Free Alice in La La Land by Sophie Lee Page B

investors after all,' her mother countered, clutching her trendy bottle of Italian blood-orange soda.
    'Mum, just excuse me one sec,' Alice sputtered, suddenly feeling sick. She needed a drink.
    'I'll just have . . . a glass of white wine, thanks,' Alice
asked the barman. He had a sympathetic face, and Alice recognised him as another theatre actor.
    'Sure. How'd it go?' he said, pouring from an already open bottle. It was the better wine they sold at the theatre.
    'Yeah, good. Really solid, I thought. Be great to settle into the run.' She handed over a five-dollar note.
    'You're not buying your own drink on opening night, are you?' roared a woman with short hair and bright pink lipstick. It was Bunny, her Australian agent.
    'Oh, hi Bunny.' Alice willed her face to smile. Bunny Gange was still smarting over the Starmap 3000 fiasco. Alice's role had gone to an actress represented by another agency.
    'Give me a champagne as well,' Bunny said to the barman. She paid for the round and they took their drinks to a far corner of the bar.
    'What happened?' asked Bunny quietly, taking a sip of her drink. Tact had never been her strong suit. 'Was the cast not ready?'
    Alice's mouth dropped open. 'Was it that bad?' she winced. She was aware her bottom lip was trembling. 'Bloody hell, I've got twenty thousand invested here.'
    'Okay, don't fret, sweetie,' Bunny purred in an attempt to soothe, but her tendency towards brutal honesty won out. She sighed. 'That hoopla in the third act with all the blood. People were groaning. I just . . .' Bunny took a large sip of her champagne and left an impressive pink mark on the rim of her glass. 'The Starmap 3000 pilot started shooting this week. I can't help thinking . . .'
    'Flaming Sambuccas anyone?' Conrad interjected. 'Hi Bunny, how are you? Wasn't she amazing?' He looked flushed and jubilant.
    'Three please,' Alice replied. 'Just excuse me one sec, Bunny.'
    'Go, go, enjoy,' urged Bunny, turning to chat to a man Alice recognised as the theatre critic from The Australian . He looked uncomfortable and refused to meet Alice's eye. She clung to Conrad's arm as they made their way back into the throng of the bar.
    'Oh my goodness, did you see that critic's face?' she hissed. 'He looked as though he'd been sucking on lemons. And Bunny's really busting my balls. Thanks for rescuing me.'
    'What's she on about? You really were fabulous tonight.'
    'Really?'
    'Thanks so much for working so hard.'
    'Stop it,' Alice replied, surprised at the genuine emotion in his voice.
    'Three Sambuccas,' he ordered from the barman. 'Alice, I'll be back in one sec. I've just seen someone I need to speak to.'
    'Sure,' said Alice, trying to peer through the crowd at who the person could be.
    'Three Sambuccas. That's twenty-one dollars,' said the sympathetic barman as he set fire to their tops with a plastic lighter.
    'Oh . . . right.' Alice reached into her purse and handed over the cash.
    'Big night planned, Moon-Face?' came a voice from behind her.
    'Oh, Flick. Thank God you came,' Alice sighed, turning to her friend and giving her a hug.
    'Are all those Sambuccas for you?' she asked, eyeing the drinks on the bar. The flames were dwindling and the drinks looked forlorn.
    'Of course,' said Alice jauntily. 'Everything in threes on an opening night; you know that.' She handed over one of the drinks. It burnt her finger. 'Now where are my three groupies?'
    'I just had my way with all of them and sent them home. Cheers.' Flick tipped back her head and swallowed quickly. 'So Conrad's still scarpering off when it comes to paying for the drinks, I see,' she said archly. Flick was the only person Alice would let get away with this comment. After all, she had introduced them.
    Flick, or Felicity Chadwick, was one of the best theatre actresses around. She had auditioned for the three major drama schools in Australia at the tender age of seventeen and was accepted in all. She chose to attend the one closest to her home town. Flick's