Grimacing, Jackson nodded. ‘I shouldn’ta got the ’ump like what I did, but . . .’ He dropped the Cockney accent. ‘Wait a minute. Why did you think I was grumpy? What were you worried about?’
‘Oh . . . nothing.’ Olivia smiled, feeling a weight drop off her shoulders.
He hadn’t been angry at her, or at Will. I should have known better. When had Jackson ever been unreasonable?
He was frowning now, though, as he looked down at her. ‘Are you sure?’ he said. ‘You look so relieved –’
‘I’m fine!’ Olivia said. Hastily, she changed the subject. ‘But how can you handle being yelled at so much?’
‘Oh, well.’ Jackson flashed the smile Olivia had seen on movie posters and in dozens of magazines. ‘It’s easier to take when you can barely understand what’s being yelled!’
‘I guess so.’ Olivia wrinkled her nose. ‘But still –’
‘It’s normal for the movie business.’ Jackson shrugged. ‘You get used to it after a while.’
‘Really?’ Olivia looked around the bustling maze of production trucks and trailers with fresh eyes. ‘Yuck.’ Instinctively, she took another step closer to Jackson. ‘I mean, I’ve read about movie set drama in magazines, but . . . it’s different to see and hear it for myself.’ She shook her head. ‘And I just don’t understand how anyone can accept that kind of meanness as normal. And what kind of person would be that mean in the first place?’
‘Honestly, there aren’t that many bad folks,’ Jackson said. ‘It’s just that everybody’s under so much pressure.’ He leaned closer to her, smiling reassuringly. ‘Don’t worry. The more you work, the more used to it you’ll get. You’ll develop a tough shell to protect yourself, just like the rest of us do.’
Olivia couldn’t stop her expression from twisting into uncertainty. But do I really want that? Do I really want to jump into a world where people are so crazy with stress and worry that they are this mean to each other?
She looked down to hide her expression from Jackson . . . but she was too late. He must have sensed her feelings. She saw his hand start to reach for hers. Time seemed to slow down around them as she held her breath, waiting for their fingers to touch. It was as if they were inside an invisible bubble, separating them from all the bustle and noise of film production. Just her and Jackson, together . . .
Then his hand paused and fell away. Olivia felt a stab of pain in her chest as the bubble popped.
Maybe being on set together wasn’t going to fix everything the way that she had hoped. Maybe their lives weren’t compatible after all. No matter how much she cared about Jackson, could she be sure that taking on the whole Hollywood lifestyle was the right choice for her?
Olivia wanted to shout at the sky. This is so unfair!
Jackson took a step back and drew an audible, deep breath. When he spoke again, his Cockney twang was back in full swing. ‘Look, I’m sorry, but I gotter dive – ’Arker said ’e’d need me on set now.’
Now that she did finally look up, Olivia could see Jackson staring at his watch. Was that why he’d let go of her hand – because he was running late? He started to turn away, then hesitated. ‘What’re ye doin’ on Satahdee?’
‘“Satahdee?”’ Olivia repeated blankly. ‘Oh, Saturday! Nothing, I don’t think. I mean, I don’t have any plans. We have the weekend off, don’t we?’
‘That’s right,’ Jackson said, ‘and I was finkin’ . . . d’ye wanna take a nanny-ride along the Thames shake?’
‘A what?’ Olivia stared at him.
He grinned. ‘“Nanny-goat,”’ he said. ‘That means boat, and “shake” means river. I’m asking you for a boat-ride along the Thames.’
‘Oh. I get it . . . I think,’ Olivia said. Was a boat-ride with Jackson a good idea or a really, really bad one? She felt so numb, she couldn’t even tell. ‘That sounds good,’ she said weakly.
‘Cushty,’ Jackson said. Olivia assumed that meant, Good. He swung off, striding quickly through the cluster of trailers and trucks. Just before he disappeared from sight, Olivia heard him greeting Harker. ‘Awight, Guv’ner?’
Ingrid’s voice rapped out furiously from somewhere nearby: ‘That’s “Guv-nah”!’
Wincing, Olivia turned away. It was almost time for her parents to collect her from her trailer . . . and she still hadn’t come to any conclusions about Jackson, or about herself.
What ever happened to figuring things out?
The next day, Ivy sat with Brendan at the very back of the school bus, as usual, but Sophia was nowhere to be seen.
‘What do you think?’ Ivy whispered to her boyfriend, as the big banana-coloured bus rolled down the street towards the school. ‘Is she sick? Or is she just having a last-minute gingham emergency?’
‘Ugh.’ Brendan grimaced. ‘Maybe she’s just got really, really into the whole subterfuge thing? Trying to be un-vamp-y, like our parents want?’
‘No way.’ Ivy kept her voice too low for the students in front of them to hear. ‘Trust me, she’s not doing this for her parents. She’d never do anything that stupid for them. She has to be doing it for a boy.’
‘Really? Sophia?’ Brendan stretched out his legs under the seat in front of him, looking sceptical. ‘I don’t know. She’s always been smarter than that.’
‘I talked it all over with Lillian last night,’ Ivy told him. ‘She says it’s not uncommon for girls to do the stupidest things to impress boys.’
A lock of dark hair flopped over Brendan’s eyes as he shook his head, letting out a half-laugh. ‘I’ve never seen you do anything like that.’
‘No?’ Ivy nudged him playfully. ‘Remember when we were in elementary school, and I was “really, really into” Ninja Warrior 7?’
‘You were?’ Brendan frowned.
‘Oh that’s right, I forgot,’ Ivy laughed. ‘You ignored me all through our childhood.’
‘I did not,’ Brendan protested.
Ivy gave his hand a squeeze. ‘The point is, I mastered that game, just because you once wore a Ninja Warrior 7 T-shirt!’