by Lyn Gardner
This was smaller but very swish. There were two closed doors leading off the living room, and Olivia guessed that one was a bathroom and the other was a bedroom. She glanced around. From the state of the room, she knew that this was definitely where Kasha was staying. The place was a tip. Several pairs of jeans, half-drunk cans of Coke and discarded magazines were littered all over the floor. Kasha’s beloved, battered old guitar stood in the corner, and there was a stack of photos of him on a small table, ready for signing.
So where was he? She suddenly realised how awful it would be if someone came into the room and found her there. They would probably think she was a stalker and have her arrested. For a moment she wished that she hadn’t asked Imy and Gem to remove the wire. Now she had no escape route.
Maybe Kasha had gone out? Maybe he was somewhere else in the hotel? She moved towards one of the doors and as she did so, she heard a sound. It was such an odd sound. It sounded like a small animal, maybe a rabbit or a hamster in pain. Slowly and carefully she pushed the door open. The curtains were drawn and the room was in darkness, but she could make out the bed with its rumpled covers. She took a step further into the room, peered into the gloom and realised that Kasha was curled up in a ball on the bed, a picture of abject misery.
He suddenly realised she was there. For a moment, they just looked at each other in shock, and then he said: “Have you come to kill me, Livy? It would be the kindest thing to do. Just put me out of my misery.”
Olivia could tell from the hopeless tone of his voice that he wasn’t entirely joking. But she was irritated nonetheless. “Don’t be so dramatic, Kasha. Besides, killing is way too good for you. Do you know what you’ve done? You’ve made the sweetest, nicest, kindest girl in the world look like a thief and a cheat.”
Kasha looked up at her, his beautiful eyes dark with despair. “I know exactly what I’ve done, Livy. As soon as I got your messages, I knew.”
“Well, stop whimpering, then, and put it right.”
“But I don’t know how to!” said Kasha.
“I’m going to help you sort things out,” said Olivia. “And then I’m going to kill you, Kasha Kasparian.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Kasha had been to the bathroom, washed his face, and was looking far more presentable. Olivia had thrust two of his photos at him as soon as he appeared and ordered him to sign them.
“I don’t think this is the time for autographs,” complained Kasha.
“I owe someone,” said Olivia, “and, unlike some people, I always acknowledge my debts.”
Chastened, Kasha did what she asked without a murmur.
“Right,” said Olivia, brusquely, as soon as he was finished. “Let’s get out of here. We’ve got to hurry, or we’ll be too late. The contest will be over and Aeysha will have lost her chance and her reputation will be in tatters.”
Kasha stared at her. “But, Livy, I can’t just walk out of here! If I try to leave by the front, I’ll be crushed by all the girls out there, and there’s loads of security at the back of the building. They wouldn’t let me leave.”
Olivia frowned. “You mean, you’re some kind of prisoner?”
“No, not exactly,” said Kasha, “but with the first concert next week the record company and the promoters are taking no chances. It’s been made quite clear that I’m expected to stay here and not go anywhere except for rehearsals at the venue. I reckon that if I try to leave the hotel with you, I’ll be turned back. Ever so politely, of course, but very firmly.”
“So this room is really a sort of luxury cell,” said Olivia, shaking her head in disbelief.
“I guess that’s one way of putting it,” said Kasha. “They think of it as protecting their investment. They’ve put a lot of money into me. They want to make sure they don’t lose it. So if I say that I’m just popping out for a bag of crisps, let alone to ’fess up to stealing somebody else’s song, I don’t think they’re going to be keen to let me go. They’ve sold squillions of pounds worth of tickets for the concerts. I’d be putting all that at risk.”
“So how are we going to get you out of here?” asked Olivia. She’d been so taken up with trying to get into the hotel that it had never crossed her mind that Kasha might not just be able to stroll out of it.
‘I don’t have a clue; ideas are strictly your department,” said Kasha. “How did you get in?”
“Over the wire and on to the balcony,” said Olivia.
