Call the Shots (Swim the Fly #3)(70)

“That’s right,” I say, my breath returning. “So, are you okay with that? And do you think Nick will be? I mean, it’s going to be a lot of work.”

“Okay with it?” Evelyn lip farts. “I’m the one who suggested it, silly cakes. And Nick will be thrilled. He’s dreamed of being an actor ever since the auditions, when he realized how much talent he has.” She dives in for another death hug. “We’re going to make the best movie ever! You just wait and see.”

? ? ?


As soon as I step foot into drama class, I head right over to Leyna, who’s searching in her messenger bag for something.

“Leyna, hi,” I say. She glances up at me, and it’s impossible to read her expression behind her red shutter shades. “Listen, about Saturday — I am so, so sorry that I stood you up. I really didn’t mean to. I was looking forward to our date. Really looking forward to it. You have no idea how much . . . Anyway. But something came up. Something awful. I —” My bird crap saga went over so well with Evelyn that I am actually ready to launch in to the same gory details with Leyna, only as I’m about to say it I realize that the last thing I want is for her to have any of those images of me in her mind.

“You what?” she asks, and again I can’t read her. Is she pissed? Bored? Can she tell I’m about to launch into a massive lie?

My brain scrambles for a partial truth, something I can say with authority, the way I told Evelyn about the beshitting. “I . . . had to take one of our foster dogs to the vet. Chester. He’s a cocker spaniel,” I explain. “He swallowed one of my toy — er, figurines. A Klingon. And he started projectile vomiting. We had to rush him to the animal hospital to have emergency surgery.”

This is all true. Chester really did eat one of my Klingons and he did have to be operated on. Two years ago. But still.

“Is he okay?” Leyna asks, raising her shutter shades and sounding genuinely concerned.

“Oh, yeah. They were able to get it out of him, thank God. It was close, though, because it could have ruptured his intestines. I knew once he started vomiting that he must have a blockage somewhere. I’d been worried for a few days, because he seemed a little dehydrated and looked like he was losing weight.”

She smiles. “Wow. You seem to know a lot about animals, Sean.”

“I should. We’ve been fostering them ever since I was a baby. My mom says I should go to veterinarian school.”

“I thought you wanted to go to acting school.”

“Oh, yeah. I do. Definitely. It’s my mom’s idea. Vet school, I mean. She’s the one who says I should go. But I told her, ‘No way, Mom. I’m going to be an actor.’”

“Sorry.” Leyna laughs. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.”

“No, it’s fine. I mean, it’s nice to have a backup plan, though, right? You know, if the acting thing doesn’t work out. And I am good with animals, so . . .”

“That’s great. I’ll have to ask you about my corgi sometime, then. She’s had this rash for a while now, but my mom doesn’t want to take her to the vet because it’s so expensive. She says it’ll go away on its own.”

“It might,” I say. “Depends on what it is.”

Leyna frowns. “It just looks rashy to me, but what do I know? Maybe you could come over and have a look at it sometime.”

I nod, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. “Sure. Absolutely.”

“Well, I’m glad your dog’s okay.” Leyna reaches out and touches my arm. An electric current shoots through my body. “Most of all, though, I’m glad you’re okay. I was getting a little worried. I tried looking up your number but you’re not listed. I almost came by your house, but then I thought, what if you were just standing me up? Then I’d be all embarrassed.”

“No, no. I wasn’t. I would never. I tried looking you up too. But you’re not listed either.”

“Yeah, my dad’s pretty paranoid about stuff like that. He won’t even use a cell phone because he’s afraid someone might be able to track him.” Leyna laughs. “I mean, seriously. Like people don’t have anything better to do than track other people.”

“Yeah. That’s ridiculous.” My gaze slides off to the side. “So, anyway. What I was going to tell you Saturday when we met was that we’re casting you as the lead in our movie. Nashira Axe.”

Leyna’s eyes go wide. “Really? Are you kidding?”

I smile. “Nope. I’m dead serious. You and Hunter are going to be our stars.”

“That’s amazing!” Leyna pulls me in for a hug. Oh, man, I could never get tired of this. Such a stark contrast to Evelyn’s strangling. “I really appreciate it, Sean. I’ll work super hard. I promise.”

Just then Mr. Nestman claps his hands, quieting the room. “All right, thespians. Today we are going to start on an exciting new project. As you already know, one of your classmates, our very own Sean Hance, is making a film to be shown at New York’s world-famous TerrorFest. And so, in the interest of giving you all some real-world experience, I’ve decided to dedicate a portion of our class to helping Mr. Hance accomplish this goal.” Mr. Nestman holds up a copy of the script pages I e-mailed him last night. I can see very clearly that he’s marked the hell out of them with red pen. “The first thing we’ll do is have Sean announce his lead casting choices, which he’s informed me were finalized this weekend. I know we’re all very interested to find out who made the cut.” He looks at me as he says that part and it sounds very much like a threat. “Then we’ll do a complete read-through of these early scenes.” He turns to me, placing his hand solemnly on his chest. “Now, Sean, just so you know, I’ve taken the liberty of making a few . . . mmm, minor corrections. Improvements, if you will. To add some depth and texture, that’s all. As I am a twenty-year professional in this business of show, I didn’t think you’d mind.”