Page 74 of The Start of Something Wonderful

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Be Careful What You Wish For

July

IAM BEGINNING TO WORRY.There’s a dark side to my character emerging that I didn’t know was there.

Whilst I’m naturally over the moon and grateful for this job, as the weeks go by, I’m becoming a teensy-weensy bit frustrated. I know the part now, and whilst I may not have starred in my own TV series or graced the cover of celebritymags, dare I say it, I think I could play the role just as well. Does that sound conceited? Day after day, week after week, the waiting, the hoping …

Wishing someone to be struck down with laryngitis or a mild tummy bug is one thing, but willing someone’s foot to get trapped in a revolving set is something else entirely. Evil. I’m horrified that I’m capable of such a thought.

I breezethrough the stage door, clutching the latest copy ofHello!and a bag of Jelly Babies.

‘Evening, Arthur. Dressing room ten, please.’

‘Reckon you’ll no’ be havin’ much time for readin’ the night, doll,’ he wheezes, glancing at my magazine as he hands me the key.

‘Mmm?’ I say, signing in, then checking my pigeonhole, mind elsewhere.

‘It’s no’ for me to say,’ he says, hoisting a shaggyeyebrow.

I slowly start to climb the spiral staircase, calling in at the greenroom on the way for a brew.

‘Company manager’s been looking for you,’ grunts one of the lighting guys from behind hisAutocarmagazine.

‘Right. Thanks,’ I say breezily, spilling milk everywhere, my stomach dropping ten floors. Surely not? I mean, I saw Sophie barely two hours ago. I watched her performancefrom the darkness of the stage-right wings and she was on fine form, giving her ‘I-love-you-but-we-must-part’ speech.

It was at that point that I’d decided to make a break for it. Technically, I’m not supposed to leave the building until the curtain comes down, but I’ve religiously watched and mouthed every performance from the wings of Brighton’s Theatre Royal,to this, our final fortnightat The Dukes in Edinburgh. With just five minutes of the matinée left, what could possibly happen to her?

Mistake no. 1: leaving theatre early

Mistake no. 2: gorging on all-you-can-eat buffet

Mistake no. 3: succumbing to large glass of house red

Mistake no. 4: ordering garlic bread

Mistake no. 5: forgetting to switch on mobile phone

Mistake no. 6: arriving five minuteslate for ‘the half’

‘… so, the silly cow’s been whisked off to A&E to have it x-rayed. You know what this means?’ says Simon, our company manager, running his hand nervously through his mop of unruly hair.

An eerie sensation ripples through my body. Maybe I really do have telekinetic powers. I hadn’t intended anything serious to happen – just a minor ailment, something to lay her low fora week, a cold perhaps, allowing Rosalind sufficient time to arrange invitations and tickets for casting directors and producers.

I swallow hard and force my lips into a weak smile. There is an expectant silence. This is the stuff of Hollywood musicals: the leading actress is taken ill, and the understudy has to take over at short notice.

I can do it. I’ve been practising for months, saysthe heroine, with an assured toss of her pretty head.Bravo! More! A star is born!This is the moment I have waited for,longedfor all these weeks, these seventy-two performances, so why do I now have this overwhelming desire to flee the theatre and catch the first National Express coach out of town? Well, apart from my all-consuming guilt, the auditorium will be packed to the rafters with legionsof excited fans waiting to see Sophie Butterfield and her co-star, Rick Romano, give their highly acclaimed, headline-grabbing performances as star-crossed lovers, Constance and Enrique.

The fact that their on-stage passion has spilled over into reality has fuelled the public’s imagination. The House-Full sign is now a permanent fixture on the pavement, while armies of eager punters camp outsidein all weathers, hoping for returns.

Exquisite pairing!

The chemistry between Romano and Butterfield

is electric. Beg, steal or borrow a ticket!

~The Billingham Gazette