Tagline: Lydia lives for acting — but is she prepared to die for it?
Back tagline: Leo: Dramatic, loves the spotlight
Summary: Lydia loves to perform. As an actress, she’s the best. Until her home is robbed. Until she’s almost run over by a car. Until she gets upstaged.
Someone wants to hurt Lydia. Someone jealous of her success. Someone driven by an urge beyond their control.
First impressions: Since it’s my birthday month and I don’t think I have any un-recapped birthday themed books, we’re doing an astrology one. I once heard or read something that said Leos don’t believe in astrology, so now I always say “I’m a Leo and Leos don’t believe in astrology” whenever the topic is bought up. It’s a fun little paradox that often goes over people’s heads, but oh well. I guess I believe in astrology a bit, but horoscopes I’m a bit iffy about because they’re all so generic that I could read any star sign’s and still find relevance to my life.
But anyway, let’s talk about the book. From what I can tell online, there’s another set of covers for this series that have a lead character’s face on a black background with some presumably relevant object in the foreground, but only the first four books were printed with these. The rest of the series, and including the first four books, have these uninspired blue covers with strong Microsoft clipart vibes. Unluckily for me, I have the boring blue cover for Stage Fright, and it also seems the most bland of them all.
As for the blurb, it’s short and simple and sounds like we’ll have a classic stalker plot. Hopefully there’ll be some murders and/or some surprises thrown in, but we’ll see. The back of the book also boasts that Leo is the fifth Zodiac, so I have no idea why it’s first in the series. Kind of confusing, and probably would have been annoying to collect in the ’90s because I 100% would have assumed this is the fifth book in the series.
Let’s read!
Recap:
Meet the crew:
Lydia – Our egocentric protagonist who lives for the stage.
A.J. – Lydia’s dumpy best friend who harbours some resentment.
Robin – Lydia’s other bestie who’s clearly gay but is actually straight.
Eric – Lydia and A.J. ‘s crush.
Page – The new girl in town and Lydia’s number one fan.
Keenan – Lydia’s ex-boyfriend who isn’t a big fan of hers.
Jill – Keenan’s new girlfriend and fellow actress.
Garrett – The theatre’s unfriendly technical director.
Bill – The theatre’s director who has a love-hate relationship with Lydia.
Oh cute, the first page we have somewhat of a generalisation of Leos accompanied by an extra little blurb sort of thing about the book:
Dramatic. Loves the spotlight and adored by one and all. Has to be the centre of attention. Ambitious and self-confident. Flamboyant dresser. Over-the-top Leo brags too much, is a show-off who thinks everything should revolve around her. Leo’s outrageous exterior hides a noble, generous nature.
Lydia is the star of the Dallas Youth Theatre. She’s the best and she knows it. But there is someone who seeks success even more than Lydia. Someone who is prepared to kill for it.
[OK well half of that Leo summary definitely applies to me, but the rest doesn’t. Maybe I’ll be converted to astrology by the end of the book!] The story begins as the lights go down for the final time on the Dallas Youth Theatre’s last performance of My One and Only, where our heroine Lydia Crenshaw, has relished playing the lead role. Despite her daily horoscope warning that Leos should steer clear of the spotlight today, closing night went off without a hitch. A born performer, Lydia’s been singing, dancing, acting and playing instruments, etc. since she was a little girl, and she’s loved every second of it. She absolutely adores being on stage and entertaining people, and would even perform at home when her parents had guests over. Before their divorce, of course. Her mother had told Lydia years ago its her destiny to be a big star because she’s a Leo, [???] and Lydia believes it’s true because ‘a lot of famous actors are Leos.’ [A lot of famous actors are every other star sign, too. This means nothing, Lydia] In fact, she’d even heard that more actors were Leos than any other sign! [Is this a true fact? Who would even think to track that?]
This production had been quite demanding because Lydia’s been starring opposite Keenan Taylor, who’d started booking TV commercials recently and has developed a ballooning ego. He’s also her ex-boyfriend and it’d been an intense relationship. They met two years ago during auditions for The Music Man and almost immediately began dating, but after getting a talent agent, Keenan’s success and tall-and-blonde handsome looks went directly to his head, and he started cheating on Lydia. Unlike the majority of YA horror girls, she knows her worth and ended things immediately, ‘shaking the high school theatre community.’ [Yeah, I’m sure it made national headlines]
Stage manager and good friend Anna Jo Gender, who goes by A.J., instructs everyone to get ready for curtain call. A.J.’s worked on many productions and makes it look easy, ‘even if she ate too much junk food in the process.’ [Is this Jahnna’s way of saying she’s fat without actually saying she’s fat?] The girls are best friends, despite their different personalities; Lydia’s full of emotions while A.J. is very matter-of-fact. As Lydia waits for her cue, she remembers how she and Keenan had fought so often in rehearsals, and how director Bill Glover would always take Keenan’s side. Bill had wanted his untalented daughter Elizabeth to play the lead, but the producer of the Dallas Youth Theatre quickly axed that idea, and Bill seems to have some animosity towards Lydia as a result.
Despite all this, the three put their differences aside and pulled together a hit show, one that Lydia wishes could go on forever. A.J. doesn’t like that idea because she has to do all the tedious behind-the-scenes stuff, but she’s looking forward to Evita, the next scheduled show, and she’s confident Lydia will be cast as the lead. Lydia tries to be modest, but deep down she knows she’s the best actress in the company, so the role is as good as hers. Finally, it’s time for Lydia to take her bow on stage, and just like every other night of this production, she gets a standing ovation from the crowd.
Afterwards, Robin McCready, the show’s clearly gay designer and Lydia’s self-proclaimed most honest friend, tells her she was brilliant tonight. He’s very theatrical with his admiration, prompting their classmate and the Youth Theatre’s technical director, Garrett Hughes, to ask them to calm down. He acts more like a middle aged man than a teenager and definitely seems like a bit of a wet blanket. He tells them to hurry up and clear the area so he and his team can take the set apart, so Robin scurries off to the green room where the wrap party is being held while Lydia heads for her dressing room to put on her party clothes. She’d spent weeks trying to find the perfect outfit because ‘what she wore and how people treated her was almost as important as the play’ and ‘if you want to stay a leading lady, you have to act like one.’ [Girl, it’s a cast/crew party, calm down] Now because of how important she’s making this out to be, you might expect that Lydia exchanges her costume for a beautiful, elegant gown or something worthy of a red carpet, but you would be wrong. Instead, she wears a ‘ultra-short leather skirt’, high heels, a sheer silk blouse and red chiffon scarf.
Finally, she spikes her short auburn hair dramatically and heads out of the dressing rooms onto the stage, avoiding the trapdoor because she’s scared of falling through, even though it’s closed. She stops on stage to mourn the set as its taken apart and is quickly confronted by Garrett, who tells her to go back to her dressing room once his crew is done with the set and return her own costume to the wardrobe department. She offers to do it now, but Garrett insists she do it after they’re done and orders her to leave. On her way to the green room, she stumbles across Keenan making out with his new girlfriend, Jill, in a dark hall. Jill’s a sophomore at school and was one of the musical’s lead dancers. She’d done a good job, but Lydia isn’t about to tell her that! Humiliated by catching her ex and his new girlfriend in the act, Lydia finally arrives at the party, stops in the doorway and throws her long red scarf over her shoulder for emphasis. As she’d wanted, the party comes to a stop as everyone applauds her.
