Groan. Amelia has decided that she is the astrology expert. Anytime someone behaves a certain way, she says, “Oh, that’s because you’re an Aries,” or “Oh, your Gemini ways are showing.” And naturally, she thinks her sign, Aquarius, is the best.

“Kids?” Now Monique, the director, pokes her head out the stage door. She looks impatient. “Can we get back in there? We need to move on to the next scene.”

Amelia crosses her arms. “I’m not going until she leaves.”

“Who?” Monique asks.

“The ghost!”

Behind us, a small crowd has formed. There are people from wardrobe, techs, and extras, who are mostly kids. Everyone is staring, and a few people start to whisper. A ghost? I hear. Is this place haunted?

“Hayley?” A little girl who’s an extra in one of the pizza scenes tugs at my sleeve. She can’t be more than six or seven, and her brown eyes are wide. “Is there really a ghost? I’m afraid of ghosts.”

“Me too,” another kid says. “I want to go home.”

“Me three,” says Gerald, who plays Giovanni the pizza maker—and he’s an adult!

Everyone’s looking at me. And I realize—it’s because I’m Sadie, the lead. Which makes me the leader. I need to guide this group.

I turn to the little girl with the big brown eyes. “Don’t worry,” I say softly. “There’s no ghost. Everything’s fine.”

Then I pivot to Amelia. She’s now lying down across the seat of a Silver Screen Studios golf cart like she’s about to faint—again. Her mother fans her with a magazine.

“Can we talk for a second, Amelia?” I say in the sweetest voice I can muster.

I grab my friends, and we step toward Amelia. A few extras are still milling around, but I give them a confident, I’ve-got-this-all-under-control smile. Even Mrs. Hart gives us some space. I sit down on the golf cart and pat Amelia’s shoulder.

“Look, we need the show to run smoothly,” I whisper to Amelia. “It’s only our second day, and we’re already behind schedule. Monique is mad! And I’m sure Paul isn’t happy either.”

Amelia pulls her knees to her chest. She’s still so pale. “We shouldn’t have moved to this studio. The other one was better!”

“I know. I miss the old studio too. There’s nothing we can do about that now. So I think maybe you should try to not say much about ghosts, maybe?” I try to say this in the nicest way possible. “You’re one of the bigger kids on this show. So you need to be a role model, you know?” That will persuade her, I think. Amelia always likes to be thought of as one of the older kids. She likes to have power.

Amelia frowns. “But I really did see the ghost. What if it happens again?”