Chapter 28
GINNY
Ginny realised that when they’d been preparing for tonight, organising guest lists, inviting celebrity names, sending out press releases, setting up the theatre, prepping the students and managing their own expectations, they’d failed to bring in the one thing that she really needed now: some sort of apparatus to help her breathe again – because on the screen was perhaps the single most thrilling highlight of her professional career.
And it had come in the same couple of hours as the second, third and fourth highlight of her professional career.
The first time she’d appeared on screen, she’d breathed a mighty sigh of relief, mixed with a fist-clench of elation.
She’d made the cut. She was on the show.
There would forever be a televised record that, yes, she’d worked at The Moira Chiles Academy of Drama and Music, and she had a two-minute clip of her singing and dancing to ‘She Had It Coming’ from Chicago.
And even being objective, it had been impossible to tell that she’d been at a party in Stevie’s house the night before and had consumed so many home-made mojitos, her bloodstream as she high-kicked was almost certainly eighty per cent alcohol.
Her grandad, Hugo, had nudged her when she’d wrapped up the song, and even in the dim light, Ginny could see his eyes glistening.
‘Ah, sweetheart, you’re just flipping brilliant,’ he’d whispered.
While her sister, Alyssa, on the other side of Grandad had whispered, ‘Is that my black stilettos you’re wearing? ’
It was, but Ginny decided now wasn’t the time for sibling confessions.
The second highlight had been when she’d absolutely, if she did say so herself, nailed a scene from one of her favourite movies of all time, the legendary Rob Reiner’s romcom, When Harry Met Sally.
Thankfully, it wasn’t the orgasm scene, as that would have been wildly inappropriate, but it was the kissing scene at the end, chosen by one of the students in an acting class that focused on classic romcoms. Ollie had been in the Academy that day and had joined the class, but probably wished he hadn’t, when they’d got to the part in the scene where Ginny had puckered up and snogged the face off him.
Grandad hadn’t commented on that one, but that was probably because the embarrassment beaming from her bright red face was giving him heatstroke.
It wasn’t that kissing Ollie had been a chore, but he was her pal, as was his girlfriend who’d been watching in the wings, so feigning that level of passion had been cringe-inducing.
The third clip was in the third and final episode, when she’d been on the panel for Ava’s audition and had sought her out afterwards to check she was okay and tell her that she’d been sensational.
She’d then had a lovely chat with her about her dreams and all the things she could do to help her achieve them.
And, for once, she wasn’t overly sweary, didn’t say anything flippant and she’d even inadvertently delivered a truly emotional moment when she’d filled up as Ava had told her how much she loved her mum and just wanted to make her proud.
Of course, the huge shock from that episode had been the secret weapon, the bloody incredible Netta, and Ginny intended to go find her right after this was over and pay homage to her brilliance.
But back to her own highlights for now, and her final scene… how ironic that the ultimate highlight, the absolute pinnacle of her contribution to the show, had happened when she was completely unaware that she was being filmed.
It was right after she’d heard that she would have the opportunity to audition for Judas – The Traitor.
It was late at night, and the only other people in the building were Jean and Senga, who’d been cleaning the windows of one of the sound studios when she’d gone in there to rehearse.
As soon as they were done, Ginny had cleared her throat, composed herself, ready to warm up.
She’d done her vocal scales, then pressed play on her iPhone and closed her eyes as an acoustic soundtrack of ‘I Don’t Know How To Love Him’, from Jesus Christ Superstar, had come on.
She’d opened her mouth and begun to sing, like no one was watching, like she felt every word, like her soul ached from the pain of it, until two tears fell down her cheeks because her heart had been ripped out.
Even tonight, watching herself on the screen, she thought it might be the best performance of her life.
Better than every other song she’d ever sung. Better than her audition earlier today.
The camera had then cut to Jean and Senga, sitting on the couch next door in the control booth, eating packets of cheese and onion Taytos, while Senga clutched her heart and murmured, ‘I swear I love that song so much I could shag Andrew Lloyd Webber.’
Cut back to the soundproof studio. Ginny on the screen hadn’t heard that, and she had no idea how good she’d just been, because, just seconds after she’d finished and dried her eyes, the power in the room had blown and she’d been plunged into darkness.
That’s when she’d bellowed up to the heavens, ‘Jesus, if you did that because I butchered the song, I apologise,’ causing the entire viewing audience in this Glasgow theatre to crumble into laughter. Suddenly, improv comedy was back on the CV.
A hand had taken hers, and she’d realised that Alyssa was leaning over to her. ‘I don’t think you’ll ever have to come back to work in my café. Thank God,’ she’d added, but even in the darkness, Ginny had seen the pride in her sister’s eyes.
Now, both thrilled and delighted, Ginny glanced down at the VIP row, the only section of the theatre that was illuminated, because the Netflix team were filming their reactions.
Even from this distance, and with all the shit that he had going on in his life right now, she could see that Ollie was chuckling along, and she knew he’d be happy for her.
Moira was dabbing at her face, and Ginny guessed that was because she adored that song too.
But her very own boyfriend, sitting a few seats along the row?
Stony-faced. Not even a hint of humour or pride.
And that hit Ginny somewhere right in the gut.
She was still thinking about that when the end titles of the final episode rolled, the lights came up, and the whole theatre burst into thunderous applause. Ollie, Moira and Calvin stood up, turned around, mouthing ‘thank you’ as they applauded the crowd.
Ginny felt the same gratitude going the other way – to the other coaches, to the Academy staff, to Jean and Senga, to the family that was hugging her now, and to the students whom she’d worked with every day and who’d given her the absolute privilege of being part of their dreams. And, oh bugger, why did all this rhetoric in her head make her feel like Gwyneth Paltrow giving her Oscars speech in 1999?
