Breaking Big by Penny Draper Read Free Book Online

clear that the word is out. My so-called friends are in shock.
    “What happened?” Jeremy asks. Another accident in the company has clearly put him over the edge. He’s practically hyperventilating.
    “I don’t know.” I shrug my shoulders. “It was on the double tour, I think. I landed mine, but Rick ended up on the floor. How weird is that?”
    “Yeah, and it’s always all about you, isn’t it?” Odette says with disgust. “We’re all so glad that you, at least, landed yours .”
    “Come on, Odette, you know I didn’t mean it that way.”
    “Really? When now you get to be the star of the show? Of course you didn’t mean it that way,” she scoffs as she picks up her tray to go.
    Charis picks up her tray as well. “Honestly, Rob,” she says, “nobody ever thought you were going to have to dance. What’s Mr. Acton going to do?”
    “A little support from my friends would be nice,” I say sarcastically. I can’t let her know I’m wondering the same thing. Right now, I’d give my big break to anybody stupid enough to take it.
    The other girls start loading dirty plates onto trays, all except Sybille. She doesn’t move from her seat across the table.
    “Good work,” she says angrily.
    “What are you talking about?”
    “Rick. He’s ten times the dancer you are. You must have really wanted the part.”
    I don’t believe this. “What? You think I arranged for him to break his ankle? Put out a hit or something? Are you absolutely out of your mind?”
    “Well, it’s pretty convenient, isn’t it? Now you get to be the big star and save the show. Just like in the movies. You’re no better than any of us, Robin Goodman, so I know there’s more to this story.”
    “Yeah, the rest of the story is that you’re not ready to give up this week’s heartthrob, but you can’t let yourself be in love with somebody on the injured list. You’re whacked out, Sybille.”
    I must have said it louder than I intended, because in an instant Jeremy is up from his chair.
    “She is not!”
    “Oh, come on. She thinks I somehow broke Rick’s ankle so I could get the part. As if. That’s flat-out crazy.”
    Now it’s Charis jumping to her defense. “Why are you picking on Sybille?”
    Unbelievable. “I’m not picking on her. She’s picking on me . What is this, gang-up-on-Rob day? Why don’t you just leave me alone?”
    So they do. They all head out of the cafeteria, until the only other person left from my class is Odette, who, like me, is sitting alone at a table. Our eyes meet, but for once she doesn’t say a word.
    * * *
    After breakfast there’s a big meeting. The whole company is milling about in the big rehearsal studio, looking not so much angry as defeated. Rick’s ankle has guaranteed that the production will be a flop, since I’m going to make them look bad no matter how hard they work. Mr. Acton, Mr. Colson and Miss Amelia are at the front, and even Rick is here, sitting in a wheelchair, his cast covered in autographs. He still looks pretty white. He wheels himself over and parks himself beside me, which makes me feel a little better.
    “You’re going to be okay, kid,” he says quietly. “We’ll make sure of it.”
    I sure hope he’s right, but I don’t know where he thinks this miracle is going to come from. Because that’s what it is going to take. The way I see it, Noah was strike one, Rick was strike two, and I’m going to be strike three for the Premier Dance Company.
    The dancer playing Titania speaks up first. “No offense, Robin, because you’ve worked super hard, but we all know you’re not ready for this. Bellamy, what if we were to rearrange the parts so that Francis Flute plays Peter Quince, Peter Quince plays Demetrius, Demetrius plays Bottom, and Bottom plays Puck? Then Robin could play Francis Flute, which isn’t such a big part. He could handle it.”
    Mr. Acton sighs. “We’re less than two weeks from opening. That would mean that every major male role would