Mia the Magnificent Read Online Free PDF Page A

Tim. “I think we’re all ready for a break—I know I am. Jake, why don’t you pull into that parking lot over there and we can switch drivers?”
    “Sure thing, dude,” Jake said, lurching the steering wheel to the right as he headed into the parking lot. “But first, all this cheezin’ about acting made me remember this cool stunt I saw in a movie once. I wanna try it out.”
    Mr. Bodey tried to say something to stop him, but his words were drowned out by the sound of the engine as Jake gunned the accelerator. He aimed the car directly at a row of speed bumps, and I braced myself for the worst. Ignoring the church’s decree, I began praying to Saint Christopher with all my might.
    We hit the first speed bump going about 30 miles an hour, and the car flew into the air. My head smashed into the car roof and I landed with a thud, with just enough time to grab my seatbelt before Jake barreled toward the second bump. As the car hit the raised pavement, we soared like a bird in flight, and then landed with a sickening crunch.
    Hitting the gas once more, Jake zoomed toward a third bump,but Mr. Bodey was too quick for him. He slammed his teaching brake to the floorboard, and the car screeched to a halt, smashing the rest of us into the front seats like bugs on a windshield.
    “That was freakin’ better than the movie!” Jake yelled as the car skidded to a stop, the smell of burning rubber assaulting the air.
    While Tim, Zoë, and I pried our bodies from the back of the seats, Mr. Bodey reached for the door handle and, without a word, stumbled out of the car.
    Jake turned around and gave us a perplexed look. “What’s up with him, dudes?”
    “Uh,” I said, looking out my car window at Mr. Bodey, who was now sitting on the speed bump, his head buried in his hands, “I think he’s going into shock.”
    “But you still think I passed today’s lesson, right, dude?” Jake asked with his first hint of hesitancy.
    Tim looked at Mr. Bodey, who looked kind of like he was crying. “I think I read somewhere that one of the first rules in passing driver’s ed is to keep all four wheels on the ground at all times.”
    “Aw, snap!” Jake exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell me that in the first place?”

Chapter
Four
    In the hard auditorium chair, I adjusted my still-bruised tailbone as Mrs. Ingram called from the center of the stage, “Quiet, everyone!”
    Her announcement did nothing to stop the noise, so Lisa took matters into her own hands. Sticking her index finger and thumb into her mouth, she let out an ear-piercing whistle. The auditorium immediately silenced.
    “That’s much better.” Mrs. Ingram cleared her throat and continued. “First of all, I would like to thank each and every one of you for auditioning for this year’s musical, The Music Man. I’m sure it will be difficult for our panel to choose between you.”
    Nervously, my gaze shifted to the panel of teachers who would be determining my fate. There was Mr. Benson, Ms. Jackson, Mrs. Williams, Mr. Juarez, my mom...
    My mom?! What was she doing here? When I left home a half hour ago, she was at home grading her freshman class’s compositions.
    “Lisa,” I whispered, grabbing her arm and yanking her toward me, “why didn’t you didn’t tell me my mom was going to be here tonight?”
    “You know, if you focused on improving your interpersonal relationship skills with your mom,” Lisa replied, “you wouldn’t have to rely on me for that information.”
    “Don’t use your psychobabble on me,” I said. “You and my mom purposely kept this from me, didn’t you?”
    “Well, yes,” Lisa said. “We didn’t want you getting any more nervous than you already were. But your mom is going to excuseherself from grading your performance, so there won’t be any personal bias.”
    “But with my mom there,” I said in exasperation, “no other teacher is going to give me a bad grade on my audition. I don’t want to get a part just because my