Olivia and the Great Escape Read Online Free

lyrics.”
    “Are you going to enter the songwriting competition, Aeysh?” asked Tom.
    Aeysha nodded shyly. “I thought I might have a go.” She looked around. “Anyone else?”
    They all shook their heads. “I couldn’t write a song to save my life,” said Katie.
    “No,” said Aeysha, “but you can do lots ofother things. You’re a terrific dancer and I saw you’ve signed up for contortion this term. Pablo is very picky about who he lets do that.”
    “Ah,” said Katie with a big grin. “I’ve been in so many tight situations in my life, he probably thought he couldn’t turn me down. But I won’t make much progress this term because of the filming in Yorkshire.”
    “What about you, Alex?” asked Tom, who was feeling a little irritated about the way Alex had called Olivia “Liv”. “What’s your special skill or are you just incredibly good at everything?”
    Aeysha gave Tom a quick glance. It was unlike him to be snarky. But Alex didn’t seem to have noticed. He looked at them all for a moment and then he opened his mouth. What came out was a complete surprise. Alex sounded just like Sebastian Shaw, and what was even more uncanny, he
looked
very like him too, even though Sebastian was at least thirty years older. The others gasped with amazement and then shrieked as before their eyes Alex morphed into Mrs Merman the jazz teacher: “Smile, children, smile. Show me your teeth.”
    Almost immediately he changed again andbecame Alicia at the beginning of term assembly. It was so astonishing that Olivia and the others were all left open-mouthed.
    “That is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen,” said Aeysha, wiping away the tears of laughter. “How do you do it?”
    Alex shrugged. “Think I was just born with it. My dad’s got it. He used to do an impersonation act in clubs before my mum got sick. He always wanted to break into TV, but it never happened for him. He used to have a manager, this guy called Ethan, who said he’d make him the next big thing. But he didn’t. But Dad hasn’t given up hope. He’s a much better mimic than me. I’m actually better at women than men, although that may change as I get older. He can do anyone. I’m still learning.”
    “Well, we’re all dead impressed,” said Katie.
    “Even you, Liv?” asked Alex softly.
    “Oh, Olivia’s never impressed by anyone unless they’re balancing in mid-air,” said Georgia, so snitchily that the others all began talking at once to make up for her rudeness.
    They didn’t hear Alex say to Olivia: “Then I’ll just have to sign up for high-wire classes and show you what I can do.”

Chapter Five
    Aeysha strummed the last note on her guitar, looked round the room and smiled. She felt tremendous relief that it had gone so well. Everyone clapped and cheered and in the very front Kasha Kasparian was clapping loudest of them all. It made Aeysha feel really proud that someone who she admired and who was a proven songwriter clearly liked her little effort.
    It had been a long morning for Kasha who, at Alicia’s request, had been helping the Swans start work on their compositions. Some were entering in small groups or pairs, others singly like Aeysha. He didn’t really have the time but he was still so in awe of Alicia that he hadn’t dreamed of saying no to her. Besides, Kashaloved being back at the Swan and had hoped that it might take his mind off other things, maybe even inspire him. The pressure to get his first album finished was intense. Particularly as he had just released a second single that showed every sign of going straight to number one.
    Kasha had never realised that being a pop star was such hard work. When he had been at the Swan and immediately after he had left, the music and lyrics had just flowed out of him. He had found writing a song effortless. He had once heard a novelist say that writing a book was as easy as remembering something that hadn’t happened yet, and that’s what writing a