When the praise dies down, Lydia notices that A.J. has a plate full of food. She’s a typical techie, going without food for two days and then gorging herself on junk. ‘No wonder she struggled with her weight.’ [Ah, there it is] With all the couples around the room, Lydia’s feeling a little lonely, until she locks eyes with major hunk Eric, who she hasn’t seen at the theatre before but recognises from high school, the John Connally High School for the Performing Arts. Before she can talk to him, director Bill appears and wraps her in a hug, gushing over how good she was tonight — ‘”Everything you’ve done on this stage before was trite and amateurish compared to your portrayal of Edith tonight.”‘ [Lol, drag her] It’s just like Bill to give a compliment with an insult, but Lydia hopes he really was impressed because he’ll be directing Evita and she really wants that role. He tells her he left a token of appreciation for all her hard work in her dressing room before disappearing into the crowd.
Robin wants to know what that was all about, and wonders if Bill had been trying to upstage the gift he’d left for her — ‘”I signed it, ‘Your secret admirer’. I hope you don’t mind.”‘ [Wait, is Robin not gay?] Something about the words ‘secret admirer’ makes her turn toward Eric, sexily standing against the wall sipping a soda in his Doc Martens, black jeans and black shirt. [Oh, did Eric leave the gift and Robin just jokingly took credit? I’m confused] A showtune comes on and Lydia and Robin start ballroom dancing before a crowd of delighted onlookers. Eric’s also watching, but his expressions seems to be calling her a show-off.
A slow ballad starts playing and Lydia drifts away from Robin in the crowd, hoping to lure Eric over to her, but A.J. intercepts because she wants Lydia to meet someone. A.J. leads her over to a dishwater blonde girl wearing a ’50s cotton party dress with ankle socks and strappy shoes, and Lydia’s first impression is that this girl would never be noticed unless someone was to run over her. [Do you want me to like you, Lydia?] The girl is Page Adams, her biggest fan; she’s been to every performance of the current show just to watch Lydia! Lydia’s genuinely flattered and is shocked when Page tells her she’d left a brooch that belonged to her grandmother in Lydia’s dressing room for her. [Weird] Lydia begrudgingly accepts the gift because Page absolutely insists, and she wonders how Page has managed to see every performance.
Page admits she’s new in town and has no friends, but has always loved the theatre, so came to opening night on a whim and has seen every show since. She did a little acting in her hometown, but nothing serious. As Page begins to babble about her previous roles, Lydia remembers Eric and bluntly cuts her off, lying that she’d love to chat but she’d promised her friends… she doesn’t finish that sentence because Page cuts her off, telling her she doesn’t have to explain and walking off with a sad look on her face. Lydia feels guilty [Good] and suggests Page come to the next meeting for the Youth Theatre’s drama club, and Page excitedly accepts the offer.
As Lydia and A.J. walk away, A.J. chides her for inviting Page to join the club when they don’t even know her, but Lydia thinks it’s a good idea because Page is new and needs to meet some friends. A.J. heads over to the punch table, so Lydia takes the chance to introduce herself to Eric. He immediately tells her a bunch of them are going out for a late supper and invites her along and, not wanting to seem too eager, Lydia tells him she’ll check with her ride, A.J. They agree to meet in the parking lot and Lydia finds A.J. to tell her the new plan for the night. She assures A.J. it’s not a date and Eric had invited both of them; in fact, he’d specifically asked Lydia to ask A.J.! A little white lie won’t hurt, especially if it makes A.J. feel good! [Not Lydia getting A.J.’s hopes up when she’s clearly going to go for Eric herself, too. Bitch]
Before they go, A.J. reminds Lydia to go get her purse from the dressing room. She decides to cut through the stage rather than take the halls, since it’s quicker, and finds that the lights aren’t working; even the ghost light isn’t on. She apparently knows the stage’s layout by heart so continues on, and ends up stepping right into nothingness. [Presumably the trapdoor… If she knew the stage by heart, wouldn’t she know where to avoid? She doesn’t step on the trapdoor when the room’s lit up because she’s worried she’ll fall through, so why would she do it in complete darkness? Lydiot!]
She’s roused from unconsciousness by Eric’s dulcet voice and finds herself on a couch in the prop room surrounded by the cast and crew. She hurts all over and isn’t sure what happened, so Eric explains that they’d heard a scream and came to check it out. There was enough light coming from the green room that he could see her holding on for dear life, and he quickly pulled her to safety. [Enough light for him to see her hanging from a trapdoor, but not enough light for her to see the open trapdoor? Okeh] Luckily for her, Lydia’s scarf had snagged a plank on the stage floor, “or you would have dropped all the way to the concrete below.”‘ She’s lucky she didn’t hang herself! [Wait, she was she hanging by her neck?] She assures everyone she’s OK, just a bit bruised and battered, and A.J. admits she feared the worst when she saw Eric struggling to free her after the lights came back on. Garrett was the one who turned the lights on, claiming to have been up in the booth reprogramming the board when he heard Lydia’s scream. [OK, so he’s our red herring]
Director Bill is glad her injuries aren’t more serious and decides the trapdoor being left open was a stupid mistake someone’s made, and Keenan jokes ‘”If this was a made-for-TV movie, people would think someone was trying to do away with Lydia.”‘ [Well, I don’t think they’d think that after one incident. I think more needs to happen before anyone should be suspecting foul play. He’s definitely right, but it’s too early for the characters to be thinking that, ya know? Keenan is suss] Lydia doesn’t understand because the play’s over, but Keenan reckons someone might be trying to take her out of the running for the lead in Evita. Bill thinks he’s just being dramatic, but Keenan warns that Lydia should probably watch her step. [Why you being so suss, Keenan?]
After being checked out by paramedics and given the all-clear, Eric escorts Lydia out of the theatre and helps her into A.J.’s car. He thanks A.J. for inviting him tonight, and Lydia asks her about it as they head off. A.J. raves about how smart and handsome and humble he is, which she knows because she’s got a few classes with him. Lydia agrees that he’s a dreamboat, and A.J. immediately pulls over and tells Lydia to stay away from Eric because she wants him. Lydia points out that A.J. didn’t even go near him tonight, but A.J. explains she was just nervous. She was much more relaxed by the end of the night and thinks she and Eric would have had a great time at the restaurant if Lydia hadn’t fallen:
“Oh, come on, A.J., you—” Lydia bit her lip, stopping herself before she said anything too mean.
A.J.’s eyes brimmed with tears. “I know what you’re thinking. Why would a boy like Eric like somebody like me? Well, there’s more to life than looking like a model and having to be the centre of attention all the time.”
Lydia winced. “Is that what you think about me?”
[Yeah, I’m not liking Lydia] A.J. assures her that that’s what everyone thinks about her because she’s so self-centred, and A.J. just wishes she would think about someone else for once. [Get her!] Lydia insists she can’t help it; ‘”I’m a Leo. Leos crave the spotlight.”‘ [Girl, shut the fuck up hahahahahaha]
I can’t help but smirk as A.J. snaps that she’s sick of hearing about Lydia being a Leo, [#TeamA.J., Lydia sounds insufferable as a friend] because Capricorns ‘”have feelings and creative thoughts, and need some attention, too.”‘ [Ugh, don’t you start] Stung by her friend’s hard truths, Lydia hurts her right back, telling A.J. to do something about herself if she wants attention. She also reminds A.J. that she spent the whole night at the catering table, spilling food all over herself; ‘”Very attractive. That’s a sure-fire way to get a boyfriend.”‘ [A.J., why are you friends with this girl? She clearly likes to have you around to make herself look even better by comparison] Understandably upset, A.J. can see why someone would leave the trapdoor open for Lydia, and wishes she’d broken her neck. [Oop, maybe a bit too far, A.J. But you’re upset so I’ll give you a pass x] They drive the rest of the way to Lydia’s house in silence, and neither says a word when Lydia jumps out of the car.
