Panic (3 page)

“Welcome back,
mes cheries.
What do you need on this rainy day?”

“We need nude tights—size adult medium,” Diamond said.

“Ah,
oui
,” she said. “Of course. And have you seen these new leotards with the cutout backs?” Madame Jolie asked, pointing to a display. “
C'est très
sexy!”

“Oh, that's what's up! I gotta try this red one on,” Mercedes said excitedly.

Diamond checked her watch. “Look, girl, you got a weakness, but I'm starving, and we're gonna be late for
rehearsal. Meet me at the food court in ten.”

“Gotcha. Get me a plain cheese slice, okay? I'll eat it in the car.” Mercedes was already disappearing into the tiny dressing room.

Diamond paid for her tights and stuffed them into her ballet bag. Slinging it back over her shoulder, she waved good-bye to Madame Jolie and headed out.

“Our last glimpse of her shows her at the window,

watching them receding into the sky until they were as small as stars.”

—from
Peter Pan

With headphones snugly in place, Diamond glided down the mall, so intently focused on the music that she nearly crashed into a man heading in the opposite direction.

“Oh, I'm so sorry, sir. I wasn't paying attention,” Diamond said, pulling out the buds.

“Not a problem, young lady. I'm just here to pick up
my daughter, and this place is a maze! Can you point me in the direction of the food court?”

Diamond laughed. “Turn around. It's right behind you.”

The man, who looked to be about forty or so, was slender, handsome, and well dressed in a charcoal business suit. His dark blond hair, which looked to be spiked with just a touch of mousse, almost gleamed.

“Forgive my manners,” the man said cordially. “I'm Thane English. My daughter is Chloe—maybe you know her? She a freshman at Broadway High School.” He reached out his hand and shook Diamond's with a confident squeeze.

“I'm Diamond. I go to Broadway High too,” Diamond said. “But I'm a sophomore. I don't know all the freshmen—it's a pretty big school.”

“We just moved here a few weeks ago,” the man told her. “Chloe's still adjusting; Broadway High is a lot different from the school she went to in California.” He fell into step with her as they approached the sparsely populated food court. It smelled of cinnamon buns, strong coffee, and onions.

“I'd give anything to go to school in California,” Diamond admitted as she bought two slices of cheese pizza.

“Why is that?” He glanced around, evidently looking for his daughter.

“I don't know. Close to Hollywood. Movie stars. The ocean. All that stuff,” Diamond replied.

Thane tilted his head. “You have that look, if you don't mind my saying so.”

“Huh? What look?”

He checked his watch. “Where can that girl be?” Then he looked back at Diamond as if he'd just remembered her question. “That star look. You're a dancer, right?”

Diamond's eyes went wide. “How did you know?”

“Well, you walk like a queen—tall and graceful. And it says ‘dance' all over that bag you're carrying.”

Diamond laughed. “Well, duh! Yeah, I've been dancing since I was four. My dream is to get on one of those shows like
So You Think You Can Dance
or
Dancing with the Stars
.”

“You can do better than that,” Thane replied. He looked around the food court once more. “She better not be late again,” he grumbled.

“What do you mean?” Diamond sat down at a table and nibbled her pizza.

“Chloe is always late—drives me bonkers,” he said, still glancing around.

“No, I mean, what did you mean when you said I could do better than being on a dance show?” Diamond asked.

“Well, my Chloe was in the last two Harry Potter movies and the first Twilight movie as well. Not huge parts, but she had small speaking roles in all of them.”

Diamond almost choked on her food. “What? How?”

“I was the assistant director for all those films,” Thane explained. “It helps. Chloe's got a portfolio that most kids her age would kill for. She's had a chance to work with some of the best teen actors.”

“Wow. Lucky kid. So why did you move here to Nowheresville? There are no movie stars around here. Trust me. I would know.”

“It's just temporary. We're filming a new movie here on location outside of town.”

“Really? Why?”

