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it?” he was saying. “You said you’d do this for me. Are you going to?”
    I was trying to figure out who Tyler was talking to. Then he looked up and saw me watching him in the mirror. He sort of waved.
    I took a step into the room and looked around. No one else was in there.
    “Sorry,” Tyler said. “Zeke brought me up here. To see his turtles.” He pointed to Zeus and Jupiter. “They’re cute. I had turtles back home. I gave them to my brother Teddy, when I left.
    Teddy’s Zeke’s age.”
    I looked around the room again. “But where’s Zeke?” I asked.
    “He — um — went to the screening.” Tyler was blushing with embarrassment. I was amazed.
    “Your father already showed me those film clips. When he signed me on for Love Conquers All .
    So I — uh — thought I could come up here to rehearse tomorrow’s scene.” He shrugged his
    shoulders. “I get really nervous before I start a new movie. Actually, I’m nervous all the way through the shoot.”
    I was caught off guard. He was being so honest.
    “I’m a wreck whenever this band I’m in performs,” I told him. “Everyone else is acting cool, but I’m a bundle of nerves. I can’t hide it.”
    Tyler asked me what I did in the band. I told him I play the keyboard and sing.
    “No wonder you have stage fright,” he said. “You’re singing in front of a live audience. That’s scary and a lot harder than what I do.”
    “But there are all those people on the movie set when you act,” I pointed out. “And millions of people are going to see the movie.”
    “Hey,” he said with a laugh. “You’re making me even more nervous. I need help!”
    I couldn’t believe it. He was asking me for help!
    “Okay,” I said. “What do you usually do to calm yourself down?”
    “Rehearse. I feel like I’m a little more in control if I’m rehearsing.”
    I said it sounded like he was rehearsing the scene in which his character, J.B. (Surfer Boy), is trying to convince this studious guy, Tom, to tutor him so he can impress Vivian (Brains) in history class.
    “You read the script?” Tyler asked.
    I nodded.
    “Do you like it?”
    I was shocked. Why would Tyler Kendall want to know what I thought of the script?
    “It’s okay. What do you think of it?” I said diplomatically. “You’re the one who has to be J.B.”
    “It’s okay,” he agreed. “But I have to find more to the character than what’s on the page. That’s my job.”
    “I’m sure you can,” I said. And I was. I’ve seen Tyler in his other movies. He’s good.
    He tapped his hand nervously against his leg and said, “Thanks. I sure hope you’re right.”
    Tyler looked so nervous I felt sorry for him. And before I knew it, I’d offered to help him rehearse.
    I sat on the desk and he handed me the script. I read Tom’s part. (I lowered my voice so I’d sound more like a guy.) Helping Tyler rehearse was really fun. He was nice — and normal. Not like Felicia.
    He gave the pages for another scene. It was the one in which J.B. rescues Vivian.
    VIVIAN: You saved my life. I — I would have drowned if you hadn’t pulled me out.
    J.B.: You were really easy to save, you know. Maybe you could have even made it back by yourself.
    VIVIAN: I couldn’t. I can’t swim.
    J.B.: You’re shivering. (Puts a towel around her shoulders.) There. That’s better.
    VIVIAN: Thank you.
    When we were practicing that scene, Tyler used the blanket at the end of Zeke’s bed for the towel. He gave my shoulders a little squeeze when he put it around them.
    I looked up at him and our gaze locked for an instant.
    “I’m glad I met you,” he whispered.
    I looked down at the script. That line wasn’t there. He was saying it for real.
    But was it real?
    Or did he add the line so he’d understand his character better?
    He is an actor, after all.
    “Tyler, you up here?” someone called. It was Felicia. I dropped the blanket from around my shoulders as she came into the room. “What are you two