Sighing, the woman in front us pulled out a new cereal box and said, “Guys, there is more than enough for everyone.”
“Yes!” We both threw our hands in the air. But as Amelia did so, the cereal and milk went flying from the bowl and onto my head.
That was not in the script.
Turning to face her, I saw her eyes go wide. She hated making mistakes. She would start to freak out. So I wiped my face and took a deep breath.
“You are so gonna get it, pig face!” I yelled, hoping she understood to run. And she did, breaking out into laughter.
“You said it was yours!” Her voice sounded like little bells.
They played the voice over; “Kercurns Cereal—so delicious and nutritious it’s the logical choice!”
“Cut!”
Amelia and I immediately stopped, looking to the director and hoped he was okay. Getting up from his chair, he walked right up in front of us, bent down, and said, “You two have bright futures ahead of you, you know that?” Smiling, he glanced between us, and I saw the same thing I always saw in adults’ eyes: dollar signs.
“Thank you,” we both said.
Kat came over with a towel for me, then proceeded to talk to the director. Amelia looked around, but her mom and Ollie were talking to the director as well.
“This is our chance,” I whispered to her. Confused, she glanced over to me, and not wanting to waste time, I grabbed her hand, making for a run for it.
“Amelia!” someone yelled. But she ignored them.
“Noah?”
“Just trust me!” I laughed, taking her with me: right, left, down. Then we got to the large black studio doors.
“Noah…”
“Shh.” I turned back to her, and she was too busy looking around. “Amelia.”
“We are going to get in trouble—”
“Who cares? It’s your birthday, and you need a present,” I reminded her.
“A present?”
“Yeah. Come on.” We slipped through the door together, Amelia holding on tightly with her hand.
The moment she stepped inside, she froze, her mouth dropping open as she stared at the set and cast in front of us.
“Awesome, right?” I whispered.
She didn’t answer, but a smile spread across her face. And it wasn’t her fake smile—this was real.
I didn’t want to get caught staring, so I looked away from her and back to the circus act in front of us. They were making a movie, but right now, we got to see them flip and throw fire in the sky.
There were lightshows.
Elephants.
A bear.
And a lion. When she saw it, she squeezed my hand tighter, taking a step behind me.
“You scared?” I asked softly.