Dark Secrets 2: No Time to Die; The Deep End of Fear by Elizabeth Chandler Page B

of the rustics."
    "Congrats!" I turned to Tomas. "Did you get a part?"
    "Not even understudy," he said with relief. "I'm head of scenery and props. This is going to be great. Want to eat? I sure do."
    "You go ahead. There's something I have to take care of. tell Shawna and Lynne I'll catch up with you at the theater."
    Tomas walked on happily and I retreated to the porch of Drama House. From there I watched the four houses empty out. When it looked as if everyone had seen the posting and gone on to breakfast, I headed back to Stoddard. At the door I stopped to check the list. Mike had gotten the role of the lover Demetrius, Paul was Oberon, the jealous king of the fairies, and Keri, his queen, Titania. I—under my new "stage name," Jenny Baird—was listed next to Puck. Liza would have been astonished.
    When I entered the building I heard voices coming from a distance down the hall. One of them, Walker's, bristled with irritation.
    "You've always got an excuse."
    "I asked for a ladder," came the quiet reply. "Asked for it last Friday. When I get it, I'll do the job."
    "I want it done now, Arthur."
    I followed the voices past a series of doors marked Women's Dressing Room, Wardrobe, and Props, and reached the corner of the building, where the hall made a right-angle turn. Rounding the bend, I came upon Walker standing in an office doorway, his hands on his hips, a scowl on his face. He was talking to a man whose streaky hair was either blond turning gray or gray turning yellowy white. His veined hands had a slight tremor. Suddenly aware of me, he glanced back nervously.
    "You don't need a ladder to get to the catwalk," Walker continued. "I told you before, there are rungs on the wall."
    I tried to imagine this fragile man climbing the rungs to a narrow walkway hanging thirty feet above the stage. I had seen custodians like him before: tired, emotionally worn men just trying to get to the end of each day.
    "tell your boss I want to speak with him," Walker went on. "I'm tired of the crap they're sending me for custodians. You're worse than the last guy."
    The custodian took a step back. "Yes, sir, I'll tell 'im. And maybe he'll climb up those rungs," he added. "You and him together."
    I fought a smile. Arthur was tougher than he looked.
    He walked away, his pale blue eyes glancing at me as he passed.
    "Miss Baird," Walker said, "we don't meet til eight-thirty."
    "I wanted to talk to you about the casting. I can't play Puck—you know I can't and you know why."
    He cocked his head. "I'm afraid I don't. You do gymnastics."
    "Yes, but—"
    "Don't you ever compete?"
    I shifted my weight from foot to foot. "Well, yes, I'm on the school team, but—"
    "Performance is performance," he said. "If you can do one, you can do the other." He turned to go back in his office. "Now, if you don't mind, I—"
    "I do mind," I said, following him in. "I need you to listen."
    He sat in his chair and checked notes on his desk. He didn't look too interested in listening.
    "We are talking about two different things," I explained. "When I compete in gymnastics, the performance is on a gym floor, not up on a stage. I don't see a sea of strange faces looking up at me. I'm not in a spotlight—the gym is fully lit. And any butterflies I get are over as soon as I start, because I can shut everyone out.
    Now he was attentive.
    "I don't have to interact with other actors. I'm not supposed to respond to the audience. I seal them out and concentrate on my routine."
    "Concentration is essential in theater as well,"
    Walker said. "You already have tremendous energy and instinctive stage presence. I am going to teach you to transfer your ability from gymnasium to theater. You'll be doing your gymnastics as Puck, giving Puck quickness and strength, making him lighter than air. Oh, yes, you'll do well."
    "Maybe in rehearsal," I argued. "But I told you—"
    "You mystify me, Miss Baird," he interrupted. "I checked your application last night. Unlike my friend Tomas,