Page 44 of Stay for Me
“Scarface?”
Finally, he takes pity on me. “Goodfellas.”
I nod, seeing that. “All the greats.”
Jacob takes another fry from the basket. “It’s truly one of the best movies made. I remember watching it with Declan and thinking . . . I need to be this one day.”
“A mobster?” I joke.
He laughs. “No, the movie is definitely not inspirational. It was more that a movie could do something for someone. That it could make a difference in a kid’s life. I wanted to be that. I wanted to make someone inspired by art.”
I lean forward, my hand meets his, and I squeeze. “And that’s what you’re doing, Jacob. You being here, helping these kids, giving them a play from an actor they adore . . . you’re making a difference. You’ve already done it for Sebastian.”
His thumb glides against the back of my hand, and everything around us seems to disappear. Jacob and I are sitting here, holding hands as though it were the most natural thing in the world. The beating of my heart is so loud that I can barely hear Magnolia approach with our lunch. Quickly, I pull my hand back, placing them both in my lap, and work to get my heart rate under control.
“Thank you for that, Brenna,” Jacob says after Magnolia takes her leave.
A few breaths pass, and I plaster on a fake smile as though something crazy didn’t just happen between us. “Of course.”
And then I force myself to eat and pretend everything is fine.
Chapter Eleven
Jacob
Mrs. Finnegan is everything I remember and more—a maniac. That’s the only word I can manage to come up with. She’s fucking nuts.
Anyone who agrees to work with these kids has to be certifiable.
Which is now what I am.
“Okay, everyone, listen, I will not be signing any autographs, taking photos, or doing anything along those lines until after the play is done.” I see the one kid with his phone up and point to him. “Stop posting on your Snapchat and all that. If it gets out that I’m in this town, I’ll go to ground, which means no play.” I go back to looking at students who are here for the auditions, most of whom probably aren’t the least bit interested in the school play. “I am here as a teacher and to make sure the school play happens. If you’re not here to audition, then please leave, but be sure to buy your tickets to the play, which I will happily sign as a souvenir as well as do an after party where we can do photos.”
I watch as at least half the students get up and head out the auditorium doors.
My eyes find Brenna’s, which are dancing with laughter before she goes back to looking at the papers on her lap. At least she’s enjoying my discomfort.
“All right, now that we’ve got that out of the way. I’m Jacob Arrowood, and I’m going to be the director ofGreasethis year. Mrs. Finnegan has given me about six years’ worth of papers to read on each of you, and we don’t have that time. So, this is going to happen pretty fast because the play is in three months, which . . . you know, is insane, but it’s what we got. Auditions will be in a week. Any questions?”
Hands go up within a half a second. “I do, I do!”
“Yes, person with the blue shirt.”
She stands. “Is it true that you got fired fromNavigator?”
My head jerks back a little. “What?”
“My mom said that you probably got in trouble doing drugs or whatever and this is your community service.”
The bratty kid sits, and I want to say that her mom probably hasn’t had sex in the last decade and that’s why she is pissy. That would probably make Mrs. Symonds fly off the handle and get me in trouble. Not to mention, I know someone is recording this crap.
Brenna stands. “Clarissa, we all know that’s not true, and it’s not polite to relay gossip. Mr. Arrowood is a famous actor who has volunteered his time to help us not miss out on our yearly play. We need to be kind.” She sits back down as if she didn’t just verbally spank the kid.
I make a mental note that, no matter what the hell this girl’s talent is, she’s in the chorus or an understudy.
Another hand goes up. “Yes.”
“Mr. Arrowood, I heard that you were really bad in the play you did and not really a good actor, do you even know how to be a director?”
