Breaking Big by Penny Draper Read Free Book Online Page A

be weak, with all of you scrambling to learn new choreography. Better that we have only one weak dancer and all of us help him to give his best.”
    Titania sighs. “This is a disaster,” she says under her breath.
    I totally agree with her. I’m not even upset about being called weak anymore.
    “Maybe we could keep most of the male roles intact but put one of us from the chorus in for Puck. We can all learn the part fast enough.”
    Okay, so this suggestion makes me bristle. It’s coming from David, one of the weakest of the company dancers. He’s no better a dancer than I am, even if he can learn choreography faster. He’s only trying to take advantage.
    “Hey, I have an idea!” someone else says. “Why don’t we let Rick play the role from a wheelchair? That would be a neat twist!” Everybody laughs but me. My dancing is so bad that even a guy in a wheelchair is better? I want to die.
    Mr. Acton calms everybody down, then looks at me. It’s my turn to talk, and I’ve rehearsed in my head what I’m going to say. I know I can’t go on. It’s not because I’m scared. If it were just me, I’d go out there, even if I flopped. But it’s not just me, it’s the company. And I’m going to ruin the production for everybody.
    I stand up. My mouth feels dry, and it’s hard to swallow. I know I’ll never get another chance like this, but I have to do what’s right. I take a deep breath, open my mouth, and all the wrong words fall out.
    “I know I’m not nearly as good as all of you, and I’m scared to death I’ll wreck the whole production. But if you’ll help me, I’ll work day and night to get it right.”
    Silence first, and then the whole room erupts in cheers. Rick is grinning crazily, Mr. Acton is smiling, and the others (except maybe David) look like, well, like maybe it will be okay.
    What have I done?
    * * *
    Rick, Mr. Acton and I go to one of the rehearsal rooms by ourselves while Miss Amelia takes over rehearsing the rest of the company.
    “Robin, let’s start with the flower scene. We need to go over all of your choreography to see what parts you’ve got down, what parts need work and what parts, if any, we need to remove or change.”
    Read: parts you’re so bad at that we have to take them out .
    At first it’s hard to dance when I can’t hide in the back row like a good little understudy. Mr. Acton’s eyes are like solar flares, way fiercer than Odette’s puny glares. When I miss a step, Rick yells it out from his wheelchair, and that’s okay, because it’s only us in the studio. After a bit, having two amazing teachers all to myself starts to feel good. Everything’s going great until he starts calling in other dancers to work with me.
    First it’s Bottom. Bottom’s character is supposed to be really funny. He has to pretend that he’s the best at everything but then make all sorts of ridiculous mistakes to make the audience laugh. Puck’s character uses magic to turn Bottom’s head into a donkey’s head, making him look even more ridiculous. The scene is really comical, and when Rick and the dancer playing Bottom do the scene, it’s hilarious. But I’m terrified.
    Mr. Acton motions for the music to start, and Bottom starts strutting around the studio. I can’t stop laughing. Everything he does is funny, and I’m in awe. I tiptoe around him, staying out of the limelight, waiting for my cue to sneak up behind him. Then I lift the fake donkey’s head to slip it over Bottom’s real head. Unfortunately, I don’t lift it high enough and practically knock the poor guy out with the prop.
    “No!” shouts Mr. Acton. “Do it again!” Bottom gives me back the donkey’s head and I try to remember how Rick did it, but he’s getting mixed up in my head with the Puck on the DVD . I have no idea what I’m doing.
    After a break, Mr. Acton calls in Peaseblossom, one of the fairies, to rehearse with me. She looks like a thundercloud.
    “Can he do it, Bellamy? I mean, really do