The Jumbee (3 page)

Esti shook her head, wondering if Carmen had known Paul very well.

“I got back from Puerto Rico in time for his funeral yesterday,” Carmen said morosely, “but I’m glad Niles is holding the student memorial tomorrow. Paul had bit parts in all the plays since ninth grade. He was a nice guy.” She continued as though she didn’t expect a response. “And now Danielle’s going first, as usual. Niles is so predictable.”

The West Indian teacher sat in the middle of the front row, his curly black hair shaved close. Esti studied the back of his head as Danielle took center stage. Although she knew he’d been in some minor movies during the years he lived in the States, she didn’t know anything about his teaching.

“Danielle is a good actress,” Carmen added, “but talk about an ego. Even her own sister can’t stand her.”

Esti watched Danielle open her script, cradling the pages in her perfectly manicured fingers. They had gone from lavender to bloodred.

“I’m going to read the balcony monologue.” Danielle’s words reached into the far corners of the room, and Esti sat up straight, trying to ignore Carmen’s soft chatter. Danielle projected beautifully.

“O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?”

Esti whispered the words along with her.
Romeo and Juliet
had been the first play Esti ever memorized with her dad. Danielle apparently hadn’t even learned her short part for the audition, but maybe Mr. Niles didn’t require the same vigorous preparation that Alan Legard had always demanded.

“What part are you trying out for?” Carmen asked, breaking her concentration.

Esti felt her cheeks heat up.

“Juliet?” Carmen grinned in delight. “That’s great. Too bad you don’t stand a chance, because you sure have the right looks.”

Esti was startled to hear Paul’s words repeated by Carmen. “Why would you say that?”

“What I mean is,” Carmen said, “your face is pretty and kind of pointy and serious-looking, like I always pictured Juliet. Well, except for your freckles. But Danielle rules this place. Honestly, give Lady Capulet a try. Lucia wants Lady Capulet, but we all know Niles won’t give any real parts to a freshman.”

With a shudder, Esti’s eyes flew to the catwalk for a moment. Her self-esteem had been so touchy in the past couple of years—maybe Paul
hadn’t
been making fun of her.

Mr. Niles shuffled some papers as Danielle came to the end of her soliloquy. “Who’s next for Juliet? Esti Legard?” He glanced at the sign-up sheet, pronouncing her last name “Leg-guard.”

LeGAR,
Esti almost blurted out.
Don’t tell me
you
haven’t heard of him.
Then she hunched in her seat, ashamed. If Mr. Niles didn’t recognize her dad’s name, she might finally be judged on her own merits. Instead of the powerful thrill she’d always imagined, however, she felt only terror. Had she really believed she stood a chance on her own at a school like this, against someone as good as Danielle Graaf?

A low voice interrupted the silence. “Esti will try Juliet.” Lucia stood by the stage, her skinny arms folded over her chest. She gave Esti a brief, curious look.

“Come on, then,” Mr. Niles said. “Esti—” He broke off and searched the theater with his eyes. When he finally found her at the back, he stared at her for a moment. “Legard.” This time he pronounced the name right.

Still onstage, Danielle studied her with an inscrutable expression.

“Let’s hear the balcony scene,” Mr. Niles said.

When Carmen nudged her, Esti lurched to her feet. She tried to project confidence, but her sneakers boomed awkwardly against the hollow wooden steps.

Danielle sauntered into the wings beside a stocky redheaded boy. “Doesn’t matter who she is,” the boy whispered in an overly loud voice. “You already got the part.”

Esti spun away from them and forced herself to center stage.

“Did you forget your script?” Mr. Niles asked.

“I know the scene.” Esti focused on projecting without becoming shrill. “O Romeo, Romeo!”

She closed her eyes, pretending she stood in front of her dad in his comfortable mahogany office. That was a scene she had played a million times. “Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love and I’ll no longer be a Capulet.”

“Shall I hear more,” a deep voice questioned softly into the air around her, “or shall I speak at this?”

