D Is for Drama (6 page)

He frowned, and I gave a nervous wave before sitting beside Ilana.

“Fine, so you didn't pick me,” I said in a softer voice, “but there were a bunch of people way better than Sara for that role.”

Ilana shook her head. “Nope. They all had huge flaws that would
destroy
the show. And it has to be a perfect performance.”

I tried to remember all the things I'd read on the evaluations. “How is . . . a girl who gestures too much going to destroy the show?”

“She could knock over scenery,” Ilana answered.

“And a girl who spits when she talks?” I asked.

“She could drown the audience,” said Ilana.

I groaned. “That's ridiculous. And it's not fair.”

“Life's not fair,” Ilana said flatly. “If it was, I wouldn't—” She cut herself off. “Just let it go, Sunny, and wait for high school.”

“Wait for high school?!” I jumped to my feet, and Ilana flinched.

If Chase hadn't appeared just then, I'm not sure what would have happened. Ilana probably would've been sporting a bald spot.

“Hey, guys, thanks for coming!” Chase said, stepping between us. To me, he turned and said in a hoarse whisper, “What's with the yelling?”

“I'm not yelling,” I said. “I'm calling Ilana out for being a jerk.” I leaned past him so she could hear me. “With all the money you earn on makeovers, you'd think you could buy a better personality!”

“Sunny!” Chase said with a shocked look.

I held up a hand to stop him. “Do you know what she did?”

“I don't care,” he said, pushing my hand aside. “That was really harsh. You probably hurt her feelings.”

We both turned toward Ilana, who was staring at the ground with a forlorn expression.

“See?” he said.

“She's faking. All good actresses can do that,” I said, but I wasn't sure.

“I think you should leave,” said Chase with a frown. “Especially since you don't have any real interest in watching
me
play.”

Now he looked almost as hurt as Ilana. How did
I
suddenly become the bad guy?

I grabbed his hand. “Chase, I'm sorry, but you should have seen her tearing people apart at auditions! And she wouldn't pick
me
for Mary Poppins because I'm Asian.”

Chase studied me, and for a second I thought I'd won him back to my side. But then he shook his head.

“Ilana wasn't the only person on the selection committee. There could've been other reasons they didn't pick you.”

“But—”

“Stop it, Sunny!” Chase scowled. “You didn't get the part. Let it go!”

His words stunned me into silence, and I pressed my lips together to fight back tears. Chase had
always
tried to see my side, but now that he and Ilana were getting close, there was no reason to.

“For your information,” I finally said, glaring at him, “I
don't want that stupid part anymore. Not if it means spending time around you.”

Chase opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off.

“Besides,” I said, “Ms. Elliott's letting me star in my
own
show, so I won't have the time.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Really?” he asked.

Ilana stepped forward. “Excuse me?”

“That's right.” I nodded, feeling a new surge of conviction.

Forget the one-girl show. I had something bigger to prove.

“And unlike the cast
you
selected, mine will be chosen for the right reasons.” I scowled at them and stormed out of the bleachers.

Now I had a problem.

How was I going to cast an entire production by myself? My theater experience was limited to classes and what I'd learned inside a potato sack. I didn't really feel qualified to hold auditions. What I really needed was a seasoned professional. Someone like . . .

“Stefan?” I said when he answered his phone. “Do you have a second?”

“I'm watching the shop, so I have all night,” he said over the din of animal madness. “Come on by.”

I CALLED MOM
to get me at the pet shop in an hour and walked the couple blocks to Feathers 'N' Fangs. When I opened the door, overhead bells jangled and a barrage of sound came from the side kennels. But nobody showed up to greet me.

“Hello!” I called.

A cage beside me rattled, and I jumped.

“Hell-o!” said a screechy voice.

I glanced over to see a parrot shifting from foot to foot.

“Hello!” I said again with a smile.

“Hell-o!” the parrot repeated.

Glancing around, I leaned closer.

