Want to Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman Read Free Book Online Page B

‘break a leg.’”
    “O-kaaaaay. Well, break a limb or an extremity or whatever.”
    Faith’s laughter follows her down the hall.
    I’m finishing my homework when Faith calls to give me the scoop.
    “So do you want the good news or the bad news first?” she asks.
    “Uh … bad news, I guess.”
    “Well, I didn’t get a part.”
    I’m glad we’re on the phone, so Faith can’t see my sudden smile.
    “Oh, that sucks, Faith,” I lie. “I know you really wanted to be in the play. Did Grace get a part?”
    “Yes. She’s Titania, which is amazing for a freshman, isn’t it? She was so psyched!”
    “Wow. That’s great. So … is that the good news?”
    “No. I mean, it
is
good news and all, but the really good news is … Do you remember that really cute guy? You know, the one you read with? Ted?”
    “Um, yeah. It’s kind of hard to forget the last person you saw before you face-planted into the stage.”
    Faith laughs. “Well, he was there when we went to check out the casting results and we got to talking and he didn’t get a part either, but he told me that he’s going to sign up for stage crew and he thought it would be really cool if I did, too. Can you believe he said that?”
    “Uh, no. I mean, yeah. I mean, it seemed like he was kind of … you know, flirting with you at the auditions.”
    “You think so? I was so nervous I guess I didn’t notice. I never in a million years thought he’d be interested in me, but I sure noticed he was super cute…. I mean those eyes … Have you ever seen eyes like that? I mean —”
    I kind of tune out Faith’s breathless listing of Ted’s adorable attributes and log on to ChezTeen.com.
    “Abby? Abs, are you listening?”
    “Sorry, what? My mom was calling me from downstairs,” I lie.
    “I was asking if you’ll sign up for stage crew with me. I think it’ll be really fun. Ted said it’s going to be a really elaborate set so they’re going to need all the help they can get.”
    I try desperately to think of a good reason to say no.
    “I … can’t.”
    There’s an awkward pause before Faith asks, “You can’t, or you don’t want to?”
    I don’t want to
.
    “I can’t. It’ll take up too much time after school and I’ve got a project to work on.”
    “But, Abby, you’re so smart and you always do well in school. You can manage doing both, I know it. And there are so many cool people involved in the play. Ted says —”
    “Faith, I’m not doing it, okay? Just leave it.”
    The silence down the line is thick and painful. I can almost see Faith’s face, the frown lines between her dark brows, and I wonder if maybe I should just give stage crew a try. Maybe if I spend more time with Faith, it’ll somehow stop this awful feeling that our friendship is on its way to a slow, painful, and inevitable death. But I just can’t face going back into that auditorium where I passed out, center stage. What if everyone laughs at me?
    “Okay,” Faith says in a quiet voice. “Whatever. It’s your choice. I guess I’ll see you on the bus tomorrow. Bye.”
    There’s an empty feeling in my chest as I hang up, like a hollowed-out pumpkin. It’s as if I’ve been losing Faith a little each day, and now I’ve just pushed our relationship over a cliff. I’m in free fall and there’s no one there to catch me.
    I glance at the blur of my laptop screen through my tears and see that there are two chat messages from Luke that I missed while I was talking to Faith:
    BlueSkyBoi: Hey, gorgeous! How wuz ur day?
    BlueSkyBoi: ?? U there??
    Hoping he’s still online, I type in my answer.
    AbyAngel99: Sry, wuz on phone. U still there?
    I watch the cursor on the chat screen anxiously. I want him to be there so bad. I almost cry with relief when I see the pencil icon that tells me Luke is typing a reply to my message.
    BlueSkyBoi: I’m here for u, baby. How goes?
    AbyAngel99: Not so good.
    BlueSkyBoi: What’s up, honey?
    AbyAngel99: Faith wants me 2 work stage