The next chapter begins with a Leo horoscope warning that something totally unexpected will happen today; it could be great or it could be awful, but Leos should play it cool and ‘let your dignity rule the day.’ It’s Sunday night and Lydia’s struggling to get to sleep, replaying the accident and A.J.’s words over and over again. [So was that horoscope for Sunday? Why is it it there if we’re jumping to beditme?] If A.J. was right and somebody did want Lydia to fall, that person would have had to make sure Lydia would cross the stage alone. Garrett had been overbearing and demanded she take her own costume to wardrobe, so he’s a suspect. She has a love-hate relationship with director Bill, and he’d left something for her in the dressing room; she’d never found out what it was. Robin had also left some flowers from a secret admirer, [OK, so Robin delivered the flowers from someone else then?] and new girl Page had also left a brooch there for Lydia. A.J. had pretty much ordered her to go get her purse, too, and could Keenan possibly have done it? She eventually tells herself to stop suspecting everyone because Bill was right, no-one is out to get her.
Lydia oversleeps the next morning and manages to get to her locker at school, looking like a slob, just as the bell rings. Unfortunately, when she opens it, the content spills out all over the floor, and it’s witnessed by super-hunk Eric. He kindly helps her clean it up, commenting on the bad day she’s having by the looks of things. She tells him how her daily horoscope today said something totally unexpected to happen, [So it was Monday’s horoscope, but we saw it on Sunday night. I guess maybe the horoscope schtick is more of a guideline to how the chapter will go] and he says it’s obvious she’s a Leo because she’s in theatre. [Lol, so does everyone in this book have a vast knowledge of star signs? This isn’t realistic, Jahnna!] She guess that he’s a Virgo, but he corrects that he’s an Aries with his moon in Virgo, [I don’t know what any of this means] and Lydia knows from her book about star signs that Aries and Leos are very compatible. [Please, Jahnna, I don’t want to hear about star signs every two pages 😭 ]
He wants to hear what else her horoscope said, and she’s more than happy to oblige, then complains that it’s not just the locker that’s giving her a hard time today; she left her homework at home, has a test later she knows she’ll blow because she’s been more focused on her theatre work than studying, and her parents are also fighting again. Eric thought her parents were divorced, which she’s never told him, and he confesses he’d bugged A.J. until she gave him the briefest of details about Lydia. [And she mentioned her parents’ divorce? Why would that be relevant at all?] A.J. also told him that Lydia’s an amazing actresses and is one of the world’s greatest friends, [Not from what I’ve seen! This is such a weird combo of things to tell someone about someone else. Like, these are really what A.J. thinks is important for Eric to know? That Lydia’s a great friend, amazing actress, and her parents are divorcing? ] and Lydia realises they must have had the conversation before Saturday night, when the girls had fought.
Eric empathises with Lydia because his parents split when he was seven. He likes his stepdad enough, but ‘”he thinks the arts is for weirdos and losers.”‘ [No, it’s for Leos, remember!] Lydia’s basically orgasming because they’re talking and tells him all about her parents’ recent divorce, which wasn’t amicable. Dad’s already moved in with his girlfriend, while Mum and Lydia had to move to a dump because that’s all Mum can afford. She’s never told anyone this and apologises for whining, but Eric doesn’t mind because it shows that she’s human and not as perfect as she always seems. Lydia comments that he seems pretty great too, and I guess he takes it as an insult because he replies that it’s hard for him to be doing this, getting acquainted and ‘”trying to figure out if a person I’m interested in is equally…” He stops himself, explaining that all he means is she shouldn’t try to be perfect all the time because imperfection is nice and it makes her not so intimidating.
Eric then starts to sift through the remaining trash from her locker that’s still on the floor, including an old lunch bag that reeks and a dirty leotard, and she reminds him that he likes a little imperfection. Eric also finds a Barbie doll dressed up as the character Lydia played in the recent play, but Lydia’s never seen it before, and to their horror, someone’s pierced its stomach with a tiny dagger! Lydia thinks it’s some kind of voodoo doll, but Eric suggests it’s just a sick joke. “Like the trap door?” Lydia counters, but before they can discuss it much, a door down the hall opens and a bunch of students wearing strange costumes and masks come dancing down the hall around them. They’re from Lydia’s advanced mask-making class [That’s a class?] and it’s part of their study of the characters from the 16th century commedia dell’arte. Lydia’s supposed to be with them because it’s their final day, and Robin, in character, takes her by the hand and comments on finding his little Columbina out here ‘”with a handsome Inamorato.”‘ Eric’s obviously uncomfortable with all the play-acting going on [Or is he homophobic?!] and scurries off to his own class, but Lydia tries to follow him because things feel incomplete. Robin reminds her it’s a group project and she’s ruin it for everyone if she doesn’t take part, so she stuffs the murdered Barbie into her locker and takes her mask out, then dances down the hall with the rest of her class. She hopes to catch a glimpse of Eric as she rounds a corner, bur he’s nowhere to be seen, which strikes her as weird. [God knows why, because weren’t directly behind him]
We jump to Wednesday now, with today’s horoscope advising that someone is lying to the Leo, ‘but it is such a sweet deceit that you are completely befuddled.’ The lie might be harmless, so Leos shouldn’t blow their fuse, but should ‘sift your information carefully.’ [Okeh, thanks] It’s evening, and Lydia’s just arriving at the coffee house for the theatre club’s regular meeting, but Garrett stops her at the door, wanting to talk in private. He’s certain that the trapdoor was left open on purpose because after her fall he returned to the lighting booth to reprogram the board, and discovered the whole electrical system had been tampered with. [So why is he bringing it up now instead of when it happened? Because he went back and turned the lights on, so he would have noticed it immediately, not after she’d recovered] He wants to know if anyone told her to go to the dressing room during the party, and she points out that he did, but he doesn’t seem to remember. She decides not to give him the list of people just in case he’s misleading her on purpose, but agrees to think about it and get back to him.
In the meeting, A.J. waves her over to the seat next to hers and Lydia’s hopeful their feud is over, but A.J. just wants to snoop; she saw her with Eric at school and wonders if he’d asked her out. Lydia explains he was just helping her pick up the fallen things from her locker and jokingly asks if A.J. had been spying on her, since she didn’t see her in the hall that day. A.J. quickly denies it, claiming the principal had asked her to take flyers around to different classes, and she was dropping one off at Eric’s poetry class when she saw them. Lydia doesn’t call her out, but she knows A.J. is lying because that poetry class is in a parallel hall to the one Lydia’s locker’s in, so there’s no way A.J. would have seen them together unless she was spying.
The club’s adult coordinator, Marsha Boorman, asks for a volunteer to make copies of the Evita scenes to be used for the auditions, but no-one in the room is interested. Marsha takes them all on a guilt trip until eventually a quiet voice pipes up from the back that they’d be happy to help. It’s new girl Page Adams, wearing a ’40s style dress with shoulder pads and her hair pulled into a clip at the base of her neck. Lydia tells Robin, who’s also sat next to her, that Page could be pretty if she wore makeup and did something with her hair; ‘”It’s almost as if she deliberately tries to disappear into the woodwork.”‘ [Did anyone ask for your opinion, Lydia?] Marsha asks if the quiet girl is even part of the theatre club, [How about you just be grateful someone wants to help?] and when Page admits she’s not, Marsha tells her to leave because ‘”Invited guests only.”‘ [Lol, rude bitch]
Since she’s invited her, Lydia rushes to Page’s defence, but only because she wants everyone sees she’s not completely self-centred and she does have the ability to care about others. [Which is a self-centred reason, so she’s not really proving anything. Lydiot] Dragging poor Page to the front of the room, Lydia introduces her to Marsha and the group and lies about her acting credentials, encouraging everyone to give her a warm welcome. Now Marsha’s all too glad to have Page’s help with making copies of the script, and then Lydia takes Page around the room to introduce the very polite girl to every single person individually. Afterwards, she brings Page over to sit with her, A.J. and Robin, the last of which seems very taken by her. [Oh, so he’s definitely not gay then…] They encourage her to try out for Evita, even for a bit part, since that’s where the rest of them had started, including Lydia. Lydia reckons Page just needs some confidence and makes Page promise she’ll let her help with her audition. A.J. and Robin will help too, and Robin cracks that he’ll need Page on stage to protect him ‘”from the wicked and cruel Lydia.”‘ Lydia’s laugh catches in her throat because she’s not sure if he’s serious, then scolds herself for being paranoid.