“Ah,” said Kasha. “And there was I wondering whether you’d added lock-picking to your increasingly wide range of skills. But the wire definitely isn’t an option for me.”
“I haven’t got it anyway,” said Olivia, gloomily. She checked her phone. Time was ticking by. She had a couple of texts from Tom, who was at the Midsummer Night’s Dream rehearsal and wondering where she was. Dream! Suddenly Olivia knew just how to get Kasha out of there. She opened her rucksack and began to pull out the contents.
“I’ve just had an idea,” she said. “It’s so brilliant, it may just work.”
*
“Ready, Kasha?” asked Olivia, as the lift descended to the lobby.
“Yes,” said Kasha, “but don’t go too fast or I’ll fall flat on my face. Walking’s quite tricky in these high-heeled boots. And they’re totally killing my feet. And this stupid veil means I can’t see where I’m going.”
“Here we are,” said Olivia, as the lift doors opened. “Whatever you do, try and avoid speaking to anyone, and keep your head down so your face is hidden.”
They stepped out into the busy lobby. Kasha stumbled and grabbed Olivia’s arm for balance. “Careful,” she hissed.
They walked across the wide expanse of the lobby. Olivia felt as if everyone was staring at them, but nobody seemed to be taking any interest at all. They reached the front entrance of the hotel and through the glass doors Olivia could see the waiting girls and the security men. She took a deep breath.
“Here we go,” she whispered. She guided Kasha towards the doors but just before they got there, a doorman wearing a top hat and livery stepped towards them. For a terrible moment Olivia thought that he was going to stop them from leaving, but he simply held the door wide open, raised his hat and said: “Have a lovely time, ladies.”
Olivia gave him a dazzling smile and replied, “Thank you, we will.” She looked firmly ahead as they stepped towards the sea of girls. The girls craned their necks to see who was coming through the door but lost interest as soon as they could see it was just a girl accompanied by an elegant young woman. The woman was dressed in a smart 1930s style suit, button boots and a rather dashing little hat with a veil and a small feather stuck jauntily in it. The hat was tilted at such an angle that it almost totally obscured her face.
Olivia and Kasha started walking down the path between the crash barriers. The security guards merely glanced at them. Olivia held her breath. They had almost reached the end of the path when Olivia saw the pair of security guards who had stopped her entering the hotel looking with interest at them. One of them stood up, and walked steadily towards them. Olivia tried to look nonchalant.
“We may be going to have to run,” she hissed out of the side of her mouth.
“Run?” hissed back Kasha. “In these heels?”
The security guard loomed up in front of them, blocking their way. “You’re the girl from earlier, aren’t you?” he said. “The one who said she had an aunt staying in the hotel?” Olivia nodded. “Is this your aunt?” Olivia nodded vigorously again.
“Well, I don’t know how you got into the hotel, but I clearly owe you an apology. I’m sorry I didn’t believe your niece, madam.”
Something like a squeak came out from under Kasha’s hat, and Olivia quickly covered it by saying: “She’s got terrible laryngitis. She can’t speak. But there’s no need to apologise. It was my fault. I forgot Belinda was using her maiden name. But everything’s fine now.”
The man smiled. “And I don’t suppose you got lucky and saw Kasha K
asparian, too, did you?”
Olivia shook her head. “Oh, I’m not all that bothered about him. He’s no great shakes.”
She felt Kasha tug furiously at her sleeve, and they walked through the crowd and on to the street. In front of them, she saw Imy and Gem, their faces shining with excitement.
“What happened? Did you get into Kasha’s room? Did you see him?” they asked, taking absolutely no notice of the woman standing at Olivia’s side.
Olivia nodded and felt around in her rucksack. “These are for you,” she said, producing the two photographs that she had got Kasha to sign.
Imy and Gem looked at them. “To Imy, all my love, Kasha,” whispered Imy.
“And he’s done one for me, too,” smiled Gem, dreamily.
“He’s the kindest, most generous, most amazing boy in the entire world,” said Imy.