Goose bumps traveled up Esti’s arms, and her eyes flew open. She couldn’t see who had said Romeo’s words so beautifully, but it didn’t matter. She felt her tension twist and change into the hopeless frustration of Juliet. The rows of seats in front of her became a cluster of fruit trees on the Capulet estate.

“’Tis but thy name that is my enemy.” She leaned against an imaginary wall, looking out in longing over the moonlit orchard. “Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man.”

She had fully immersed herself in Juliet, eagerly offering her very soul to Romeo in exchange for his name, when Danielle shoved her back into reality.

“There you are, Greg,” the blond girl cried out. “Steve tried to convince me you weren’t coming today.”

Esti looked around blankly, trying to remember where she was.

“Esti, your mouth is open.” Danielle gave her an exaggerated look of apology, hurrying offstage with the redheaded boy. “Oops, sorry, Mr. Niles. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I thought Esti was finished.”

“Esti,” Mr. Niles said thoughtfully, “please ignore Danielle and Steve. I’d like you to continue.”

“I’m done,” Esti said, a sense of disorientation warring with her frustration. She felt like she’d banged her head against the stone wall.

“You’re trying out for Lady Capulet too, aren’t you?” Carmen called up from the back.

Mr. Niles raised his eyebrows. “Lady Capulet?”

Esti slowly nodded.

He studied her for another moment. “Danielle,” he called. “Get back up on the stage. Carmen, you might as well audition for Nurse right now, so come on. Let’s start at the beginning of Act One, Scene Two, where Juliet’s mother tells her to marry her cousin.”

Carmen raced up the steps, clutching her tattered script. Behind her, Danielle sauntered back, looking pleased.

“Go ahead, Esti,” Mr. Niles said.

As Carmen held out the script to her, Esti shook her head. “Thanks, but I know it.”

She cringed at Carmen’s expression, hoping they didn’t think she was showing off. Mr. Niles now looked somewhat as if Esti had arrived from a different planet.

With a deep breath, Esti charged into the scene. “Nurse, where’s my daughter? Call her forth to me.” She spoke with as much maternal dignity as she could manage, but the magic of a moment ago had disappeared. She didn’t want to play Lady Capulet. She
needed
Juliet, to find her passion for acting again. She could almost hear the thud of her flat dialogue dropping to the stage, underscored by a jaunty Nurse and desperate Juliet on either side of her.

When they finished, Danielle smiled sweetly at Esti. “Nice job. You know all the words.”

Esti hid her embarrassment behind a stiff smile, giving Mr. Niles a brief nod. “Thank you for the opportunity to audition,” she said automatically. Then, forcing herself to walk as regally as she could from the stage, she fled outside, wishing she had never heard of Manchicay School.

“Are you okay?” Carmen asked in a cautious voice.

They sat on the stone bench at the edge of the courtyard. Esti gazed out over the sea, taking deep, calming breaths of the sweet-smelling spider lilies blooming beside her. She felt almost serene, now that it was over.

“I’m fine,” Esti said. “Thanks for finding me. I shouldn’t have run out of the auditions like that.”

“I wondered what was going on. I mean, your Juliet floored all of us, even Danielle.” She shook her head in amazement. “Then what happened?”

Esti had to smile at Carmen’s expression. “Stage fright.”

“No kidding! You’re funny, Esti. Do you want me to tell you the cast list before we even see it?” Carmen’s voice became a deep, mysterious drone. “I will now look into the future.”

Esti laughed.

“Danielle is Juliet.” Carmen gave her an apologetic glance. “Unfortunately, Niles is on a mission to launch a local Cariban—that would be Danielle, even if her skin is white as snow—to the stars. He’s friends with her parents, you know, and he would be raked over the coals if he bumped her now. You’ll get Lady Capulet, though, I guarantee it.” She sighed.

“Greg is Romeo,” she continued. “He moved here last year from New York, and he’s awesome. He
is
kind of a jerk, but he’ll land an agent, easy. Steve is Lord Capulet, I’m Nurse, and Chaz is Mercutio. We’re all pretty good, if I do say so myself, even though all the boys are wrapped tight around Danielle’s fingers. Too bad,” she added mournfully, “’cause Chaz is awfully cute. But even if Danielle dominates, the scouts notice everyone.”

