“She wanted to humiliate you.” Her lips curve. “It didn’t work. You weregreat.”
“It wasn’t a performance, Pen. It was like putting my intestines on display for everyone Ihate.”
“You wanted a stage, you gotone.”
My phone buzzes with another text from Tyler, but I ignoreit.
He won’t approach me at school. He’s their prince, and this is a reminder of the bullshit lines he sees between us. A way for him to stay removed, unemotional, incontrol.
I turn Pen’s words over through the rest of classes.You wanted a stage, you gotone.
I always felt as if being on stage meant playing a role, but now I wonder for the first time if this is how my dad feels playing his own music, if it’s possible the crowd can make you as vulnerable as it makes youstrong.
At the end of the day, I drop my books in my bag, grab my gear, and head torehearsal.
“Annie,” Miss Norelli says when I’m barely in the door, “I want to run the dancing scene. Can you grabKellan?”
I head up to the stage and drop my bag in the wings. After shrugging out of my jacket and rolling up my sleeves, I scan for him. My attention snags on two figures behind a curtain, bobbing heads mashingtogether.
“Can we break up this two-headed-dog thing?” Iask.
Kellan pries his face away from Carly, looking disinterestedly atme.
“Annie, I’m surprised you even showed. You seemed emotional in English today.” She smiles wickedly. “Your little poem had a very unrequited love vibe, don’t you think? Listen, I know you didn’t get asked to prom, but Kellan and I will tell you all aboutit.”
Kellan snorts at her meanness, and I turn myback.
At least she doesn’t know what happened between me and Tyler. Falling for the guy in my pool house, the one they all worship? I’d never live thatdown.
Kellan and I take the stage, and I force myself to step closer to him, wondering how Ariel ever loved thisguy.
The choreography is simple, but Kellan trips as he sings the chorus, and I hold in agroan.
Miss Norelli calls, “Stop! Kellan, what’s goingon?”
“Annie’s fucking itup.”
I barely hear Norelli chastise Kellan for his language because I’m looking past him to take in Carly’s mischievous expression. My hands ball into fists. “Maybe if you spent half as much time practicing your dance moves as your seduction moves, you’d have itdown.”
“Again,” Norellicommands.
We do it again. And again, Kellan makes it look like my fault when we screwup.
Carly’s already up off the floor, heading forus.
Miss Norelli sighs. “Annie, I understand it’s challenging, but we can’t keep doing this. I’m going to haveto—”
“It’s not challenging.” I glare at mycostar.
“She’s right. It doesn’t lookhard.”
Every heads whips toward the open auditoriumdoors.
There’s a collective gasp followed by whispers as people realize the samething.
Tyler Adams is in rehearsal, and he has a fucking opinion onit.
Kellan recovers first, barking out a laugh. “You can do better? Be myguest.”