Authors: Lyn Gardner
Olivia Flies High (10 page)
Katie was seriously worried. She knew that she should never have sent that text. It was a mistake to do things on the spur of the moment without really thinking through the consequences. She’d thought she was being so clever. She’d even entered Tom’s number into her new phone so that if he called the number the text had been sent from, it would flash up on her screen and she would know not to answer. She also deleted her personal message in case he got her voicemail. She’d thought she had it covered.
Katie had assumed that Tom would just delete such a horrible text, and as time went by and there was no attempt to make contact, she had relaxed. She believed she’d got away with it and, even better, it had clearly done its job and
estranged him further from that horrible Olivia Marvell. But now Tom had finally made the connection between the text and her, he had all the proof he needed in that one mobile number.
First, she had to get to his phone and delete that text; then she had to make sure once and for all that Ginger McCavity was no further bother to her. The best way to do this was to make him miss his first cue. He was on a final warning and he’d be straight out on his ear before anyone could point a finger at her.
She had her reputation to protect; she’d already noticed that Jon James wasn’t quite as responsive to her dazzling smiles as he had been. This was a pity because Katie still had her eye on the role of Liesl; she was word and move perfect and was just waiting for the right moment to show Jon James what she could do. She was quite certain that he would recognise her star potential, even if she was a bit too young for the part.
“Beginners, please!” The call went out over the tannoy. The children began to make their way down to the wings. As usual, they weren’t on for the first fifteen minutes of the show but Jon liked to know that they were all there, ready
and accounted for.
Eel, Georgia and Tom walked downstairs together. Tom was very quiet. He was thinking about Liv. He felt terrible. He knew that the way they had all treated her must have caused her as much pain as the text and card had caused him. He needed to explain to her what had happened as soon as possible. The fact that he knew she was sitting downstairs in the auditorium was even worse. She was so near and yet he could do nothing.
Joshua hurried back into the boys’ dressing room to retrieve his jerkin and then set off downstairs again. Katie watched him go. Only she and Mia were left upstairs. Mia was being rewarded for the hug of support in the Green Room, and, thrilled by Katie’s sudden friendship after weeks of being ignored by her, held Katie’s hand as they walked downstairs. Katie had just been painting Mia’s nails pearl pink and she had given Mia the rest of the varnish to take home. They turned the first corner.
“Oh, wait, Mia,” said Katie. “I’ve still got my phone. I need to put it in the dressing room.” She disappeared back up the stairs, then reappeared a few seconds later.
“Quickly, Mia! Run downstairs and get Tom. I’ve just bumped into Jon James and he wants to see Tom in the boys’ dressing room right away. Tell him that Mr James says he’s to hurry up, so he doesn’t miss his cue. I’ll be down in just a minute.”
Mia scuttled off and caught up with Tom. “Tom, I’ve got a message from Mr James – he wants to talk to you in the boys’ dressing room. Mr James said you should hurry so you don’t miss your cue.”
Tom headed back up the stairs. The door to the boys’ dressing room was shut. He opened it and walked in, expecting to see Jon, but the room was empty. Then the door slammed shut behind him and he heard a click as the key turned in the lock. He ran to the door and tried to open it. But it wouldn’t budge.
Tom banged on the door. “Hey, let me out, let me out!” Nobody came. Tom went to grab his phone but it wasn’t in his coat pocket. He looked around and saw it crushed into bits under the dressing table. It was as if somebody had thrown it as hard as they could against the wall and then stamped on it for good measure. The sim card was missing, too.
Tom ran to Joshua’s dressing table and opened the drawer where he kept his phone. But the phone was locked. Anyway, he thought despairingly, who could he call? The police? The fire brigade? Did being locked in your dressing room and about to lose your job count as a
nine-nine
-nine emergency?
He suddenly caught sight of Eel’s phone, which she had left half hidden under a fallen good-luck card. Tom grabbed it. He scrolled through her contacts. It was so new that Eel only had three: one was Alicia’s number, which he couldn’t possibly ring. The other was Jack’s, and Jack was in America. The other number was Olivia’s. Olivia was sitting downstairs in the theatre. She was the only person who could help him.
He took a deep breath and pressed call.
The final bell had gone and the audience were making their way into the auditorium and settling into their seats. Olivia was sitting at the end of a row with Pablo and the
castell
team. On their way to the theatre, they had stopped off in Covent Garden to watch an inspirational demonstration of the art by a Catalan troupe who made eight tiers look as if it was the easiest thing in the world. “We’ll do that one day,” said Pablo.
“One day next century if we keep practising,” said Olivia.
The orchestra was tuning up.
