Free The Perfect Guy (Books We Love Young Adult Romance) by Ann Herrick Page B

return address. "It’s from the magazine where I submitted my play for fourth graders. They’re holding it for further consideration."
    "Terrific." Mom squealed as she gave me a quick hug.
    "Sounds promising." Bill paused. Then, "It should be interesting having you in class next year."
     
    ***
     
    "Okay," Bill said. "Take five, everybody."
    I jumped back to the present.
    Josh grabbed my hand.
    "Josh, what are you doing?"
    "He said to ‘take five.’ I figured he meant fingers."
    "You know he meant to take a break. Come on, I want to catch up with the others." I spotted Celeste and Pres out by the drinking fountain. They were the only "others" I was interested in.
    "Pres, you’re perfect in the part of James Peck." Alicia appeared out of nowhere. She batted her big gray eyes at him. "I’m thrilled to be understudy for the role of Alta. I hope we at least get to rehearse some scenes together."
    I’d thought maybe Alicia was interested in Josh, but now it looked as if she was setting her sights on Pres.
    "Great rehearsal." I grabbed Pres by the arm and led him toward a bench and away from Alicia.
    Celeste plopped down on the bench next to me. "Whew, this is more work than I thought."
    "If all the rehearsals are going to be this intense," Pres said, "I’m going to be wiped out by the night of the play."
    "Me too." Celeste leaned across me to agree with Pres. "Your dad said we’d have to work hard to be ready in time. At least he’s scheduling rehearsals for evenings and Saturdays so people on the baseball and softball teams don’t have any conflicts."
    "I wonder why he thought to do that?" Josh clapped a hand on Pres’s shoulder. "Hey, move over, Celeste, so there’s room for me." He gave his sister a gentle shove and squeezed between her and me.
    I caught Alicia eyeing the situation. I was in a prime seat, situated between two of the cutest guys in the school. Alicia would die to trade places. Well, fat chance.
    I turned on what I hoped was my most charming smile and said to Pres in a voice loud enough for Alicia to hear, "You’re just as perfect in the role of Captain Peck as I thought you’d be."
    "It helps that the playwright had me in mind for the part." Pres reached up and mussed my hair.
    Before I could return the playful gesture Bill was in the doorway, clapping his hands to signal that the break was over. Instead of lovingly running my fingers through Pres’s hair I was running down the aisle trying to catch up with Pres and Celeste who were halfway to the stage, their heads almost touching as they read their lines to each other to warm up. For once I found myself wishing I had the nerve to perform in front of an audience.
    "Wait up." Josh hooked his arm through mine. "No hurry. We don’t have any scenes to worry about."
    "I have to be ready when the director is," I said, although I wasn’t sure why. So far all I’d done was sit and listen and wonder what Bill had in mind for me to do.
    When things got started I tried to follow along with the script, but my thoughts kept wandering to the scene in the hallway when Pres had mussed my hair. I’d always watched with envy the couples at school who held hands and whispered in each other’s ears.
    Suddenly I realized I’d lost my place in the play. "Psst, Josh," I whispered. "Where are we?"
    "In the front row of Sandy Cove High Theater," Josh said.
    I let out an irritated sigh.
    He added, "Right here, top of page nineteen."
    Pres and Celeste were doing the scene where Alta, who has mixed feelings about the Revolution, tries to talk James out of fighting for the American side. Celeste was not giving it the proper reading. There was fear in her voice, and confusion, but a touch of indignation was needed too.
    I wondered how Bill would react if I interrupted the scene to offer my criticism. After all, he had made me assistant director, and surely he expected me to do something besides sit and follow the script.
    I took a deep breath, tiptoed over to stand