doubt. “Drama, what else?”
“What else?” I repeated jokingly, in a sincere confirmation of his obvious talent... But, skilfully pretending that he had taken it for a serious question, Cardew used the chance to gently shift the talk towards his hobbies, and smiled with delight I could not possibly act cruel enough to destroy – he seemed so flattered by my interest in him – which was indeed unexpressed but ardently burning for real – that he must have been dead-confident that I would not humiliate or instantly reject him...
Well, he had once more assessed my personality amazingly precisely.
“What else? I’m keen on music, literature, history, and… some mysterious sciences,” an almost unnoticeable but careful glance of his checked how I would react to the last one.
Pleased, though not much surprised, I didn’t prevent my genuine smile from widening, thus letting him know that I was not a person who would straightforwardly reject divination as immoral or too unserious and random.
“So then the runes on your tablet do make sense,” I nodded with understanding and his hand instinctively reached for the metal medallion as if to protect it from my not malevolent but piercing eyes.
“To me they do,” he uttered a bit more quietly and opened the door of the hall for me.
“Oh, Frigga! I’m so glad to see you!” Mr Shelton rejoiced as I entered but, at his call, I hid my face in my palms with purposefully over-demonstrative tragedy.
“Freya!” I moaned through my clenched teeth with drama-amplified annoyance. “My name is Freya, not Frigga!”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” the producer apologized sincerely and took a smiling step towards us. “I will remember it, I promise!”
“It’s easy,” having stepped in right after me, so close that his chest was almost touching my back, Cardew winked innocently. “Freya is the goddess of beauty... Besides, she’s not frigid at all –”
“How would you know?!” irritated or rather embarrassed because everyone’s gazes fixed on me with sick gossipy intensity, I nagged at him above my shoulder so as not to blush, and he smiled imperturbably, with such mock-innocent serene confidence that I could only admire him.
“Well –”
“Can’t you please go on with your obviously successful trials to impress her later, Cardew?” Mr Shelton asked him with a hidden inoffensive smile. “You have enough time to discuss your relationship after the rehearsals!”
“We’re not into any kind of a relationship with each other!” I protested stubbornly and folded my arms on my chest like a spoilt child throwing a tantrum.
“You’re not,” the older man agreed, moving his eyes between Cardew and me with light amusement. “But you both wish you were. Never mind, meet the crew –”
The bewildering blaze of various radiant shades of envy – some ferocious and attacking while other just passively wishful – glared at me from the hostile-looking army the other part of the cast represented in a rather mild way, and that instantly made me expect a cloud of over-excited up to the point of fainting female adorers to surround Cardew in the next moment. In fact, I turned out quite right, as the first from the mentioned category darted forward before being asked, and stretched her hand for his while her eyes were assessing him with embarrassingly submissive admiration.
“So you are our star?” she grinned in a sugary, over-sweetish manner, and mechanically threw her straight sparse blond hair behind her shoulders
“What else?” I repeated jokingly, in a sincere confirmation of his obvious talent... But, skilfully pretending that he had taken it for a serious question, Cardew used the chance to gently shift the talk towards his hobbies, and smiled with delight I could not possibly act cruel enough to destroy – he seemed so flattered by my interest in him – which was indeed unexpressed but ardently burning for real – that he must have been dead-confident that I would not humiliate or instantly reject him...
Well, he had once more assessed my personality amazingly precisely.
“What else? I’m keen on music, literature, history, and… some mysterious sciences,” an almost unnoticeable but careful glance of his checked how I would react to the last one.
Pleased, though not much surprised, I didn’t prevent my genuine smile from widening, thus letting him know that I was not a person who would straightforwardly reject divination as immoral or too unserious and random.
“So then the runes on your tablet do make sense,” I nodded with understanding and his hand instinctively reached for the metal medallion as if to protect it from my not malevolent but piercing eyes.
“To me they do,” he uttered a bit more quietly and opened the door of the hall for me.
“Oh, Frigga! I’m so glad to see you!” Mr Shelton rejoiced as I entered but, at his call, I hid my face in my palms with purposefully over-demonstrative tragedy.
“Freya!” I moaned through my clenched teeth with drama-amplified annoyance. “My name is Freya, not Frigga!”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” the producer apologized sincerely and took a smiling step towards us. “I will remember it, I promise!”
“It’s easy,” having stepped in right after me, so close that his chest was almost touching my back, Cardew winked innocently. “Freya is the goddess of beauty... Besides, she’s not frigid at all –”
“How would you know?!” irritated or rather embarrassed because everyone’s gazes fixed on me with sick gossipy intensity, I nagged at him above my shoulder so as not to blush, and he smiled imperturbably, with such mock-innocent serene confidence that I could only admire him.
“Well –”
“Can’t you please go on with your obviously successful trials to impress her later, Cardew?” Mr Shelton asked him with a hidden inoffensive smile. “You have enough time to discuss your relationship after the rehearsals!”
“We’re not into any kind of a relationship with each other!” I protested stubbornly and folded my arms on my chest like a spoilt child throwing a tantrum.
“You’re not,” the older man agreed, moving his eyes between Cardew and me with light amusement. “But you both wish you were. Never mind, meet the crew –”
The bewildering blaze of various radiant shades of envy – some ferocious and attacking while other just passively wishful – glared at me from the hostile-looking army the other part of the cast represented in a rather mild way, and that instantly made me expect a cloud of over-excited up to the point of fainting female adorers to surround Cardew in the next moment. In fact, I turned out quite right, as the first from the mentioned category darted forward before being asked, and stretched her hand for his while her eyes were assessing him with embarrassingly submissive admiration.
“So you are our star?” she grinned in a sugary, over-sweetish manner, and mechanically threw her straight sparse blond hair behind her shoulders
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