Bounce by Noelle August Read Free Book Online

comes out sounding guilty and insincere, though I totally mean it.
    â€œWell, duh.” She grins and leads me over to a low armless sofa that no doubt has a name like Flüg or Snöerkl. The scratchy tweed upholstery makes my skin itch, but that may be the adrenaline still coursing through my body, screaming for release. I don’t want to sit. I want to jump up and down or pound my cello or spin around atop a mountain, singing.
    Beth smiles with anticipation. “So . . . ?”
    â€œWell, it actually . . .” I start, but the words stick in my throat. If I tell the truth, will it seem like I’m bragging? Or taking something from her? She works so hard at this. And I just waltzed in and nailed it.
    Still, what choice do I have? I’m not going to lie to her about it. Just because it was amazing doesn’t mean I’m getting a big part. And it sure as hell doesn’t mean I’m getting her part. “It went . . . ​incredibly well.”
    Her eyes widen, and her whole face brightens with excitement. “Really? Damn, girl. Now you have to tell me everything!”
    â€œI just . . .”
    What? There’s something so indescribable about it all. “I just felt it, you know? Like I got in there, and I did some lines with Grey . . .”
    â€œThat’s the kid?”
    I nod. “Yeah. Adam Blackwood’s brother.”
    â€œWell. Shit.”
    â€œYeah, but he’s—” A really good kisser? Kind of adorable? “He was okay,” I say. “I mean, he gave a good reading. He was, um . . .” I search my new acting vocab. “Present.”
    â€œWell, thank the Lord for small mercies,” she says. “How much did they make you do?”
    â€œAll of it?”
    â€œReally.” She sits back and looks at me. “The whole scene?”
    â€œYeah, I mean everything we had. All the pages.”
    â€œHow many times?”
    Another girl gets up for her turn, and I watch her cross the room. She’s got long V-shaped sweat stains under her arms, and has wrung her script so hard it’s barely recognizable. Poor thing.
    â€œJust . . . ​I guess, twice. But that’s because they made us stand the first time, and they didn’t have the cameras set in the right place, or the lights. So they wanted to do it again.”
    She nods. “To make sure they got it on camera.”
    â€œYeah.” I feel exhausted suddenly, like I do at 4 a.m., after I’ve dragged in from a show and from breakfast with the crew.
    â€œTell me how it felt,” Beth says.
    â€œBets, it felt fucking awesome.”
    She laughs and sweeps me into a hug, so solid and lovely I want to cry with relief. “That’s my girl,” she says. “I knew you’d kill it.”
    â€œAnd I know you will too!” I tell her, and hug back, hard.
    Other girls come and go, and then Mia enters the room with her clipboard and a giant smile on her face. “You’re up!” she says to Beth.
    â€œFinally!” Beth gets up, and brushes off her clothes, takes a few deep breaths, and shakes out her shoulders and arms to loosen up her body. “How’m I looking?”
    â€œLike a star.”
    â€œGuess we’ll have a couple in the family.”
    I don’t know about that. But I call after her, “Break a leg.”
    She gives me a jaunty wave and follows Mia into the room.
    The door shuts, and it’s just me in this cavernous waiting area. Now I’ve got my choice of Flügs and Snöerkls, but I just want to curl up right here and send good intentions through that doorway. I want Beth to have what she wants. I want her to become the star she was absolutely born to become.
    And I want to feel more of what I felt during that audition. Suddenly, I’m hungry for it.
    Somehow, there has to be a way