“Right.”
“Here we are.” Sonya opened the door and led April down to the set of the queen’s chambers. “Much of the action happens here...at least the parts that involve us.”
“It all looks so real. These stone walls...”April reached out to touch the wall.
“Please don’t touch the sets.”
Startled, they both turned to see Betty coming up to them.
“Oh, my,” Sonya said. “You really startled us.”
“So, this is our new queen’s lady.”
“Yes, this is April. April, this is Betty, the director.”
“Pleased to meet you, Miss.”
Betty looked at April with an appraising eye. “You’re young. That usually mean inexperienced.”
“I could sing for you if you’d like,” April said. Fear was painfully evident in her eyes; fear of not being good enough.
Betty clucked her tongue and shrugged with chilling nonchalance. “Zwick already hired you. There’s nothing much I can do about it now. If you can’t sing, we’ll just have to dub you.” She turned on her heel and walked away. “And don’t touch the set!”
“Hmm,” April let out. “I don’t think she liked me very much.”
Sonya didn’t know what to say. She’d never seen Betty so harsh and rude. “Don’t worry,” she finally said. “These past days have been hard on her...you know...losing cast members, having Zwick hire people without her knowledge...all that. Give her a day or two and she’ll be fine. The minute she hears you sing, she’ll love you.”
Chapter 15
While Zwick had allowedfor a full week for April and Dr.Ang to prepare for their roles, Betty insisted on cutting that down to four days.
“If Zwick thought they were good enough to play these roles, surely they’re good enough to learn their parts quickly.”
With that, Sonya spent all her time working with the new cast members. She alternated between working on songs with April and working on what little dialogue Dr.Ang had.
“You’re a natural,” she told him after they’d gone over a particularly difficult and emotional scene. “I think Betty will be impressed.”