His cell phone jingled. He pulled an iPhone from his pocket and glanced at the screen. “Excuse me, it's Chloe.” He sat down at Diamond's table and slid the bar across the face of the phone. “Hey, sweetie. Where are you? I'm here at the mall, waiting for you in the food court, where you're supposed to be, talking to a classmate of yours from school.” He stopped to laugh, giving his wedding ring a twirl. “Well, I'm glad you called, Chloe-girl. I'll see you at home. Tell Mom I already picked up the dog food.” He tapped his phone off.

“She's already on her way home. Her mom and I got our wires crossed.” He stood up and reached out his hand. “I gotta run. But it was a pleasure to meet you, Diamond.”

“Me too,” Diamond said, shaking his hand. She noticed his nails looked nicer than her own. Her pizza was growing cold.

Thane started to walk away from Diamond's table, then turned, frowned, and walked back. “I just had a thought,” he said.

“A thought?”

“Would you like to meet Chloe and my wife and our goofy dog?”

Diamond tilted her head. “What?” She wasn't sure what he was asking.

“Chloe'd love to meet more kids from school, so I just thought you might . . . Well, of course you couldn't just
drop everything this minute . . . ” Thane ran his fingers through his hair. “I just had a crazy idea—and Chloe's got some of her Hollywood friends visiting for the weekend. In fact”—he glanced at his watch—“their flight landed twenty-three minutes ago. But I'm sure it's too last-minute for you—forget I even mentioned it.”

“Well, I'm waiting for someone, and I've got to get to dance. We have a performance tonight.” But Diamond looked at him quizzically. Friends from Hollywood? She wondered what she might be passing up.

“Of course,” Thane said. “I understand. You kids are always so busy. Chloe's friends are here to audition for the movie I mentioned. They know how to combine work and play!”

Diamond paused. Chloe's LA friends weren't just kids from California—they had to be actors and actresses! “You're casting this weekend?” she asked.

Thane shook his head. “I wish. I have to get my recommendations to the director tomorrow morning, so tryouts are tonight. It'll be tricky, because Diva Dawson and California Clover both want the main role, but I'm wanting a new face to grab that part.”

“You're tellin' me Diva Dawson and California Clover are gonna be at your house?” Diamond was incredulous.

“Yep. A driver's at the airport right now.”

This time it was Diamond who checked her watch. Practice started in half an hour, but she could be a little late. The show wasn't until seven thirty. And it was a chance to meet real movie stars! This was insane. “They're your daughter's
friends
?” she blurted out.

“Sure, since they were children. That's why Chloe was here at the mall—to get a new outfit for tonight. She goes crazy with my credit card!”

Diamond's heart began pounding. Could it be possible she had the chance to hang out with real movie stars?

“They're a great bunch of kids—they go to some pretty awesome parties together,” Thane told Diamond with a smile. “But this is all so spur-of-the-moment—I just thought you'd like to meet them. But maybe next time.”

Diamond hesitated. Would there ever
be
a next time? Stars like that in her hometown? “Wow. I'd give anything . . . ”

Thane nodded. “It'd be pretty special—I can just imagine the photos you'd be able to post on Facebook.”

“My friends will die of jealousy!” Diamond exclaimed. Then she glanced down at her flip-flops and cutoff tights and frowned. “I look like a mess. I'm dressed for dance, not for meeting famous people.”

“Not a problem, great way to break the ice. Dancing, acting—it's all art.” Then Thane thumped his forehead. “It just occurred to me—one of the key roles in the movie is a dance part! It's a modernization of
Peter Pan
.”

“You're kidding!” Diamond jumped up from her seat. This was totally crazy! “Our studio is doing the ballet version of
Peter Pan
in June!”

It was Thane's turn to look surprised. “What a coincidence. I guess great ideas float in the universe at the same time.” He paused. “So, what's your part? Wendy, I expect?”

Diamond flushed, embarrassed. “Uh, not exactly. I'm a pirate—Smee—and I'll probably fill in with a couple of small company parts.”

“But not a lead?” Thane looked like he'd been personally insulted.

