The Secret Crush

by Tina Wells

  “I think there’s a burglar in the house.”

  “Do you want me to go look?” Zee stood up from the table.

  Mrs. Carmichael grabbed her shoulder. “No, it might not be safe,” she whispered.

  Thud. Thud. Thud. Zee’s brother, Adam, sleepily crossed the room to the refrigerator. His wrinkled white Brookdale Academy shirt was untucked, and his tie hung loose around his neck.

  Zee slapped her hands to her cheeks and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

  Adam flinched. “Thanks,” he said. “I was hoping to lose some of my hearing this morning.”

  “Zee and I were just rehearsing for her audition today,” their mother explained. “You look tired.”

  Adam opened the refrigerator door and searched the shelves. “Oh, I’m fine,” he said. “Luckily, I don’t actually need to sleep.”

  “Did you have trouble last night?” Mrs. Carmichael asked.

  “Someone was up very early, singing in the shower,” Adam grumbled.

  He glared at Zee with sleepy eyes.

  “Sorry,” Zee apologized. “I didn’t realize I was being so loud.”

  “I’ll forgive you if you clean up my room this weekend.”

  “No way! Your room is revolting!” Zee said. “I’ll have to live with you being mad at me forever.”

  “Well, the early-morning wake-up call doesn’t really matter anyway,” Adam said. “I’ve heard that song so many times, I’ve started singing it in my sleep.”

  “I’ll be putting you out of your misery soon. Mr. P is casting the musical today.”

  “Good luck,” Adam said. He grabbed a bagel and headed out of the kitchen, humming Zee’s audition song.

  Zee’s mother sipped her tea. “Did you study for your test today?”

  “A little,” Zee said. “But I had to get ready for the audition. I’ll do fine.”

  “You’re taking the musical very seriously,” Mrs. Carmichael said.

  “Of course I am. I can’t let the Beans down,” Zee said, taking a swig of milk.

  “Just remember, it’s supposed to be fun,” Mrs. Carmichael reminded her. “There are plenty of ways to show off your talents even if you’re not the star.”

  “I know,” Zee told her mother, then silently added, But getting the lead is the only way to be sure Landon notices me.

  “I’ll be glad when this is over,” Chloe said as she, Jasper, and Zee dodged the crush of students headed to first period.

  “Me too,” Jasper agreed. “I’ve been practicing for the audition nearly every moment I’m not working in the garden.”

  “You have?” Zee asked.

  “Yes,” Jasper said. “I was up late last night memorizing my lines.”

  “You were?” Zee said. “You know, you really didn’t need to do that. Mr. P says you can read from the script.”

  “I know, but I thought it would sound more natural this way.”

  “Good thinking,” Zee mumbled, hoping Landon had thought of that, too.

  “You’re going to be awesome, Jasper,” Chloe cut in.

  “He is?” Zee asked.

  Chloe nudged Zee with her elbow. “You’re asking too many questions,” she said.

  “I am?”

  The three friends stepped into the music room. Zee’s eyes zeroed in on Landon, who was reading his script.

  The bell rang overhead.

  “Okay, when everyone settles down, we’ll get started,” Mr. P announced. Zee, Chloe, and Jasper scrambled for seats. Zee found a chair in the front near the teacher.

  Two men in blue jeans, with visitors’ passes clipped to their shirts, walked into the classroom. One had dark brown hair with bangs and wore a blue plaid short-sleeve shirt. The other had blond hair that went every which way. He wore a plain white T-shirt.

  “These are the other members of my band, the Crew,” Mr. P announced. “They’re going to help me with the casting.”

  As her teacher spoke, Zee twisted her neck and looked at the faces behind her. Jen and Landon looked scared. Kathi and Jasper looked confident. And Chloe and Marcus looked somewhere in between.

  “Zee, you can go first,” Mr. P said.

  Ugh! “Me?” Zee gulped.

  “Sure,” Mr. P said. “We’ll just go around the room in order. No big deal.”

  What had Zee been thinking? Even a first grader knows to sit in the back if you don’t want to get picked first.

