“It doesn’t matter,” he said, and pushed open another door. It led to the front of the school, where there was a separate theater, newly built in the former parking lot. Just as we were crossing the pavement, I heard someone call his name.
“Liam!”
He swore, and I realized it was a cameraman, approaching fast. Apparently, having left Hollywood or not, the paparazzi were always around. It made sense. He had been one of the biggest movie stars on the planet. And on top of that, many of the students had careers and TV credits that brought them some sort of fame outside the school. If the paparazzi wanted a photo of something, they had a good chance of getting it just by hanging around the front doors.
“Not now, please,” he said, barely turning around and taking me by the arm. He was increasing his pace towards the theater and I was struggling to keep up. “I’m trying to teach.”
“What’s your name?” The photographer called to me. I turned, gaping, and looked at Liam, who sighed and then shrugged.
“You know what? Fine. This is Amy, our full scholarship winner for this year. Amy was the best, out of thousands of hopefuls, and she and I will be playing opposite in Beauty and the Beast next term. That’s right, she and I.” He glared at the cameraman. “So take that, and write it in your paper, and publish a pretty photo, and if you give us so much as one out of focus picture or subpar review, I will make sure you are banned from school property and never get another picture again.”
And with that, Liam pulled me towards the new theater.
“Bloody leeches,” he said, shaking his head. “Always dying for a piece of drama.”
I felt like I was going to faint again, Liam’s words spinning in my head.
“I’ll be Beauty?” I said, and he met my eyes.
“Well, you’ll be my Beauty, of course. It was always going to be the scholarship winner, providing she was old enough.”
I leaned against the wall, and concern clouded his face.
“Are you alright? Do you need anything?” He bent to my level, a gentle hand on my shoulder.
“Something to eat maybe?”
I flushed bright red at the attention, and shook my head.
“No, you just surprised me. I’ve never acted before, you know that, right? And you’re…”
“Amy, I promise I’ll work with you every step of the way,” he said. “Every actor is only as good as his partner.”
“But won’t the other students be angry? The ones who have been here longer?”#p#分页标题#e#
He laughed at that, shaking his head. “No. One of the lessons we teach here is that there are so many variables when getting a part, including things you can’t control. Don’t worry about them.”
“That’s easy to say until they eat me,” I said, and he laughed at that, a slow and easy laugh that made me join him.
“The only one you have to worry about eating you is me, if you become delinquent.” He said, leading me towards the stage.
“What…uh…paper did he work for?” I asked, indicating the paparazzi that we left outside. Liam smiled.
“Your first piece of fame. Of many, I think. Don’t worry, I’ll find out and get you a few copies.”
“Thanks,” I replied, looking around the stage. I couldn’t believe all of this was happening, that it was actually real. “I didn’t want all of that, though. I mean, it’s cool, but it doesn’t matter.”