“The scouts.” Esti kicked her foot against the stone bench. The Late Great Legard’s daughter was red-hot property. Mention his name, and—bing—Esti had any talent agent she wanted. The scouts were the reason she had come to Manchicay School, but if she couldn’t get an agent on her own, she didn’t want one.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know about the scouts!” Carmen studied her in amazement. “Seriously, you are such a rookie. Have you heard of Rodney Solomon?”

“Well, yes.” Esti was suddenly embarrassed again. “I know Rodney.”

“You
know
Rodney?” Carmen raised her eyebrows with a touch of sarcasm. “So you know he’s a big-name talent broker. Every year he wines and dines a handful of talent scouts, and in exchange, they promise to sign on at least two of Manchicay’s graduating seniors to select agencies in New York or Hollywood. That, my dear Lady Capulet, is why I’m in school here, instead of San Juan. I’m not going back to Puerto Rico when I graduate next year. I’m moving to Hollywood, and I’m going to be a movie star.”

Esti couldn’t help responding to Carmen’s enthusiasm. She was a refreshing change from most of the theater people Esti had known in Ashland. “I like you, Carmen. I think you’re going to be good for me.”

“We’ll be good for each other,” Carmen declared. “No negative thoughts allowed.”

“Right.” Esti sat up straight. “It’s time for me to get over myself already. Your audition was great, and you’ll get an agent, for sure.”

Carmen grinned. “You have the whole play memorized, don’t you? You must have played Juliet before.”

Esti nodded reluctantly, knowing what was coming. “My dad started reading Shakespeare to me the day I was born.”

“Really? Where are you from?”

“Oregon. I mean, Ashland, Oregon, is where I did a lot of acting with my dad. I was born in Los Angeles.”

“So, your dad’s an actor?”

“He died a few months ago.” Esti still found it difficult to say the words. “He had cancer.”

“I’m sorry.” Carmen paused, her eyes suddenly wide. She spun on the bench, facing Esti with an incredulous look. “Alan Legard. Oh, my God. Your dad was Alan
Legard
.”

Esti shrugged. It was inevitable.

“Esti Legard!” Carmen whooped. “I can’t believe I’m such a slowpoke. I watched you play Juliet on public television a couple of years ago, when your dad played Lord Capulet. No
wonder
you’re the Shakespeare queen.”

Esti squirmed. All of the reviews, including every single comment about her own performance, had focused on her dad.

“What other roles did you have with him?” Carmen said eagerly. “It must have been incredible to be around The Great Legard all the time.”

“It was.” Esti nodded, unable to deny that her dad was incredible. “I acted with him a lot, but always in small theaters.
Romeo and Juliet
was my only major production.” She paused. “It was kind of intense.”

“I bet.” Carmen studied her thoughtfully. “You’re pretty low-key for such a hotshot name fame diva. Why aren’t you hanging out with Danielle and Greg?”

“You said it yourself.” Esti sighed, thinking about her classmates back in Ashland. Aurora had thought they were all so intimidated by The Great Legard that they never reached out to Esti, but no one ever seemed to consider the possibility that Esti might be overwhelmed by her dad, too. She’d always told herself it was easier to keep her distance from everyone. “Boo-hoo, poor Esti is too famous,” she muttered. “Can I ask you a favor?”

“Sure.” Carmen gave her an uncertain look.

“I’m so tired of being a—whatever you called it—name diva. I’m just a normal person, trying to be a good actress. Can you pretend my name is Jane Doe and you’ve never heard of my dad? I wish I’d thought of that before I moved here. It sounds awful, but it would make my life so much easier.”

“I’ll try.” Carmen nodded. “That was rude of me, wasn’t it? I didn’t mean to insult you, and I’m sorry about your dad.” She paused with an awkward smile. “Are you going to the student memorial for Paul?”