An hour later it’s time for Lydia to go home, but not before she gives Page a hug and tells her how glad she is that she came tonight, even offering her a ride home. Page just can’t believe they all want her as a friend but is happy to take the bus, which Robin refuses to let happen at this time of night and decides he’ll drive her home. Lydia likes this idea; Robin’s wanted a girlfriend for ages [Really?] and maybe something can happen between them. [I don’t want to make assumptions about Robin’s sexuality but he’s basically a walking stereotype of a gay person. He’s practically Ryan from High School Musical! If this book was written today then I could believe he’s straight, because a lot of straight guys do enjoy traditionally female things, like fashion, but in the context of the ’90s when this was written, he’s definitely queer. If Jahnna didn’t want to explicitly made him gay, surely she could have left it ambiguous, Or at the very least not written him to be so flamboyant? ] He’ll certainly help her spruce up her look, at least! [Yassss, queen] Outside, Lydia’s flagged down by Garrett again so he can warn her to keep an eye out for anything strange. She politely tells him she will then climbs into the car, and he just stands kerb, watching her, as she leaves.
Thursday brings a new horoscope, this time encouraging Leos to clear the air if they’re feeling misunderstood by their friends, or perhaps make a new friend. Lydia walks to school alone, which is unusual because A.J. usually gives her a lift on Thursday but she hadn’t shown, or called. [Well, you still haven’t really made up, so…?] In the front hall, she spots Eric talking with Page Adams, kind of out of sight next to a trophy case. She walks right up and enthusiastically breaks up the friendly conversation about astrology. [Really? Astrology?] It turns out Page is a Leo too, and she has the exact same birthday as Lydia! [I doubt that] Page explains that she liked Lydia and her friends so much that she begged her parents to let her apply here, and she ended up getting an audition yesterday, so now she’s a student. [Is it that easy?] Lydia is silently surprised because how did quiet, meek Page find the courage to not only audition in front of the selection committee, but be talented enough to get into the school of arts? [The audacity of Page!] As if sensing Lydia’s shock, Page suggests that she only got in because some other students have moved away, and there’s no way she would have been considered if she auditioned when Lydia and Eric did. Lydia thinks she’s trying too hard to be liked, but gives her a pass because she’s new. Was her horoscope right today? Is A.J. out and Page is in?
Lydia doesn’t like how cosy Page and Eric looked together, though, and wonders, ‘would a mouse like Page dare to put the moves on him?’ [Maybe no-one realises you’ve taken him as you property after two conversations with him, Lydia] Then, to Lydia’s delight, Page spots Robin and scampers off to join him; ‘Obviously Page understood the situation.’ She watches as Robin pretends to be a mime stuck in a box and forces Page to knock on the pretend glass before opening the door for her. By how close they’re standing, Lydia’s sure that Robin has all of Page’s interest, not Eric. Speaking of Eric, he thinks it’s nice that two of Lydia’s best friends like each other, and is surprised when Lydia corrects that she hardly knows Page. Apparently Page has been talking about Lydia as if they’d known each other for years! She’d actually known a lot about Lydia, so Eric theorises that they’re spiritual twins. Lydia agrees that it is quite incredible that the two girls have the exact same birthday, and thinks it could be a tricky friendship, “especially when two Leos try to share the same spotlight.”‘ [God, it’s like she’s formed her entire personality around being a Leo as soon as she was old enough to understand star signs] Eric predicts she won’t have anything to worry about with Page because she’s crazy about Lydia, [A little too crazy it seems] and it’s hard to believe she’s a Leo because she’s so mousy. [Stopppppppp, I can’t take this anymore] And then the bell rings and we get this extremely cringey interaction:
“Want to get together at lunch?” he asked, about to turn towards class.
“Sure,” she said with a flirtation smile. “What’s the cafeteria serving?”
“Gazelle. Leos live it.” Eric roared like a lion, much to Lydia’s delight.
[I would pass away if someone did this to me] Robin and the new girl looking like an instant couple is the talk of the school throughout the day, which Lydia is happy about because it means no-one’s talking about her darling Eric. She tries to clear the air with A.J., too, but A.J. seems set on keeping things frosty. Lydia knows it’s because A.J.’s jealous, but hopes time will sort out their issues. Lydia’s last class of the day is advanced acting, and Page is last to arrive, looking very nervous. And so she should be, because the teacher is Zoe McGuire, who’d had a brief success on the New York stage and doesn’t tolerate amateurs. Ms. McGuire welcomes Page to the class and asks to hear a monologue. Everyone else had to present one on the first day of class, so it’s only fair Page should as well. Page is horrified, and Ms. McGuire is deliberately intimidating, asking if Page came unprepared. [This teacher is way too high on her horse for someone who only had brief success and now teaches high schoolers. Not that there’s anything wrong with that career, she just needs to humble herself lol] All students should have several monologues ready to go at all times, because being unprepared could cost you the opportunity of a lifetime.
Lydia considers speaking up on Page’s half, since she’s one of Ms. McGuire’s favourites, [Of course she is] but there’s no need because Page could try doing Emily’s monologue from Our Town, a role she played last year at her old school. Ms. McGuire is all ears, taking a seat in the front row as Page stands in front of everyone and gives the performance of a lifetime. Everyone is shocked by her talent, and even Ms. McGuire sheds a tear. Lydia is sincerely happy for her friend until she hears everyone gushing about how good Page is. Ms. McGuire even says she possesses a rare natural talent! Lydia’s sure it was just a fluke and after class, continues the compliments with the rest of her friends. Keenan wonders if Lydia’s feeling a bit shaky up on her pedestal with this new competition, but before Lydia can respond, Page decides to make an announcement. She confesses that she just imitated how she thought Lydia would deliver the monologue, and Lydia’s able to relax again thanks to the undeniable admiration emanating from Page. Unable to resist a dig, Lydia accuses Keenan of being worried for his new girlfriend Jill, because now there’s a new blonde in town that’ll give her a run for her money. Lydia heads off with Page and Robin, who tells Page to call ahead and reserve a spot for the Evita auditions on Saturday. Looking to Lydia for support, Page insists she’s not ready and will wait for another time. Lydia doesn’t protest because after seeing her incredible performance, it’s perfectly fine with her if Page doesn’t audition.
The next day’s horoscope warns Leos to be on guard; it’s not just knives that cut, sometimes it’s tongues! It’s after school now, and Lydia finds herself home alone because her mother is working late and her 12-year-old brother, Jake, is out. There’s two messages on the answering machine, the first one from A.J., letting Lydia know she’d signed her up for the Evita auditions at 10:30 on Saturday morning, Lydia’s usual lucky time. The message is super formal, with A.J. even identifying herself by her full name, which is very weird. [Very nice of her to sign her up, though! I wouldn’t have done it if I was A.J.] The second message is from a nervous Eric, but we have no idea why he called because he doesn’t say anything after telling her his name. This gives her some anxiety because she’s dying to know if he wanted to ask her out, but before she can search up his number to call him back, Jake arrives home, bringing in the mail. Besides the bills, there’s a manila envelope addressed to Lydia, but there’s no return address or name. Opening it up doesn’t provide an answer either, because it’s just a note asking her to meet at the park at dusk. The note is a collage of letters, all clipped from the youth theatre’s program for My One and Only, so Lydia knows that whoever did it is creative. It must have been Eric! Further proof of this [To her at least] is that the footbridge is where couples tend to meet.
