‘Finn has nothing to do with it,’ Sophia hissed back. ‘I just want to try a new look for our new school. That’s all!’
Ivy sighed. Yeah, right. If her friend wasn’t ready to admit to her crush, then Ivy wasn’t about to humiliate her by pressing the point.
But as the line shuffled forwards, the entrance to the hair salon grew ominously close, like a whirlpool sucking in helpless sailors.
If I don’t think of something fast, Ivy thought, my best friend is going to make a horrible mistake. We don’t have much time!
We don’t have much time! Olivia had to bite back an Ivy-like growl of frustration, even as her dance partner dipped her in a romantic twirl. She had never endured such an awful dance. It wasn’t her partner’s fault – Will, Jackson’s body double, was a fabulous dancer. But she’d been trying to get back to Jackson, without any success, ever since Mr Harker had first started blaring 50s music on the yacht.
For some reason, Jackson seemed to be exempt to Mr Harker’s rule that everybody ‘get down’. Instead, he sat typing on his tablet device, as if the rest of the cast and crew weren’t spinning on the deck-turned-dance floor right in front of him.
Every time a new song ended, Olivia had made a move to cross the deck towards him. But – every time – she’d found another cast member walking into her path with a big smile and a hand held out to sweep her into the next dance. It was so smoothly done, she wondered if the whole thing had been choreographed!
As the latest song finished, she smiled and pulled away from Will as quickly as she could without being rude. She could feel Jackson’s presence at the edge of the deck, like a magnet pulling her towards him. Finally! She started towards him . . .
. . . and Mr Harker beckoned her over. ‘Olivia!’
Argh! As another track kicked in, Olivia forced herself not to let the annoyance show on her face. She couldn’t offend the studio boss . . . even if she was ready to scream at yet another interruption!
‘Yes?’ she said politely. ‘Did you want to dance?’
‘Ha!’ Mr Harker grinned. ‘Don’t sweat it.’ He glanced meaningfully at where Jackson sat on the edge of the deck, still typing on his tablet device. ‘I know exactly what busy bees are buzzing through your brain.’
‘Then why are you getting in my way?’ The words burst out of Olivia’s mouth before she could stop them. Horrified at her own loss of control, she clapped her hand over her mouth . . . but it was too late to take the words back. Way to tell him everything!
Harker smiled and leaned closer to whisper in her ear. ‘It’s a basic rule of storytelling, kiddo – the longer the audience is made to wait, the better it feels when the characters finally get what they want.’ As he straightened, he gave her an approving nod. ‘But you’re not the audience. Go get him!’
‘Thank you!’ Olivia breathed a sigh of relief as the studio boss made way for her with a dramatic, sweeping gesture.
Smoothing down her skirt, she started towards Jackson. At last! He was so focused on his tablet, he didn’t see her approaching.
Olivia pasted a confident smile on her face. I will make this happen. I will –
‘Aaah!’ She let out a cry as the ground moved beneath her feet, throwing her forwards. The yacht had lurched back into motion again at just the wrong time!
She landed straight on top of Jackson, knocking the tablet from his hand. As it crashed to the ground, she cringed. Smooth move, Olivia!
‘Sorry!’ She scrambled off him and reached for the tablet.
‘No!’ Jackson lunged forwards, almost knocking her aside. ‘Don’t!’
He grabbed the tablet from the deck and Olivia tried not to feel hurt. ‘I wouldn’t have dropped it,’ she told him. ‘I’m not that clumsy.’
‘That’s not what I . . .’ Jackson inspected it hastily, then clicked the power off and hid it behind his back
Olivia blinked. What is he trying to hide?
He collected himself, taking a deep breath and flashing his megawatt smile. ‘Anyway,’ he said, and gestured down the deck in front of them with his free hand. ‘Now that we’re moving again, do you want to have a last look at the view?’
Are we already that close to the end of the trip? Olivia fought down panic as she followed him around the weather deck. Up ahead, she could see the dock that signalled the end of their boat ride, coming closer and closer with every moment. Jackson pointed out landmarks, talked charmingly about the weather and the film . . . but he didn’t say a word – in any accent – about them.
Am I the only one being driven mad by this? Olivia wondered, forcing herself to smile and keep up her side of their conversation. All she could see, though, was the dock ahead of them. Look at it, she thought grimly, all beautiful and opulent. She had never before wanted anything so wonderful-looking to drift further and further away instead of closer!
Jackson was frowning at her. ‘So you think it’s a bad idea, then?’
‘Huh?’ Olivia snapped back out of her thoughts. Uh-oh. Jackson must have seen the look on her face, and thought it had been in response to something he’d said. But what had he been saying? She’d been so distracted she’d zoned out!
‘Um . . . I’m not sure,’ she hedged. ‘What do you think?’
‘Well, he seems OK to me,’ Jackson said slowly. ‘But I guess what I really wondered was, what you thought of him.’
Olivia’s mind was blank. Who are we talking about?