  Zee stood. “Here? In front of everyone?” she asked.

  “No, you’ll go to one of the soundproof practice rooms where only the judges will hear you,” Mr. P explained. “Kathi, will you please lead the others in scales and warm-ups?”

  Kathi tilted her head and rolled her eyes in fake embarrassment as she walked to the front of the room.

  Mr. P looked at the class. “When it’s your turn to audition, please come to practice room one,” he said, then turned to Zee. “Ready?”

  No, Zee thought, but she knew she couldn’t say it. “Yes.” As she stood, Chloe gave her a thumbs-up and Jasper flashed a smile.

  Then Landon looked up. “Good luck,” he said.

  “Thanks!” Now Zee was ready. Until she glanced at Kathi. The fire in her eyes could have burned a hole through Zee’s uniform. Zee quickly looked away and followed the Crew into the hall. Her heart pounded in her ears.

  “Which part will you be trying out for?” Mr. P asked once they got to the audition room.

  “The lead. Lily.”

  Mr. P wrote on a blank piece of paper. “Go ahead and start your audition song whenever you’re ready.”

  “Hm mm mm.” Zee cleared her throat. She was so nervous that when she opened her mouth, she wasn’t sure what would come out. But all of her practice paid off. When she sang, the music took over. Before she’d really had a chance to worry, she’d reached the end of the song.

  The judges silently scribbled some notes on their papers. Finally, Mr. P said, “Great! Now let’s run through the scene. I’ll be the scared roommate.”

  The pages in Zee’s hands shook, and she wished she had memorized the lines like Jasper had. Luckily, her voice covered up the noise of the paper, and she read the script just like she’d practiced with her mother.

  “Very impressive!” the blond Crew member said when she finished.

  “You liked it?”

  “Yeah,” Mr. P’s other bandmate said.

  “You can go back and send in the next person,” Mr. P told her.

  “Cool beans!” Zee said. With a skip, she hurried back to the music room.

  Jen and Marcus took their turns. Then Chloe practically sprinted out of the room for her audition.

  “How’d it go?” Zee asked when her friend returned.

  “I dunno,” Chloe said, “but it was fun.”

  Landon was next. “Break a leg!” Zee said as he walked by her desk.

  “Could everyone please pay attention to the concertmistress?” Kathi barked.

  Zee tried to play the scales on her guitar, but it was hard to concentrate. What if Landon didn’t even want to be the lead? What if he messed up? What if Landon did get the lead—but so did Kathi?

  Finally, Landon returned.

  Is he happy? Zee wondered. She couldn’t tell.

  “Ahem.” Jasper got Zee’s attention. He was standing next to her.

  “What’s up?” Zee asked. Chloe gestured wildly and mouthed something Zee couldn’t understand.

  “Aren’t you going to wish me luck?” Jasper asked.

  “Oh, yeah!” Zee said, snapping out of her Landon-induced trance. “Definitely.

  Good luck. Knock ’em dead.”

  “Thanks,” Jasper said, looking down at his feet as he walked away.

  Chloe slowly shook her head back and forth.

  “What?” Zee asked, shrugging.

  “Oh…nothing,” Chloe said.

  When Jasper came back, he was beaming. “Mr. P said he hardly recognized me, because I got into the character so much,” Jasper exclaimed. />
  “It would be so cool if you got to play Dylan,” Chloe said and gave him a high five.

  “Especially if Zee could be my costar, Lily,” Jasper agreed.

  “Yeah, that would be great,” Zee said, wondering if she sounded as fake as she felt.

  Kathi put down her conductor’s baton and headed toward the door for her turn. “What if you and Kathi are the leads?” Chloe asked Jasper.

  Jasper shuddered and Chloe laughed.

  Mr. P stuck his head around the door. “Kathi is the last to audition, and the period is almost over,” he said to the rest of the class. “You guys can just hang for a while. After Kathi finishes, I’ll post the cast list.”

  The other students began talking about their auditions. While no one was looking, Zee took out her diary and began writing.

