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

building.”
           “You said… the chorus ?”
           Miles moved his head. “It’s a musical. I don’t know which one yet, but, between us, I’m hoping she picks West Side Story. I’ve always wanted to play Tony.”
           “Ummm…”
           It was bad enough that I had to take a theater class but now I was going to be expected to audition for a musical?
           “Do you sing?”
           In the shower, but that was about it. “No…”
           “Play an instrument?”
           I thought of my mother’s piano, sitting at home gathering dust. “I used to play piano but—”
           “Well, there you go,” Miles said. “Caroline, I’ve got to get moving, but I’ll see you tomorrow. Okay?”
           “Sure,” I replied absently. My mind was already someplace else.  
           As I wandered out of the classroom, I considered the possibilities. Maybe I could run away. Or perhaps I could still get that spot in Marine Biology. Because, all things considered, researching the mating habits of squid didn’t sound so terrible anymore.
     

 
     
     
    Ava flashed me a death glare before leaving the changing room.
           “She’s a real charmer,” I muttered, shaking my head in bewilderment. Was her thong chafing her ass or did she really dislike me that much. And why ? What had I ever done to her?
           Tillie made a pained face. “She’s really not that bad.”
           I lifted an eyebrow.
           “Really,” she insisted. “We’ve been schoolmates since primary school. Ava is a touch cold until you get to know her. But she does warm up.”
           “I guess I’ll take your word for it.” I was unconvinced.
           We were getting dressed in a brightly-lit changing room that reeked of old sweat and chlorine. There were long benches in the middle of the space. Along the walls were sinks and mirrors and metal shelves to store your things. The cement floor was covered with worn blue rubber mats lined up end to end. A half wall stood on the other side of the sinks and I guessed that beyond it I would find toilets and showers.
           Mr. Hammond had been true to his word and had found me a uniform to play in this afternoon. He had even located a pair of shoes for me. They were about a size and a half too big, but if I tied the laces tight enough, I figured they could work.
           “I think she’s threatened by you.”
           “She’s threatened by me ?” I didn’t even try to mask the surprise in my voice.
           “Sure she is. We all read your essay and knew that you’d won the writing contest because it was in a letter that got sent to all of us over the summer.” She shrugged. “Ava has always considered herself the best of the best and you being here is a reminder that maybe that she’s not.”
           “Huh.”
            “Also, she went through a difficult break-up at the end of last term. She was positively gutted. Fit bloke, but if you ask me, he’d always seemed dodgy. Turns out he was on the pull with a girl who lives over in Ealing.”
           “On the pull?”
           Tillie looked up. She hadn’t put on her shirt yet and the skin on her stomach was the whitest skin I’d ever seen. “You know?” She wiggled her eyebrows.  
           “Okay, got it,” I said, yanking the flat-fronted skirt up over my hips and sliding the v-necked shirt over my head. The shirt was made out of a stretchy powder blue fabric and the skirt was a jarring yellow-gold color. Like the shoes, both items were too big for me. “Well, the fit ones are usually the jerks, right?”
           “All the ones I’ve known have been wankers,” Tillie agreed. “What about you? Do you have a boyfriend?”
           That was the burning question, wasn’t it? Did I have a boyfriend?
           “Yeah,” I said.
           She