Falling From Grace: Student-Teacher Forbidden Romance

Chapter 58

[RECAP: Following his very favourable review of Leonie's performance in the school play, Figgy's theatre critic uncle has invited Leonie to lunch in London...]

It would be just Leonie's luck if she bumped into her grandmother in London. The restaurant they were going to was in the West End, not far from Covent Garden underground station.

Figgy met her at Paddington Station, having also caught a train up from the country. Leonie was very grateful to see her. She felt unaccountably nervous about the whole trip. She wasn't sure why, but somehow it all felt significant.

Figgy managed to greet Gabriel without too much embarrassment and he left for the British Museum, kissing Leonie goodbye.

"I can hardly believe I just saw that. How on earth will I look at him normally in class?" Figgy said. The she looked anxious. "You are alright, aren't you? I mean it is working out okay? Going for a weekend with a boy - a man - is quite a big step."

Leonie assured her she was fine. "It's just easy with him. I feel happy around him, and he's really amazing to me."

Satisfied for now, Figgy hailed a cab. Leonie had expected they would go by the tube, it felt kind of luxurious taking a black London taxi. It was a much better way to see the sights than stuck in a tunnel, though Leonie supposed a London bus would have offered the same advantage.

The restaurant, according to Figgy, was "teeming with theatre people. But don't stare," she warned.

Of course once she said this, Leonie found herself dying to spot some famous faces. Uncle Hugh was already there, seated at a table with another man. He had steel grey hair and a creased, intelligent face. Both men rose as Leonie and Figgy approached, and Hugh introduced his friend as Jack Edwards.

The usual polite greetings were made and inquiries about their journey. This was interrupted by a row breaking out between the maitre d' and an angry-looking young man. He looked very much the worse for wear even though it was only midday. "Don't you know who I am?" he was yelling.

"Do you have a booking, sir?"

"I don't need a damn booking, I just want a damn table."

He was eventually ushered out. The restaurant, which had frozen into silence as diners watched with bated breath, relaxed into the clink of cutlery and chatter once more.

"Who was that?" Figgy asked.

Jack Edwards spoke. "Just an actor who is going to wreck his career if he doesn't sort out his drinking problem."

The incident helped break the ice, and Leonie found herself enjoying the occasion. The food was great, there was a wonderful buzz in the atmosphere, and she was genuinely glad to see Uncle Hugh again.

"It was very kind of you to write such a favourable review," she told him.

Hugh broke off a piece of bread roll and buttered it. "It wasn't kindness at all. I meant every word." They got onto the subject of Boston, Leonie's home town, and how she had found the transition to St Winifred's.

Leonie ended up telling them about her various disasters, such as flashing her gym knickers and twisting her ankle, getting lost in a storm, as well as various cultural misunderstandings. She was a natural storyteller but something seemed to inspire her that day. She had the men roaring with laughter several times.

"Dear God, it sounds worse than St Trinian's," Jack said.

"The uniforms aren't quite as fetching, are they?" Leonie said to Figgy.

"Not quite, no."

They were onto the dessert course before Hugh got down to business. "St Winifred's school antics have nearly distracted me from my purpose in inviting you here. As you realise, I was surprised and extremely impressed by your performance in The Crucible. It was far beyond anything I would expect to see in a school production, and impressive even for a professional production. I happened to mention it to Jack here, and he was interested in meeting you."

Jack took over. "This is a bit out of the blue, I'm sure, but my company is producing a film that starts shooting next spring, and we're still looking to cast a couple of the roles. We have a few possibilities in mind, but nothing set in stone. I know it's short notice, but if you're available next week, I'd like you to take a screen test."

Having spent the first half of the meal barely able to stop talking, Leonie was now struck dumb. Figgy had to kick her under the table.

"Are you serious?" she asked. "I'm not actually an actress yet. I don't really have any experience other than school productions."

"From what Hugh tells me, you are certainly already an actress. I assume you don't have an agent, though? How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

Jack's face relaxed. "That's perfect, then. We can try you next week, and take it from there."

"Perfect?" Leonie was confused.

"You're not a minor. We don't need parental consent or a guardian or anything," Jack explained.

Leonie's mind was whirling. She was supposed to fly out on Sunday night. She had already postponed it once, could she do so again? Would her parents be furious?

"Can you tell me a bit about it, the script, I mean?" she asked.

It was a contemporary crime thriller being shot largely in Eastern Europe. There were drugs, a smuggling plot, political corruption. Two of the characters were a pair of English girls on a backpacking trip who got caught up in it all. Jack had Leonie in mind for one of these roles.

"Would I need to do an English accent?" Leonie asked, hoping she wasn't jumping the gun by her question.

"Not necessarily. There's no reason one of them couldn't be American, it wouldn't be much of a stretch. Can you do an English accent?"

Leonie gave a perfect imitation of Figgy's cut glass British tones. "I can certainly try, thanks to hearing little else over the past three months."

This caused more laughter, even from an embarrassed looking Figgy. "I'm sure I don't really sound like that," she said. "I had no idea you could mimic voices."

"I can't do them all, only some," Leonie said, lapsing back into her Boston accent.

She would definitely try to change her flight. Even if it meant losing the ticket and borrowing money to get a new one, she absolutely had to do this. Even if the chance of getting the role was slim.

She was dying to tell Gabriel. If nothing else, it meant she could spend a precious few more days with him.

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What if her parents freak out? Should Leonie go for the screen test anyway?