“Have you turned off your phone?” asked Pablo. Olivia went to get it out of her pocket and, as she did so, it rang. She was surprised
to see that the call was from Eel and answered it quickly. She was so astonished to hear Tom’s voice at the other end that she almost dropped the mobile.
“Liv. Liv?” he said, sounding desperate. “It’s Tom. I need your help.
Please
, Liv, don’t cut me off.”
Olivia felt shaky. Her fingers were trembling. She was confused. Why was Tom ringing her on Eel’s phone? Particularly when he was just about to go on stage. Why was he ringing her at all when he had so clearly demonstrated how much he hated her?
“Where are you?” she asked.
“I’m locked in my dressing room; I can’t get out. I’ll miss my cue. Liv, you’re my only hope. I need you to go round to the stage door and get Bert. I’m sure he’ll have a key to let me out. Liv, are you still there…?”
There was a tiny pause.
“Yes,” said Olivia, determinedly. “I’m on my way.” To Pablo’s surprise she stood up and without a word raced up the aisle and out of the auditorium. She climbed the stairs, impatiently jostling the people who were still trying to get in. It caused some comments about the
manners of young people today, but Olivia ignored them and ran at break-neck speed out of the theatre and round to the stage door.
“Hello, Livy, long time no see!” said Bert with a smile. “Last time I saw you it was the day of the final auditions. Your gran said you were in tonight. But you can’t come backstage now, the show’s about to begin.” “I know, Bert,” cried Olivia. “But Tom’s locked in his dressing room; he can’t get out.”
“He can’t be,” said Bert. “I keep all the keys for the children’s dressing rooms down here. We don’t let them have them. Look!” He pulled out the drawer. The keys for dressing-rooms seven and eight were missing.
“Well, blow me,” said Bert. “Somebody must have swiped them when I wasn’t looking.” He nodded to Olivia. “Come on, let’s go and see if whoever locked him in left the key in the lock. Somebody must be playing a joke, but it’s not very funny. They must know that the poor kid is on a final warning.”
“Final warning?” asked Olivia.
“Yes, one more slip and he’s out of the production.”
The overture had begun. Bert pointed
Olivia up the stairs to the third floor and she raced ahead, leaving him to take the stairs at his own pace. She reached the deserted third-floor corridor and the desperate cries coming from behind a door told her immediately which one was Tom’s dressing room. There was no key in the lock.
“Tom! It’s me,” shouted Olivia through the door. “The key’s missing from Bert’s drawer downstairs and it’s not in the lock out here. Are you sure the door isn’t just stuck?”
“Positive,” said Tom.
Olivia tugged, but to no avail. “We’ll have to break it down,” she shouted.
“It’ll take too long,” said Bert, who had huffed and puffed his way to join her. “These doors are solid oak. They date back to the nineteenth century when the theatre was built.”
A voice singing, “The hills are alive with the sound of music,” could be heard coming over the tannoy. “We could take the door off,” said Olivia.
“No time,” said Bert. “I’m going to have to go downstairs and tell Mr James that Tom’s locked in and will miss his cue. They’ll have to call a halt. In all my years I’ve never heard the
like. This production is jinxed. It’s worse than that production of the Scottish play back in 1810 when the actor playing the murderer accidently stabbed Banquo through the heart.”
“But he’ll be sacked, Bert, even though it’s not his fault!”
“I’m afraid so,” said Bert. “They’ve run out of patience with him, poor lad.”
Olivia’s face suddenly lit up. “Tom!” she called through the door. “Tom, is there a window you can get out of?”
“I can get out of it, but it’s no good, Liv. There’s a massive drop to the passageway below.”
“Bert, is there a ladder tall enough to reach?” asked Olivia.
Bert shook his head sadly. “It’s much too high. We could call the fire brigade.”
“There’s no time,” said Olivia. Suddenly she gave a little gasp. “Tom. Go over to the window and get ready to climb out. I’ve an idea. We’re coming to get you. Bert, I need your help.”
Olivia hurried Bert down the stairs, explaining her plan on the way, then they went out through the stage door and round to the front of house. Bert had a word with the
front-of-house
manager, who initially frowned and shook his head, but Bert was a very old friend and he owed him more than one favour.
The house manager beckoned Olivia to follow him to the door at the back of the stalls. On stage, a nun was asking, “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” Olivia walked quickly and quietly down to the three rows near the back of the theatre where the Swan children were all sitting, and whispered something to Pablo. He looked astonished but didn’t question her, simply passed the whisper down the rows. Then he raised his hands upwards as if he were a conductor raising an orchestra and, entirely as one, all three rows of children stood up together and followed each other swiftly and quietly out of the theatre.