She’d only been a baby back then, but it was one of those folklore events that every actor had watched at some point in the years since.
As people began to stand, Ginny worked her way along her row, hugging every single person who’d come to support her. She’d just cuddled Jessie and Georgie, when Moira took the microphone and made an announcement.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for being here tonight. Now there’s just one last thing for us to do.
We’d like the following students to come to the canteen…
’ She rhymed off a dozen students’ names and Ginny soon clocked on that it was all the ones whom the audience had just watched as they’d auditioned for parts in the Academy Christmas show.
So it was crunch time. They were going to announce the final cast tonight as promised.
‘And students, those of you who were called, are welcome to bring your families with you too. Coaches, we’ll see you all there as well.
Other than that, thanks again to all of you for your support – it truly means the world.
Oh, and just for info, the filming has ended in this room for now, so you’re welcome to switch your phones back on. ’
An immediate chorus of pings reverberated around the room.
Ginny blew a kiss to the row of family and friends that she’d just hugged.
‘Thank you all for coming and I love you all, but I need to dash and go hang out with far more important people now,’ she joked, before racing up the stairs, desperate to return the earlier call from Carl Boddins now that the phone had charged.
Was 10 p.m. too late to call a theatre director?
Maybe it was. Yes, she should wait until morning.
Maybe she should go find Caden, forgive him for earlier, snog the face off him in a non-Harry-Met-Sally-way to celebrate her featuring in the documentary and…
The memory of his blank expression when he’d seen her up there on the screen came back into her mind. Sod it, she was calling Carl Boddins.
She dashed out of the theatre, down the corridor and into the canteen, which was still empty, other than Netta, who was pouring Prosecco into glasses.
Ginny nearly floored her with the most effusive hug.
‘Netta! How in the hell did I not know you could sing? In the name of Moira fricking Chiles, you were fricking fabulous. Amazing. Incredible.’
Netta blushed the colour of her lippy. ‘Och, yer biased. You were quite the star, yourself, pet, but we knew that already,’ she said, immediately deflecting the attention away from herself.
‘Now, away you go and let me get back to my real job.’ She was feigning impatience, but Ginny could see how truly delighted she really was.
‘Fine, but I’m coming back to make a huge fuss of you later,’ Ginny warned, ‘so brace yourself.’
She nipped into the alcove at the end of the room, and hit the ‘return last call’ button on her phone.
Carl Boddins answered on the first ring.
‘Ginny, thank you for calling me back.’
‘I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long, but we had a show here at the Academy and it’s only just finished.’
A pause. Ginny wasn’t sure if she was supposed to fill it, but for once, she kept schtum.
She heard him clear his throat. ‘Well, this is a bit of an unusual one, but I’m just going to be completely frank with you.’
Oh no. She hadn’t got the Judas gig. Damn it. All her glory from five minutes ago was immediately extinguished.
‘The truth is, when I called you earlier, I was ringing to let you know that on this occasion, we didn’t quite think you were right for the role.
We felt we needed someone with a deeper track record in theatre and, quite frankly, we always have concerns when there are personal relationships within the cast.’
Feck. Bugger. Damn. Heart crushed.
‘Oh. Right. Well, thank you for—’
‘But then, we actually just watched your performance on The Academy of Dreams tonight. What a heart-warming show – and great for musical theatre, I might add. And, indeed, for you too. We thought your performances were exceptional and have no doubt that you’ll be the subject of much interest over the coming month.
As a result, Ginny, we’ve had a change of heart.
We think you’re up to the task and we’ve got every confidence that your professionalism will overcome any potential issues in your personal relationships.
Congratulations. We’re inviting you to join the cast of Judas – The Traitor. ’
Oh. My. God. Ginny punched the air, jogged on the spot, mouthed ‘Yasssssss!’ and… And then nothing. Except a strange feeling that something wasn’t quite right.
Her inner hard drive of emotional intelligence – usually only in play when watching classic movies and reruns of Grey’s Anatomy – kicked into gear to give a quick analysis of what she was feeling.
A few seconds later, the answers popped up.
She was no longer sure that she wanted to live on the road with Caden for the next year.
She wasn’t thrilled that they hadn’t believed in her enough after her audition to offer her the part then.
Sure, it happened all the time in this industry – people’s stock went up when they had success – but right now it wasn’t sitting well with her.
And finally, more importantly, she wasn’t convinced that she could walk away from this Academy for anything she wasn’t one hundred per cent committed to, because this had been one of the best nights of her life and she adored everyone here.
‘Carl, I really appreciate the offer. It truly is a dream come true—’
‘I thought it would be. Now, we’ll need you to come into rehearsals with us starting on Monday, when we move to Cardiff and—’
‘Sorry, Carl – I think my signal dropped there.’ She didn’t want to point out that he’d completely cut her off mid-sentence, so she just went on, ‘What I was going to say was that I really appreciate the offer… but can I take the night to think it over?’
Stunned silence. Then, ‘Erm… well… yes, but I’d appreciate an answer by noon tomorrow at the latest, otherwise I’m afraid we’ll need to go in a different direction.
’ He sounded well pissed off and Ginny got the feeling that, quite understandably, that wasn’t a reaction he was used to getting when he called with the offer of a starring role.
‘Thank you. I appreciate the time. I just need to tie up a few loose ends.’
As she hung up, she glanced over at the door, and there, as if it were the end scene from a movie script, she watched as Caden swaggered towards her.
One of her loose ends had just entered the picture.