Chapter Eight: At Least She Didn't Puke During Her Audition...

Skylar hears some news George, and her brother, Ryan, comes in crying.

Chapter Eight

 

 

At Least She Didn’t Puke During Her Audition…

 

“Hello? Skylar asked, holding her phone up to her ear. She had just gotten home from school, and P.E. had been so much harder than it usually was. They started out by running a few laps around the track, and afterwards, played football for about a half hour. She could feel drips of sweat run down her back.

“Hello, Skylar?” An unforgettable voice came thriving from the phone, and Skylar couldn’t help but squeal with joy. Though she didn’t want to receive news about the audition, Skylar always loved a call from George.

“George!” Skylar cried, holding the phone in place with her ear by tilting her head. She walked to the while, tiled kitchen, and grabbed a spoon and some yogurt from the cabinet next to the refrigerator. “What’s up?”

“I have great news!” George sounded excited.

Skylar sat down at the kitchen table, wondering where everyone was. Usually when she got home from school, Ryan was sitting at the kitchen table eating cereal, and her dad was sitting on the couch watching football. Today, the house seemed empty. More than anything, she wanted to know why George was calling.

“What’s the news?” She took a spoonful of yogurt and plopped in into her mouth.

George coughed a few times, and then continued. “You got it! You got the part!”

Skylar couldn’t speak. “Uh…uh...” She stuttered, unable to convert her thoughts into words.

George couched again, this time louder than before. “You okay, Skylar? You there?”

“Yeah, I’m here.” She stood up, her yogurt still half full, and ran up to her room. “Hold on a second. Which part did I get?” She had auditioned for a few commercials and a sitcom in the past few months, one of which was the Old Navy commercial.

Skylar had been in commercials before, usually over the summer where she could leave town for a month or two for filming. Ashlyn and Maddie, who did not have agents, were jealous of Skylar’s success. Skylar could just tell. But hey, it wasn’t her fault she could act.

“You got the part in the Old Navy commercial!” George yelled, laughing. “They thought your sense of humor would be perfect, and that your overactive imagination would seem flawless on television.”

My sense of humor? My overactive imagination? Skylar thought, leaning against the wooden counter. What were they thinking? Skylar had been her dull, ordinary self. There was no spark the audition she had executed, and by no means had she showed off her sense of humor or overactive imagination. All in all, she had sucked!

“Um…okay!” Skylar said, kicking her backpack to the other side of the small kitchen. “I really didn’t think I did to well, George. The competition must have been horrible.”

“Indeed it was.” George said, continuing to laugh. “I heard that somebody had actually puked on stage.”

Skylar gulped, her eyebrows raised. “Get out!” She rested her head back, groaning. Somebody had puked on stage? How awful. She thought. Still, it helped Skylar get the part, and whatever it took was good enough for her.

“Really.” George said, coming down his repulsive laughter. “And another girl burst into tears!” He snorted.

It seemed like people had really screwed up. Maybe that was why the directors and producers didn’t seem to eager about Skylar’s performance. Maybe it was because everybody else had sucked twice as badly.

The door to the kitchen flew open, and in came Ryan, his face drenched in tears.

Skylar quickly pressed End on her phone, aware that George was still on the other lines.

“Ryan?” She asked, bending down so that her face was equal to his. “What’s wrong?”

Ryan’s face was as red as a ripe tomato, and his face was moist with tears. He didn’t speak, but just kept crying.

“Ryan, talk to me.” Skylar said, holding her hand out to grab Ryan’s hand. Ryan quickly pulled away.

“Stop it!” He shouted. “Skylar stop!” He ran over to the kitchen table where Skylar had been sitting, dropped his small head onto the table, and started bawling. Skylar quickly chased him, and she could Ryan’s tears running onto the table.

Skylar sighed. What was she supposed to do? He wasn’t listening to her. “I’m sorry, Ry.” She said, looking up at the textured ceiling. “But I need to know what happened to you. You are crying, and you are my little brother. I want to know why!” Instantly, Skylar started crying too. Seeing her little brother like this was just horrible to watch.

I hope nobody’s hurt. She thought to herself. I hope Ryan didn’t just get back from the hospital.

“Okay, Ryan whispered, though his words sounded perfectly clear. “Well, I…” he sniffed a few times before continuing. “I was out riding my bike, and then…” Ryan reached down, and pulled up his jeans to reveal a small cut on his knee. “I fell over!” He whined, and planted his head on Skylar’s shoulder.

Skylar stared at Ryan, and then burst into laughter. “Are you serious?” She flung her hands into the air, and stood up, making Ryan’s head fly backwards. “You just…fell? I though somebody was really hurt. I thought somebody was in the hospital. I though somebody had died!”

Ryan looked at Skylar questioningly, his head tilted to the side. Then, all at once, they both began to laugh together. They laughed until they cried.

 

 

Author's Note

Here ya go! Enjoy!