She dashed inside and searched for familiar faces, before spotting them and shooting over to the empty seat in a row with her grandad and Alyssa at one end, Jessie and Georgie at the other end, and most of the Once Upon A Time café customers in the middle. Moira had clearly been unable to refuse any of the villagers’ requests for tickets.
She leaned across Grandad to hiss to her sister. ‘Alyssa, do you have a power bank?’
Her sister was the most organised person on earth. Ginny was pretty sure she could ask for a tape measure, a roll of Sellotape and a portable curling iron and Alyssa would produce them from the backpack she carried everywhere.
Her sis didn’t disappoint this time either. She fished a power bank out of her backpack, and handed it over, letting Ginny plug her phone in to charge. Hopefully, there would be a quick break at some point to allow her to nip out and call Carl Boddins back.
In the meantime, she tried to calm herself down by absorbing the buzz in the room.
Over in the front row to the side of the stage were Ollie, Calvin and Moira, and then a few of the other coaches. The celebrities that regularly supported the Academy were there too. Odette Devine, the queen of the Scottish soapThe Clydesidefor over forty years before she retired, and still one of Calvin’s closest friends. Rex Marino, a famous Glasgow-born actor turned reality sensation that Ginny had, in truth, always thought was a bit of a self-satisfied tosser. Casey Lowen, star of the biggest show on Paramount right now. Ginny knew that Casey and Ollie had a brief romance after his divorce and before he met Stevie, but now they were just great mates and Casey was always happy to pitch in on the Academy shows. Then there was Caden, of course. She’d wondered if he would come and sit with her family, but he’d clearly chosen the seat that came with the spotlight. Even though she was mad at him, she didn’t blame him for that. Having his face there was good for the Academy. And for him, of course.
Her gaze then went to front and centre, where she could see a whole row of her students. Amelia. Aila. Jack. Liam. Ahmed. And a dozen others. She could see lovely Ava Strang there too, as always, a little more serious than the others. Sometimes, Ginny thought that girl carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. For a second, Ginny wondered if there was something wrong because Ava was scanning the back of the room looking anxious.
She thought about running down to check on her, but just at that moment, Ollie took to the stage. No one would ever know that he was dealing with a whole broken heart situation because he was a total pro who put his game face on as he delivered an emotional introduction that had Ginny struggling to hold it together. She adored that man in the most platonic of ways. And she loved this Academy and the community they’d built here. No matter what happened next, this would always be a most special chapter in her life.
Just a few moments later, the theatre lights died. Ginny’s heart stopped, as she feared another electrical fail, but no… there on the huge cinema screen at the back of the stage, a live Netflix feed of a show that could change so many of their futures burst into life.
8P.M. – 10P.M.
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. AsThe 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.
