12
Samantha slipped into the back of the high school auditorium and was suddenly assailed by a hundred memories. Even the way the room smelled—some sort of mix of greasepaint, wood shavings from the set design and the mustiness of old costumes—seemed familiar. So did the giddy sense of anticipation and nerves she could feel emanating from the stage.
It was in an auditorium much like this one where she’d honed her skill and developed her love of live theater. TV, modeling and all the rest took a backseat in her heart compared to the immediacy of being onstage in front of an audience.
She smiled as the girl onstage succumbed to a bad case of nerves, her mind obviously going blank as she stared into the darkened auditorium with a hint of panic in her expression. Samantha could relate. At that age, she’d suffered her share of memory lapses.
An impatient voice from the wings fed the girl the right line. Even with that help, the teen looked vaguely lost, then stumbled over her next line, as well.
“Let’s take a minute,” Mrs. Gentry called out, then stood up and turned away from the stage, probably to keep herself from saying something she’d regret to the obviously unprepared student.
She must have spotted Samantha standing in the shadows, because a smile broke across her face and she immediately headed up the aisle.
“There you are,” she said excitedly. “I didn’t mention to the students that you might be stopping by because I was afraid something would come up and you wouldn’t make it.”
“You mean I had a choice?” Samantha said lightly. “It didn’t sound that way when I saw you.”
“Sometimes my command performance approach works. Sometimes it lets me down,” the drama teacher replied. “Anyway, I’m delighted you’re here. If you’ve been here long, you know it’s been a tough afternoon. The kids could use a pep talk.”
“Your lead seems to be having trouble with her lines.”
Mrs. Gentry shook her head. “She tries. She really does, but the truth is, Sue Ellen’s not cut out for the pressure. I’m not even sure why she tries out for every play, except for the accolades that might come her way or this competitive thing she has with one of the other girls.” She sighed heavily, then confided, “I probably made a mistake casting her.”
Samantha regarded her with surprise. “Then why did you?”
“Long story and one that doesn’t show me in a very good light,” the long-time drama teacher said. “Ethan Cole certainly took me to task for it.”
Ah, Samantha thought. This was the situation he’d been so worked up over a few days ago. “Is Ethan involved with the school?”
“No, not officially. That didn’t stop him from coming by to tell me just how terrible my casting decision had been. He was quite passionate about it.”
“He thought someone else deserved the role?” Samantha asked, trying to fit the pieces together.
Before Mrs. Gentry could answer, a girl hesitantly approached them. “Mrs. Gentry, Sue Ellen’s in the restroom throwing up. Do you want to cancel the rest of the rehearsal?” She gave Samantha a curious look, then asked with surprising directness, “Do I know you?”
“Samantha used to spend her summers in Sand Castle Bay,” Mrs. Gentry explained. “Now she works in New York.”
The teen’s eyes lit up. “On TV!” she said excitedly. “You were on one of my mom’s soaps that she used to tape before it went off the air.”
“I had a couple of small soap parts,” Samantha confirmed.
“You got killed off. My mom hated that.”
“I wasn’t thrilled about it, either,” Samantha said.
“Cass, this is Samantha Castle,” Mrs. Gentry said. “Samantha, this is Cass Gray. She’s working as my assistant and Sue Ellen’s understudy in this production.”
Samantha didn’t miss the grimace that passed over the girl’s face at the mention of her role as an understudy. She held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Cass.”
Only when Cass didn’t grasp her hand did she notice the prosthesis she was wearing. Samantha pulled her hand back, embarrassed.
Instantly the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. This girl was one of Ethan’s protégés. She had to be. And he’d apparently felt she’d been robbed of the lead role, most likely because of her arm, Samantha concluded. If that was the case, no wonder he’d taken Regina Gentry to task.
“So, are we canceling rehearsal or what?” Cass asked, her cheeks flushed after that momentary awkwardness when Samantha had held out her hand.
“We’ll put it on hold, but gather everybody down front,” the teacher instructed. “Samantha’s going to give a little talk about her experiences to the group. You all can ask questions about what it’s like to be a working actress.”
“Really?” Cass said, her expression animated. “Gimme five minutes. I’ll corral everyone, even Sue Ellen.”
Mrs. Gentry nodded. “Perfect. Thank you.”
Samantha kept her gaze on Cass as she hurried away. “Is she any good?” she asked Mrs. Gentry. “Cass, I mean.”
“She’s excellent,” the teacher admitted. “And, yes, that was the mistake I made, leaving her out of the production because of her arm. I should have been more open-minded. Ethan made sure I saw that. Of course, I couldn’t very well take the part away from Sue Ellen at that point. Cass has been a surprisingly good sport about being her understudy, even though we all know she’s the better actress. I’m ashamed to say I lost sight of that.”
“At least you’re able to admit you made a mistake,” Samantha said.
“I’m not sure that’s much comfort to Cass.”
“Perhaps not, but learning that adults do make mistakes and that they need to own up to them isn’t a bad lesson.”
But even as she let the teacher off the hook for what she’d done to that vulnerable girl, Samantha’s mind was sorting through ways she could maybe reach out and make things better.
* * *
After leaving the high school, Samantha stopped by the gallery to see Gabi. Though her sister was in
