Jean chewed her lip as Mattie exploded, "And Mrs Beazley, she can't just pull out of the show, I mean we're hallway through making costumes, we've finished blocking, we're almost at scripts down… She just can't! What the hell happened last night anyway? She won't answer any of our phone calls and she's not replying to texts or messages!"

Jean exhaled heavily as she glanced around the room searching for the familiar dark ponytail and seeing it nowhere. She knew Mei Lin's return put an end to her and Lucien's relationship, but she hadn't thought through that it would also be problematic for Li. To have such an effect on her so soon, Mei Lin must have come down strong on her. She snuck a peek at her phone screen but there were no messages there either. There'd been nothing since she left last night. She patted Mattie on the shoulder "Hey, hey, deep breaths," She squeezed the shoulder reassuringly. "Look, It's not my place to explain what happened last night, but I'll call Lucien after rehearsal and get to the bottom of this, don't worry." She patted Mattie's shoulder again and hoped the girl didn't hear the worry in her own voice.

Clapping her hands together she got the attention of the cast, "Attention everyone, Unfortunately Li is unable to be at rehearsal today. I'll step in and do my best reading the lines, but you might have to drag me around the stage for some of my blocking. Right let's set the stage for Act 2 and Nell will take you for some warmups."

She ducked out of the room and inhaled deeply. Her breath shook as she pulled out her phone and brought up Lucien's messages. Still nothing from him. She stared at the blinking curser then began to type.

"I assume Li is not making it to rehearsal today? Mattie seems to think she's going to pull out of the show all together. If this has anything to do with you and I, or last night, I think we need to talk."

A reply came almost instantly.

"I'm sorry Jean, this is such a mess. I told her to call you. She needed to see Phryne. I'm so sorry about last night. I had absolutely no idea. I've been completely blindsided by the whole thing and I'm trying to work things out, but it's incredibly complicated. I need to see you Jean."

"Lucien I don't think that's wise."

The introduction for "A Step Too Far" the first song of act two began and Jean pushed her phone back into her pocket, and ducked back into the theatre, taking Li's usual spot for the scene, at centre front. Luckily the song was a stand and sing song and didn't require any choreography or movement. Mattie's verse as Amneris went smoothly, but Jean felt her breath catch in her chest as Danny sang his verse.

"I'm in every kind of trouble
Can't you tell, just look at me
Half ecstatic, half dejected
All in all I'm all at sea
Easy terms I thought I wanted
Fill me now with chilling dread
You could never know the chaos
Of a life turned on it's head
Of a life turned on it's head"

Jean was breathing heavily after Radames's last phrase, and almost too late managed to compose herself and open her mouth to sing Aida's verse.

"I am certain that I love him
But a love can be misplaced"

Jean's voice cracked with emotion as she sang the lines too close for comfort, and she cleared her throat and ducked her head embarrassed. "Sorry everyone, clearly I should have been warming up alongside you today," she quipped, outwardly trying to make light of the situation, while inside, her heart felt like it was splitting in two. She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket but ignored it as she continued to sing.

"I could be his life companion
Anywhere but where we are
Am I leader? Am I traitor?
Did I take a step too far?
Did I take a step too far?"

Amneris, Aida and Radames joined hands across the stage, their voices overlapping each other as they sang their verses at the same time.

The song finished, the three singers each standing facing out into the audience, and there was polite applause from the students watching from sidestage. Jean looked around as without her even having to say anything the set was changed to the prison cell. Surprising everyone, Edward had actually turned up and was sat on the drama block that was currently serving as a stool, his dark eyes narrowing as he watched Ned as Mereb bribe their way into the jail.

"Father," Jean spoke Aida's line.

"Aida," Edward replied, and pulled on Jean's hand into the scripted hug.

Jean winced as her bad wrist was squished at an awkward angle between them.

"Where's your precious Li?" Edward muttered in her ear with venom. "Did she finally realise she's useless and quit?"

Jean clenched her teeth but continued as if Edward had spoken his line. "Have they mistreated you?"

