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    Curtain Call
    Curtain Call
    Curtain Call
    Ebook132 pages2 hours

    Curtain Call

    By C H Clepitt

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    C H Clepitt has a knack for creating real, relatable characters, who face adversity with humour and humanity, and Curtain Call is no exception.

    When an assistant to the director role turns into P.A. to her favourite film star, Jen can’t believe her luck. Eleanor Francis is charming, kind and funny, but she has a secret, and when tragedy strikes, things threaten to unravel at an uncontrollable pace. Despite being out of her depth Jen has to adapt to her new role quickly, to protect Eleanor, with whom she is rapidly falling in love.

    This is a sweet, understated story that will have you laughing and crying in equal measure. If you’ve enjoyed C H Clepitt’s other books then this is not to be missed.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherC H Clepitt
    Release dateAug 8, 2018
    ISBN9780463009666
    Curtain Call
    Author

    C H Clepitt

    C H Clepitt has a Master’s Degree in English Literature from the University of the West of England. As their Bachelor’s Degree was in Drama, and their Master’s Dissertation focused on little known 18th Century playwright Susannah Centlivre, Clepitt’s novels are extremely dialogue driven, and it has often been observed that they would translate well to the screen.Since graduating in 2007, Clepitt gained experience in community and music journalism, before establishing satirical news website, Newsnibbles in 2010. In 2011 they published A Reason to Stay, which follows the adventures of disillusioned retail manager, Stephen, as he is thrust into village life and the world of AmDram. Clepitt’s feminist fantasy, The Book of Abisan not only crosses worlds, but confuses genres, and has been described as a crime drama with magic.Not liking labels, Clepitt has often said they don't like the way that choosing a genre forces you to put your book into a specific little box, and instead prefers to distort the readers’ expectations and keep them guessing.Most recently Clepitt's Magic Mirror collection does just that, retelling classic fairy tales as a combination of historical fiction, magical fantasy, espionage and crime drama, all with a queer twist!

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      Book preview

      Curtain Call - C H Clepitt

      Curtain Call

      A Novella by C H Clepitt

      ***~~~***

      Copyright Claire Evans 2018

      Smashwords Edition

      This is a work of fiction.  All characters, places and events are products of the author’s imagination.  Any resemblance to persons living or deceased, places of business or residence or actual events is purely coincidental.

      ***~~~***

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      ***~~~***

      Prologue

      Dean! Jen was so excited she almost screamed down the phone.  I got the job!

      What? Dean sounded confused.  It was nine-thirty in the morning.

      Sorry, Jen suddenly came back to earth. I woke you up, didn’t I?

      No, don’t be silly, Dean cleared his throat.  There was a noise of crockery down the phone as he began to make coffee whilst they were talking.  Which job is this?

      The theatre job! Jen squeaked.

      The one you applied for yesterday? The shock in Dean’s voice was unmistakable.

      Yes! Jen laughed. I did no research!  I didn’t have time. Yesterday was the deadline! I just sent them a C.V. with a brief note about how I had wanted to work in theatre and that’s why I did a degree in theatre studies.  No experience, no research! The director phoned me this morning, talked me through my C.V. and asked if I could start next week!

      Next week? Dean made a clattering sound whilst he was trying to make himself coffee. Can you?

      Yes! Jen laughed.  Work only requires a week’s notice!  It’s perfect!

      Only a week?  How long have you been there?

      Eight years!  Just shows how expendable we all are to them.  They don’t give a shit about experience or product knowledge.  They’ll just train another bloody monkey to do it.

      No monkey could do it as well as you! Dean laughed.  Clearly he’d had a swig of coffee and was now resigned to the fact that it was morning. Although they might smile more!

      They’re lucky I didn’t throw my shit at some customers! Jen laughed.  Monkey rebellion!

      Easy, Bubbles!  Dean made a crunching noise, moving on to breakfast. So, you gunna do some research before you hit the ground running?

      Jesus! Jen searched for her laptop in the absolute bombsite that was her flat.  I don’t know when I’ll have time! I’m working lates all this week, then Fi was gunna come down at the weekend to visit.

      Oh Christ, Jen could almost hear Dean roll his eyes down the phone. Can’t you put her off?  Tell her you have a new job. Or that you need some space and she should just bloody well piss off!  Maybe we can pay someone to snog you and stick it up on social media, see if she’ll take a hint!

