The Accidental Movie Star Read Online Free Page B

important actors and staff to the front of the line. The line wound so far down the hall she couldn’t see any of the actors up ahead.
    Ashley put her back to the wall and slid down, folding her arms around her knees. “Do they know what happened?”
    “Nope.” Boomer fingered a slight tear on the edge of his sleeve. Grasping the loose fabric, he tore the sleeve short, exposing more of his bicep.
    Olive reached their end of the line and handed Ashley two pieces of paper.
    “Do you know what happened?”
    “Of course. Those bleachers were designed to hold a few tourists, not a full film crew.”
    “So a weak structure? Not an earthquake?”
    Olive flicked her finger against the sheets in Ashley’s hand, and the paper made a crisp clicking sound. “That’s your call sheets. It’ll tell you where you need to be and when you need to be there.”
    Ashley winced. “Six a.m.?”
    Olive’s tone challenged as she said, “I’ll be here at five.” Her small frame moved down the line, handing out the rest of the forms. She didn’t have far to walk.
    Ashley flipped her second form over. Release and Waiver of Liability. Three hours, one bandaged arm, one tetanus shot, and she was free to leave.
    ***
    When her alarm rang the next morning at an ungodly hour, Ashley crawled out of her blue sheets and took a quick shower to start her day. The pulsing hot water helped work out the soreness in her muscles, but the heat didn’t do anything for the new bruises splotched across her skin. Thanks, metal bleachers . She threw a jacket over her T-shirt so Dad wouldn’t worry over the bruises.
    Downstairs, a note stuck to the fridge. Went in to the studio. Keys to the Audi are on the hook by the door. Dad.
    Traffic made the short commute seem long, and she had to make one embarrassing stop by a drugstore before reaching the studio.
    ***
    All she wanted this summer was to spend some time with Dad and be able to list an interesting job on her college applications. She had never wanted to get involved in any work drama but she couldn’t overlook intentional harm to someone; hence, the drugstore purchase newly residing in her purple messenger bag.
    Ashley shoved it into one of the cabinets under the makeup counter. Now she needed someone to ask her to run an errand to Caz’s trailer. She’d drop off the package, and her good deed would be complete. Ashley moved along the counter, past numbered, sectioned containers of powders, gels, oils, and creams. Scooping up a stray box of tissues, she popped it into a square cutout labeled Tissues .
    The makeup artist, busy sorting through a wheeled cart that held even more potions, lifted her head to nod in approval. Her short bleached rock star haircut didn’t move, but her fuchsia mini dress swished around her thighs. “Call me Powder.” In the mirror’s reflection, Powder’s face, made up with slashes of solid color, looked even more dramatic beside Ashley’s pale, unmade face. Ashley’s attention left her own reflection at the sound of Petra’s voice.
    Petra curled into one of the chairs facing the mirrors. Holding an entertainment magazine, she jabbed a red, jewel-decorated nail at the glossy cover. “I posed for so many shots. Why am I not on the cover?”
    Powder rolled her eyes and added more cotton balls to a tray.
    Ashley looked at Petra in surprise. Did she mean to sound so egotistical?
    Olive massaged Petra’s shoulders while feeding her ego. “I know. You so deserve the cover. You are the lead.” Glancing at the crowd of additional suck-ups around the beautiful brunette, Ashley realized how Petra could remain oblivious—everyone smiled and nodded to her face. Not one of them called her on her ego. As Ashley moved closer, her eyes widened at the image on the magazine. The cover depicted Caz lying across a gray carpet with a hot-pink bra wrapped around a beer near his hand.
    Petra read the caption. “Depraved young Hollywood. Caspian arrives in LA. Only here an hour, and