‘Is something wrong?’
Even though her parents were at home, she turned to face him, leaning forward so he could hear her voice just above a whisper. ‘It’s not really common knowledge that she’s joining your drama club.’
‘You mean not common knowledge when it comes to your parents.’
Bridie sat back in her chair, looking at him with a mixture of surprise and bemusement. ‘You remember.’
‘Of course I remember. The times you said you were coming to my house to do homework when you were really at the school drama club.’
She hadn’t told Layla, when she’d come up with the idea to say she was round at a friend’s house doing homework when she’d be at drama club instead, that that’s exactly what she had done herself.
‘What was with your parents not letting you pursue your dream of becoming as stage actress?’
Bridie shrugged. She’d wondered that herself over the years. ‘They’d always disliked theatre for some reason. I couldn’t verywell say I was studying with Jack. They wouldn’t have believed me.’
‘What – the fact that you were with Jack, or the studying part?’
Bridie cocked her head to one side. ‘Really?’
‘Oh, right – the studying part.’
‘Of course, my parents would just have thought we were up to no good.’
‘I wish we’d got up to no good instead of studying.’
Bridie threw him a curious look. ‘Pardon?’
‘Oh, forget I said that.’
She couldn’t. She really did want to ask what he had meant.
Oliver said, ‘Hey, do you remember when drama class was cancelled, and we went out after school instead – you, me and Jack?’
Bridie nodded. Of course she remembered. It was one of those rare occasions when Oliver’s mum had been having some respite care and he hadn’t to feel guilty about leaving one of his younger half-siblings at home looking after her. Their dad had come to collect them for a sleepover, leaving Oliver on his own.
‘Do you remember where we went?’
‘Of course I remember. Back then I thought it was the most exciting night of our lives.’
Oliver grinned. ‘I’ll say. And probably the scariest.’
Bridie giggled. ‘I can’t believe we broke into the theatre.’
‘Like those urban explorers, going into abandoned buildings and putting it on YouTube. Although I wouldn’t exactly call it breaking and entering.’
‘Nah,’ agreed Bridie. ‘I remember that broken lock on the back door. It was kind of an open invitation to three teenagers with an evening to kill.’
They exchanged a smile.
‘Everyone’s talking about the theatre, of course,’ he said.
‘How come?’
‘Strange noises.’
Bridie frowned. ‘I didn’t hear anything when I stopped by earlier.’
‘Oh, you visited the theatre today?’
