‘I’ve been in Beldrake for the past six years,’ Rebecca said, holding the smoothie menu in her hand, but not actually looking at it. ‘At the ranch where your mom and I spent our summers as kids.’
Ivy could see that her father was struggling not to look annoyed at constantly being talked over. After all, Ivy thought, he has gone out of his way to track Aunt Rebecca down.
‘Beldrake is really nearby!’ Olivia exclaimed. ‘It’s less than half an hour away.’
Rebecca nodded. ‘I missed life with horses when I was in LA, and when I heard that the ranch was up for sale, I couldn’t resist.’
‘Would you like a drink, Rebecca?’ Mr Vega asked, standing up, but she waved him off. ‘I’ll just grab some cookies for all of us, then.’ He shuffled back to the counter.
‘Even though I couldn’t afford it, I had to buy it.’ She tossed her curly hair. ‘That ranch meant so much to me and to your mom. Your mom’s favourite horse is still there, you know – his name is Lucky.’
Olivia looked so happy that Ivy wondered if she was going to break into a cheer. ‘That’s so exciting!’ she declared.
Ivy wasn’t as enthusiastic. She’d never really had a way with animals. The only pet she’d ever owned, a white-and-tan hamster named Spotty, had run away at every opportunity. She hoped the horses wouldn’t turn out to be giant versions of Spotty.
Aunt Rebecca clapped her hands together. ‘Oh gosh, I’ve just had the best idea. You should come to stay next weekend!’
Mr Vega, returning to the table, almost dropped the plate of cookies. ‘We were going to discuss this, Rebecca. I haven’t had a chance to ask the girls yet if they want to.’
‘Well, girls,’ she said, her eyes shining. ‘Do you want to? I’d love to get to know you and I do need a little help around the ranch.’
Ivy felt bad for her dad, but she did want to see a place from her mom’s childhood – and to hear Aunt Rebecca’s stories.
‘Oh yes, please!’ Olivia said. ‘I’ll have to check with my parents, though.’
‘I wouldn’t mind,’ Ivy admitted.
‘I will allow it,’ Mr Vega said, softening, ‘as long as your homework is done and it doesn’t interfere with Olivia’s audition.’
‘Oooh!’ Rebecca squealed, full of enthusiasm. Ivy wondered if Olivia would look like her when she grew up. ‘Auditions! What for?’
‘I’m trying out to be Juliet,’ Olivia said, a little shy to tell her. ‘But the auditions are on Monday, so it wouldn’t interfere.’
‘Oh, I love Romeo and Juliet!’ Aunt Rebecca clapped her hands together. ‘You can do lots of rehearsing on the ranch once you get the part; it’s so peaceful. And I’ll make sure you’ve got time for homework. Oh, this will be so much fun!’
Mr Vega sighed.
Olivia beamed.
Ivy jumped as someone tapped on the window.
Then she grinned as she realised the black hair and beautiful smile belonged to her boyfriend, Brendan Daniels. He crossed his eyes and made a silly face, so Ivy stuck her tongue out at him. Then he waved at everyone else at the table.
‘Who is that?’ Rebecca frowned. ‘Should I call security?’
‘No, no!’ Mr Vega chuckled. ‘That is Ivy’s boyfriend.’
‘Oh,’ said Rebecca, her face not really changing. ‘Isn’t that trench coat too warm? Why would anyone want to wear all black on a sunny day like today?’
‘Ahem.’ Ivy cleared her throat. She was wearing all black and so was her dad. She hoped her aunt wasn’t the kind of person to judge people on how they dressed.
Outside, Brendan beckoned someone over.
Jackson appeared at the window, waving to Olivia.
‘Oh, I know him!’ Rebecca declared. ‘Isn’t he a famous movie star?’
Olivia nodded. ‘He’s my boyfriend. And he’s trying out for Romeo.’
‘Wow!’ Rebecca said. ‘I wish I’d dated a movie star when I was your age.’
Brendan mouthed, ‘See you later.’ Then the boys headed away, towards the mall.
A moment after the boys disappeared around the corner, Ivy spotted Amy Teller stalking them like a secret agent.
‘And Romeo leap to these arms, untalk’d of and unseen.’
Olivia didn’t usually chew her fingernails – but she desperately wanted her Juliet audition to go well, and her nails had taken the brunt of her nervousness. All during her Monday classes it was on her mind, and the instant that the final bell had rung, she’d rushed to the theatre to get ready – along with what seemed like the whole school.
Now, she was sitting in front of one of the lighted mirrors in the girls’ dressing room, applying a fresh coat of lip gloss and running through her lines.
‘Excuse me,’ said Charlotte Brown, wearing thick red rouge on her cheeks and a pseudo-Elizabethan dress. ‘Can I share your mirror?’ Without even waiting for an answer, Charlotte had leant in so close to apply eyeliner that all Olivia could see was Charlotte’s rear end.
Olivia sighed. Charlotte was both the captain of the cheerleading squad and the least considerate person Olivia knew.
‘You wouldn’t mind if I kissed your boyfriend, would you?’ Charlotte said, not even turning around.
Olivia almost dropped her lip gloss. ‘What?’
‘Well,’ she said, ‘when I’m Juliet, I’ll have to kiss Romeo, and everyone knows Jackson is a shoo-in for the part.’
‘Let’s just see what happens,’ Olivia replied, trying to avoid a conflict.
There is no way Charlotte Brown will be kissing my boyfriend … before I get to! She stood up to find a quieter place to finish running through her lines. She had to get this audition right – and not just because of Charlotte. Playing opposite Jackson as Romeo would be so romantic.
‘Could you scoot over?’ Charlotte whined.
Olivia left the dressing room and walked into the huge backstage space that had tons of props from previous productions, like a giant tree that a person could fit into, from the musical Into the Woods.
Olivia pushed her way past a group of girls doing vocal exercises to sit down on a Victorian sofa from The Importance of Being Earnest and started from the top. Out of the corner of her eye, Olivia spotted Jackson in a quiet corner on the other side of the big backstage space, sitting on a wooden cube and reading his audition scene to himself.