Mia the Melodramatic Read Online Free Page A

us.”
    I was such an idiot. Why would an upperclassman who resembled Adonis be interested in someone like me?
    “Not that I wouldn’t ask you out,” Eric continued feebly.
    I held up my hand to stop him. I’d already been humiliated enough. I didn’t need to embarrass myself anymore by listening to all the reasons why he didn’t want to date me. “What time should I be there?”
    “I can pick you up. Let’s say around 6:30,” Eric said, obviously relieved the awkward misunderstanding was over. He headed for the backstage door. “But for now, I’d better get Henry some coffee before he has another one of his caffeine withdrawal ‘incidents.’”
    As he walked out the door, a huge grin spread across Zoë’s face. She cracked her gum and said, “That was priceless. You actually thought my cousin was asking you out. Man, I haven’t seen anything that funny on stage in a long time. Maybe Eric was right—that you should be in the theater. You could take your whole wide-eyed routine on the road and make millions.”
    I headed for the lobby door. It was going to be a long, long summer.

Chapter
Four
    L ater that afternoon, I heaved open the back door to my house and, too exhausted to make it to the living room couch, sank into a kitchen chair. I gently flexed my fingers, trying to get the cramps out after sewing up 15 mermaid fins, 7 fish heads, 11 crab costumes, and an 8-legged sea monster suit.
    My mom called from upstairs, “Mia, is that you?”
    I croaked, “Yeah.”
    “I’ll be down in a second. I’m just checking on Chris. He’s got some weird virus.”
    I felt a flicker of guilt but quickly doused it for the sake of self-preservation. I needed to get rid of the evidence linking me to Chris’s bathroom bonanza. Summoning all the energy I had left, I reached into the cupboard, grabbed the box of Sugar Snaps, and poured them down the drain.
    Just then, Mom walked into the kitchen. “What are you doing with that cereal? I only bought it a couple days ago.”
    I flipped the switch, hoping the sound of the disposal would drown out the quiver I always got in my voice when I lied. “Um, I read somewhere that high sugar content can cause diarrhea. I didn’t want Chris to get sick again tomorrow.”
    Mom frowned. “How did you know Chris had diarrhea? I only said he had a virus.”
    Avoiding her all-knowing teacher stare, I mumbled “Lucky guess” as I busied myself with the faucet.
    Her silence told me she was still debating whether to pursue theissue, so I tried a different tactic—the rare compliment. “Hey, I wanted to thank you again for getting me the job at Little Tyke’s—I really appreciate it.”
    “That’s nice of you to say,” Mom said, beaming. “Did you get a chance to see Eric?”
    Phew, the Sugar Snaps trial had ended before it even began. I collapsed into my chair. “Yeah, he showed me around today. I can’t believe how much he’s changed.”
    “I know. Nancy told me he was the lead in his high school’s musical last year and he was only a sophomore. Who would have looked at that nice, shy little boy and guessed he’d turn out to be an actor?” She picked up a stray Sugar Snap that landed on the counter and popped it into her mouth. “So, what did you think of the rest of the kids you’ll be working with?”
    I chewed on my lip, wondering how much damage one laxative-laced Sugar Snap could cause. “Uh, they’re all right.”
    “Ugh! This cereal is disgusting.” My mom spit the half-chewed cereal into the sink. “No wonder Chris got sick. What’s in this, anyway?” She picked up the box and started scanning the ingredients.
    A thin layer of sweat broke out on my upper lip. Clearly, I was not cut out for a life of crime—I couldn’t take the pressure. I had to change the subject before I ended up confessing to everything I’d ever done wrong in my whole life. “Um, I was wondering if it was all right if I went out for some pizza tonight with Eric and the other