The scene progressed without any more drama, as unseen by everyone Lucien slipped in and sat in the theatre in the dark.

"Aida! Do not shame yourself and me with such witless sentiment! Do not tell me this Egyptian grieves for the Nubian men executed, the women ravaged, and the children taken into slavery? Any soft look you have given this Captain, any soft word, betrays the innocents who suffered at his hands and at the hands of every soldier he commands. You will cut this man from your heart."

Jeans breath caught in her throat as Amonsaro's angry tirade against Radames clawed at her already sore heart. Perhaps she should have stayed home today, but she'd already missed so many rehearsals because of her injuries. She swallowed heavily, "Yes father," she agreed meekly, looking at her shoes to stop Edward from realising the emotional state she was in.

In the auditorium Lucien had also inhaled sharply at Edward's line, "You will cut this man from your heart". His eyes studied Jean as the cell scene was cleared.

"We don't need to run 'Easy as life' do we?" Jean's voice called to someone off stage.

"Maybe just mark it through? Only Ned has a costume change and we're just trying to work out exactly how much time he's got," Nell's voice came from the wings.

Jean circled a "we'll keep going'' finger to Amy, running the sound, who pressed play on the backing track, and she knelt centre stage and began to sing.

"This is the moment, When the God's expect me to beg for help.
But I won't even try.
I want nothing in the world but myself to protect me
And I won't lie down, roll over and die"

The intro went without a hitch but as soon as Jean opened her mouth and began to sing the opening lines, she knew she was in trouble.

"All I have to do is to forget how much I love him
All I have to do is put my longing to one side
Tell myself that love's an ever-changing situation
Passion would have cooled and all the magic would have died
It's easy, it's easy"

Suddenly Jean was no longer Aida singing about her forbidden love with Radames. She was herself singing about her very real relationship with Lucien.

"All I have to do is to pretend I never knew him
On those very rare occasions when he steals into my heart
Better to have lost him when the ties were barely binding
Better the contempt of the familiar cannot start
It's easy, It's easy"

Tears filled Jean's eyes as she sang, the words of the song scraping across every raw nerve of her heart.

"Until I think about him as he was when I last touched him
And how he would have been, were I to be with him today
Those very rare occasions don't let up they keep on coming
All I ever wanted and I'm throwing it away
It's easy, it's easy as life"

Jean's voice broke on the last note and Lucien watched as she hurriedly got to her feet and swiped at her face. "Let the rest of the track play to give you the timing," she called as she flew out of the theatre in distress.

Chatter broke out among the cast and Nell appeared, "Ok guys, let's all just remember Mrs Beazley has been through a very traumatic incident recently. Obviously something is playing on her mind today. Let's be gentle with her ok? Come on now let's continue with the next scene.

Mattie and Charlie appeared onstage to begin their next scene, looking slightly bewildered, but ready to continue and Lucien slipped out as silently as he had arrived.

As he sat back in his car he rubbed his face. Yesterday afternoon everything had been going so well. How within an evening had their lives all been tipped upside down?

Jean shut herself in the small backstage bathroom and leant her back against the door as she tried to calm her breathing. She pulled out her phone and saw Lucien's reply to her that she had felt buzz in her pocket.

"You are the only thing in my life that is making sense right now."

She clutched her phone to her chest as the tears spilled from her eyes and poured down her cheeks.

Phryne looked to where Li sat straight backed on the couch, her arms crossed and eyes steely. Gone was the happy joyful carefree young lady that Phryne had been seeing.

"This is difficult for me to advise on, I don't want to be disrespectful to your mother Li."

"She is constantly disrespecting me, and Papa, It's all she's done since she arrived." Li couldn't help but let angry words stream from her mouth as she explained how things had played out over dinner and how she'd ended the night in tears, telling her friends she was thinking of pulling out of the show.