Lydia doesn’t tell Jake what it says, but lies that she needs to head out for rehearsals. [Sure, let’s go! Who cares if someone might be out to get you and you have no actual evidence of who sent the note?] Jake is disappointed because I guess he wanted to spend some time with his big sister, [Cute, but I’d be happy to get her out of the house lol] so Lydia promises to hang out tomorrow. As Lydia’s getting changed, she answers a phone call, hoping it’s Eric, but it’s just Page. She wants to thank Lydia for taking her under her wing and making her feel welcome, and has decided to try out for Evita after all. She’s already booked her slot, since the list was posted while she was copying scripts at the theatre. She was first to sign up, so she’s nervous that everyone will think she was super pushy. Lydia tells her not to be so hard on herself because she’s talented, smart, dedicated and pretty. Page disagrees with the pretty part, so Lydia corrects that she could be pretty, if she wore her hair down and put on some mascara and blush. Page thanks her for the advice and will definitely try it [And I bet she’ll suddenly be more beautiful than Lydia], then apologises for calling at the wrong time because it seems like Lydia’s in a hurry. Lydia reveals she’s going to the park to meet Eric and promises to let Page know if anything noteworthy happens.
Lydia walks over to the park, which seems unusually deserted tonight. [Convenient for our bad guy] Nearing the footbridge, Lydia’s so focussed on trying to see if anyone’s waiting there that she doesn’t notice a slow-moving car approaching behind her with its headlights off. Then suddenly, the engine roars to life, and Lydia turns around to see that the car’s shooting straight for her! She bolts into the park, but the car jumps the kerb and follows her in, giving her no choice but to jump into the lake. [Hide behind a tree? Go up the footbridge? Plenty of other options] She stays underwater until she’s desperate for air, and then spots the car driving off. Dragging herself out of the lake, she realises that someone really is out to get her. She heads for the footbridge again, hoping Eric’s there, but realises that maybe this whole thing was a trap and Eric was never coming, or maybe he’d even been driving the car himself! In the distance, she hears a car slow and turn around, so she flees back home as fast as her wet ass can go.
A new day means a new horoscope, this one warning that the moon will make Leos moody today, but only if the Leo allows it; ‘don’t overdo the emotions without practising an apology.’ [I’m always moody, is the moon doing something to me?] Lydia arrives at school a complete mess because she’d cried for hours last night after getting home. She didn’t tell Jake or her mother what happened because she’d lied about where she was going and has no proof someone tried to run her down, and can’t wait for the next eight hours to pass so she can return to the safety of her room. [Wait, in America you’re at school for eight hours every day? In Australia we’re only there for like 6.5 hours, and even that dragged on] Hiding behind sunglasses, Lydia manages to go through most of the day unnoticed until Eric finds her at lunchtime sitting alone under a tree. Lydia’s shitting bricks because she think he tried to mow her down last night, and she can barely look at him when he’s talking. Sensing her discomfort, he guesses that she thinks he’s an idiot because of the message he left on her answering machine. He explains he got spooked when she didn’t answer and stopped himself from saying anything after realising her mum might hear the message first, but he’d called to ask her out for Saturday.
Lydia asks if he sent her anything unsigned in the mail, or was supposed to meet her last night in the park, but he denies both of these things. His confusion seems genuine to Lydia because no-one’s that good at acting, [Maybe you aren’t, Lydia], and she tells him to forget she asked. Speaking of forgetting, he’s got something for her in his car! As they walk over to the car park to retrieve it, he explains he borrowed the biography of Eva Peron, who Evita is based on, from the library. He finished reading it this morning and thought Lydia might want to read it before her audition to help prepare. [Aw, he’s cute] He gives her a brief rundown of Eva Peron’s life and Lydia can’t believe she’d ever doubted him, but then she does a complete 180 when they reach his car; it’s cream-coloured, just like the one that tried to run her down last night! He asks if she wants to go for a spin, but Lydia forces herself to be strong and tells him she doesn’t want the book and doesn’t want to see him ever again, then scampers off, leaving him confused.
Lydia’s final class of the day is advanced acting with Ms. McGuire, who’s in a particularly awful mood. She wants everyone to work on improvisation today, and calls Lydia and Keenan forward to improv a scene between a young married couple who aren’t getting along. Lydia’s really not in the mood today, so Page volunteers to take her place, but Ms. McGuire insists Lydia needs to do it. She’s saved from having to deal with jerky Keenan when Ms. McGuire receives word from the office that Lydia needs to phone home ASAP. Lydia calls from the school’s office, and to her surprise Jake answers. He’d left his gym clothes at home so got permission to fetch them, but when he arrived he’d found their house broken into and vandalised. He couldn’t reach either parent, so he called her at school instead. Lydia tells him to call the police and rushes home, where the cops are surveying the damage, and she notices that expensive things like the TV and stereo weren’t taken. It just seems like the intruder/s simply threw everything around the room. Lydia goes to her own room to check the damage there, and finds that most of her clothes are gone.
A cop suggests a burglar broke in, then started ruining the place when he couldn’t find anything worth stealing, but Lydia points out that nothing of real value was taken — the TV, VCR, stereo, jewellery and Jake’s stamp collection are all still here. [Would someone even steal a stamp collection? Why was that even such a popular hobby, it seems so boring] Because of the mess, the cop is sure that something valuable will turn out to be gone, but Lydia protests that whoever did this is after her specifically. The cop immediately dismisses her concerns and just thinks she’s upset. Maybe it was just vandals, or maybe some pervert who likes women’s clothes, or ‘”maybe it was just a girl in need of an outfit for Saturday night”‘. [Bruh, a teenage girl is scared because someone broke into her house and wrecked the place and you’re making a joke? Why are cops so useless in these books] He assures Lydia that they’ll do their best to find whoever’s responsible, then mentions how Jake brought up their parents’ recent divorce. There were no obvious signs of a break-in, which means it was an expert lockpicker or someone who already had a key, but Lydia immediately shuts down the idea that their father was responsible. He asks if there’s anything else either kid wishes to tell the police, and although Lydia would love to tell him that someone really is out to get her, she can’t prove the trapdoor wasn’t an accident, or that the Barbie voodoo doll wasn’t a joke, or that someone tried to run her down, so she stays quiet. [Normally I’d say that she should still bring it up, but I guess this dipshit officer would just dismiss it anyway so there’s no point]
After the police leave and Mum comes home, the family spends several hours restoring the house before Mum and Jake leave to pick up some dinner. Lydia stays behind, and although it’s scary being alone, she’s not going to give into her fear. She’s a Leo after all, [Thanks for the reminder, I’d almost forgotten] and ‘Leos were known for their recuperative powers,’ [For fuck’s sake] so Lydia is determined to recover from the awful last few days.
