Going Off Script
Page 20
Everyone agrees, and with that the meeting is over. Shrupty, Alyssa, Will, and I leave and step into the elevator. The moment the doors slide close, we all start screaming.
“That was the most intense experience of my life,” Will says, letting out a sigh of relief.
“It all worked out, though,” Alyssa says. She pulls us all into a hug and we stand like that until we reach the ground floor.
“Wait,” Shrupty says. “Bex, you didn’t get your internship back.”
My head hangs a little. “I know. But it’s okay. We saved Lyla, that’s what matters.”
We walk out onto the street and Shrupty stops me. “Wait. If you don’t have your internship, what are you going to do?” A frown forms on her face. “You’re not going to go back to Westmill, are you?”
“Are you kidding?” I wrap my arms around her waist and lift her up. “How could I leave my girl like that?”
She smiles and kisses me on the forehead. “Good.” I let her down and we walk hand in hand through the lot.
“I’ll find a job somewhere,” I say. “I’m a certified customer service representative, remember? My fast food service skills are the best in the biz. I can work during the day and write at night. Maybe I’ll start my own YouTube channel and create my own web series.”
Shrupty jumps up and down. “Oh my god, please do that. I’ll direct and star in it.”
“Bex!” a voice calls from behind us. We spin around to see Jane hurrying after us. She’s grinning so wide I can practically see her wisdom teeth.
“What’s up?” I ask when she reaches us.
“Oh, nothing,” she says, her eyes twinkling. “I just thought you’d want to meet the new Silver Falls showrunner.”
My jaw drops. Jane points to herself. “It’s me!”
“Oh my god!” I say, bringing her in for a hug. “Congratulations!”
She hugs Shrupty, who says, “This is the best news!”
Jane holds her hands over her heart, still grinning from ear to ear. “Thank you. I’m so happy.” Her face turns serious, and she taps her index finger on her chin. “But gee. Now that I have all these new responsibilities, I really do need an assistant.” She waggles her eyebrows at me. “Do you happen to know anyone who might need a job and wants to work in television?”
My hand shoots straight up in the air like a rocket. “Ooh! Pick me!”
Jane claps her hands. “You’re hired. Welcome back!” Her phone rings and she jumps to answer it but pauses to add something else. “You start Monday. See you then!”
Shrupty and I stare after her, slack-jawed.
“Did that just happen?” I whisper to her.
She starts to giggle excitedly, and so do I.
“You’re back, Bex!” she says.
I close my eyes to hold back my tears of joy.
I’m back.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
“Are we late?” Alyssa asks as she and Charlie walk through the front door. “Did we miss anything?”
“Just in time,” I say as I hand them their party hats. “It’s about to start.”
They squeeze onto the flattened futon next to Will and Ryan. Parker and Dante drag the kitchen stools over and sit down, while Shrupty, Gabby, and I sit on the floor right in front of the TV.
Shrupty hands me the bowl of popcorn and I take a handful before passing it on. We spent all afternoon getting ready for this. Streamers hang from the ceiling, we decorated the walls with paper flowers, we have popcorn and rainbow cake, and we’re all wearing our WE ARE LYLA T-shirts. Everything is set up for a cute watch party.
The alarm on my phone starts ringing, and I squeal. “It’s time!”
“Oh my god,” Shrupty says, squeezing my hand. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
The show opens on Sasha’s boots hitting the mud as she runs. Jonah and Tom run alongside her. Motorbikes roar in the distance. I remember writing this the night Parker went out on his date with Dante. And now they’re here with me, watching it live on national television. Tears brim in my eyes as I think of how I stayed up all night typing as fast as I could, pumping out every scene and watching Lyla come to life on the blank page.
“Here she comes,” I say.
Shrupty picks up a cushion and holds it over her face. “I can’t look.”
Then her face appears on the screen. We all cheer and clap.
“There’s my girl!” I squeal. Gabby tugs the cushion down from Shrupty’s face.
“You’re gonna miss your own debut!” she says, laughing.
Shrupty hugs the cushion to her chest and snuggles closer to me to watch herself save werewolf Sasha from the hunter’s trap. The teaser ends and the words Silver Falls slice onto the screen behind CGI claw scratches. The opening credits begin and we all sing along to the theme.
When the first scene opens, I lean back and pull Shrupty closer to me, and she rests her head on my shoulder. Warmth spreads from my stomach and all through my body just like it does every time she touches me. I gently kiss the top of her head, and I feel her smile against my shoulder.
“There it is!” Parker screams. He points at the names on the bottom of the screen.
WRITTEN BY JANE SINCLAIR AND BEX PHILLIPS
Shrupty holds her phone up and snaps a photo of it before it fades. I’m smiling so wide it hurts my cheeks, little giggles bubbling out of me. My face must be bright red, and I’m for sure going to spend most of this episode crying, but I don’t care. I’m with people who love me no matter how much I drip tears and snot.