  * * *

  Hi, Diary,

  My audition went really well, but I’m having a minor freakout. What if Jasper and I are the leads? He’s one of my very best friends. It would be weird to pretend we’re boyfriend and girlfriend.

  Horrible Things That Are Still Better Than Pretending to Be Your Best Friend’s Girlfriend

  1. Having a face full of freckles that make you look 7 years old.

  2. Having no boobs. None. Nada.

  3. Having food hanging from your face in front of the cutest guy in school (Landon!).

  Since all of those things have already happened to me, I think I deserve some good luck. Plus, I’m sure Jasper would be sooooo uncomfortable, too. So I guess I’m not totally evil if I hope only one of us gets the lead. It’s for his sake, too.

  Zee

  * * *

  Zee slipped her diary inside her music folder just as Mr. P appeared at the front of the room.

  “Hey, everyone!” Mr. P got the class’s attention. “The Crew was really impressed with each of you.” Beside him, his bandmates nodded. “I’ve posted the results in the hallway beside the door. And remember that the casting has nothing to do with who’s best—it’s about who’s best for each role.”

  Kathi huffed with laughter. “That’s what they all say.”

  The bell rang overhead, and Zee sprang out of her seat. “I’ve booked the school auditorium for the show,” Mr. P shouted over the noisy rush of students, each hurrying to be the first out of the room. “So we’ve got just a few weeks to create an original musical from start to finish.”

  Kathi was the first one to the list. “Aaaaaaaah!” she screeched.

  “What is it?” Jen asked, hurrying to her side.

  “I’m the sidekick, Brianna,” Kathi said to Jen. “The lead’s sidekick is a nothing part.”

  “Who’s Lily?” Jen asked.

  “Zee.”

  “All right!” Chloe said, giving Zee a quick hug.

  Of course, Zee was happy, but playing Kathi’s best friend was going to take more than great acting. It would take a miracle to pull that off.

  Then the news got even worse for Kathi—and better for Zee. “Landon is Dylan,” Marcus pointed out. By now, everyone was crowded around the list.

  “And Jasper is Gabe, Dylan’s sidekick,” Chloe said.

  “Cool beans!” Zee said. “Dylan’s best friend. That’s a majorly important part.”

  “I suppose,” Jasper sighed, and turned to a smiling Chloe, who was part of Lily’s girl group with Jen. “You look awfully happy.”

  “I am,” Chloe told him. “I was worried I’d get a big part and wouldn’t have enough time for soccer and the gardening project.”

  “There’s still a lot of work for everyone to do—on the scripts, the music, stage crew—” Zee reminded her.

  “Boy, I sure am glad you’re not the teacher,” Chloe said, cutting her off. “You’d have us working twenty-four hours a day.” She grabbed Zee’s arm and began to drag her down the hall. “Now let’s go so we’re not late for English. We’ve got classes besides music, you know.”

  The girls said good-bye to Jasper and headed down the hall. Suddenly, Zee realized what had just happened. I am actually going to be the romantic lead in a musical with Landon!

  “Hi, best friend!” Kathi cheerfully greeted Zee at lunch. Usually, she sat between Jen and Landon, but that afternoon she planted herself next to Zee.

  Jasper choked on his egg salad sandwich, and Zee knocked over her banana-mango smoothie. Chloe simultaneously handed Jasper a bottle of water and tossed a couple of napkins over the thick yellow liquid that spread across the table.

  “What did you say?” Zee asked Kathi. She looked around for hidden cameras.

  “Yeah,” Jen said. “What did you say?”

  “I’m talking about the musical,” Kathi said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “You know—Lily and Brianna. Best friends. Maybe Lily will get Brianna a Friends’ Day surprise. Hint, hint.”

  “I kinda wasn’t sure how you’d feel about getting that part,” Zee said.

  “Why? Because I won’t be the star?” Kathi asked. “No prob.” She casually scooped a spoonful of yogurt. “When we work on the script, we can fix that.”

  “Fix it?” Chloe asked suspiciously.

  “Duh!” Kathi said. “By making sure I have enough lines.”