The doorbell rings, and it’s Page at the door, wanting to check on Lydia after hearing about what happened from A.J., who’d heard it in the office at school. She’s wearing a long cotton dress that looks like it’s from last century, as well as a printed silk turban that reminds Lydia of what movie stars wore in the 1930s. Lydia tells her how bad the place looked and shows Page her bedroom, which is still a mess, explaining that only belongings her were taken. Page wonders who would do something like that to poor Lydia, but Lydia has no idea; she knows she can be full of herself sometimes, but she’s a good person and a good friend! [Not so sure about that one, Lydia] Page asks if there’s anyone who might have been hurt by Lydia recently, and the only person she can think of is A.J. because of their feud over Eric. [Dicks before chicks for these two!] Page is sure that can’t be it because ‘”A.J. has to know a boy like Eric would never even notice a girl like her. And not just because you entered the scene. She’s such a slob.”‘ [Woooooow, Page. In the bin with you!] Surprisingly, Lydia defends A.J., arguing that she’s a great friend and is very generous and loyal. Page points out that a good friend can still turn on you and brings up how she saw A.J. blow up at Garrett the other day over something unimportant. Lydia agrees that A.J. certainly has a temper and tells Page about how the week before opening night of My One and Only, A.J. got fed up with a lighting person stuffing up their cue every time and went ballistic at him, but it was only because she was stressed.
Page understands that and doesn’t know what she was thinking by suggesting A.J. was responsible, because what kind of best friend would break into your house and destroy your property over a boy? [I see what you planting those seeds, Page! I wonder if she’s our actual bad guy, or just a little side antagonist?] Lydia agrees but can’t quite forget A.J.’s reaction when she learned Lydia liked Eric too. A.J.’s also been avoiding her entirely, so Lydia decides to try find out where A.J. had been this morning, just in case.
Page asks how things are with Eric, but Lydia doesn’t want to talk about that and changes the subject to Page and Robin. Page admits she likes him, but Robin seems to be in love with Lydia. Lydia reassures her that Robin is like a brother and dating is definitely not on the cards, even though he is cute. They then talk about the Evita auditions, and Page is surprised that Lydia’s still going to try out after everything that’s been going on. [Sussssssss] Lydiot stupidly reveals that she plans on making a grand entrance to her audition, just like Evita’s at the start of the play, and is hoping to find a similar white dress to the costume worn on Broadway. [What’s the bet Page is gonna steal this idea and conveniently auditions before Lydia?]
Mum and Jake arrive home and Lydia invites Page to stay for dinner, but she politely declines, although she’d love to meet Lydia’s parents sometime. Lydia informs her that they’re divorced and Dad lives elsewhere, and Page is sorry to hear that. At least Lydia still has a dad, though; Page’s died in a car crash when she was a little girl. This confuses Lydia because last week, Page had said her father arranged her audition for Connally High. Page appears startled by that reminder, but apparently had meant her stepfather; her mum had remarried after her father died. Page also reveals she’s taken Lydia’s advice, and takes off the turban to reveal her blonde hair cut exactly the same way as Lydia’s. Lydia’s shocked at first, but it’s not like they’d get mistaken for each other since she’s got dark hair, so she’s ultimately flattered. Page also wants to know what lipstick Lydia wears, which is plum red, but Lydia suggests a lighter shade will match Page’s hair better. Page finally leaves, and Lydia watches her walk down the sidewalk, noticing that Page is even wearing similar heels to what she wears, and seems to be walking like Lydia. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but could Page be taking it too far? [Yeah, I’d be a bit iffy about her if I was Lydia. Seems too obsessive. I was expecting a secret stalker with a big reveal at the end, but maybe this is more of a Honey Perkins situation]
It’s Saturday now, audition day, and I have no idea how to translate Lydia’s horoscope — ‘You are in a critical trine pattern. Trines usually mean ease in dealing with life’s situations, but this trine is in the fiery Leo (fixed and stubborn), the fiery Aries (cardinal and active), and the fixed Sagittarius (mutable and jovial). You hardly know which way to turn.” Eric’s an Aries, but no-one’s enthusiastically announced themselves as a Sagittarius yet so I don’t know who that’s referring to. Anyway, Lydia’s just parked the car and is heading for the backstage door when she’s confronted by Eric, who doesn’t know why she’s upset with him but wants to clear the air since he’ll be working on the scenery for Evita and they’ll be seeing a lot of each other. She’s focussed on her audition so he agrees to wait until after to talk, and in the green room, Robin wonders why Lydia’s here when her audition was at 9am. That must be some mistake, because A.J. signed her up for 10:30, but sure enough, the audition list shows her name crossed out at 10:30 and moved down to 9am, with someone else in her original slot. [It’s presumably not the full list either, so I don’t know what time Page’s audition was. Is she really behind all of this sabotage going on? It just seems too obvious for her to be the main villain, but she’s definitely trying to become Lydia… Alternatively, maybe A.J., or Keenan, or Robin or literally anyone else has gotten totally fed up with Little Miss Leo!]
A.J. comes out to call the next person in, and Lydia asks about her 10:30 slot. A.J. insists Lydia changed it herself, producing the note Lydia had left on her chair demanding to go first at 9am, then chides her for being a diva and changing the schedule. [You didn’t have to go through with it, though? Like, it’s not like Lydia had a gun to your head and forced you. A.J. is suss. Also, no-one else before this morning had requested the 9am slot? And someone filled the 10:30 slot that quickly? Seems weird on the day of the auditions] Despite Lydia’s protests, A.J. and Robin both agree that it’s a perfect match to her handwriting, down to the heart that dots the i. [If everyone knows her handwriting, it must be easy to forge, right? Do people even recognises each other’s handwriting? I barely recognise my own! I guess before cell phones all they could do was call each other and write letters] Keenan walks in with Jill on his arm and butts into the conversation, teasing that of course Lydia denies writing the note because nothing’s ever her fault. [Is that a Leo thing? Because I’m always right and nothing’s ever my fault either xx 💅🏻 ] Lydia continues to deny writing the letter and is ready to audition now, but A.J. firmly tells her she’s missed her chance. One last desperate plea from Lydia softens her up, and she agrees to try squeeze Lydia in at the end if there’s time. Page, dressed in a long coat, kindly offers to give up her spot to Lydia because she simply can’t imagine a show without her, and even though she wants to pounce on the opportunity, Lydia knows the other actors ‘were ready to despise her for bumping sweet, wonderful Page’ and turns down the offer. Lydia plops down in a seat and wonders who would pull such a nasty trick on her. Only a few people would know her well enough to recreate her handwriting like that — A.J., Robin, and… Keenan! She’d written lots of love notes to him last summer, and he’d definitely do something like this to get at her.
Page’s audition time rolls around and she takes off her giant coat before exiting the green room and onto the stage, revealing a sexy white dress underneath that looks nearly identical to the Broadway costume. With her short hair, plum red lipstick and high heels, she looks like a blonde replica of Lydia! Bewildered, she complains to Robin that Page has stolen her walk, her hairstyle and now her friends, but Robin thinks she’s just being jealous and petty; they look nothing alike. Defeated, Lydia is sure that someone’s leading a conspiracy against her.
Hours later, A.J. finally calls Lydia in for her audition and as she begins her song, a raspy voice from the wings says ‘”This is terrible!”‘ and ‘”Show us something new!”‘ Lydia stops in her tracks, confused, which in turn confuses director Bill and Garrett, who she’s auditioning for, because they didn’t hear the voice. Lydia can’t see anyone in the wings, so she starts again, but her concentration is gone and she does not do well at all. She begs for another chance but Bill and Garrett have seen enough, [Lydia walked so Pearl could run] and as she watches them exit the auditorium, she hopes that they’ll take all her previous work into consideration when assigning the roles. And just to emphasis what is probably the lowest point in her life, the stage lights go out and she has to find her way out in the dark.