      Oi! Jen laughed, I don’t think I’d have to pay someone, thank you very much!

      Maybe not if you actually left your flat for anything other than work! Dean sounded exasperated.  Tell you what, let’s hit the town tonight, celebrate your new job!

      I told you, I’m working a late!  I’ll try and put Fi off, it’d be nice to have a break and get some research done before I start.

      If she’ll be put off, Dean grumbled. Want me to tell her you died?

      Oh, shut up! Jen laughed.

      It’s an open offer.  Tell you what, pop in for a coffee later, if you get a chance.

      Will do.

      ***~~~***

      1. Dress

      Jen approached the front of the theatre.  She was excited. She hadn’t had time to research.  Fi had insisted on coming down. She had had to spend the weekend pretending to be OK with them being friends, and being a host and generally not doing anything she needed to.  Still, she was here early. Hopefully she could get a feel for the place and appear more like she knew what she was doing. OK, she had no clue what she was doing, but this was what she wanted to do, so she was going to do her best to get it right.

      Alright, so it wasn’t exactly what she wanted to do. She wanted stage management, she had loved that module at university. It appealed to her organised soul, and she gained a real buzz from calling the cues, making sure everything was on time, it was a rush.  This was basically a glorified P.A. role. She was assistant to the director. Still, it was a foot in the door.

      Stopping in the entrance she studied the play bills.  It was a small indie company. They ran a different show for one week a month, with the same cast.  Jen thought this must be a nice, family sort of environment. Much better than just taking on touring companies and never really getting to know anyone.  She picked up a brochure from the stand and began to flick through. It was out of date, but it looked like they covered a wide variety of plays from everywhere, and occasionally, presumably when budget permitted they had a headliner.  Someone to draw in the crowds. It looked like at the beginning of the season they had had a pop band in a musical. Jen laughed. She had no idea who they were, but from the way they were billed they must be famous. She flicked through, taking in all of the performances, familiarising herself with the headshots of the regular cast, hoping they didn’t look too much different in real life. As she reached the last page she gasped.  In large print read the words: "The Queen Anne Theatre and Company is proud to present Eleanor Francis and Jim, in, Beyond You."

      Underneath were black and white headshots of a handsome young man and Eleanor Francis.  Jen stared at it in disbelief. She might get to see Eleanor Francis in a play. This was unbelievable, and very exciting.  She thought she only did films! When she had been living with Fi they had gone to the theatre regularly. It was something they’d both enjoyed.  But when Fi left, Jen had imposed a sort of self-regulated curfew on herself - going to work, going home. It was almost as though she didn’t deserve to enjoy herself now.  Dean had been the only person she had really seen outside of work. He was the one who had encouraged her to start looking for other jobs. It wasn’t as though she’d been particularly attached to her job.  In fact, she hated it. It was more another way to punish herself. Once Fi had left she’d stopped everything. Now she was starting a new stage. This was it. Don’t be weird.

      She looked around for where to go.  There was a door to her left that read: Staff Only. Maybe there?  She opened it slowly. It lead to a long corridor with rooms along either end.  The first door read Director.

      Don’t be weird, she muttered to herself as she took a deep breath and knocked.

      Yes? The man behind the door looked decidedly flustered as he removed a smeary pair of spectacles and cleaned them feverishly on his untucked checked shirt.

      Um, hi… Mr. Stuart? I’m Jen, the new assistant… it’s my first day…

      Of course! Sorry, come in, he beckoned her, but was already looking for something behind his desk.  Look, he paused and looked her up and down as though trying to decide whether to bet on her in the prize fight. I’m gunna have to throw you in at the deep end I’m afraid. He moved around to the front of his desk, pulled a collection of scarves off a chair and indicated that she should sit.  I have just got off the phone with Buni Warren, you might have heard of Buni?

      Oh, yes! Jen smiled. She’s a top agent isn’t she? She reps all the top stars, including Miss Francis, who’s headlining here! She took a breath, realising she may sound rather too enthusiastic.

      Yes, she holds all our balls in a vice-like grip if we want a decent headliner.  Apparently we haven’t been giving her star the appropriate treatment. I don’t think we’ll need to whore you out, just coffee runs and, I dunno… what do stars need? Pat her on the head and tell her she’s pretty. If you can get her through to opening night without me getting another single phone call, well, you can name your damn price! I don’t need this shit so close to opening!

      "I, um… Sure? What do you want me

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