Phryne huffed as Li finally finished her tirade against her mother. "In that case, Do what makes you happy. Stand up to her. She's being a bully. Look at how much you have accomplished without her. A great bunch of friends, happiness in school, a lead in a musical, and a semi boyfriend. Li, I know she is your mother, but she can't dictate your life. Only you know what's best for you. Forget about what she wants. Forget about what your father wants, do what YOU want."

Li stared at the wall, past Phryne's ear. "What if I don't know what I want?"

"I think you do, or this wouldn't be messing you up so much. I know as well as the next person that sometimes the people who are supposed to love you sometimes think they know what's best for you, but only you can make that decision. Li, your mother has been out of your life for seven years, years that you grew and developed, years that made you who you are today. You aren't the same person you were when she disappeared and it's not fair on you, or her, to try and pretend you are."

There was a pause.

"How is your dad taking it?"

Li shrugged "We haven't had much time to talk."

"Have they talked it through?"

"Not sure." Li kept her eyes resolutely trained on the spot behind Phryne's head.

"I mean Lucien's got to be as confused as you are."

Li sighed, "And poor Mrs Beazley's been caught up in it all too."

"Jean?"

"Yes, she was at our place for dinner when… she turned up."

"Oh."

"I'm pretty certain dad was about to tell me that they've been seeing each other," she whispered softly, now staring at the ground.

Phryne's eyes widened, "Oh! Wow, that is… unexpected, and horrible timing, wait did you already know?"

"They think they've been hiding it, but I'm not stupid,"Li sighed.

'Indeed you are not Li Blake, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"It's just… Mrs Beazley makes Dad happy, happier than I've seen him in years. I'm scared if Mama comes back into our lives, we'll go back to just… marking time," Li traced a toe along the edge of the floor rug.

"Li you need to communicate this with your Dad."

"I know, it's just so hard to talk when she's always there."

"Perhaps we could have a joint session, all three of you, get things all sorted out."

"I'll mention it to dad," Li mumbled, clearly not convinced.

"And Li?"

"Yes?"

"For crying out loud, text your friends back. Mattie's been blowing up my phone all morning."

Mattie felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and she grabbed at it hopefully. Her heart leapt as she saw it was a message from Li.

"I'm sorry Mattie. I feel like my life has been turned on its head. Can I buy you a milkshake after rehearsal? I promise I'll explain everything."

Mattie's reply was simple.

"Yes please."

Li wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans as she waited for Mattie. She'd gotten to the café early which was good, as it was pretty full, but it had given her way too much time to overthink about what Mattie's response could be. Finally the girl in question slid in to the chair opposite, stony faced and crossed arms. Li smiled nervously at her. "Hello."

Mattie wasted no time with niceties, "Li, What's going on? What's with the radio silence? And saying you're pulling out of the show? What the hell?"

Li winced and took a deep breath, "I'm so sorry Mattie."

Mattie's prickly exterior deflated slightly, "What happened?"

Li looked at her hands which were shredding a napkin, "My mother has returned."

"Your… what? Li? Isn't your mum like dead?"

"Apparently not. Apparently she's currently sleeping in the spare room."

"What?"

Li watched Mattie's eyebrows grow higher and higher as she explained the events from the night before and the reason for her urgent session with Phryne.

A stunned silence starched between them. Then Mattie sat back in her chair. "Wow. I'm sorry I was such a harsh bitch to you."

Li tried a small smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"What are you guys gonna do? Are they getting back together? What about Mrs Beazley? She was not doing ok at rehearsal today by the way."

Li rubbed at her face, "I don't know Mattie, I'm so confused. I mean, isn't this the dream? Mama turning up alive after all of these years? 6 years ago It's all I wanted."

"And now?"

"Now, I'm not sure. I'm a different person to who I was then. A happier person. And I don't think I can go back to being that unhappy person, even if that's who Mama wants me to be."

"What did Phryne say?"

"She said I need to talk to dad about how I'm feeling about it."

"And what happens if your dad wants to move back to Singapore with her?"

"I don't know," Li whispered.

