"Replica03 - Another Amy - Kaye, Marilyn" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kaye Marilyn)

"Oh, I'm not going to be an extra," Jeanine declared. "I'll have a real part, with a name." She turned to the others. "If you want to be extras, you're supposed to show up after school in the gym. The director's going to pick the people he wants."
The bell rang, the teacher came in, and kids raced to their seats. Amy sat down and digested this latest tidbit of information. So some kids would be able to get onto the film set, and maybe close to Aimee. But there was no point in her going to the gym for the tryouts. Or Tasha either, for that matter. Amy sincerely doubted that Mr. Hardy would give them a chance. In fact, he'd probably order Franklin to throw both of them out of the gym.
But Jeanine's news had given her an idea.
She couldn't find Tasha until lunchtime, when they met in the cafeteria as usual. Amy reported what she'd learned in homeroom.
"There's no way we're getting parts as extras," Tasha pointed out.
"I know, I know," Amy said. "But I was thinking about Eric."
"Eric! You have to be kidding. He'd never get cast."
Amy shook her head. "He's the only one who can help me. He'll understand why I have to talk to Aimee, and Mr. Hardy's never seen him, so at least he's got a chance of being picked. Then he could talk to Aimee, and arrange for us to get together, andЧ"
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Tasha asked. "What if Eric doesn't want to be an extra? He doesn't even like having his picture taken, Amy. I don't think he'll be too crazy about the idea of being in a movie."
Amy chewed on a fingernail and considered this possibility.
Tasha watched her with interest. "There's something I've always meant to ask you. When you bite your fingernails off, do they grow back overnight?"
"I never noticed," Amy said impatiently. "Listen, Tasha, this is important. We have to talk Eric into doing this."
"We?" Tasha asked. "Maybe you haven't noticed, but I've never been able to talk my brother into anything."
"And he's mad at me," Amy moaned. "What am I going to do?"
"Have you considered bribery?"
Tasha was joking, but Amy knew she'd hit on the answer.
Once again, she positioned herself just outside the cafeteria, where she could attract Eric's attention without embarrassing him in front of his friends. When the students poured out, she moved swiftly so no one would notice, and gave Eric's shirt a tug. He turned, saw her, and frowned. She put her hands together as if in prayer and looked at him pleadingly. Curiosity overcame his annoyance.
"What's up?"
"First of all, I want to tell you again how very, very sorry I am about yesterday."
"Yeah, okay. Is that all?"
Amy took a deep breath, and her words came out in a rush. "They're looking for kids to be extras in the movie and if you go to the gym after school today you can try out."
"Are you nuts?" He turned to walk away, but Amy grabbed his arm hard. He wasn't going anywhere.
"What are you doing?" He winced. "Let go of me!"
"Just listen to me, okay?" She spoke in a whisper. "The girl who's the star of the movie, I think she's aЧwell, I think she's like me, if you know what I mean."
His eyebrows shot up. "You think she's a clЧ"
"Shhh!" Then Amy nodded. "I've been trying to talk to her, but I can't get near her. The director's seen me, and Tasha, too, so he won't pick either of us to be an extra. Eric, please, you have to do this for me! I have to make contact with her!"
Eric was distinctly uncomfortable with the request. "No way, Amy. I don't want to be an actor."
"You don't have to be an actor," Amy said. "You probably won't have to do anything more than stand still, or walk, or sit. Come on, Eric . . ." She could see he wasn't convinced. It was time to offer the bribe.
"Remember Ronald Hurley?" she asked.
"What about him?"
"You wanted me to spy on him and find out what level of Island Treasure he's at. If you go to the gym this afternoon and try out, I'll do it."
She detected a spark of interest on his face. "What if I don't get picked as an extra? Will you still spy on him?"
Amy nodded.
Eric considered the deal. Then his eyes lit up. "Hey, I've got this huge math assignment due next week. You could probably whip it out in five minutes. Do that for me, and I'll go to the gym for you."
Amy winced. A little harmless spying was one thing. Doing someone else's homework was something else. "I can't, Eric," she said regretfully. "It's not right."
Eric bit his lip. "But you'll definitely find out what level Hurley's on? Today?"
Amy nodded. "As soon as I get home from school, I'll go straight to his house and wait by the window. If he plays on his computer, I'll see what he does and tell you tonight. Deal?"
She held her breath.
Eric frowned and scratched his head with his free hand. "Will you let go of my arm now?"
She nodded.
"Deal."


7

Eric felt unbelievably weird. He slipped into the gym as unobtrusively as possible and pressed himself against the wall, at the back of the bleachers, where he was least likely to be noticed by any of the others milling around.
What was he doing here? No one else in his crowd, none of his buddies, was volunteering to be an extra. From his vantage point, he surveyed the people who were and decided that each fell into one of three categories: girls from grades seven to nine; boys from grades seven and eight; nerdy boys from grade nine. So where did he fit in?
He was overwhelmed with a sense of being somewhere he absolutely did not want to be. He could make a fast escape right now, he thought. As far as he could tell, no one had seen him come in. Was it really worth the possibility of being considered a ninth-grade nerd? Did he really need to know if Ronald Hurley was lying about his level in Island Treasure?
But Amy would be really pissed off if he didn't go through with this. Not that he owed her anything after the way she'd treated him the day before. Still, she was acting like she was honestly sorry. And he could understand why she'd get uptight about people keeping secrets. Plus, he had to admit, he was kind of curious about seeing another clone.
But on the other hand, should he risk his reputation as a fairly cool guy?