Read Online The Me You See by Shay Ray Stevens - Free Book Online Page A

all about
appearances. It’s all about what you can make people believe.”
    She pondered that, letting it swirl around in her brain and
take on whatever meaning it needed to have for her.
    “I can make people believe a whole lot,” she finally said.
    “Good. It will make things a whole lot easier.”
    **
    She was so nervous. She was sweating buckets and her hands
were shaky. I told her not to be so nervous, that she was wonderful at what she
was doing and she’d practiced.
    “But look at everyone else who is here!” she said.
    “Don’t worry about them. Focus on yourself.”
    It seemed weird to say something like that. It’s counterintuitive
to how we are brought up. Think of others. Think of how you can help. Think of
how they might feel. But in the theater, it’s different. It’s cut throat. It’s
every man for himself. It’s push yourself forward and say why you’re the best
person for the part.
    It’s drama.
    Stefia was called up on stage for her audition. And while
she weaved her tale, the director looked up. He set his pen down and relaxed in
his seat and actually smiled. Then he looked at my friend, James Harper. And
James looked at me.
    And mom was rubbing his back and he just kept
crying and crying.
    He kept saying it had to be a mistake, that he
didn’t believe it, that it can’t be.
    It just can’t be.
    And I said, “Dad, it is.”
    The audition panel erupted into applause and I knew she had
the part. She deserved it.
    She stood on stage, surprised but soaking in their
applause. I waved her off stage and she bolted down the side stairs and wrapped
her almost fourteen-year-old arms around me.
    Oh, God.
    Don’t.
    I patted her back and smiled.
    “Now what?” she said.
    “Now you wait for a phone call or an email to tell you if
you got a part.”
    “I think I will die waiting!”
    “Anticipation is good,” I said. “It makes the prize
better.”
    **
    Two days later, on her birthday, they called to offer her
the part of Candace.
    I heard her screams all the way over in my yard.  She came
flying out the front door of her house
    “I got the part, Niles! I got the part! It’s for real!” She
jumped at me with a hug.
    Please.
    Don’t.
    Just stop…
    I hugged her back.
    “That’s great!” I said. “Congratulations!”
    “Oh my god, Niles,” she said, excited and out of breath,
“I’m a real artist now. A real artist!”
    I couldn’t wipe the smirk from my face. She thought she was
the artist, but she was actually the art. Like a masterpiece forgotten in an
attic that I’d stumbled upon at a yard sale and knew the world needed to see.
    Now, let’s be honest. Stefia would have gotten the part
even on her own merits, but between you and I, the part of Candace had been
secured for her. James Harper owed me a favor, and seeing Stefia play Candace
in the show was something I wanted more than most things in my life.
    Yes, James Harper had owed me a favor. And his granting of
said favor opened a floodgate that changed Stefia’s life forever.
    And mine.
    **
    After the first run was done and the cast party had ended,
I drove her home from the theater. As her commentary whirled around on the
ecstasy of completing her first official role, I pulled my olive green classic
Cutlass into my driveway and parked.
    “Thanks for driving me home, Niles. You’ve been such a huge
help to me. I don’t know how I can ever thank you.”
    “It was worth every minute,” I said. “Totally my pleasure
to be of assistance.”
    She got out of the car and headed down the driveway to her
house.
    “Oh, hey,” I called after her, like it had been an
afterthought and not a plan. “Do you want to come in for a second? I have this
new piece that I think you should take a look at.”
    “A new piece? For what?”
     “Just come inside for a minute,” I said. “Take a look at
it. I think it will be perfect for your next audition.”
    She nodded and I unlocked the front door of my house.
    “Make yourself