“Mmm,” said Olivia dryly. “I wouldn’t go quite that far.” She paused. “Listen, you’ve been really brilliant but my … aunt and I have got to run.”
“But we want to hear everything that Kasha said to you and what his room is like and everything,” said Gem, her voice full of disappointment.
“Disgustingly untidy,” said Olivia. “Listen, I’ll tell you more, but not now. I promise. I never forget a favour and you’ve both done me one today. Call me later. Kasha is going to make sure that you get tickets to his concert and meet him afterwards.”
Imy and Gem were squealing so loudly that they didn’t hear Kasha yelp: “Is he?”
“Yes,” said Olivia, very firmly, “he is. It’s the very least he can do after all the trouble he’s put everyone to.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
The Dream rehearsal had gone well, despite Olivia not turning up. Everyone had waited for a short while to see if she would arrive. When she hadn’t appeared ten minutes after the start time, Kylie had been drafted in to play Hermia instead.
Tom was worried about Olivia, but he couldn’t help losing himself as the play unfolded. He watched Connor’s Lysander swear his love for Georgia’s Helena:
“Why should you think that I should woo in scorn?
Scorn and derision never come in tears:
Look, when I vow, I weep; and vows so born,
In their nativity all truth appears.”
The scene had continued as Alex’s Demetrius awoke from Puck’s enchantment and, as if seeing Helena for the very first time, cried:
“O Helen! Goddess, nymph, perfect, divine!
To what, my love, shall I compare thine eye?”
Tom had found himself leaning forward as Alex continued the speech. The way he spoke the words and the way he held Georgia in his gaze, seemed far more than acting. It was almost as if he’d been expressing what he really felt.
After the rehearsal, Alex and Georgia met in a café far enough away from Campion’s that there was no risk of running into any other Swans. A TV fixed on the wall was tuned to a twenty-four-hour news channel. The station was running a long story about Jack and how he had been exposed as a cheat. The reporter expressed shock at Jack’s refusal to admit his guilt and marvelled at his nerve in continuing the stunt.
Ethan Rees from Viktor’s team was saying that Jack should do the decent thing: give up and admit that the best man had won. A live camera zoomed in on Jack, crouching miserably on the wire.
“It’s so awful,” sighed Georgia. “Jack is destroyed and he’s such a nice man.”
“Let’s go,” said Alex suddenly. “I can’t bear to watch it.”
“Me, neither,” said Georgia. “I just hope Livy can prove that the films are forged. It’s such a scummy thing to do.”
Alex looked pained. “Listen, Georgie, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go. I need to talk to my dad. He texted me earlier to say he was near here, visiting his half-sister, Matty. But she’ll have gone to work by now and I want to catch up with him. I’ll call you later.”
Olivia gave Kasha’s behind a huge shove and he shot through the window of the ladies’ at the Cavendish Hall. Olivia clambered in behind him, and handed him his jeans and T-shirt from her rucksack.
“Here,” she said shortly, “you change into these while I go and find Aeysha.” She just hoped all this effort hadn’t been in vain. She ran into the dressing room where she’d left her friend and found Aeysha pacing up and down, nervously.
“Am I in time?” demanded Olivia.
“Depends what you want to be in time for. My execution?” said Aeysha, gloomily. “The last person is singing now. But it’s no good, Livy, the courier came with a copy of Kasha’s album and the judges listened to it during the interval and they’ve decided that I’m definitely a cheat. Two of them thought that the songs had similarities but were still quite different from each other, but Lucie Groves was having none of it. They’ve told me that when the result is announced I’ll be disqualified.” Aeysha burst into tears. “I feel so ashamed.”
Olivia put her arms around her. “You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of, Aeysha. It’s Kasha who stole your song.”
“Well, he did and he didn’t,” said Aeysha. “He certainly borrowed from it, but he didn’t steal it. He turned it into something else. He made it his. I’ve heard it. It is actually rather brilliant.” She paused. “Did you find him?”