“Sunny is a superstar,” I said.

The parrot gave a throaty chuckle.

I couldn't even get respect from a bird.

“Don't mind Petie,” said Stefan, emerging from the pet-food aisle. “He only knows ‘hello.' Everything else gets a laugh.” He reached into his apron pocket and pulled out a bird treat. “Right, Petie?”

As if in answer Petie let out another chuckle and poked his beak through the bars for the treat.

Stefan winked at me, and I smiled.

If I could've had anyone for a big brother, it would've
been him. He was tall and handsome, with a killer smile and hair gelled into short spikes. He looked born for show biz. Even in a ratty green apron.

“What do you say, protégé?” He held open his arms for a hug. “I'm sorry you didn't get Mary Poppins.”

“I'm over it,” I said, hugging him back.

“Please. You're in theater.” Stefan grinned. “‘Never forgive' is our sacred motto.”

I made a face and stepped away. “Okay, fine. But I do have good news.”

His grin deepened. “You got your one-girl show.”

I rubbed my nails on my shirt. “Maybe.”

Stefan laughed and applauded me. “Bravo. And did you decide on a piece?”

I lowered my hand. “Here's the thing.”

He stopped laughing. “Uh-oh.”

“It's not a one-girl show anymore,” I said. “I'm letting other kids try out.”

The bells over the shop door jangled, and Stefan waved at whoever walked in before returning his attention to me.

“That's sweet, but you realize more people on stage means less focus on you,” he said.

“I know,” I said. “But those kids never stood a chance at regular auditions.”

While Stefan restocked dog biscuits, I told him about Ilana and the evaluations. His reaction was similar to Grandma's, but from the way he shoved boxes onto the shelf, I could tell he was more upset.

“I've seen that attitude at the high school level,” he said, “but I hoped you were immune to it at your age.”

“Nope,” I said, repositioning the boxes. When I'd straightened them all, I stood there, staring at the shelf. “Maybe it's more than just discrimination, though.” I turned to Stefan. “What if I didn't deserve anything better than an extra?”

Stefan gave me a withering look. “Don't be stupid. I was there, and you did great.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “It's
possible
that Mary Poppins wasn't the best role for you, but you still deserved to be one of the leads.”

“You think so?” I said, tracing the edges of a box with my fingers.

“Yes.” Stefan arranged cans of dog food on the shelf. “But it doesn't matter what
I
think about you. It matters what
you
think about yourself.”

I studied him for a minute. “That's serious wisdom from a guy shelving cans upside down.”

“What?” Stefan stepped back to survey his work. “Yep. I've stocked an entire row with doof god.”

We both laughed, and I helped him set the cans right side up.

“You just wait, Sunny,” he said. “Once you step into that spotlight, you'll see you're a natural fit.”

I stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “You always have the right answers, Best Mentor Ever. Which is why I know you're going to say ‘Yes' to my next question.”

Stefan turned to face me. “Do I have a choice?”

“Of course,” I said. “You can choose to say yes, or you can choose to
not
say no.”

He smirked. “What's the favor?”

“I could use someone to help me judge the auditions,” I said. “Someone with more theater experience who can give unbiased opinions.”

Stefan grimaced. “Sorry, but I've got my own audition to worry about tomorrow afternoon. High school does theater too, you know.”

I bit my lip. “What about tomorrow at lunch?” I asked. “You're allowed to leave campus, right?”

Stefan raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, but that doesn't give you a lot of time to announce auditions.”

I waved his argument away. “Trust me. Everyone will find out.”

“Then, sure,” he said with a shrug. “I can help.”

“Thank you!” I hugged him as the bells over the shop door jangled again.

“Give me a sec,” said Stefan, disappearing toward the front. He came back a moment later, looking bewildered, with my mom in tow.

“Hey, Mom,” I said. I gave Stefan a worried glance. “Is everything okay?”

