“Danny told me about a potential talent scout attending the play this year,” I explained. “It was why he was so anxious about auditions. He wanted to make sure he got the male lead in case the talent scout came.”
He hadn’t said it, but I knew Danny thought his future depended on tonight’s performance. He hadn’t applied to college, not only because his parents couldn’t afford it, but also because he didn’t want to go. His dream was to be an actor, and even if nothing came out of this performance, he was going to move to New York City and follow his dream. It just meant that he was going to have to do it the hard way—waiting tables while auditioning for everything and anything.
“Jackie?” Katherine called. She and George were standing with the parents of the actress who played Juliet, and the other three were still deep in conversation.
“Yes?” I asked, coming up next to her.
“What was that all about?” she asked, nodding her head in Danny and Jillian’s direction. The woman was still talking, and he was nodding his head eagerly to every word.
“I’m not entirely sure yet,” I responded. “But she introduced herself as a talent scout for a New York theater company.”
Katherine raised an eyebrow. “Well, now,” she said, a flicker of a smile playing on her face. “That’s interesting news.” I could tell she was thrilled but was holding back in case things didn’t turn out the way we hoped.
“Did I hear something about a talent scout?” Cole asked, appearing next to his mom. After the play was over, he was charged with taking the younger kids to the restroom. Now Zack, Benny, and Parker were chasing each other about the auditorium lobby, weaving in and out of the crowd, but Cole was done with his babysitting job.
“Apparently the woman speaking with Danny is one,” Katherine told him.
“What woman?” Cole asked.
We all turned toward Danny and Jillian, but she was gone and he was making his way across the room toward us with a grin on his face.
“Guess what?” he asked.
“She wants to make you the next A-list actor in Hollywood, and you’re going to become so famous and rich that you can buy me a house?” Cole asked. We all shot him a look, but Danny was too happy to care.
“I’ve been offered a spot in their company’s summer training camp. After the program, if things go well, I could be in New York productions this fall!”
“Oh, honey,” Katherine said, pulling her son into a hug. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Congratulations, Danny,” I said, waiting for my turn to hug him. “This is so exciting!”
“Thanks, Jackie. I really owe you,” he said, pulling away from his mom to face me. “If you hadn’t spent all that time reading lines with me, I don’t know if I would have gotten the part.”
“That’s not true,” I told him. “But I’ll accept your gratitude anyway.”
“So when does this training camp begin?” Katherine asked.
Danny hesitated. “That’s the thing. I’d have to leave for New York as soon as summer starts.” When he saw the frown on his mother’s face, he added. “I am, after all, an adult and the company will provide lodging until I find a place to live.”
“Okay, dear,” Katherine said. “Why don’t we discuss this later?”
“All right,” said Danny. It wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear, but there was still a huge, excited smile on his face.
“Mom! Mom!” Zack and Benny shouted as they crashed into their mother’s legs. “We’re hungry.”
“Come on, Walter clan,” she said, raising her voice so we all could hear her. “Head out to the cars. We have a celebratory dinner to prepare.”
Chapter 17
During the last week of school, I stayed locked in my room so I could focus on studying. When it was finally time for exams, they passed in a blur of Scantron sheets, true-false questions, and written essays. Afterward, the Walters spent the first week of our newfound freedom vegging out, their thoughts of school long gone, but all I could think about was getting my results back. I knew I’d aced all my classes because every final had been a breeze, but I needed visual confirmation before I could relax.
“Hey, guys, come here,” Nathan said.
I glanced up from my anatomy notebook. For the past hour, I had been sprawled out on Alex’s bed, double-checking all my notes to make sure I hadn’t missed a question on the exam. Alex was wrapped up in a quest on GoG and Nathan had been teaching himself a new song, but now his guitar was gone and he was hunched over his laptop.
“What’s up?” Alex called, hardly looking away from his own computer screen.
“Grades are in,” Nathan replied.
“Oh!” I scrambled off the bed and over to Nathan’s desk. He slid the computer to me, and I quickly logged in to my school account. “Come on,” I muttered as it took forever to load. Finally a new screen popped up.
“A, A, A, A, A, A,” Nathan said, reading off my results.
“No shocker there,” Alex said.