  Zee took a deep breath. She wanted to scream, “But you’re not the star! I am!”

  Landon stepped in. “Umm…,” he said, looking from Kathi to Zee and nervously drumming out a beat on the table with his fingers. “Maybe we should start planning what everyone’s going to do.”

  “Is that really necessary?” Jasper asked.

  “What do you mean?” Landon responded. His hands stopped drumming.

  “I’d rather not spend my lunch talking about the musical.” Jasper peeled his orange.

  “Well, we do have a lot to get done before the show,” Zee said.

  Jasper looked at Zee as if she’d just punched him in the nose. “That doesn’t mean we have to talk about it constantly.”

  “It would be cool to come up with a few ideas for the sets, costumes, and music so everyone knows what they want to work on,” Marcus said.

  “Marcus is right,” Jen chimed in quickly.

  Chloe was more concerned about Jasper. “It’s okay if you just wanna hang out and listen,” she assured her friend.

  Zee worried that Jasper was feeling ganged up on, too, but she’d never seen him like this. He sounded really angry—not like him at all. Was he actually mad at Landon for getting the lead?

  “Why don’t we meet at the Brookdale Mall Café tomorrow to talk about ideas?” Zee suggested.

  Unfortunately, Zee wasn’t exactly sure how that would solve her problem. Even though Kathi was pretending to be best friends with Zee, Jasper couldn’t even be friendly with Landon. This was not how things were supposed to go—at all.

  5

  Part Too

  * * *

  E-ZEE: Major news!

  * * *

  * * *

  SPARKLEGRRL: U got the lead!

  * * *

  * * *

  E-ZEE: How did u know?

  * * *

  * * *

  SPARKLEGRRL: It was on the news in Paris.

  * * *

  * * *

  E-ZEE: Really?

  * * *

  * * *

  SPARKLEGRRL: Yes, and did u know that gullible isn’t in the dictionary?

  * * *

  * * *

  E-ZEE: Really?

  * * *

  * * *

  SPARKLEGRRL: No, I made up both things. This is way 2 easy.

  * * *

  * * *

  E-ZEE: U should b nice so I’ll tell u the REALLY big news.

  * * *

  * * *

  SPARKLEGRRL: L’s the other lead?

  * * *

  * * *

  E-ZEE: R u psychic?

  * * *

  * * *

  SPARKLEGRRL: Pretty much. Congrats! U r going 2 b an awesome Lily!!!

  * * *

  * * *

 
E-ZEE: The band is going 2 the mall 2day.

  * * *

  * * *

  SPARKLEGRRL: Have fun. I have a date 2nite avec mon amour.

  * * *

  * * *

  E-ZEE: Jacques?

  * * *

  * * *

  SPARKLEGRRL: Who else? I think he might kiss me.

  * * *

  Wow! Ally was going to have her first kiss, and Zee was excited just to be cast in a play with her crush. She didn’t even know if Landon liked her. She and Ally weren’t just living thousands of miles apart. They were light-years apart when it came to boys, too.

  “Remind me again why your dad dropped us off,” Jasper asked Zee at the mall. “We had enough time to ride our bikes.”

  Zee thought fast, then looked at Jasper. “Today’s a big deal. You’re getting your first pair of sneakers,” she said. “I didn’t want you to be too tired to shop.”

  “Just wait until you actually get blue jeans,” Chloe said and laughed. “We might ride to the mall in a limousine.”

  Jasper fiddled with the button at the top of his brown polo shirt and grinned. “Aww, that’s nice,” he said. “But I know you hate riding in your father’s SUV, because it uses so much gas.”

  Jasper was right, but a bike was out of the question. There was no way Zee was going to show up sweaty with her hair in windblown knots in front of Landon! But she decided her friends didn’t need to know the whole truth. So she just said, “If we all buy stuff, it’ll be hard to get everything home on our bikes.” Then she quickly looked around the shoe store, hoping to change the subject. “So, which sneakers do you like, Jasper?” She reached for a plain black skate shoe on the shelf in front of her.