The next day we aren’t given a horoscope, so I don’t know how Lydia’s gonna get through the day. It’s noon, and she’s finally managed to get through to the theatre on the phone, where a recording of A.J.’s voice lists who’s being called back. Keenan’s one of three boys up for the role of the male lead, which gives her hope that previous work is being considered after all, [Maybe he had a good audition?] but only two girls are up for the female lead — Keena’s girlfriend, Jill, and Page. Lydia is sure there’s some kind of mistake and calls A.J. directly, who confirms everyone who got a callback was listed in the recording. Lydia accuses A.J. of doing this, or A.J. and Page, or A.J. and Page and Robin, [Girl, calm down] and finally settles on Page putting A.J. up to it — ‘”First she stole my friends, then my look, and now she’s got my part!”‘ A.J. immediately humbles her by reminding Lydia that there are a lot of actors who have just as much, if not more, talent than her, and she can’t play all the leads. Not only was she late, anyway, but she also blew her audition, and that can’t be blamed on Page. ‘”Page is a breath of fresh air in this theatre”‘ and is everything Lydia’s not, like kind and giving, and A.J. won’t do anything to help the very jealous Lydia destroy her.
With her flabbers completely gasted by A.J.’s outburst, Lydia hangs up and decides to go talk to Robin, one of her best friends for years. She finds him mowing the lawn in his backyard, but he’s not the supportive ear she was expecting him to be because after she rehashes her call with A.J. and her feelings about Page, he also tells her it’s not Page’s fault she’s not wanted for the role. Lydia knows it sounds weird, but she’s positive everything Page says and does is an act, and she might only be using Robin to get to her; ‘”Page wants to become me, play my parts — to have my life in the theatre.”‘ Why else would she have copied Lydia’s look, and walk, if she wasn’t trying to be her? There was a time Robin would have believed anything Lydia said, [Because he had a crush?] but that time has passed and he’s completely had it with Lydia by now, rescinding their friendship. He’s heard all about what Lydia said to Page about him, too — ‘”You said you could never be attracted to me. Not in a hundred years. You told her I was like a silly younger brother that you begrudgingly put up with. You also said I’d never make it in the theatre.”‘ [Yeah, he definitely had a crush. Also he’s dumb for being so easily manipulated to think his best friend would say that about him] Lydia denies saying those things, at least not in those words, [Yes, make it worse for yourself, Lydiot] and insists that Page has twisted what she said, but Robin doesn’t care and ends the conversation by turning the mower back on.
Lydia walks aimlessly down the street now, comparing her life to Othello, where one character pretends to be Othello’s best friend while secretly plotting against him, resulting in Othello strangling his own innocent wife. A green-and-white van slows down next to her, driven by Eric, who offers her a lift. She declines, but wants to know who’s car this is. It’s his, and the cream-coloured one he’d had the other day actually belongs to Page; his car wouldn’t start on Friday so she’d lent it to him after driving past him walking to school, not taking no for an answer. Now some of the missing pieces of the puzzle are falling into place for Lydia, because that means Page had tried to run her down! She’d then likely tampered with Eric’s car so she could force him to borrow hers and make Lydia believe Eric’s her stalker. Deciding to take a different route than the one she took with A.J. and Robin, Lydia starts talking about how amazing and kind Page is, only for Eric to ask if she’s noticed Page basically imitating her, like she’s trying to become her.
Grateful that someone finally understands her plight, Lydia explains everything that’s happened lately to make her wary of Page. She also remembers how Page had apparently come to every performance of My One and Only, hanging around the theatre, so she easily could have learned how to sabotage the lights and the trapdoor and everything: ‘”If only I hadn’t been such an egomaniac, I wouldn’t have fallen for it.”‘ [If only you weren’t such a Leo!] Lydia suspects Page doesn’t want anyone else in the spotlight and would do anything to get the part in Evita, and now she’s gotten what she wants; Lydia’s out and Page is in. She explains how she didn’t get a callback, but Page and Jill did, and they both realise that if Page has done all this to Lydia, then Jill’s probably in trouble too! [Or Jill, who’s barely been a character in this book, is really our bad guy and has been sabotaging Lydia wherever she can because she’s jealous of her boyfriend’s ex, or wants the spotlight or something. And Page is probably just a huge fan who’s simply taken things a bit too far in her aspirations. It’s either that, because everyone else is too obvious to be the villain, or Page really is behind everything]
The pair drive to a convenience store and call Jill, who’s not home, so Lydia calls Keenan instead. [She just knows their numbers by heart, or?] Keenan doesn’t believe anything Lydia says, but she begs him to not let Jill out of his sight. The callbacks begin at 2pm today, [A.J. said they start at 7pm tonight though??] which only gives them a few hours to sort out a plan, [A few hours??? It was 12pm when Lydia was calling to find out who got callbacks, it has to almost be 2pm by now!] and they decide that Eric will pretend to be interested in Page so he can have an excuse to be at the callbacks, while Lydia will call A.J. and beg for a role in the backstage crew. That way, they’ll both be there to stop Page if she tries anything with Jill. Referencing their star signs [Fkn hell], Eric remarks that the lion and ram are taking on the world, and Lydia wishes she’d checked her horoscope today because maybe it would have some uplifting words. Luckily for her, Eric’s got today’s newspaper in the van, but unluckily for her, it warns of physical danger if the Leo acts impulsively, so Leos should cool their jets.
Lydia’s hopeful that everything will be fine as long as tonight goes well, and she looks so beautiful right now that Eric can’t resist kissing her. [Okeh] Before dropping Lydia home, they both agree to meet at the theatre 15 minutes before callbacks are due to start, and a short time later Lydia phones A.J. to try worm her way into being in the crew. A.J.’s not buying it, so Lydia lies that she really wants to clear the air and talk to her today. A.J. isn’t interested, though, because she’s heard all about what Lydia’s said to Page about her — that’s she’s stupid, ugly and Eric would rather die than go out with her. Lydia insists that Page made it all up, [Why don’t you tell her what Page said about A.J. being a slob?] but Page has already warned A.J. that Lydia would try to blame her. Lydia insists A.J. is her best friend whether or not A.J. feels the same way, and asks her to keep an eye on both Page and Jill tonight, and then she’s hung up on. [Are Lydia’s friends just so dumb that they’d be this easily manipulated, or is this a testament to what a horrible friend Lydia is?] Lydia feels so awful now that even she’s starting to believe she may have said those things about A.J. and Robin; she’s certainly thought them! [Hahahahahaha I hate her]
Eric calls shortly after to let Lydia know that he’d called Page, and she proved herself to be a real slime bag. Apparently she was hoping he’d call, knowing he’d need someone to talk to after all the terrible things Lydia’s said about him. Eric had gone along with it and laid it on thick about how talented Page is and how he wants to go out with her. He delayed her enough that she agreed to a lift so she’d make her 3:15 callback time, but wanted him to meet her at the school at 2:45 because her house is getting painted and her parents don’t want anyone seeing the mess [Which is definitely a lie]. 2:45 is 15 minutes away, so Eric heads off after instructing Lydia to meet him at the far right corner of the stage at 3:15. [But before they were talking about meeting 15 minutes before the callbacks were due to start, which would have been 1:45 if they started at 2pm. Is it seriously this hard to keep up with your own timeline, Jahnna?]
Lydia arrives at the theatre a short time later, but Eric’s nowhere to be found at their meeting spot at 3:15. 3:20 comes, and as Keenan reads for his desired role out on stage, Lydia spots Jill watching him from the wings in awe. Lydia checks her watch again, and it’s now 3:25, [How does time work in this universe? It was basically 3:20 when she notice Jill, then one short paragraph later it’s 3:25] and still no sign of Eric. Then she spots Page moving in the darkness behind Jill, fiddling with the ropes that lower and raise the sets. The rope Page is loosening is attached to a sandbag hanging directly above Jill’s head! There’s no time to waste, so Lydia dashes across the stage, shocking everyone, and tackles Page to the ground. Page gets the upper hand and slams Lydia’s head into the ground, dazing her, but Lydia manages to shove her away and scramble to her feet. The fight continues, and Page eventually shoves Lydia into Jill, sending Jill backwards, and Lydia lands on her ass exactly where Jill had just been standing. Out of breath, Lydia looks up just in time to see the sandbag heading straight for her!
