ran a finger down his cheek, scrutinising his skin. ‘Do you want to run through the scene?’

  So Benjamin wasn’t my secret admirer. But what about the ‘shine like a star’ comment?

  ‘It’s just that I got this poem,’ I continued. ‘And you said something really similar to one of the lines when you were talking to Mr Peterman — that I should shine like a star?’

  Benjamin nodded. ‘Yeah, I think that Mr Peterman should put the spotlight on you, to take the focus off Hayden’s inadequacies.’

  All at once I could see that any signs of interest Benjamin had shown in me — like wanting to be Hayden’s stunt double in the waltz scene — were linked to his rivalry with Hayden.

  I pretended to look at my watch. ‘Oh! Is that the time? I just remembered I have a dress fitting.’

  Benjamin wasn’t listening. He picked up two head shots of himself — one front on, one in profile. ‘Could you give me an opinion on these? Which do you think is better?’

  ‘The one on the right.’ I pointed at the shot where he was posed chin in hand, à la Rodin’s The Thinker. ‘It’s very … commanding.’

  Benjamin looked thoughtfully at the head shot. ‘You know, you’re right. Thanks. I’m going to be signing them at a booth outside the auditorium this afternoon.’

  I realised how silly I’d been to think Benjamin might be my secret admirer. He had no time for a girlfriend; all his energy was devoted to self-promotion. He wasn’t a bad guy, just very … focused. The only interest he had in me was as teacher to pupil.

  ‘You know, it’s funny,’ he said, turning his gaze from the photo to me. ‘You and I have way better chemistry t
han you and Hayden do. Are you sure you don’t want to run through that scene? I’m no kissing wimp.’

  I gave him a no-thanks wave and shut the door behind me.

  Better to be safe than sorry.

  ‘He said you and he have great chemistry?’ Jelena shook her head as I nervously hopped around backstage. It was less than an hour till curtain call, and not only was I on the verge of making my stage debut, but I also had no feasible way of preventing the kiss.

  ‘You had a clear opportunity for a date there,’ Jelena continued as she checked off items on the props table.

  ‘Jelena!’ I cried. ‘He wasn’t my secret admirer! I can’t go accepting dates with whoever.’

  ‘You could,’ Jelena replied, counting tennis racquets. ‘In my opinion, this secret admirer of yours is a spoilsport. If he’s not going to make an appearance, then he should deal with the fact that you’re going to date available men.’

  My mouth fell open.

  Sara, wearing part of her Don John costume — a leather jacket and a boy’s black wig — rushed up. ‘Was it amazing?’

  ‘Was what amazing?’ I rubbed my temples.

  ‘Nothing was amazing,’ Jelena said. ‘Benjamin wasn’t the stupid secret admirer.’

  ‘I hate to say it, Aurora,’ Sara examined her wig in the full-length mirror, ‘but I don’t think the secret admirer’s going to be making an appearance tonight.’

  I tried to push down my panic. ‘What am I going to do then? The kiss is coming up and I’ve run out of options. The way things are looking, I’m going to have to knock over the holy-water font again.’

  ‘Sorry to tell you, but the font isn’t budging from its spot,’ Jelena said. ‘It’s got a good fifteen screws in it. I had to come up with all these ideas for using it as a permanent prop — like making it a birdbath in the orchard scenes.’

  ‘You see? What am I going to do?’

  ‘I’ll tell you what you’re going to do,’ Jelena replied, looking completely frustrated with me. ‘You’re going to go and get your make-up done and leave me to focus.’