The two girls entered the house, half-drunk milkshakes in hand and Li cautiously called, "Hello?"

"Li Blake where have you been? I didn't know where you were, I don't have a number to contact you on," Mei Lin appeared around the corner, "And what is that? You're going to ruin your dinner, Do you know how much sugar is in one of those?"

Li ignored the question, "Mama, this is my friend Mattie."

Mei Lin pursed her lips and nodded her head curtly.

"Pleased to meet you Mrs Blake," Mattie said politely.

"Come on, we can talk in my room."

Mei Lin's eyes narrowed even further at the thought of Li taking food into her room but said nothing.

Once they had settled themselves in Li's room, the quiet was only broken by the two girls sipping on their straws.

Finally Mattie spoke. "She hates me."

"She doesn't even know you."

"I don't think this was a good idea."

"Phryne said to continue to live my life the way I have been, She said we need to show her how much things have changed."

The door swept open and Mei Lin appeared in the doorway, "Do you have homework?"

Li looked at her coldly, "Please knock before coming into my room."

"I don't see why you need to have the door closed."

"It's called privacy."

"What are you doing in here that you need privacy for?"

"Mama, we're just talking."

"In that case, the door can stay open."

Li took a deep breath, "No. The door stays closed. And it's Sunday Mama, I've done all the homework that was set."

"Any outstanding assignments?"

"A few, but they're not due for weeks."

"So you could be working on them?"

"I could be, But I don't need to be, I have plenty of time. And I'm talking to my friend," Li said pointedly.

Mei Lin huffed, whirled on her heel and strode out of the room, deliberately leaving the door wide open.

Li sighed and got up and closed the door after her.

Mattie exhaled, "Wow. She's full on."

Li chewed her lip, "Please don't let her scare you away Mattie. I couldn't bear losing your friendship. You're the first proper friend I've ever had."

Mattie took her hand, "Li she won't scare me off. You forget I have my own parental problems." She smiled, "Now onto more important things. Have you texted Charlie back yet? He was very concerned at rehearsal today. Kept asking if I'd heard anything from you."

"Oh Mattie, I wouldn't know what to say."

"Exactly what you told me."

"In a text?" Li sighed, "I don't want to have to keep repeating myself, I should have just recorded myself talking to you this afternoon, then I could have just played it to him. I don't want to have to keep reliving it."

They heard a faint knock at the front door and a familiar voice reached them.

"Speaking of," Mattie crowed with a grin.

Li bounced off the bed and raced to the front door where a confused Charlie was conversing with a terse Mei Lin.

"Charlie!"

"Li, Hi," there was an uncomfortable silence while they all looked at each other.

"Um, Mama, This is Charlie, he's my uh… my friend."

Mei Lin said nothing.

"Charlie, this is… My mama."

Charlie's eyebrows bounced to his hair line and his eyes bugged, "Your Mum? But…"

Li cut him off, "Come on, Mattie's here too, I'll explain everything."

Charlie followed Li down the corridor to her room.

Li felt Mei Lin's eyes on her, the whole way.

After another long-winded conversation Li stood on the front porch opposite Charlie.

"I'm glad you're ok. It really worried me when you weren't replying," Charlie scuffed his shoe on the ground, "I was hoping I hadn't done anything."

"No Charlie, It was me, It was just such a shock and I had to go and talk to Phryne before I could work out how to talk about it to anyone else. I'm sorry."

"Can I… Give you a hug?" Charlie mumbled as the tips of his ears turned pink.

Li felt her face flush, "Of course."

Charlie opened his arms and she slipped into them easily. She felt his heart beat strongly in his chest as they breathed together, his arms warm at his back. She felt safe and comfortable.

"Thank you for explaining things to me. I hope you'll stay here. I… want you to stay here," he murmured in her ear.

Li pulled away reluctantly, "we'll see," she smiled sadly. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow, Yeah. At school," Charlie nodded feeling stupid.

"Bye."

"Bye."

Li turned and closed the door and saw the flash of Mei Lin's slippered foot disappear into the kitchen.