“Yes,” said Olivia, “he’s in the ladies’ changing out of his dress.”
Aeysha goggled. “Dress?”
“Don’t ask,” said Olivia. “I’ll explain later. Come on.”
She took Aeysha by the hand and they went out into the corridor, where they found Kasha. When he saw Aeysha, he looked as if he was going to burst into tears.
“Aeysh, I’m so sorry,” he said, with a quiver in his voice.
“It’s too late to be sorry,” said Olivia sharply. “Aeysha’s reputation is in tatters. Only you can fix things by going out there and telling the judges the truth.”
Kasha swallowed hard. “OK,” he said. “I’ll do it.”
“We’ll be with you,” said Olivia. “Every step of the way.”
Olivia, Aeysha and Kasha stood at the side of the stage hidden behind the curtain. The judges were standing at the front of the stage. They had been giving brief summing up notes on each of the songs.
“And that completes the line-up. We have had to disqualify Aeysha Aziz, because of the similarity her song has to a forthcoming single from Kasha Kasparian,” said the judge. “So,” he continued, “to the winners—”
“Stop!” Kasha walked on to the stage, followed by Aeysha and Olivia who were holding hands. A buzz went around the hall as people recognised the young pop star.
A look of horror flashed across Lucie Groves’ face. “Kasha,” she said warningly. “What on earth are you doing here?” She walked over to him and hissed in his ear. “I’d strongly advise you to keep your mouth shut.”
“No, I won’t keep my mouth shut,” said Kasha, loudly. “Aeysha is being accused of being a cheat and she’s not. She’s a really talented songwriter and the song you heard today is the song she wrote in the songwriting workshop that I ran at the Swan.”
“And it’s all her own work?” chipped in one of the judges.
Kasha paused. “I just made a few suggestions that she took on board, but for all I know she might have worked on it since.”
Aeysha nodded.
“So the question is,” asked the judge, “how did something so similar end up on your album?”
Lucie Groves began to look even more worried. She didn’t liked the way this was going. She shot another warning look at Kasha.
“I … I was having difficulty writing the last song for the album so I—”
“I gave it to him,” chipped in Aeysha, quickly. “I gave it to him to do what he wanted with. It was a gift from me to him.”
“So the song belongs to Kasha?” asked the judge. “But it was written by you?”
“Yes,” said Aeysha. “Except for the bit he helped me with. That bit we wrote together.”
The ju
dge turned to Kasha. “Is what Aeysha is saying correct?”
Kasha shot Aeysha a grateful look. “If Aeysha says so,” he said with a grin. “I wouldn’t like to contradict her.”
“I think we need to confer,” said the judge, looking at the others. “Kasha, how old are you?”
“Seventeen,” he replied.
The judges went into a little huddle, and then emerged smiling. The audience were completely gripped by the unfolding drama and a ripple of excitement went through the room as the chair of the judges stepped to the front of the stage.
“I’m now going to announce the winners of this year’s contest,” he said, grandly. “In third place: St Philip’s School in Trowbridge for Year Eight’s collaboration, ‘Halcyon Blues’. In second place: Kate Hardcastle for ‘The Rain Song’. And,” here the judge paused for maximum effect, “in first place: Aeysha Aziz and Kasha Kasparian for their joint effort, ‘Untitled’!”
The audience went crazy, and Olivia jumped up and down with delight. Aeysha and Kasha stared at each other in amazement, before breaking into huge grins and hugging.
The judge seized Aeysha’s hand and started pumping it up and down. “Congratulations, my dear,” he said. “It is a remarkable piece of work.”
“Yes,” said Lucie Groves, through gritted teeth. “It is.”
“Lucie,” said Kasha, casually. “I suppose this means that Aeysha should get a writing credit on ‘Bruised’. And royalties.”
“A writing credit, yes,” snapped Lucie shortly. “Royalties, no. She said she gave you the song.” She paused as an idea popped into her head. “But, of course, she would get royalties on any songs you wrote together in the future. The two of you could be quite a partnership.”