Shrupty stretches her arm around me and pulls me into her. “I’m so proud of you.”
“I’m so proud of you,” I say back to her.
I don’t take my eyes off the screen for a second. For the next hour, all of us are enthralled. Mom sends me a selfie of her and Aunt Laura watching the episode back in Westmill with people I used to work with at Sonic. People who didn’t even know my name at school a year ago send me friend requests. I decline every single one. If you didn’t want me when I was an insecure, closeted nerd girl, you don’t get me at my badass, out-and-proud nerd girl.
I can’t wait to go in to work tomorrow. This week we’re starting to write the special double-episode season finale. The new writing team Jane put together clicked straightaway, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with to end season six with a bang. I already know the fans are going to love Lyla as much as I do, so I’m pretty sure Shrupty is going to be signed on for next year. Which is great, because I love being able to see her on set so much—and being able to sneak away during breaks to make out isn’t bad either.
The big reveal about Lyla’s family is about to hit, and I sneakily watch Gabby and Parker to see their reactions.
“You killed my parents,” Lyla growls at her adoptive family of hunters. Parker gasps. Gabby’s jaw drops. I’m filled with satisfaction, knowing that this episode is hitting all the beats and giving my favorite people all the feels. I can’t wait to jump onto Twitter after this and see what everyone is saying.
The end credits roll, and everyone gets up to dance to the music. Parker goes to the fridge and pulls out a bottle of champagne. We don’t have champagne glasses, so Dante gets some plastic Ikea cups out instead.
Shrupty sits on the counter and scrolls social media on her phone. “Lasha is trending,” she says with a smile. “Everyone is shipping Lyla and Sasha so hard already!”
The cork shoots out of the bottle with a loud pop, and Parker pours the overflow into our cups.
“What should we toast to?” he asks. We all hold our cups in the air.
“To Silver Falls!” Alyssa says, and we tap our cups together.
“To queer Lyla!” Shrupty adds, and we toast again.
“To Bex’s first writing credit!” Parker says. We toast.
“To the best days,” I say, and we cheers a final time.
I take a sip of the champagne. Then we all sit around the coffee table and share the rainbow cake while we w
atch episode 612 another three times.
If this moment were scripted, I’d fade it out right here.
This is my happy ending.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Just as writing a show like Silver Falls is a collaborative process, so is writing a book. I owe so much gratitude to the people who took the time to help craft this story.
Thank you to Jean Feiwel, Lauren Scobell, Emily Settle, Kelsey Marrujo, and the entire team at Swoon Reads for literally everything. Seriously, you all work so damn hard and I feel so lucky to be part of the Swoon family.
To my wonderful editor, Holly West, who gets all my geeky references and always knows how to smooth out the wrinkles in the fabric of a story.
To Lauren Spieller, my amazing agent. Thank you for being so very patient, for nudging me forward when I feel stuck, and always looking out for me.
Huge thanks to Britta Lundin for teaching me the ins and outs of a writers’ room and life on set. Your advice helped make Silver Falls come to life.
Thank you to the sensitivity readers who generously shared their experiences and perspectives to help make these characters feel real.
To one of my oldest, dearest friends, Shrupty. Thank you for letting me name such a cool character after you. Thank you for always bringing out my silly side. And thank you to your parents for all the times they let us have sleepovers on a school night.
To my Mum and Dad, for never making me feel ashamed for loving the things I loved, and for giving me the passion for television and film that inspired this book.
To my Nana, for showing me what a strong female character looks like.
To Rob, for the countless hours we’ve spent dissecting movies and television since we were kids. Who would’ve thought we were training ourselves for the stories we tell now?
Special shout-out to Mike, for being the only guy in the cinema for the midnight screening of New Moon.
And to Amanda, for being the plot twist I didn’t see coming, but now can’t imagine my life without. You’re my ride-or-die.
Last, but definitely not least, my eternal gratitude goes to all the people who have picked up any of my books. Few things make me as happy as hearing a reader say they connected with my stories. Thank you for letting my characters into your hearts.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jen Wilde is a writer, geek, and fangirl with a penchant for coffee, books, and pugs. She writes YA stories about fangirls (Queens of Geek), rock stars (The Brightsiders), zombies (As They Rise), and witches (Echo of the Witch). Her debut series reached over three million reads online and became an Amazon bestseller. Born and raised in Australia, she splits her time between Melbourne and New York. When she’s not writing, Jen loves binge-watching her favorite shows on Netflix, eating pizza, traveling to faraway places, and going to conventions in Marty McFly cosplay. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 by Jen Wilde
A Swoon Reads Book
An Imprint of Feiwel and Friends and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
swoonreads.com
All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945 ext. 5442 or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First hardcover edition 2019
eBook edition May 2019
eISBN 9781250311283