You're not doing anything wrong Li Blake, she told herself sternly. Charlie is your friend. Mattie is your friend. You are living your life the way you have been for the last 6 months, which has been making you happy and confident.

Wordlessly she slipped back into her room, where Mattie was waiting with a smug grin on her face wanting a play by play of her conversation with Charlie.

"EEeeeeeeeee!" Mattie squealed when Li told her what he'd said.

"Mattie it's hardly a love confession. He just said he didn't want me to leave."

"Li?" Mei Lin swept in again, "What was that ungodly noise?"

"Mama, I told you to knock."

"And I told you to leave the door open. I'm your mama. I don't need to knock."

"Yes. You. Do." Li insisted, "And the noise was just Mattie, being excited about something."

Mei Lin's attention turned to Mattie, "Isn't it time for you to go home? Surely your parents are wondering where you are?"

"Probably not," Mattie grinned at her.

"Mama, we told you, Mattie has dinner with us most nights, Dad takes her home after tea."

"We have singalongs in the car," Mattie added. "Mr Blake has been very good to me over the last few months."

"I see," Mei Lin looked down her nose at her nastily and left.

Li sighed and again got up and closed the door. She turned sad eyes to Mattie. "This is not what I imagined all those times I dreamed she'd come back."

"Like you've said, you've changed Li. And dare I say you've changed for the better. And the sooner she realises that, the better."

After dinner which Mei Lin had made, a beef dish, with far too much chili, Lucien, Li and Mattie piled into the car to take Mattie home. There was no singing, no silly jokes like there usually would be.

Lucien cleared his throat, "Sorry Mattie. I'm aware dinner tonight was an uncomfortable affair, for all of us."

"It's ok Mr Blake, I understand how confusing this all must be for you guys."

They pulled into her driveway, the house dark and cold like always. "Bear with us ok?" Lucien called as Mattie stepped out of the car.

"Of course. You can't get rid of me that easily. See you tomorrow Li."

Li waved at her, "I'll be there."

'You better be," Mattie joked as the car reversed out of the driveway.

Silence filled the car as Li and Lucien were alone for the first time since Mei Lin had arrived.

"Dad? What's going to happen now?"

"I don't know Li, I don't know."

"Is Mama staying here? Are you and her going to get back together? Are we going back to Singapore?"

There was silence.

"Dad, I don't want to go. I want to stay here with my friends. She's been out of our lives for seven years. She can't just come back and expect us to be the same people she left."

"Li she didn't choose to leave. She was abducted."

"And that sucks, I get it, but that doesn't change the fact that we have both made a life here, without her. And if I had to choose, I much prefer the one I have here than the one I had in Singapore. Back there I was unhappy, I had no friends, and while, yes, I probably never would have received a 'B' on my chemistry test, I'm finding things that are more important. Mattie, Charlie, laughter, hugs, friends," she looked at him. "Aren't you happier here? What about your friendship with Mr Lawson? And what about Mrs Beazley?"

Lucien's hands gripped the steering wheel at the mention of Jean and how close they had gotten to telling Li everything. "She is your Mama," is all he could manage to vocalise as his chest pounded.

"It doesn't mean she knows who I am anymore. If she wants back in our lives she needs to give a bit, accept that things have changed. Dad she's been nothing but rude to you and me since she got back. And to Mrs Beazley. And Charlie and Mattie. She needs to understand that we haven't just been treading water waiting to drown for the last seven years. She is the outsider here. I'm not going back to the way things were. I'm just… Not." She crossed her arms and stared stiffly out the window.

"Li, your Mama has been through a rough time, it's a lot for her to take in. Let's give her another chance? Some time to get used to this. To us. She's been without us for just as long, I'm sure it is just taking some time to adjust. Please?"

"Is this really what you want? Mama and you? Together again? If you can tell me in all honesty that this is what you want, I will try."

Lucien's heart beat like a drum in his chest, and he couldn't find the words to reply.