Steering the Stars by Autumn Doughton, Erica Cope Read Free Book Online

ready!”
           We all sat down and she explained the rules of the getting-to-know-you game. We would go around the circle, each telling two truths and one lie. The people sitting on either side of us had to guess which of our statements were true and which one was false. Shockingly, I’d actually played this at a sleepover in the fourth grade. I remembered it being like a very tame version of Truth or Dare.
           “Should you really be playing this game?” I whispered to Miles. “Since you’re the teacher’s assistant, it seems kind of unfair. Shouldn’t you be… I don’t know... assisting?”
           He smiled at me. “The teaching assistant title is a loose one. Mainly this is just Mrs. Cobb helping me fill in one of my elective spots,” he confided. “I’m already in her advanced class this afternoon and I’m also a member of the drama club. For this class, I’ll have to help with grading and do some busy work, but I’m hoping once we get into the play, I can use the time to practice lines and run through my scenes.”
           “The play?”
           Miles didn’t get a chance to answer. The game had moved fast around the circle and we were up.
           The “facts” I told about myself were lacking in drama and beyond lame. The first truth I shared was that I had never left the state of Oklahoma. The second was that I had an unhealthy addiction to coffee and pretzel M&Ms. The lie I told was that I was allergic to nectarines.
           Miles picked out the lie right away, but since he was the first student to talk to me aside from Henry, I decided not to hold it against him.
           “How did you do that?” I asked him when the game and the rest of “circle time” was over and we were retrieving our bags from where we’d all dumped them by the windows.
           “How did I do what?”
           “Figure out my lie so easily.”
           “The key to lying is to not hesitate. Works every time.”
           “I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, smiling at him.
           He grinned back.
           Talking to Miles wasn’t the same as having Hannah here—not even close—but it was pleasant. His jeans were way too tight and he had on copious amounts of cologne, but he seemed nice enough. Maybe we would become friends. And, maybe this class wouldn’t be so bad after all.
           “Thank you all for joining in today,” Mrs. Cobb said over the scrape of tables and chairs being moved back into position. “Tomorrow, we’ll talk about elements of acting and the fall production. As you all know from the form you were given when you signed up for the class, participation in our show is mandatory. This means your afternoons from mid-September until December will be occupied!”
           “Did she really just say that?” I asked Miles.
           He just laughed. That wasn’t the response I was hoping for.
           “I mean it,” I pushed. “I signed up late so I didn’t see anything about a play…”
           “You’ll be fine.”
           “But I won’t be,” I said firmly. “I don’t do stuff like school plays. I can’t even give speeches in class.”
           “It’s okay,” he said in a reassuring tone. “Participation is required, but there’s no way everyone is going to get a part. Especially not in this class.”
           “Are you sure?”
           The dismissal bell rang out shrilly and students started to push past us.
           “I’m sure,” he told me. “You have to go through the audition just so you understand the process and get the experience, but that’s all. The people who don’t get speaking parts will be put in the chorus or given a job backstage. There’s plenty to do.” He lifted his hand and started to list the tasks on his fingers. “Make up, costume stuff, design work, and there’s even going to be set