Page 21 of He's The Reason Why

For a second or two, he didn’t think she would answer. This method wasn’t for everybody, and she’d never done this sort of thing before. It could take some people years of practice before they relaxed enough to really slip into a moment.

But then she surprised him.

“I’m determined. To stop you.” Her gaze locked on his. “I want todosomething. Not just stand here, helpless. But I can’t rush you, because you have the knife, and it makes me really,reallyfrustrated and scared, but determined too.”

He stared into her expressive, intelligent, deeply brown eyes. “Now say the line again.”

“Let my sister go.” Her eyes flashed with determination and fire, and the line came out steely and filled with authority, with an undercurrent of fear.

“Yes!” He pointed at her. “Thatis Princess Jewel. Well done.”

“Really?” Her pleased smile lit her eyes. “Thanks. I get what you’re saying now. I think.”

He could tell by the slightly worried look in her eyes that she didn’t really get it, not yet. He had a feeling she would have trouble applying what she’d just learned to the rest of the script. It was a start, but it wasn’t enough.

In the next scene, Princess Jewel would run into Prince Jesse deep in the forest. Jesse would charm her and tease her and generally annoy the hell out of her until he got what he wanted, which was to tag along on her journey to find the stone.

Piper would need to channel a whole other set of emotions, which for her meant starting back at square one.

He had an idea for how to get her there faster. He just hoped it wouldn’t make things more difficult in the future.

He took a drink from his pretend knife slash water bottle. “Now all you have to do is go through all the other scenes and figure out how you should be feeling in each one.”

“Oh that’s all, is it.” She picked up a bottle of water and opened it.

“Hey, nobody said this acting gig would be easy.” He shoved a script out of the way and leaned against the table.

“I didn’t expect it to be.” Piper took a sip of water and replaced the cap. “But I’ve been coming here off and on for months to visit the animators and work on the songs. It all felt comfortable and familiar, until today.”

“What’s so different about today? You’ve spent your whole life on stage in front of crowds screaming at you. This,” he gestured at the mostly empty room, “should be easy compared to a sold-out stadium. It’s animated. Nobody’s even going to see you except us.”

“It’s a lot easier to perform in front of a sold-out stadium. Everybody there is excited to see you and they’re rooting for you to do your best.” She glanced at the chair where Rachel had been sitting. “Here, it feels like everyone’s waiting for you to screw up.”

“Not everyone.” He tossed the water bottle at a nearby trash can. It hit the side and went in with a loud clunk. “Trust me. Lots of people here would rather see you at your best. Including me.”

She looked doubtful. “Really? That’s why you rushed right over to teach me how to act?”

He grinned. “Okay, maybe it’s a little self-serving, but that’s only because we’re all in this together. Even Rachel. She might be mad she lost out on the lead, but she sure doesn’t want the whole thing to tank. Not when it has her name attached to it.”

Piper glanced at Rachel’s chair. “I know she wanted the lead, but I thought she was over it.”

Blake saw his opening and took it. “Rachel doesn’t get over anything when she wants something. But don’t worry, as long as you meet me, Gina, and Jeremy at least a quarter of the way, she won’t have a chance to push you out.”

“Push me out?” Her voice rose a little. “Meetyou a quarter of the way…where?”

“Don’t get me wrong, you have talent. We all heard it when you sang. It’s buried in there somewhere. I’m sure with enough excavation the three of us can dig up a decent performance out of you.”

“With…what?” Her voice had taken on a dangerous note.

That was getting into the ballpark of the right emotion for the next scene. Princess Jewel should be startled at first, then frustrated. Now all he had to do was tip Piper over the edge into irritated. “Excavation. You know, it’s when you digwaydown deep until you find the nugget hidden under layers of dirt.”

“Dirt.” Her eyes flashed. “You think my talent is hidden under layers of dirt.”

There was also supposed to be an element of attraction when Jesse met Jewel. He needed to bring in a layer of flirtation to her moodandhis.

“You know, it’s a shame this is animated. You’re working at a disadvantage.”

“Oh really.” She clenched her jaw. “Why do you say that?”

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