Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have (26 page)

He should know you don’t turn on the lights during load-in, especially not with actors in the theater. There’s cable all over the place, the board hasn’t been checked, and who knows what’s been plugged in? But Derek doesn’t care about any of that. He cares about looking good.

“Stand by for lights!” Ignacio shouts.

I take my hands away from the cable I’m plugging in.

“Lights,
go,”
Ignacio says.

Benno types something into the lighting computer.

There’s a loud
click
, and the theater fills with light, everything to 100 percent at the same time. Nothing is gelled, nothing is focused. There’s burning white light everywhere.

For a second the theater feels like it’s vibrating, light saturating every inch of the space—

Then there’s a loud
snap
, and it all goes black.

    
EGMONT
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First published by Egmont USA, 2009
443 Park Avenue South, Suite 806
New York, NY 10016

Copyright © Allen Zadoff, 2009
All rights reserved

www.egmontusa.com
www.allenzadoff.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zadoff, Allen.
Food, girls, and other things I can’t have / Allen Zadoff.
p. cm.
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Andrew Zansky, the second fattest student
at his high school, joins the varsity football team to get the attention
of a new girl on whom he has a crush.
eISBN: 978-1-60684-194-5
[1. Overweight persons—Fiction. 2. Popularity—Fiction.
3. Self-perception—Fiction. 4. High schools—Fiction. 5. Schools—Fiction.
6. Football—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.Z21Fo 2009
[Fic]—dc22
2009016242

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright owner.

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