Chapter 25
OLLIE
In his career, Ollie Chiles had done many strange things.
In his early days, he’d done an advert for dog food that had involved a breakfast conversation with a pug named Norman.
Shortly afterwards, he’d starred in a Broadway play that required a mercifully brief full-frontal nude scene, which left him wondering if everyone he met in that city had seen so much more than his acting talent.
As The Clansman, he’d once invaded Edinburgh Castle, in a bid to rescue the queen and preserve Scottish sovereignty.
But it had to be said that watching a TV show on a huge screen, while two TV cameras were trained on him, capturing his every reaction, every gesture, every flicker of his eye, was about as unnerving as it got.
Prior to the show starting, he’d kicked off with a brief introduction to the Academy and the programme they were about to see.
The gaze of all two hundred people in the theatre had been on him as he’d stood on the stage, many of them aware that the next two hours could change their lives – for good or for bad.
Agreeing to the clause that prohibited him from seeing the final cut prior to the show had been a gamble – on the one hand, it meant that his reactions would be genuine, but it was also something that had the potential to go horribly wrong if he didn’t like what he saw.
He’d decided to trust in the production team and focus on the positives.
‘Thank you for coming. I’m going to keep this short, because the live broadcast starts in two minutes and that’s what we’re all here to see – the chronicle of the first year of life at the Academy.
You know, when my friend, Calvin Fraser, first proposed the idea for this performing arts school to me, my initial reaction was that he should take up an easier hobby in his retirement. Maybe skydiving…’
That had got a laugh – the loudest one coming from Calvin.
‘But the more we discussed it, the more I could see what a fantastic idea it was. You see, I was brought up by my mum, Moira, just a couple of streets from here…’
That had got a roaring cheer from all the students at the front and Ollie had felt a sudden and unexpected lump in the throat area as his mum’s face had flushed bright red when she’d stood up and taken a bow.
He’d gathered himself. This was one of those moments that would be seized upon later if this footage made it to the next season, and the keyboard warriors on social media would either be touched by his emotion or claim he was milking it for the sake of ratings.
He’d long ago decided to stop reading all that crap.
This was what mattered. The people that actually shared his real life.
He just wished that one of them wasn’t missing right now.
‘As you all know, I’m incredibly proud of coming from this part of town.
I just wanted you all to have the opportunities that I had, and I can honestly say that when I look at your faces…
’ He’d addressed that to the students in the front rows, all those hopeful, ambitious kids who were hanging their every dream on this chapter of their lives.
‘I know it was the right thing to do, because the world deserves to see how talented, how brilliant, how hard-working and exceptional the students and everyone who works in this building truly are. Thank you for allowing me to be part of this. Thank you all for being part of the Academy family. Thank you to the outstanding coaches who have worked so hard to support and promote the students and their craft. Thank you to my wise and dashing partner, Calvin, for having the idea to do this and then badgering me until I agreed.’
Another laugh, as Calvin took a full-scale theatrical bow.
‘And, finally, thank you to my mum, Moira Chiles. We named this Academy after her, because she embodies everything that it’s about.
For my whole life, she’s led with love and strength and a work ethic, which, if I’m honest, was pretty exhausting when I was fourteen and wanted to lie in bed all morning… ’
Out of the corner of his eye, he’d seen that his mum was wiping away tears. ‘I wouldn’t have this career if it wasn’t for her determination to help make my dreams come true. And how cool is it that she gets to do that for you all too. So, Mum, thank you. For you. For this. For everything you do.’
Moira had kissed him, and the students had led the cheers as the room had erupted into applause again.
Just at that, a phone had begun to ring, so Ollie had spun around, staring straight at Caden, who was trying to shut down his ringing handset. Christ, if there was anyone who should know better than to have a phone on in a theatre, it was the stage actor.
‘And sorry, folks, another reminder to please make sure all phones are off.’ There was a flurry of action as everyone in the hall double-checked.
At that point, the stage director running the cut in of the Netflix live feed had begun to signal a countdown to him. Five. Four. Ollie had never missed a cue. He’d immediately shifted the energy and delivered the lead-in line.
‘And now it’s time for the world to see just how incredible you all are. Welcome to our show, The Academy of Dreams…’
Now, an hour later, and half way through the second episode, two hundred people were still hanging on every single second of footage on the screen.
