The Things We Never Said by Susan Elliot Wright

Author:Susan Elliot Wright [Wright, Susan Elliot]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ePub Bud (www.epubbud.com)
Published: 2013-05-21T18:15:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

The six of them, all with white beards and pointy hats, are squashed together in what is little more than a broom cupboard at the rear of the auditorium. The idea is that if Sneezy appears in front of the stage just before curtain up, the audience will be so busy watching his antics that they won’t notice the rest of the dwarves creeping out behind them in the darkness, ready to hi-ho their way down the aisles and onto the stage.

Jonathan peers through the crack in the door. It’s airless in the tiny space, humid with exhaled breath. He tries to shift position but given the proximity of the other dwarves he can barely move. Sweat starts to prickle under his arms, and he runs his finger under his collar to lift it away from the clammy skin on the back of his neck. What doesn’t help is that he is absolutely certain he saw Ryan Jenkins just now, hanging around outside with a couple of other boys.

‘I’m sure it was him, you know,’ he whispers to Malcolm.

‘Unlikely. Not really their manor, is it? And – oh, here we go.’

Sneezy has started his major sneezing routine so the rest of them begin sliding out of the cupboard. At the cue, Dozy lifts his shovel onto his shoulder and sings a long, loud hi-ho. The others follow suit with their shovels, then begin singing the hi-ho song as they march down the darkened aisle towards the brightly lit stage. Jonathan is last in line, and as he sees all the heads turning around to watch them, everybody smiling, the rapt faces of the little kids, he begins to think that maybe life isn’t so bad after all.

And then smack, he’s on the floor. He scrambles to his feet. His wrist hurts and he’s grazed the side of his face.

‘You all right, mate?’ A pony-tailed man with a gold stud in his nose and a toddler on his lap hands him the shovel. ‘You must have tripped.’

Jonathan looks behind him. There’s no crease in the carpet, no handbag left carelessly in the aisle. The audience laughs.

‘Smi-ley!’ The other dwarves are standing at the front, hands on hips; Malcolm is giving him a look, doing his best to make it all part of the show.

Jonathan scans the laughing faces, but the lighting makes it difficult to see more than the few that are nearest to him. For a moment, he thinks he recognises a Year 10 boy a little way along the row, but he’s mistaken. Even the nose-stud man is grinning now.

‘Hurry up, Smiley,’ Malcolm shouts, still in character. ‘Snow White’ll be here soon and if she finds you hanging around down there, it’ll be early to bed and no telly for you!’

They’re all laughing at him now, enjoying his humiliation. He can feel the sweat beading on his upper lip; his heart is beating hard, like he’s just run up a flight of stairs. He looks around the auditorium; Fiona’s out there somewhere, witnessing this, seeing him made a fool of.

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