Olivia's Winter Wonderland by Lyn Gardner Page A

“I’m afraid it’s not nearly such a romantic explanation.”
    â€œHave you ever seen a theatre ghost, Gran?”
    Alicia shook her head. “I reckon that you have to believe in ghosts to see one, and I’m a committed non-believer.” Alicia looked serious for a moment. “Now, did Pablo find you? He says it’s not possible to rig the theatre for trapeze, and even tightrope-walking will probably be impossible for the panto.”
    â€œYes,” said Olivia. “He told us earlier. He says the roof isn’t strong enough. It’s a real shame about the circus stuff, but never mind, there’s still the panto horse.”
    Alicia frowned; she was quite surprised that Olivia had taken the news about the rigging so well, and she hadn’t realised her granddaughter had been serious about being the back end of a pantomime horse.
    â€œBut, Livy, I’ve read the script and
Cinderella
doesn’t have a pantomime horse in it.”
    â€œTrust me,” said Olivia, dancing away with a grin. “It will do.” She looked at the clock on her phone. “Gotta go, Gran. Come on, Tom, we’ve got to meet a man about a horse.”
    Alicia laughed. “OK, you mad twosome,” she said, before remembering something else. “Actually, before you go, I’ve been meaning to ask you about Katie.”
    Olivia and Tom turned round slowly.
    â€œI don’t want you to tell tales,” said Alicia. “But how’s she getting on with the other children? I’d like to know if things are really bad. I have had brief words with one or two who I thought might be giving her grief, but I want to be certain she’s not being singled out.”
    Alicia stopped. She could see from Olivia’s face that her granddaughter felt awkward, and she hated that she had put her in a difficult position.
    â€œKatie’s a survivor, Miss Swan. She’ll be OK,” said Tom brusquely, who like Olivia didn’t want to be seen as a snitch.
    â€œI’m sorry, clearly this is tricky for you,” said Alicia. “But I ask because the last couple of days I’ve got the distinct impression Katie wants to confess something to me but can’t quite bring herself to do it. I wondered whether she was being badly bullied, or if things had got much worse at home and she can’t cope. But if she won’t tell me what’s worrying her, I can’t help her.”
    She gazed hard at Olivia and Tom. “If somebody’s being bullied, it’s not snitching to say, you know.”

Chapter Ten
    Katie stood in the wings waiting for her turn to audition. She was the very last person on the list and only Olivia and Tom were left to go before her now. Her heart wasn’t in it but she had no choice because Miss Swan had insisted that Katie put her name forward for the panto, saying that it would be good experience for her to get up in front of her classmates and audition. “You’ve got to do it sometime,” Alicia had said kindly. “Best to get it over and done with.” Katie wished that it hadn’t arrived quite so quickly.
    Miss Swan clearly didn’t realise just how horrible Kylie and some of the other girls were being to her. Not in any big way: they just weren’t giving her a chance, but were dropping snide remarks and pretending she wasn’t in the roomwhen she was. Small-kid, primary-school stuff, really. When she had been the Queen of Mean she had been far more inventive in her nastiness. She’d had a special talent for it. There probably wasn’t a person in the class, particularly among the girls, who she hadn’t hurt or humiliated in some way. Now they were getting their own back on her. She knew it would probably pass, and she also knew she only had herself to blame.
    â€œI’m not taking no for an answer, Katie,” Miss Swan had said. “I’ve already added your name to the list of