Secret Admirer Read Free

steps.
    Everything around me is falling apart,
Selena thought. She hated living in such a shabby house. But she knew it was all her mother could afford. Money was tight since Selena’s father had died.
    â€œThere’s no way anyone else could be Juliet,” Katy insisted, following Selena into her bedroom. “I mean, Alison is good, but she’s not as good as you. Even she says so.”
    â€œAlison is just being nice,” Selena answered. She dumped her backpack on the pink-and-white bed-spread.
    â€œI’ll help you learn your lines for the audition,” Katy offered.
    â€œMmm-hmm,” Selena replied absently. But she already knew she didn’t want help—she liked to learn lines by herself. “Why don’t
you
try out for one of the parts?” she suggested. “You don’t always have to be a stagehand, you know.”
    Katy snorted. “What part could I get? I—I’m too big to get a decent role.” Katy was about twenty pounds overweight—and very self-conscious about it.
    â€œStop putting yourself down.” Selena tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice. “There are lots of parts in the play. Maybe you could be Juliet’s nurse.”
    Katy didn’t respond.
    Selena dipped a tissue in a jar of cold cream and began removing her stage makeup.
    â€œSelena?” Katy said after a moment. “When we were little, did you ever think you’d grow up to be so popular?”
    â€œOf course not,” Selena replied. “I thought Fd be fat and unpopular forever.”
    â€œLike me,” Katy murmured.
    Selena ignored her. “But once I got interested indrama, I stopped thinking about being popular. I just wanted to be a good actress.”
    â€œIt happened so fast,” Katy said. “I mean, you took one drama class and that was it. You lost weight, you started going out with Danny … and you were the star of the very first play you did.”
    â€œPure luck,” Selena reminded her. “The girl who had the lead had to leave school.”
    â€œI know,” Katy agreed. “But everyone knows you’re the best actress at Shadyside High. You might be good enough for a professional career.”
    Katy sank back against the pile of pillows on Selena’s bed. She sighed. “1 hope you never get so popular you aren’t my friend anymore.”
    â€œHey—no way!” Selena cried. “When I win the Academy Award, I’ll get up there and say, ‘I want to thank my best friend Katy Jensen, whose willingness to climb up on the catwalk made it all possible.’”
    They both laughed.
    Selena finished wiping her face, then opened the closet. She pulled out jeans and a green sweater.
    â€œAre those jeans new?” Katy asked. “What are they? A size three?”
    â€œThey’re a seven,” Selena replied, laughing. “I’m not that skinny!”
    â€œCompared to how you used to be, you are,” Katy replied. “Compared to me, you are.”
    â€œYou could lose weight too,” Selena pointed out. “It’s not like I’m a diet goddess or something.”
    â€œFor sure,” Katy scoffed.
    â€œI’m serious,” Selena insisted. “I lost weight because I wanted to do drama. I knew I couldn’t get lead parts unless I stopped eating so much.”
    â€œThat’s the difference between you and me,” Katysaid. “I never cared about anything as much as you care about drama.”
    Selena glanced at her friend in exasperation. “Well, find something to care about,” she said. She pulled her hair back and tied it with a green hair band. “How do I look?” she asked.
    â€œAwesome,” Katy replied. She glanced at her watch. “We’d better get going.”
    â€œWe don’t want to get there too early,” Selena said. “We—”
    She stopped when she heard the tapping at the bedroom