A new horoscope advises Leos that what looks like disappointment today could be a bonus of some sort in the future, so ‘If you get to the end of the rainbow and find only a pot of beans — remember to take them home and plant them.’ It’s almost three weeks later now [What?!?!? That was all we got for the hero-villain showdown? That was pathetic] and Lydia’s starting to come out of some sort of coma. ‘”Lydia, you’re a Leo, you’re a fighter — now prove it!”‘ says Eric’s voice, [I genuinely cringe every time one of them says something like this lol] and she can feel him holding her hand. Finally, she opens her eyes, much to Eric’s relief, and she has no memory of what happened. He tells her how long she’s been out that her skull was almost crushed by a sandbag; she’s lucky to be alive, let alone be able to move her arms and legs. He explains that Page must have caught on to him, because when he pulled into the school parking lot to meet her, all fours of his tyres went flat because the entrance had been sprinkled with steel tacks. By the time he got to the theatre, Lydia was being taken away in an ambulance.
There’s a lot of confusion about what happened, too, because Jill thought that Lydia was trying to hurt her. [Is Jill stupid? If Lydia was aiming for her, she wouldn’t have run straight past her and tackled Page?] Jill, Keenan, A.J. and Robin all believe that Page was the hero who stopped Lydia, [Why are these people so stupid? How could Lydia have been trying to rig the sandbag from the other side? Like, how does the circumstantial evidence not help prove Lydia’s innocence?] even though Garrett insisted Lydia had been a victim of Page all along. Garrett’s actually visited a lot, feeling bad because he’d known something was up since the closing night party for My One and Only, and Lydia admits that he’d tried to warn her but she didn’t take him seriously. [Which was pretty fkn stupid because she knew someone was after her for most of the book lol]
Eric also reveals that Page skipped down the next day, and the police weren’t interested in trying to find her so he had to do some digging himself. He was unable to find any trace of her parents, so suspects Page was here on her own, and he’d eventually traced her phone number to a dingy motel. [Was she even a teenager? I don’t like this ending, it’s very anticlimactic and doesn’t really explain Page’s motives or anything] He passed on all this information to the police, and although they filed it, it wasn’t enough evidence for an investigation because she’d have to be reported as a missing person by an adult. [Like, any adult? Can’t the theatre adults do it?] Eric’s also gotten to know Lydia’s family, including her father, since they’ve been here every day as well, and they all seem great to him.
Lydia asks about Evita, which has been temporarily postponed, and she’s sure her career at the Dallas Youth Theatre is over. She’s feeling pretty bad about herself right now, recognising that she hasn’t treated her friends very well and has been super selfish. She vows to be kinder to everyone from on and enjoy what’s left of the spring and summer rather than spend it cooped up in a theatre. Next year, she’ll go to the best theatre school she can find! ‘”That’s the girl I love,”‘ blurts out Eric, which absolutely blows my mind because he’s known her maybe like five weeks, three of which she’s been in a coma for… Like, what?
His words catch them both by surprise, but he reiterates the feeling — yes, as a Leo, [OMFG kill me] she’s unbearably ambitious and egotistical, among other things, but she’s also trustworthy, responsible, and loving. And because Leo’s have strong recuperative powers, [Seriously, how the hell is your star sign going to dictate how well/fast you heal? Shut up] she’ll be out of here in no time!
Time for an epilogue now, which brings a final horoscope that encourages Leos to be kind to their friends. We’ve done another time jump, although I don’t know how long has passed because I don’t understand the US school year, but it’s the last week of August, one week before Lydia’s set to leave for a New York drama school. It’s been both an terrible and amazing summer for Lydia; awful because her recovery has been painful and slow and her former friends and theatre group have ignored her completely, but wonderful because her parents are on good terms now and her relationship with Eric has blossomed.
Evita finally went into production with Jill in the lead, and while Lydia had heard good things about Jill’s performance, she never bothered to see the show for herself. None of it matters because she’s putting the Dallas Youth Theatre and that chapter of her life behind her. She’s excited for the future, but she’s really going to miss her family and it’ll be tough having so much distance between her and Eric — he’s been accepted into the University of Texas, and hopes to transfer to a New York school sophomore year so they can be together. [Oh please, as if this relationship will last that long]
Anyway, Lydia’s home alone, packing for New York, when the doorbell rings. She finds A.J. and Robin on the on the porch, and although she’s tempted to slam the door in their faces, they look so shameful that she decides to see what they want. They know she must hate them, but they have something to show her, and Robin hands her a newspaper clipping that has a photo of Page rocking a different hairstyle. The headline reads, ‘Suspect Sought For Arson Murder’ and the article explains that 17-year-old Sally Mae Jones, which is likely an alias, is wanted by Kansas police in relation to a fire that occurred at a local theatre. It happened during rehearsals of Oklahoma and resulted in the death of a responding firefighter, [Wouldn’t that be manslaughter?] and an investigation determined that the fire was deliberately lit. Police haven’t released much details, but they say the 17-year-old has a history of mental issues and have warned the public to consider her dangerous. [What, so a 17-year-old girl drifts from town to town, settles into the theatre community there and tries to do what she did to Lydia?] Robin and A.J. had called the Kansas police and told them everything that had happened here, and the police revealed that they’re very close to arresting Page or whatever her real name is, but they’re waiting for a few more final pieces of evidence. The police have her under round-the-clock surveillance, so she won’t be able to get away.
Robin and A.J. can’t believe how badly they’d treated Lydia and ask for forgiveness. [But they don’t actually say sorry, or “we apologise” or anything like that, so it’s not really an apology] She wants to say no, but she can tell they’re being sincere and forgives them, ready to put it all in the past. Eric pulls up as the three friends embrace, and the book ends as he tells Lydia that this is what he likes to see, ‘”A happy ending.”‘ [Shut up, Eric]
Final thoughts
I have mixed feelings about this, but I think I disliked it more than I liked it. The whole star sign/horoscope aspect was super annoying, because Lydia seems to have based most of her personality on being a Leo, and she really gives Leos a bad name. She was a pretty awful protagonist, but she redeemed herself a bit by the end, and we love to see the character development. It was the opposite for her friends; I liked A.J. and Robin at the start, but my opinion of them diminished by the end of the book, although I do recognise Lydia’s awfulness allowed them to be manipulated so easily.
I think the book lacked any real mystery because although Page was sneakily doing things behind the scenes, she was openly turning Lydia’s friends against her and changing her appearance to be like Lydia’s. I was hoping there would be some kind of twist and she would be a red herring, but no. She just wasn’t directly present enough to really feel like a threat, and while I can appreciate her methods, but she just didn’t seem all that menacing for some reason. Despite Page trying to kill Lydia several times, there wasn’t really the suspense or tension needed to feel like Lydia was in any danger. I don’t know if any of that makes sense, but I really don’t know how to explain it.
The ending was way too anticlimactic for me as well. The showdown between Lydia and Page was too short and felt very rushed, and there was no bad guy monologue to give us any kind of motive, which in a way makes Page’s actions scarier, but I think this book suffered for it because as I said, Page just didn’t seem like that much of a real threat. If you want to see this sort of thing done well, read The Best Friend!
23 insufferable Leos out of 54!
