Stepping Out by Laura Langston

Author:Laura Langston
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUV031000, JUV013070, JUV039150
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2015-12-01T05:00:00+00:00

Dad’s van hits a pothole when he slows for the school zone. On the sidewalk, students in groups of twos and threes straggle down the block to school. Since Hunter has a doctor’s appointment, Dad’s driving me this morning.

“Good luck with your dry run in drama today.” Dad leans over and pats my knee.

I lick my suddenly dry lips. A knee tap is big-time encouragement coming from Dad. “Thanks.”

He turns into the drop-off zone. I see a couple of Brooke’s friends up ahead, including Twin Two. Oh crap. At least Brooke isn’t there. She’s pretty much avoided me since Saturday morning. Maybe I should call her a major rectal opening more often.

I fling open the passenger door. “This is good.”

“Whoa. Hold up.” He slams on the brakes. “You’ll hurt yourself.”

“Yeah. If I wrecked my good foot that would be disastrous.” Almost as bad as being driven to school by a parent. “Thanks, Dad.” I grab my bag and jump out before any of Brooke’s friends see me.

I’m halfway to my locker when Carly calls out, “Paige, wait!”

I stop in front of the basketball team’s trophy cabinet and watch her hurry down the hall, her dark hair streaming out behind her and a wide smile on her face.

Her smile fades when she stops in front of me. “What are you wearing?” She stares at the flowing peach top I picked up at the thrift store yesterday after I got my hair cut. I also found a cool vest and scored a pair of nearly new 7 For All Mankind black jeans. “I thought you were wearing something red for this afternoon’s performance.”

Carly believes in color therapy. She thinks red will energize me and draw positive attention. To get her own positive attention, she relies on tight, low-cut sweaters in every color going. Today’s is royal blue. “I changed my mind.”

She frowns. “Not smart. Peach stimulates the appetite.”

“That’s good.” We start to walk. “I’ll leave them hungry for more.”

Nothing can spoil my mood. Yesterday’s haircut turned out okay (my hair looks almost normal for the first time in, like, forever). My routines are feeling solid, and the subscription numbers on my YouTube channel are up. Way up.

“I almost reached nine thousand subscribers this morning,” I tell Carly. It’s low by Jenna Marbles standards, but great considering I’ve only been doing this for nine months.

She grins. “I saw. I’ll bet you’ll hit that magic ten thousand before we leave for Portland at the end of the week. Maybe then you’ll start making some money.”

I stop in front of my locker. My hands are clammy. It takes me a couple of tries to spin my combination. “Maybe.” I don’t know why I’m resisting turning this into a business. Maybe because until now, vlogging has been fun. And chasing money makes it more serious somehow.

She turns to go. “See you at lunch.”

“Don’t count on it. Roskinski wants to see me in the drama room.

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