“We can’t afford to pay you,” Zach tells him.
“Then you can’t afford me.” But Kevin stays put, continuing to leaf through the script, and minutes later they’re talking sets and makeup, which it looks like Kevin is in charge of.
“Why can’t we use the trampoline like last time?” Kevin is arguing.
“Because,” Zach says patiently, “it was Lindsay’s.”
There’s a momentary silence before Raj says, “She won’t let you borrow it?”
“No,” Zach answers in a quiet voice. “She doesn’t want anything to do with”—he hesitates—“us.”
I could have sworn he was going to say something different.
“What a bitch,” Kevin says.
“Shut up, Kevin,” Zach says, his voice even.
“I’m just saying. If I broke up with you,Iwould let you borrow the trampoline. She knows we need it. How many films didweletherbe in? Beeyotch.”
“Kevin,” Zach says again.
“Um,” I say quietly, “who is Lindsay?”
Heavy silence follows before Raj says, “Zach’s ex.”
One more beat of silence.
In it, I cling to the word “ex.” Zach’sex.On the one hand, it means he doesn’t have a girlfriendnow,that our maybe-date the other day still counts as just that. On the other hand…
“Not my character,Lindy?” I ask.
“Of course not,” Zach says, glancing at me as if I’ve sprouted a second head.
“Your character’s anun,” Raj adds, implying that Lindsay was not, in fact, a nun. “Zach’s quit Lindsay like a bad habit.”
It’s the first hint of lightness Raj has shown since we met, and he chuckles at his own joke. Kevin roars with laughter, slapping his thigh. “Good one!”
Zach does not laugh.
“You know, Mom and I saw her at the mall the other day and we waved and she just kept walking,” Kevin says, shaking his head.
“Maybe she didn’t see you,” Zach says, eliciting a snort from Raj.
“Oh, she saw us,” Kevin insists. “Beeyotch.”
“That seems a little harsh,” I say, surprising myself by sticking up for someone I don’t even know. Someone whoused to be Zach’s girlfriend.But still. I wouldn’t want people calling me names.
Raj looks at me, no emotion on his face. “Lindsay’s not a bitch because she doesn’t want to date Zach,” he says. “No onewants to date Zach. She’s a bitch because she’s mean.”
Zach coughs and steers the conversation back to the script he’s just handed out, but I keep wondering about Lindsay. What she is like, how long they dated (they all seem to know her quite well), whether she was prettier than me or smarter or what.
The three boys continue to talk, referring to past films and ideas for props and scenes.
Zach suggests we do a read-through, and I’m really beginning to question whether any of this is a good idea. Raj (Solomon) and I (Lindy) are the leads. Kevin is the Carpenter, and Zach reads the random parts like Stranger 1, Guy with Ax in Head, and Exorcist.
I feel myself getting nervous as we start reading. Which is so stupid. I’m used to performing in front of rows of people, people trained to hear every note and key change, every mistake. Yet I feel more embarrassed than I can remember feeling for any performance when Zach says, “Okay, Lindy bursts in here.”
“Um”—I swallow—“did I hear that you were looking for Little, um, Georgia? Georgie. All the children were picked up last Friday.”
