Read Online Life Swap by Abby McDonald - Free Book Online Page B

his crush around.”
    â€œWe went through that in class.” I try to keep my voice gentle. I can tell he’s liable to get defensive. “I know you don’t want the romance to be the main focus, but they’re the best scenes. You want them to be the dramatic high point.”
    There’s a long pause. Ryan looks back down at the script and flicks his pencil against the edge of the table.
Tap-tap-taptap
. It echoes in the tiny space.
Tap-tap-taptap
.
    â€œCan you not do that?”
    Tap-tap-taptap.
    I glare at him. He smirks back.
    â€œRelax,” he tells me. I sigh, pulling my hair back into a tighter plait.
    â€œThe changes?” I remind him.
    â€œSure, whatever.” His voice is so nonchalant, I can’t believe it.
    â€œâ€˜Whatever’?” I repeat. “I thought this was the most important thing in your life.”
    â€œLowell’s always telling us to get distance from our work.” Ryan begins to smile now that he knows he’s annoying me. And just for good measure, he begins with the pencil again.
Tap-tap-taptap
. I have to fold my hands together to stop myself reaching out and snatching it from him.
    â€œWe start shooting on Saturday,” he says, as if I don’t already have a schedule mapped out, complete with time for delays and weather problems. Not that there’s any weather in California. “The first few days will probably be working out the kinks, getting light and sound figured.”
    â€œFine.” I run my eyes down the long, long list of prefilming tasks I’ve been making. Another boy from class, Mike, is supposed to be producing, but I only needed one look at his red-rimmed eyes and bagful of snacks to decide I’d better run this myself if I want anything done. “Here.” I tear off the bottom of the page—the least necessary things—and pass it to him. “You’ll need to get these sorted before we start.”
    Ryan folds the paper carelessly and throws it in his bag.
    â€œIt’s important,” I remind him. “You won’t get anyone working without clear schedules and a shot-by-shot plan.”
    â€œAlready covered,” he drawls, surprising me. “Don’t look at me like me that. I’ve been planning this longer than you.”
    â€œWell, all right.” I frown. “I think that’s it.” I’d set aside another hour for this meeting, expecting tantrums and ultimatums at the very least.
    â€œCool, I’ll see you by the equipment room on Saturday.” Ryan pulls his shoes back on and slings his bag over his shoulder. “Nice work on the rewrites.”
    He’s gone before I recover from the parting compliment.
    With time to spare before a graduate screening of short films, I linger in the library and browse the social science sections for a little pleasure reading. I organized for my Oxford professors to email me the assignments so I can be certain that I don’t miss too much, but sometimes it’s nice just to wander the stacks and see what catches my eye. Picking out a couple of books on democracy, I find a quiet area with some desks and couches and settle in.
    But I can’t concentrate. Usually I can put a book in my hands and be oblivious to the world. It’s a great skill for studying, but for some reason my superpowers aren’t working today. Every movement, every sound: they all catch my attention, and soon I’m watching the people around me closer than my work. Back in Oxford, libraries are silent and sacrosanct, but here people don’t seem to care about keeping quiet. Two boys in sports shirts are complaining over their notes, a blond girl bobs her head in time to her iPod, and two girls are giggling together behind a stack of books. Their desk is spread with candy wrappers, magazines, and colored pens, and studying looks like the last thing on their minds as they hiss at each other.
    â€œShhh, she’ll