face against the glass door. ‘Oh my g od, you can see the whole of London from up here .’ She turns to me. ‘Sorry. You said you were tired. Listen to me, all high octane. So I was going to tell you about the performances .’
‘Let’s go out on the balcony,’ I say, opening the glass door. ‘It’s still warm enough.’
We walk out o nto the balcony, and look over the grounds.
‘Cecile was furious after her performance ,’ says Tanya.
‘She was?’ I ask, as innocently as possible. ‘Why?’
‘ I don’t think it went so well . Marc said she wasn’t playing the part as it was supposed to be played. He said she was just reinventing the role she played at her audition. ’
‘How do you know?’
‘Tom had the audition after her. He got there early. He opened the theatre door a little to see what was going on , and heard it all .’
‘How did your performance go ?’ I ask.
‘I don’t know,’ said Tanya. ‘That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. It was so confu sing. I have no idea how I did. I tried to adlib, and he just gave no expression of how well I was doing. He sat in one of the audience chairs and told me to play the part how I felt it. Then he watched me f or five minutes or so, and said: okay, tha t’s it. Thanks very much. I felt like maybe I did something wrong. How do you feel about your performance, now ?’
‘Confused ,’ I admit . ‘I know I stuffed up. So ... I don’t know. I just have no idea if I passed or failed. ’
‘I’m glad you felt confused too,’ said Tanya. ‘Hey – look!’ She points across the grounds. ‘Ther e he is .’
I look down to see Marc Blackwell str iding along a gravel path . He really is as captivating in real life as he is on the screen. His nonchalant walk, his toned body under his suit, the way he looks so purposeful and determined. He heads to the car park, and we see him jump into his car and speed through the college gates .
‘Probably off to some party in the city,’ says Ta nya. ‘I hear he has a town house near here – some million pound London pad. Look – there’s nothing left to do today. Let’s you, me and Tom hit the town, have something to eat, start spending our scholarship – what do you say? Tom knows all the best places.’
‘Okay ,’ I smile. Anything to take my mind off getting my grade tomorrow .
Chapter 20
Our night out is fun. Tanya, Tom and I go to an Italian restaurant that Tom says has ‘fantastic parmesan’, and does . Actually, all the food is fantastic. Then , we have cocktails at a bar in Soho. Tom is fairly confident about how his audition went, although he says the same as Tanya – that Marc was inscrutable. We decide on an early-ish night, and agree to meet up tomorrow over breakfast, an hour before our first lecture with Denise Crompton.
The next morning, I feel much better. It’s true what Tanya said – it is amazing I’m performing in front of Marc Blackwell in the first place. It’s stupid to dwell on what I couldn’t do . Maybe I haven’t failed. It was a tough performance to do.
I get d ressed and head to the cafeteria , where I take a small bowl of muesli and sit near a window. Tom and Tanya should be here soon.
I pass Cecile and Ryan, and I see Cecile gushing over him. I guess she needs an ego boost now she’s been rejected by Mr Blackwell .
Whe n Cecile sees me, she says . ‘Just to let you know, if we’re having a competition between who gets Mr Blackwell , I win.’
‘ There’s no competition,’ I say.
‘ The performance yesterday. Let’s just say I got pretty close to him.’
‘That’s not what I heard.’
I take a seat, feeling confused by a flash of jealousy, and wish ing Jen were here.
Tom and Tanya arrive, and I feel immediately better.
‘Hey guys,’ I call out.
‘Soph!’ shouts Tanya. They grab breakfast – an apple for Tanya, a fry-up for Tom – and join me.
‘Ready for Ms Crompton, Ms Rose ?’ Tom asks.
‘I’m looking forward
‘Let’s go out on the balcony,’ I say, opening the glass door. ‘It’s still warm enough.’
We walk out o nto the balcony, and look over the grounds.
‘Cecile was furious after her performance ,’ says Tanya.
‘She was?’ I ask, as innocently as possible. ‘Why?’
‘ I don’t think it went so well . Marc said she wasn’t playing the part as it was supposed to be played. He said she was just reinventing the role she played at her audition. ’
‘How do you know?’
‘Tom had the audition after her. He got there early. He opened the theatre door a little to see what was going on , and heard it all .’
‘How did your performance go ?’ I ask.
‘I don’t know,’ said Tanya. ‘That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. It was so confu sing. I have no idea how I did. I tried to adlib, and he just gave no expression of how well I was doing. He sat in one of the audience chairs and told me to play the part how I felt it. Then he watched me f or five minutes or so, and said: okay, tha t’s it. Thanks very much. I felt like maybe I did something wrong. How do you feel about your performance, now ?’
‘Confused ,’ I admit . ‘I know I stuffed up. So ... I don’t know. I just have no idea if I passed or failed. ’
‘I’m glad you felt confused too,’ said Tanya. ‘Hey – look!’ She points across the grounds. ‘Ther e he is .’
I look down to see Marc Blackwell str iding along a gravel path . He really is as captivating in real life as he is on the screen. His nonchalant walk, his toned body under his suit, the way he looks so purposeful and determined. He heads to the car park, and we see him jump into his car and speed through the college gates .
‘Probably off to some party in the city,’ says Ta nya. ‘I hear he has a town house near here – some million pound London pad. Look – there’s nothing left to do today. Let’s you, me and Tom hit the town, have something to eat, start spending our scholarship – what do you say? Tom knows all the best places.’
‘Okay ,’ I smile. Anything to take my mind off getting my grade tomorrow .
Chapter 20
Our night out is fun. Tanya, Tom and I go to an Italian restaurant that Tom says has ‘fantastic parmesan’, and does . Actually, all the food is fantastic. Then , we have cocktails at a bar in Soho. Tom is fairly confident about how his audition went, although he says the same as Tanya – that Marc was inscrutable. We decide on an early-ish night, and agree to meet up tomorrow over breakfast, an hour before our first lecture with Denise Crompton.
The next morning, I feel much better. It’s true what Tanya said – it is amazing I’m performing in front of Marc Blackwell in the first place. It’s stupid to dwell on what I couldn’t do . Maybe I haven’t failed. It was a tough performance to do.
I get d ressed and head to the cafeteria , where I take a small bowl of muesli and sit near a window. Tom and Tanya should be here soon.
I pass Cecile and Ryan, and I see Cecile gushing over him. I guess she needs an ego boost now she’s been rejected by Mr Blackwell .
Whe n Cecile sees me, she says . ‘Just to let you know, if we’re having a competition between who gets Mr Blackwell , I win.’
‘ There’s no competition,’ I say.
‘ The performance yesterday. Let’s just say I got pretty close to him.’
‘That’s not what I heard.’
I take a seat, feeling confused by a flash of jealousy, and wish ing Jen were here.
Tom and Tanya arrive, and I feel immediately better.
‘Hey guys,’ I call out.
‘Soph!’ shouts Tanya. They grab breakfast – an apple for Tanya, a fry-up for Tom – and join me.
‘Ready for Ms Crompton, Ms Rose ?’ Tom asks.
‘I’m looking forward
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