He’d forgotten about the cameras that were trained on him and instead had been completely captivated by the piece of television that they were witnessing.
The first forty minute episode had focused on the construction of the building – the stress, the tears, the disasters, the over-budget nightmares, and the determination of the construction crew and management to get the place finished.
There was Calvin, losing his shit as a pipe burst and flooded the dressing room.
His mum, dealing with every crisis with good humour, positivity and offers of sausage rolls.
And yes, Ollie cringed as he handled a budgeting overage with more than a few unprofessional sweary words.
Episode one had closed with the opening day-ceremony and he’d remembered not much more than the absolute joy he’d felt that day.
There had been many reasons for that. The completion of the project.
Seeing their dreams for the Academy becoming a reality.
And then… there she was. That face. In the corner of the shot, Stevie Dixon was just one of the people in the crowd, but she was the only one that he saw.
Ollie had wondered if she was watching this at home on her TV right now.
This was all wrong. All of it. She should be here with him, but even if she were, he knew she’d be sitting several rows behind him, determined to avoid the glare that came with his spotlight.
That, up there on the screen, was his world.
And back then, on that opening day, neither of them could have known that one day she might choose to walk away, rather than be a part of it.
The second episode had introduced the students and kicked off the main narrative of the show – the start of the audition process for the Christmas production that would star the students and many A-list celebrity names who had pledged to showing up this coming December to star in their biggest fundraiser to date.
As well as the camera crew that followed the action, the documentary showed other perspectives by cutting between the public areas in the building that were wired for film and sound.
Ollie had swelled with pride when Moira and Ginny had been on the screen, taking the students through a song and dance number from Once Upon A Time At Christmas.
They were truly spectacular. Moira had a singing voice that would have been a thing of legend if she hadn’t turned her back on her musical theatre career when she fell pregnant with Ollie, thirty-odd years ago.
And Ginny was up there holding her own too – delivering each line with the kind of pitch perfect emotion that made viewers lock in and believe every word.
And the students… The hunger on their faces, the determination to succeed, the sheer grit of their ambition.
In real life, they’d be announcing later tonight who’d been selected for the lead roles in the festive show, but that was going to be the cliffhanger for season one.
This was why the Academy existed and as he watched, he knew that there was no way this place could be allowed to fail.
It just couldn’t happen. He needed to secure its long-term future and if that meant signing The Clansman contract and committing another five years of his life so that he had the income to support it, then that’s what he had to do.
But…
Another shot. There was Stevie again in the background, in the canteen this time, deep in conversation with Ginny, before the cameras zoomed in on some of the students at different tables, reacting to their performances in that day’s auditions.
And as he saw her, every emotion flicked back to longing, to the absolute certainty that she was his person. Wasn’t she?
Was it possible for him to just pack up and go, and leave here for the next season of shooting The Clansman, knowing that she wouldn’t be here for him when he returned? Knowing that she’d wanted something different and he’d been unable to give that to her?
The indecision was alien to him. He was someone who stood his ground, who had always been clear about what he wanted. Someone who had a plan and who stuck to it. Someone who tried to do the right thing. Only this time, there was no right thing.
And why was he still contemplating this, when she’d already given up on him? Hadn’t she made the decision for him? He was going to sign the contract. If she could walk away so easily, then maybe she was just telling him everything he needed to know.
He was so deep in thought that for a moment he zoned out of what was happening on the screen.
But that changed as a voice thundered out from the speakers, shocking him back to the present.
There was an audible gasp in the theatre, so he knew this wasn’t just his reaction.
He focused back on the screen, tried to make sense of what he was seeing.
He’d already clocked that it was an audition day. The students’ task that morning had been to choose a piece by a female powerhouse singer, and they’d heard everything from Whitney Houston, to Kelly Clarkson, to Adele, to Aretha Franklin.
And now, he was hearing Celine Dion. Or, at least, someone who was singing the absolute shit out of ‘Think Twice’.
His first thought was that it was a technical glitch, a bit of over-dubbing that had been used from the original track. But no.
‘Jesus, how did we miss her?’ his mum whispered, as she grabbed his hand and squeezed it, her excitement making her hand tremble in his.
Because there, up on the screen, he was suddenly aware that what they were watching was a star in the making. She was magnificent. Spectacular. And she was someone who, as far as he knew, not a single person in this building had seen coming.