Silhouette Read Online Free PDF

running. There’s so much of everything inside me that I have to let it out. It’s late in the afternoon and the streets are still busy. Nothing out here has changed, but my whole world is different. I’ve broken through to a place where anything is possible.
    Around a corner, I pull up in front of a guy with a ladder balanced on his shoulder. ‘Easy there,’ he says, as I jump to the side.
    ‘Sorry.’
    I slow to a respectable pace now, but can’t help stepping with little bounces. As I leave MPG Studios through the front gate, I imagine what everyone at the Academy will say.
    Jack is peeved. I’ll have to see the Head of Dance at school tomorrow. And I have Mum to deal with too. I wish that things were different. That it was Dad I could tell about this. Was this how it was for him? This burst of energy? Flying invincibility? When he landed his first role, did he feel as good as I do now?
    The train station is down a side street with a wide curve. I reach into my bag as I walk, feeling my way past jazz shoes, water bottle, rattling rice container. My fingers close around the smooth curve of an apple.
    As soon as I crunch into the flesh I realise that I’m starving. There’s almost no time to chew and swallow before the next bite. I’m still licking apple juice off my fingers when I pull out my phone and call Paige. She answers in one ring.
    ‘You’ll never believe this!’ I was planning to make her guess, but I can’t hold it back. ‘I did it, Paige! I can’t believe it!’
    I hear her breathe on the other end. ‘Did what?’
    ‘Landed a part! Got a role in the music video! I have a contract in my bag right now, schedule, everything.’
    There’s silence before Paige says, ‘You’re kidding.’ It’s not a question. And from the flat tone in her voice I suddenly realise that she’s in a completely different place to me.
    My excitement drops. ‘Are you okay? Where are you?’
    ‘At home,’ she says quietly.
    ‘Then, I’ll come round, okay? We can talk –’
    ‘No, I’ll meet you.’ She’s made her voice brighter. ‘At the Complex? We have to celebrate.’
    A train is pulling into the station, so I have to yell above the noise. ‘Okay. See you there.’
    It’s after four by the time we’re sitting down, but I have to order something. I choose a grilled chicken salad and decide to skip dinner.
    Paige sits with her hands clasped together and pushed against her mouth. A mineral water bubbles quietly in front of her.
    ‘So …’ I ease my way forward. ‘I feel bad for getting in. I wish we’d both –’
    Her hands come down, resting the tips of her fingers on my arm. ‘It’s okay, Scarlett. Really.’ Just slightly, her head tilts. ‘So tell me, what was it like?’
    ‘Stressful.’ I shrug. ‘And, I don’t know, exciting. The real world?’
    She’s leaning close, wanting to hear. So I put down my fork, and just start talking. I’m aware of the pinch of her eyebrows, and I find myself toning it back, cutting things out. Trying to turn it into something less.
    After a while, Paige leans back in her chair.
    I take it as a signal that I’ve said enough. ‘So, how about you?’ I ask. ‘Are you upset?’
    ‘Upset?’ She frowns at her hands. ‘No. I mean, not with you.’
    ‘Then … what?’ I pick up my fork again, giving her space to speak.
    Paige sighs and takes a sip of water. ‘It was just one audition, I know. But I didn’t even make it past first base.’
    ‘You will next time.’
    ‘What if I don’t? What’s the point of even trying to dance if I’m always asked to leave? The one who’s always too tall ?’
    ‘But you won’t be, Paige! It was just one audition. Not even for a company. This one hardly counts.’
    ‘Yeah, well …’ For a while we both watch bubbles rising in Paige’s glass. When she begins to talk again, her voice is almost a whisper. ‘A gig like the one today? That’s my plan B.’ She shakes her head. ‘No, not even plan B, it’s more