‘Olive? You in there?’ The door opened abruptly and there stood Olive in her own clothes, a make-up wipe in her hand and her lipstick smeared across her chin. She quickly finished cleaning her facebefore throwing the wipe in the bin.
‘How are you changed already? Did I pass out for half an hour while you all got dressed?’ Olive let go of the door to slip on her boots but when Oscar followed her inside she glanced up at him and he backtracked the few steps he’d taken.
‘It’s called “under dressing”. Depending on the costume you have, you can probably get away with changing intosome of your own clothes in the interval and putting your costume back on over the top.’ She sniffed.
‘Olive, what’s wrong?’
‘Nothing.’ She wiped her nose on her cardigan sleeve as she pulled her purple rucksack onto her shoulder.
‘Olive…’ Oscar stepped forwards again, but she flicked her dressing room table lights off and took the weight of the door from him.
‘Honestly.’She gestured out into the hall.
‘Really?’ he asked her as she turned the key she’d left in the lock and slipped her index finger into the keyring loop. ‘You’re sticking with “nothing”?’
‘I don’t know what else to say.’ She shrugged.
‘How about the truth? Just talk to me. Tell me what’s going on.’
‘You already know! This!’ She flapped her hands around between them. ‘Meand you. It’s all so complicated and it’s just not… fun, Oscar. I hate feeling like I’m a secret. I hate hiding and I hate feeling the constant threat of your ex-girlfriend and her blindly loyal fans.’
‘I thought we sorted all this out, and we were okay? I thought…’
‘You thought wrong, Oscar. I don’t think you quite grasp what it feels like to be kept hidden like you’re somethingto be ashamed of. Andthen, when you see a brief glimmer of it changing, a glimmer in the form of a kiss on a train when anyone could be looking… that glimmer is then not only snuffed out, but you have to go so far as sorting out damage control? To attempt to cover up any trace of… well…me.’ Olive put the key back in the lock of her door and turned it.
‘What are you doing?’
‘I’mgoing in here to have a cry and you’re going to go out and have a drink with Tamara. You’re probably better off spending your time with her from now on. I’m sure she’ll gladly be your little secret.’ Olive walked into her darkened dressing room, slammed the door and, without even a thought to turning on the light, she slid down the back of the door onto the floor. Tears poured out of her and sheclamped a hand to her mouth, knowing Oscar would probably be able to hear her sobbing.
Oscar stood in the hallway, stunned, torn between waiting and trying to fix things or walking away, knowing there was little to be done. He could hear her faint sniffing and he knew nothing would dull the ache in his chest but he knew the best way to start was with a stiff drink or two.
