Curtain Call Read Online Free Page A

surprised to see Max Caldwell standing behind me. He smiled, revealing straight white teeth. “I’m Max, by the way.”
    â€œI know,” I replied. Everyone knew Max. He starred in everything. And he was good too.
    He dropped into Angela’s vacated seat. “So do you?”
    I tapped my pen against the notebook. Working with someone as talented as Max would practically guarantee me a good grade, but what would I bring to the equation? With a shrug, I said, “Maybe.”
    â€œI’ll tell you what,” Max said. “If you decide you want to team up for this project meet me over at Crossroads around four. We can go over ideas and get the project proposal done. If not, no harm, right?”
    With another wide grin, he unfolded himself gracefully from the desk and ambled across the room to his seat. I had little to no idea what to say about that turn of events. Teaming up with Angela had been a desperate attempt at saving my butt. My only hesitation was that I didn’t know Max at all. Good looking, smooth theater guys made me nervous. Thoughts of my high school crush on the theater golden boy slipped into my mind unbidden. A shiver of disgust trembled down my spine.
    What would Josh think of me teaming up with a guy? Not that Josh had any say in how I lived my life or whom I worked with. And just like that, the thought of Josh made me want to cry. The fact that it made me want to cry caused a surge of anger to rush through me. My head began to throb, and I finally just dropped my forehead into my hands.
    A hand on my shoulder caused me to jump. Angela gave me a sympathetic smile, and jerked her head toward the door. Most of the other students had trickled out. She waited for me to pack up my bag.
    â€œSo what did Max want?” Angela asked as we headed down the pink staircase.
    I pulled on my coat, and slowly zipped it up before I answered. “He asked me if I wanted to team up with him for the senior project.”
    Angela’s jaw went slack. Her eyes got wide. “I can’t believe that. You’ll have the best project. You did tell him yes, right?”
    The lobby was crowded with people as we headed for the doors. Shaking my head slowly, I said, “I don’t know. I mean, I didn’t say yes, but…” I paused, staring outside at the nasty sleet. “I don’t really know Max.”
    The umbrella Angela pressed into my hand was much appreciated. She popped open her hot pink one, and we dashed outside. We headed in the direction of the student union. The little pings of icy rain on the umbrella made us hurry faster.
    Once we got to the union, half-soaked and shivering like mad, we made our way to the Coffee Hut. I ordered my caramel mocha latte. While I waited for Angela to order, I thought about Max’s offer. Why did he want to work with me? When I voiced my question, Angela said, “Who cares why he wants to work with you? Think how amazing your project will be.”
    We sat down at a table near the front windows. I watched the raindrops chase each other down the pane. “Maybe I’ll meet him.”
    â€œHmmm?” Angela asked through a mouthful of hot chocolate doused with foamy whipped cream.
    I blushed, heat creeping up my neck. “Oh, nothing,” I said. “I was just thinking out loud. Max asked me to meet him at Crossroads today to talk about the project. And…I guess I’ll go.”
    â€œYou should,” she agreed. “Seriously, if you’re worried about the project, teaming up with Max makes so much sense.”
    Glancing back out at the sleet that now seemed to be changing to snow, I wasn’t so sure I agreed.
    ****
    I doodled through most of my other classes. Luckily, being the second week of class meant that we weren’t covering anything complicated yet. Mostly we were still hearing introductory lectures. My thoughts cycled through grief over my breakup with Josh and my curiosity about