Once they were all in the foyer, Olivia quickly explained the problem and then she said, “OK, gang, we’re going to build the highest
castell
we’ve ever managed. Seven tiers. Tom’s future career and the honour of the Swan depends upon it.”
Waiting in the wings, Eel and Georgia were becoming increasingly agitated. There was no sign of Tom. Josie had come by to check the children were all assembled and ready to go on.
“Where’s Tom?” snapped Josie.
“He’s not here,” said Katie with a smirk.
“Oh yes he is, he’s over there,” said Eel quickly, pointing vaguely behind her. “I just saw him.”
“Where?” said Josie crossly. Just at that moment the wardrobe mistress asked her to come and sort out a problem with one of the nuns. She’d torn her habit on a nail and didn’t think she could go on. Josie hurried away. Katie glared at Eel.
“What can have happened to him?”
whispered Georgia.
“I don’t know,” said Eel, “but I’m prepared to bet Katie has got something to do with it. Look at her face. I know that look. She’s got a secret. I’m going back up to the dressing room to find him.”
But at that moment Abbie arrived and saw their anxious faces. “Where’s Tom?” she asked, looking worried. Georgia burst into tears as Eel explained they didn’t know.
“I’m going to check,” said Abbie, and she raced away. A few minutes later, just as Cassie was launching into “I Have Confidence,” she came back, looking shaken.
“He’s locked in his dressing room; he can’t get out,” Abbie whispered. Eel and Georgia gasped. “But Livy and the Swan cavalry have a rescue plan. Fingers crossed that they arrive in time.”
Cassie and Sam had just begun the scene when Maria arrives at the von Trapp family home and meets the Captain for the first time. Outside, in the little passageway that ran along the side of the theatre, the Swan children were making their second attempt at a seven-tier
castell
.
Nothing less than seven tiers would be high enough to reach the dressing-room window. They had reached six tiers at their first attempt but the base had become unstable and the entire structure began to wobble like a human jelly.
Pablo had signalled for them to descend and start over again from the very beginning. An unstable
castell
was too big a risk to take, particularly as, unlike the other children, Tom had no experience of climbing down a human tower and his weight would inflict immense stress upon the structure. Pablo just hoped that Tom’s high-wire experience and sense of balance would stand him in good stead. He would never be able to live with himself or look Alicia in the eye if someone got hurt in this madcap rescue attempt. There were no rubber mats to break any falls.
A small crowd had gathered with Bert to watch. Tom was hunched nervously on the window sill just inside the dressing-room window frame, ready to climb on to the top of the structure and clamber down it as soon as it was high enough.
“Base, take your places again, please,” ordered Pablo. “This time we’re going to make
it.” He knew that this time they
had
to make it or it would be too late for Tom.
Kasha, Ryan, Jazz, Kylie and the other strongest children moved into position. As soon as the base was in place, Libby, Will and some more children scrambled up over their friends’ bodies to create the next tier. In the space of a few seconds the
castell
swelled and grew. The fifth tier rose miraculously into the air and then the sixth tier of children scrambled upwards. The structure tilted very slightly, then adjusted itself. Four more children climbed upwards like mountain goats, including little Emmy. Olivia and Pablo held their breath. Olivia could hear Pablo muttering and guessed that he might be praying. It was just high enough.
“Tom,” called Pablo urgently. “Swing yourself out over the sill and then lower yourself very gently on to the top tier. Once you’re there, come down with a clambering, sliding motion, but keep it very controlled or you’ll hurt yourself and destroy the tower, which would be catastrophic for everyone.”
Gingerly, Tom inched himself on to the top of the structure. Once his full weight was taken by the
castell
, the structure started to wobble. A
few children, including Emmy, groaned.
The concentration on the faces of Kasha and his friends at the bottom of the structure was intense. Sweat was pouring down their necks. With surprisingly agility, Tom made his way swiftly down the structure. The minute his feet touched the ground, Pablo shouted, “Break,” and the tower melted away in less than a few seconds.
A cheer went up from Bert and the crowd. The
castellers
high-fived each other and Kasha hugged Kylie, which made her go quite pink. Tom flung a desperate look of thanks at Olivia. “Liv!” he cried.
She just shook her head and said: “Go, Tom, go! Or you’ll miss your cue.”
Tom set off at full pelt, burst through the stage door and raced into the wings just at the moment that Sam took his whistle out of his pocket and blew it to summon the children. When Tom raced past her and screeched to a halt, Katie’s jaw dropped open, before every muscle in her face clenched in rage. Tom, Eel, Georgia and Abbie grinned delightedly at each other, and without missing a beat they marched on stage and took their places.