His ringtone cut me off. “Hold that thought,” he said, checking the screen. “I need to take this. Why don’t you wait in my office, and when I’m done, we can talk. This will only take a couple of minutes.”
“Yeah, sure thing.”
In the small den he used as his workspace, I made myselfcomfortable at my dad’s desk. There was no way he’d be done in a few minutes, so I decided to get a head start on my homework. As I opened my European history notebook, I noticed a manila folder haphazardly tucked under a pile of bills. What caught my attention was the white booklet sticking out of it.
My heart skipped a beat.
Glancing through the French doors to make sure my dad wasn’t coming, I pushed aside the bills to get a better look. There was nothing written on the folder’s tab to indicate what was inside, but somehow, I already knew.
When I flipped open the file, I was met with the crisp white title page of a TV script.
But it wasn’t just any TV script.
It was the pilot for a TV adaptation ofLady Phoenix.
Chapter 6
As I pulled up in front of the familiar Mediterranean-style house, I nearly sobbed in relief. There wasn’t a single thing about the Hernandezes’ home I didn’t adore. From the stucco walls and terra-cotta tile roof to the colorful artwork hanging on every wall in every room and the perpetually cluttered kitchen, each square inch radiated warmth and love and safety. It reminded me of what our house in San Bernardino used to feel like, back before we moved. I raced up the front walk and rang the bell.
Thirty seconds passed before the door flew open. Sofia stood on the other side, her youngest brother, David, perched on her hip and a phone pressed to her ear. Her face lit up when she saw me.
“Hey! What are you doing here?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but a shout from the kitchen cut me off.
“Is that the pizza?!”
“No, it’s Indie!” she yelled back. David stretched his chubby arms in my direction, so Sofia pawned him off on me before switching the phone to her other ear and saying, “Yes, of course I’m still listening.”
Another shout: “What about the Indy?” It sounded like Javier.
“Not the race, you idiot! My best friend!” Sofia hollered, her gaze flicking upward in annoyance. She must have been on the phone with her mom, because she quickly added, “Lo siento, Mami. It won’t happen again.” Waving me inside, Sofia continued her conversation. “I have the grocery shopping covered, but that birthday party Emma was invited to is at the same time as Javi’s cross-country meet, so I asked Mrs. Holliburger to pick her up.”
We headed toward the kitchen. As soon as I crossed the threshold, something barreled into me, nearly knocking David from my arms. Emma, Sofia’s seven-year-old sister, wrapped her arms around my waist.
“Indie!” she exclaimed. “It’s been so long. I missed you.”
“Whoa. Careful, kiddo,” I said, returning her hug. “I nearly dropped your little brother.”
“That’s okay. He’s got a hard head. He fell out of his high chair yesterday when Javi was feeding him. Didn’t cry at all.”
“That wasn’t my fault,” Javier grumbled. He was perched on an island barstool, his face all but pressed against the small TV positioned alongside the wall. “You’re the one who put him in, Emma. How was I supposed to know the buckle wasn’t clipped?”
Emma grinned mischievously and pulled me over to the table. Colorful string sat in a pile alongside a pair of scissors and a container filled with plastic beads. “I learned how to make friendship bracelets at Girl Scouts today. Want me to make you one?”
“I’d love that,” I told her. David started squirming in my arms, so I transferred him to my other hip.
“What color do you want?” she asked, pushing the selection of string toward me. “You can pick anything but blue or green.”
“Why’s that?”
“Blue’s my favorite, so it’s reserved for me.” She set aside a tangle of turquoise and navy. “And Javi already claimed green.”
“I didn’t claim anything. If she wants green, she can have it. I don’t care,” Javier said, eyes still glued to the TV. Some kind of race was on, and he seemed transfixed by the blur of cars.
“Hmm. How about red?” I suggested.
She nodded in approval. “I can work with that.”
