Will the Real Abi Sanders Please Stand Up? Read Online Free Page B

a Dalek from Doctor Who .
    At the end of the routine, Danny and the camera guy applaud. Does he mean it, or is he feeling guilty for what he said earlier, and he just wants me to feel good?
    “Was that okay?” I ask, scanning Danny’s face.
    “More than okay. You’re a natural. Like two different people on and off screen. You know, the camera loves you—come and look.” A tingling feeling washes over me. He can’t be serious. Me, a natural?
    I run over to where he’s standing behind the camera looking at a small screen, and he replays my screen test.
    If you don’t count my face, which by the end of it is all red and sweaty, the actual routine looks great. I’m not sure I’d say I’m a natural, though. Not that I know what counts as one. Even so, I’d love to have a copy of it to take home and show everyone, not that I have the nerve to ask.
    “Thanks. And thank you for seeing me.”
    Danny starts to roll the camera away toward the side of the studio, and I pull on my jeans and shoes. Once I’m back in my street clothes, I head for the door.
    “Hey, where are you going?” Danny calls.
    I turn and walk back toward him, chewing on my bottom lip. I hope he doesn’t think I’m rude. “S-sorry, I thought we’d finished.”
    “I want to explain the process. I’ve already seen a couple of other girls earlier and now I have to talk to the casting director, and we’ll make a decision and let you know later.”
    “Okay. Thanks.”
    For some reason, I feel a bit deflated. But the main thing is that I did it and that my nerves didn’t get the better of me. It’s not like I expected to be offered the job on the spot. That only happens in the movies. But now that I’m here, and the audition is over, my dread is that I’ll go home and receive the thanks but no thanks call because they’ve decided on someone more suitable. Which is one-hundred percent going to happen, no matter how much I want the job now. I have no experience, and that’s the beginning and end of it, even if Bill did persuade him to test me. So I should stop daydreaming about how exciting working on a movie would be and just accept that my chances are slim, if that.
    “You haven’t asked me anything about the job. Don’t you have any questions?” Danny asks.
    “Sorry.” Question. Think of a question . “Um. Can you tell me more about the movie?”
    “Sure. What do you know about New Zealand?”
    Help. I’ve never been good at geography. Hope it’s not going to affect my chances if I tell him I haven’t a clue. Then again, it’s not like it will determine how well I do the stunts, if they want me.
    “Not much. Sorry.” In other words, nothing apart from the fact that it’s where they shot the Lord of the Rings, and it’s a long way from here.
    “No matter.” He leans back in his chair. “Most people think of Nebraska as flat, but in fact parts of Omaha, especially the Loess Hills, are similar to New Zealand’s hills, which is why we chose to shoot there. The movie’s loosely based on the ancient Maori legend of Mataaho, but with a more contemporary feel.”
    Contemporary feel? How do you make legends contemporary?
    I look down at my lap and notice I’m flicking the nail of my middle finger with my thumb. I quickly stop. Mom gets mad at me when I do it. She says the clicking noise is really annoying.
    “Cool.” What else can I say? “And what part does Tilly play?”
    “Princess Waiere. Hunua’s daughter. She falls in love with Hui and runs away with him to his tribe. According to the legend, the God of Secrets and his brother got really angry with a high priest of the tribe the princess came from for stealing magic and using it to fight Hui’s tribe. The Gods killed the high priest and turned the ground into volcanoes.”
    “When you say it’s going to be contemporary, do you mean it’s not set in fairyland?”
    “Not as such. It’s still going to be a fantasy, but it’s a twenty-first-century