Mom rushed forward and took my hands. “I just told him your big news!” she gushed.

I tilted my head to one side. “About me starring in a play? He already knows.”

She laughed and hugged me. “No, not about the play! I mean . . . yes, about the play. But not about the
play
.”

I eyed her suspiciously. “Did you have a stroke or something?”

Mom laughed again and shook her head. “I know I'm not making any sense, but I'm just so excited for you.” She breathed deeply. “I was having lunch with friends today and bragging about your success.”

“Really?” I asked.

Behind my mom, Stefan gave me a look and used his fingers to pull his face into a big smile.

“I mean . . . awww, thanks, Mom!” I said, beaming at her.

Luckily, she was too distracted to notice.

“Well, my friends were saying how nice it was that you're following in my footsteps,” she continued. “And I realized, if that's true, why not start you off early?”

I shot Stefan a quick look, and he winked.

“What do you mean?” I asked Mom.

She took my hands. “I mean that I made some calls, and if everything goes well with your show, you might . . . just . . . get . . . an agent.”

I didn't need cues from Stefan on how to react to
that
. The poor animals in the pet shop . . . so unprepared for my screams of joy.

“
What?!
” I shrieked, squeezing the life out of my mom's hands. “Are you serious?”

She nodded. “My friend Evelyn will be sitting in on your opening night. If that's okay with you.”

“Of course it's okay!” I threw my arms around Mom, and she laughed.

“So you'll practice hard and make me proud,” said Mom. “I want you to be the best Mary Poppins there is.”

My muscles tensed. “Well—”

“She's going to be the star of the show!” interrupted Stefan. “Just you wait and see.”

Mom pulled back and beamed from Stefan to me. “You ready to go?”

“Sure, in just a sec,” I said. “Stefan was going to show me a kitten.” I smiled and pushed him down the aisle.

“Hurry!” Mom called after us. “We have to get home for dinner.”

I flashed her an okay sign, then used the same fingers to pinch Stefan's arm as soon as we were out of sight.

“Ow! What's with the talons?” he asked, rubbing the sore spot.

“The agent is coming to see me as the lead in
Mary Pops In
!” I hissed.

Stefan placed a hand on mine. “You're missing the point. The agent is coming to see you as the lead,
period
. Who cares if it's for a different production?”

“Well . . .”

“Once everything's worked out, you can tell your folks about the show,” he continued. “But for now, just keep it under wraps.”

I leaned against the wall and sighed. “Fine. But do me a favor. Call Bree and tell her about the auditions tomorrow.
I won't be able to get away to do it, and Bree will make sure everyone knows.” I took a pen out of my purse and wrote down Bree's number.

“Sunny?” Mom appeared at the end of the aisle. “Let's get going.”

“You heard the woman,” I told Stefan, handing over the paper. “Let's get going.”

SEVEN

T
HE NEXT MORNING BREE AND
I were nearly trampled by a group of kids running through the hall. We leapt to either side of the crowd, and I clutched my backpack to my chest like a shield.

“What's going on?” I asked a girl named Janice (the one Ilana said spit when she talked).

Janice saw me and laughed. “Like you don't know.”

Of course I did, but I wanted to be sure. It was hard to believe all these people were spreading the word about my show when I'd only just opened auditions the night before.

When the crowd passed, Bree and I rejoined and watched the last kid disappear around the corner.

“Did you see how many there were?” I asked. “Do you think they'll all try out?”

“Probably,” said Bree with a shrug. “What have they got to lose?”

I took a deep breath. “Let's get some breakfast while I can still eat.”

Stefan would show up at lunch to help out, but I wished Chase could come too. I knew it wouldn't happen, though, since we were fighting. Plus, he was too busy falling in
looove
with Ilana, my new archenemy.

When Bree and I entered the cafeteria, the happy couple was already there, sitting side by side at a table. They were sharing a book and laughing, but at the sound of our footsteps, Chase stopped and glanced up.