Unscripted - Nicole Kronzer Page 0,12

where he was. I frowned for a millisecond. Why wasn’t he clearing to neutral with everyone else? The person who gets the suggestion doesn’t automatically start the scene . . . I glanced up and down the row I was sitting in to see if this was bothering anyone else, but everyone was either watching Ben or whispering to the person next to them. Huh. Maybe this is just one of those extra-polite things Jenn insists on, I decided.

“FredrickSON!” Ben bellowed. A couple coaches made brief eye contact, and one of them nodded. Then he hunched over and limped onstage to meet Ben.

“Yessir,” he said, his voice hissing like a snake.

I grinned. What a great vocal and physical choice. He reminded me of Dr. Frankenstein’s assistant, Igor.

“Ah. There you are, Fredrickson.” Ben whipped around to face him, miming holding a cup of coffee. “What is this?”

“Fredrickson” shuffled from one foot to the other, his eyes avoiding Ben’s. “Your nonfat, no-whip, skinny soy latte, sir.”

Ben huffed. “That was my order last week. The campaign is ramping up, Fredrickson. So what do I need?”

“Uh . . . a different order?” Fredrickson whispered.

“Of course!” Ben raged. He stomped in a circle around Fredrickson, who cowered a little more with each step. “I have speeches to give! Hands to shake! Babies to kiss! You think a nonfat, no-whip, skinny soy latte is going to fuel THAT?”

“Uh . . . no, sir?”

“Correct, Fredrickson!” Ben mimed dumping the coffee in the trash and then flipped something that looked like a dog treat into the air. Fredrickson jumped and “caught” it in his mouth. Like Fredrickson, the crowd ate it up.

“So . . .” Ben put his hands on Fredrickson’s shoulders and glared down at him. “What’s my coffee order this week?”

Fredrickson trembled. “A . . . full-fat, full-whip, whole-milk cappuccino?”

“With?”

“Those little shaved chocolate curlicues?”

“Aaaaand?” Ben tapped his foot.

“Ummm . . .” Fredrickson’s face twitched, and he lowered his voice. “If I guess right, can I have another treat?”

Ben stepped back, affronted. “Of course. What am I, a monster?”

I giggled and caught Sirena’s eye. We leaned our shoulders into each other’s and grinned.

“Of course not, sir. All right then, sir. A full-fat, full-whip, whole-milk cappuccino with chocolate curlicues . . .”

“Aaaand?”

It had to be something that made sense in the world of coffee but was also a little unexpected. My brain automatically started making a list: cinnamon, extra napkins, sprinkles—

“A twisty straw?” Fredrickson asked.

Perfect, I thought.

Ben patted Fredrickson’s head like a dog. “Who’s a good boy?” He threw another “treat” into the air, and Fredrickson twisted around to catch it in his mouth again.

The lights blacked out, indicating the ending of the scene.

We cheered and applauded as the lights came back up again. Ben grinned, soaking it all up.

“They were so good!” Emily said, leaning across Sirena.

I nodded, my chest swelling. I knew I belonged up there with them. And tomorrow, I was going to get a chance to prove it.

CHAPTER SIX

“Ah, the relief of nightfall,” Hanna proclaimed, banging open the screen door to Gilda Radner. She stripped off her button-up shirt, throwing it and her baseball cap onto her bunk. She examined her arms. “Now that I’m sleeveless, we won’t need a night-light in here. And bonus—if anyone wakes up to use the bathroom and gets lost wandering around in the woods, the glow of my arms will help you find your way home.”

Emily looked to Sirena. “Am I going to get lost in the woods?”

Sirena and I just smiled and shook our heads.

“With me around, there’s no chance of it.” Hanna threw her arms up in the air and slowly turned in a circle. “Boop. Boop. Boop.”

I glanced back at Emily. Her face was twisted with worry. Couldn’t Hanna see that her joke was making Emily tense?

Paloma kicked off her sandals and glared sideways at Hanna.

Hanna continued to boop and rotate. “I’m a bear-proof lighthouse.”

“Bears?” Emily bit her lip.

“Hanna,” Paloma warned her, turning on the wall-mounted heater by the door. “You’re making our new friends nervous.”

I was glad Paloma was here to temper Hanna. I wasn’t sure what to say.

Hanna pulled flannel pants out of her suitcase and squinted one eye. “If all my jokes are albinism-related tomorrow, do you think that’ll make me more or less likely to get on the top team?”

Paloma pulled her hair out of her ponytail. “Ignoring you.”

Suddenly, Emily gripped the bunk and started taking in quick, shallow breaths. Before I even realized something was wrong, Sirena was at her