‘Did you hear about Belle?’ asked Freddy, rushing up to me as I walked into the theatre.

‘No. What?’ I sighed to myself, expecting him to tell me that she’d got a new haircut, or something equally exciting.

‘Her mum just got some big job overseas – and she starts in two weeks.’

‘Two weeks? Are you serious?’ I said, wondering what that meant for Belle.

Freddy nodded, his shoulders slumped. For a second I felt happy about the idea of Belle leaving the play – I could spend more time with Freddy! But then I saw how upset he was. The look on Freddy’s face made me realise just how close he and Belle had become.

‘What about the play?’ I asked, trying not to be jealous.

He shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to her. I just got a text.’

‘Are you okay?’ I wanted to give Freddy a hug, but I wasn’t sure if I should.

‘Not really, Edie. We’ve become really …’ He stopped, looking gutted.

At that second Kerry walked into the theatre carrying a bag of scripts. She looked as harried and overwhelmed as Freddy did.

‘Oh, Freddy, you’ve heard,’ she said, noticing the look on his face.

He nodded. ‘Yeah.’

‘We need to recast. Tonight,’ she said.

Freddy blinked. ‘What? Recast? Why?’

‘Belle’s pulled out. She’s moving overseas.’

Freddy slumped. ‘Oh. I didn’t know that bit.’

I couldn’t believe it. Even though I didn’t really like Belle, I did feel sorry for her. She’d got a dream role, and now she had to drop out.

‘Come on, it’ll be okay,’ Kerry reassured him. ‘We still have time to find a new Juliet.’

As she said the words, I realised what this meant. The part I wanted was being recast. The part that I’d thought was mine. Kerry must have had the same thought, because she looked straight at me and smiled.

But it was Freddy who looked up at me and said, ‘Edie can play Juliet. I’d feel okay if it was you, Edie.’

‘Thanks,’ I said tentatively, not sure what he was saying. Why would he feel okay if it was me? But before I could work it out, Kerry stepped in.

‘Maybe it’s fate after all, Edie. What do you think? Do you want to play Juliet?’

Did I? I didn’t know. It was all I’d wanted at first, but I’d learnt the lines for the Nurse, and I really liked the part. I also wasn’t sure how I felt about being someone’s replacement.

‘But what about the Nurse?’I said to Kerry, surprised that I felt so strongly about my character.

Kerry shrugged. ‘We can find someone else for that part. It’s Juliet I’m most worried about.’

‘Oh,’ I said, a bit hurt that Kerry thought the Nurse was so much less important. ‘Um, I’m not sure.’

Kerry looked at me strangely. ‘I thought you desperately wanted to play Juliet?’

‘I did. I do. I’m just … can I think about it?’

Kerry nodded. ‘Tell me first thing tomorrow, okay?’

The rest of the cast started filing in, and Kerry explained what was happening. Several people shot me funny looks – I guess because they knew I’d auditioned for the part.

Jackson leant over and whispered, ‘You must be happy?’

I shrugged. ‘Not sure,’ I whispered back.

He nodded, like he understood. Kerry broke us into small groups to run the scenes that Juliet wasn’t in. It was a strange rehearsal. Freddy seemed lost, and sad. And I kept forgetting my lines – I couldn’t stop thinking about what I should do.

As I rode home from the theatre, I didn’t even think about where I was going. Before I knew it, I found myself knocking on Tess’s front door. For once, it wasn’t the twins who answered. Tess was still in her state netball tracksuit – she must have just come from training.

‘Hi,’ I said softly.

‘Edie? What are you doing here?’

I shrugged, then blurted out,‘I miss you.’

She smiled. ‘I miss you too. I spend all my time with my brothers. If I see another soccer ball I’ll do more than just kick it! I need conversation,’ she said, pulling a face, and dragged me into the house.

As we walked into her room, I gave her a stupid massive hug. ‘I know exactly how you feel. I’ve been stuck with Jean.’

Tess squirmed and laughed. ‘Hey, you’re squashing me!’

‘Sorry. I’ve missed you so much!’

As Tess pulled away, she looked at me. ‘Really? Even with all those new acting friends?’

‘Oh yeah, I forgot about them. Wait, who are you?’

Tess rolled her eyes. ‘Hilarious.’

‘But what about Saskia? I thought you guys were friends?’

‘Oh, please. If you think I’m obsessed with netball, try hanging out with her for more than five minutes! Bo-ring.’

She looked at me, really seriously. ‘So you’re really okay with not playing Juliet?’

‘Well, actually … it turns out Belle’s moving overseas, so Kerry just offered me the part.’

‘That’s awesome,’ said Tess.

‘Yeah. It’s nice that she thinks I can do it,’ I said.

Tess gave me one of her looks. ‘Wait, why aren’t you sounding excited?’

‘Well, the Nurse is actually a really great part, and I know all my lines, and I don’t know if I want to take on something as huge as Juliet after all. It feels like it’s Belle’s part now, even if she’s not here, you know?’

She shrugged. ‘Stupid reasons. Take the part.’

I groaned. ‘It’s not that simple. I’m not sure about playing Juliet to Freddy’s Romeo, either.’

‘I thought you liked him?’ She threw a hand to her forehead. ‘Freddy, Freddy, wherefore art thou Freddy?’

I rolled my eyes at her. ‘I do like him. But I don’t know if I want to kiss him on stage. And then there’s Jackson,’ I added quietly, causing her to squeal.

‘Jackson? The guy in our English class last year?’

I nodded.

‘He’s definitely cute. But what does he have to do with whether or not you play Juliet?’ she snapped, sounding annoyed.

‘Why do you sound mad?’ I asked.

‘I thought you came here because you missed me, but you just want advice. You ditched me so you could play Juliet. And now you don’t want the part. What do you expect me to say?’ said Tess coolly.

I wanted her to say she understood that it was a hard decision to make. I wanted her to tell me what to do. But maybe she was right. I had to figure this out myself.

I did want to play Juliet. It was a dream role, and this would probably be my only shot at it. And yes, okay, kissing Freddy would probably be dreamy. But the Nurse was a great part too, and I knew the role so well now. Besides, I was still a bit concerned about stage fright. Should I play Juliet, the part I’d always wanted, or stick with the role I knew, and now loved?