“Our teacher gives the big parts to different people every year. I'm hoping for the lead next year when we do
Cinderella
.”

Thane frowned. “A year is a very long time to wait.” He paused again. “Well, anyway, that settles that. I guess if you're already in a
Peter Pan
, you wouldn't be interested in our version.”

“Sure I would! I'd love to see it when it comes out,” Diamond told him as she picked the cheese off her pizza.

“I'll tell you what—why don't you aim for better than that? Why don't you try out for a role? You'd be just the kind of freshness I'm looking for in the part of Wendy.”

“What? You're kidding.” Diamond felt her heart racing. Was he for real?

“I never joke about my profession,” Thane assured her. “In fact, I'd be honored if you'd try out for Wendy with the other kids.”

“Me?” Flustered, Diamond didn't know what to say. “Now?” she managed.

“I know—it's pretty last-minute. But my director is antsy—we can't cast Pan until we cast Wendy, and I had to wait until some of the girls' schedules opened up—Ms. Dawson, for instance, is one busy lady! A half dozen other girls flew in from New York this morning from the Alvin Ailey studio—the part is an amazing opportunity
for a dancer. But I have to be blunt—none of them have your presence.”

Diamond tried to remember the last time someone told her she had “presence.” Miss Ginger had often told her to stand straighter or balance better, but she'd never actually been given a compliment like that. “Really?” she sputtered.

Thane smiled. “I have no need to lie to you.”

“But . . . but I can't leave my friend—she'll be here in a few minutes—and we have a show tonight,” Diamond said, straining around to see if Mercedes was coming. Her mind was doing crazy spirals as she let herself think about the possibilities.

“I understand—really, I do. I wouldn't want you to miss your performance. ”

“Actually, it's just a three-minute piece tonight called ‘Pixie Dust.' Our teacher always does one group dance as a preview to our upcoming show—kinda like a teaser,” Diamond explained.

“I can't believe how your universe seems to be colliding with ours,” Thane said, shaking his head. “Do you at least have a good part in this one?”

Diamond frowned. “Nothing special. I'm in the back row.”

“You feel like you ought to be in the front, don't you?” Thane asked.

Diamond nodded miserably. She hated to admit it, but he was right.

“Look, I know this is a little unusual, but leave your friend a note. Text her—whatever you kids do. Then as
soon as we get to my house, we'll call your mother and have her come over to watch the auditions. She'll need to sign permission papers and income tax forms anyway.”

“Permission? Tax forms? For what?”

“For you to audition. If you get the part, it would come with a significant salary.” He paused and pursed his lips, as if he were thinking. “I'm not sure I could get you seven figures, as you're an unknown, but it would be at least half that.”

“Half a million
dollars
?” Diamond reeled as she tried to visualize the number of zeros next to that dollar sign.

“That's the minimum going rate for a lead role in a movie. I'll be honest—kids already in the business make a lot more. But you've got to start somewhere.” Thane nodded thoughtfully. “I've been in the business long enough to know when someone has that something special. And you, my dear, have that glow all over.”

“I do?”

“You do.”

“I couldn't possibly . . . ”

Thane held both hands up. “I understand completely—I didn't mean to pressure. I wish we had another day, but as I said, the director wants to see first takes in the morning.” He checked his watch.

Diamond's thoughts raced frantically. She imagined how proud her mom and Miss Ginger would be if she got a part in a real Hollywood movie. She thought back to the dozens of times her mother had told her to start thinking like a grown-up instead of a kid. Maybe it was
time to start making her own decisions. This just seemed so right. But the show tonight . . .

To Thane she said, “This is a lot to think about. I'm really not sure what to do.”

He looked her straight in he eyes. “Do what you know is right for
you
.”

“I, uh . . . ”

Thane offered his hand to Diamond once more. “It really was nice to meet you. Break a leg at your performance tonight; I know you'll be terrific. And I wish you luck in getting a better role in
Cinderella
. But I must hurry—I've got to go get the camera crew in place.” He turned toward the exit.