Camilla and some of the other cast members were sitting in plastic seats to watch.
‘Are you ready?’ asked Camilla.
‘Uh, huh, huh …’ Garrick chuckled his helicopter laugh again. ‘Just a sec.’
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a familiar-looking bag and tipped a little powder down his trousers. Immediately, he started hopping around like a flea. He was using the itching powder to stay in character, taking method acting to a whole new level.
‘Let’s start from Tybalt’s exit!’ Camilla commanded.
They began rehearsing Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting.
‘O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do!’ Garrick twitched nearer and nearer with every word. ‘They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair,’ he said in a monotone.
Unlike the previous scenes, Garrick had all these lines memorised. Probably, Olivia thought, because he read the kissing parts over and over again. Ew. But he was just saying them, without any feeling. Olivia wondered if Garrick even knew what he was saying.
Olivia had to hold on to all her willpower to stay in character and not cringe as she said her line, ‘Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake.’
‘Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take.’ Garrick leered at her.
Olivia felt her mouth go dry. That was the line just before Romeo kisses Juliet.
‘Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purg’d.’ Garrick leaned in and Olivia turned it into a quick air-kiss – even that made her want to projectile vomit.
‘Cut, cut!’ Camilla cried, waving her hands. ‘Olivia, you are way too human. You’re supposed to be a robot! And why aren’t you two actually kissing? There’s only a week until final dress rehearsal. I need to see the real love, the real passion.’
Olivia almost gagged – love, passion? With Garrick?
‘Run those lines again,’ Camilla directed.
It looked like Olivia was about one minute away from having her first kiss – with the wrong guy.
‘But … but …’ Olivia stammered.
Do something! she thought. It was too late to pretend to be ill; the fire alarm was in the other room; Camilla would kill her if she disrupted rehearsals.
‘I’m having trouble with my motivation,’ Olivia blurted. ‘Would a robot really kiss an alien? Robots don’t have feelings.’
Camilla practically shrieked, ‘That’s what makes it romantic! It’s the whole point!’
Olivia looked around for support, but Jackson must have gone for a costume fitting. Ivy was somewhere painting the set and Charlotte was giggling in the corner.
Ugh.
‘I completely agree, Ms Edmunson,’ Garrick said, still wiggling around from the itching powder. ‘It’s very romantic.’ He opened his arms to Olivia. ‘Now, come here and give me a big kiss.’
Olivia felt a little bile rise up from her stomach. Kissing a boy who would actually put itching powder down his own jeans! Gross.
‘We can’t just kiss,’ Olivia protested, stalling for time. ‘You have to say the lines.’
‘Fine: thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purg’d. Now, c’mere.’ He hopped a jerky dance towards her. His breath smelled like bacon.
Three … two … one …
At last, an idea came!
Olivia shrieked at the top of her lungs. Garrick recoiled and Camilla jumped out of her seat. Olivia felt a tiny bit guilty, but she’d started now and couldn’t stop.
‘Itch! Itching everywhere!’ Olivia shouted, pretending to scratch herself. ‘It must have been his powder!’
‘Oh no!’ Camilla said. ‘Get to the bathroom!’
Olivia didn’t need telling twice. She bolted from the studio and rushed to the nearest girls’ bathroom. It took her a moment to catch her breath, so she leaned against the sink and was still standing there when Camilla opened the door.
Olivia tried to grab paper towels, but it was too late.
‘You weren’t really itching, were you?’ Camilla asked softly.
Olivia bit her lip and shook her head.
Camilla sighed. ‘I’m sorry; I do get really bossy when I’m in director mode.’
‘It’s not a bad thing,’ Olivia replied. ‘Jackson thinks you’re as good as a Hollywood director.’
Camilla blushed, then hopped up on the sink counter. ‘What’s really going on?’
‘I totally get why you picked Garrick, but I just can’t kiss him a hundred times a day.’ The very thought brought the bile back. ‘It’s the most foul thing ever.’
Camilla thought for a moment. ‘No problem,’ she declared and Olivia wanted to weep with relief. ‘I can write out most of the kisses – and you don’t have to do it for real in rehearsal.’
Olivia almost broke into a cheer, until Camilla said, ‘But there’s no way of taking out the last kiss, in the last scene. You will have to kiss Garrick once for the performance.’
Olivia sighed.
‘Is there something you’re not telling me?’ Camilla prompted. ‘I may be your director, but I’m your friend first.’
Olivia confessed about not having kissed Jackson yet. ‘Having Garrick Stevens as my first kiss would be worth disconnecting my power supply to prevent.’
‘Hm,’ Camilla said. ‘That does present a problem. But it’s nothing a little cyborg stalking can’t fix.’
‘Huh?’
‘You’ve got about ten days before the performance, right?’ Camilla prompted.
‘Right,’ Olivia agreed.
‘That means you have approximately two hundred and forty hours to get your dream hunk cyborg boyfriend to kiss you,’ she explained. ‘Preferably more than once. That way, Garrick’s kiss will be a blip on the radar screen of love.’
Olivia giggled. ‘Only you could explain it like that.’
Camilla winked at her. ‘I have to get back,’ she said, jumping down. ‘See you in a few minutes?’
Olivia nodded and Camilla left.
She looked at herself in the mirror. Two hundred and forty hours. Camilla was right. Her new mission was to get Jackson to kiss her – at all costs.
Chapter Seven
‘Where is he?’ Olivia said aloud, searching through the crowds of students leaving their after-school activities. She was on the top step, just outside the huge school doors, but couldn’t spot her boyfriend anywhere.