Winter Games #12

by Melissa J Morgan

  Nat gripped the phone. “That’s such a nice thing you’re doing for her,” she finally said, trying to hide her disappointment. “But where are you going to stay for the reunion? You know none of the girls can stay in my apartment like I promised. That’s a whole other crisis I’m dealing with right now.”

  “I know,” Sarah said. “I’m going to call Brynn and talk to her right now. I think she’s trying to figure it out with Priya and Valerie. And Andie, Mia, Becky, and a few of the other counselors are trying to help, too.”

  “Do me a favor?” Nat asked. “Tell Brynn how sorry I am.”

  “Sure,” Sarah said. “I tried getting ahold of her earlier, but her mom told me she was at rehearsal. Did you know she’s playing Eliza in My Fair Lady at her school? I had no idea, but I guess she’s been putting in some serious rehearsal time lately. And her mom said that Alex is going to see her on opening night next week.”

  “Oh, wow, Brynn didn’t tell me, either.” Nat’s stomach sunk. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d talked to Brynn, and she felt awful that she hadn’t known. “That’s great! Tell her congrats for me.”

  “I will,” Sarah said, “but I’m sure she’d love to hear it from you, too.”

  “I doubt it,” Nat said. “I e-mailed her a few times, but I haven’t heard back.”

  “Do what I’m going to do with Abby,” Sarah said. “Keep trying.”

  “I will,” Nat said.

  After she hung up, Nat tossed and turned in bed, trying to sleep, but thoughts kept crowding into her head. She knew Sarah was right. It was up to all of them, now, to make sure their friendships made it through all of this. And that was what worried her more than anything.

  Brynn recited her lines one more time as Melanie, Mrs. Callaway’s assistant, put the finishing touches on her stage makeup.

  “You look great,” Melanie said, standing back to look over Brynn’s Eliza Doolittle outfit.

  Brynn looked at herself in the mirror. Melanie had smudged her cheeks and nose with black face paint to make it look like she was sooty from the London streets. Her petticoats, lace-up shoes, and flower girl hat were perfect. She didn’t just look like Eliza Doolittle; she was Eliza Doolittle. The opening night for My Fair Lady was here, and she was dressed and ready to go. She’d nailed every one of her lines during the dress rehearsal last night, and she’d been practicing them between classes, at lunch, at the dinner table, and even in the shower—she was as ready now as she’d ever be. Her costume was great, the sets were awesome, and every seat in the house was sold out. She would have been totally thrilled, if she wasn’t so upset. Where were Alex and Tanya? They’d said they were going to check outside the auditorium one more time before curtain call, but they hadn’t come backstage yet.

  Brynn waved Mrs. Callaway over.

  “Are you ready?” Mrs. Callaway asked. “You’re going to be wonderful.”

  “I hope so,” Brynn said. “But can I check the audience one more time?”

  Mrs. Callaway sighed. “I’m sure your friend’s just running late, dear, that’s all.” But at Brynn’s pleading look, she added, “All right. Just one more time, but make sure no one sees you.”

  “Thank you!” Brynn called, already racing to the stage door. She cracked open the door to a slit and peered out at the audience. There were her mom and dad, and three empty seats next to them for Alex, Tanya, and Jordan. But there was no sign of Jordan. And even though Brynn was hoping Grace might just magically show up, too, she knew that was impossible. Grace didn’t even know she’d gotten the part of Eliza, or when the play was. Brynn had kept her in the dark about the whole thing, so there was no way Grace would come. Brynn had wanted it that way before, but now she was starting to regret it.

  Brynn bit her lip, willing herself to calm down, and when she turned around she practically smacked right into Alex and Tanya.

  “Did you find him?” Brynn asked anxiously.

  “No,” Alex said, “but I’m sure he’s on his way.”

  “Yeah, he promised you he’d be here, right?” Tanya asked.

  Brynn nodded, but she felt as if she might burst into tears at any minute. “He’s not coming,” she managed to whisper.

  “Sure he is,” Alex said, squeezing her hand. “Hey, I was late getting here, too. My train was way delayed. Maybe Jordan’s parents are stuck in traffic or something.”

  “On a Saturday night?” Brynn said skeptically.

  “Did you try calling Priya?” Tanya suggested. “Maybe she was able to get ahold of him.”

  “She’s on vacation with her family in Michigan this whole week, then flying from there straight to the reunion on Friday,” Brynn said. “But before she left she said he was definitely planning on coming to the play. What if he changed his mind? What if he doesn’t want to see me perform?”

  Tanya and Alex gave each other a look, and then both of them rolled their eyes at Brynn.

  “Please,” Alex said. “We all saw how nuts he was about you over the summer. There’s no way he’d miss this.”

  “Places, everyone!” Mrs. Callaway called, clapping her hands. “Curtain goes up in two minutes!” She motioned Brynn over to the flower market set, where everyone was getting ready for the opening scene.

  “It’s time,” Brynn said, suddenly having a hard time breathing.

  “Stop worrying about Jordan,” Alex said. “Get out there and give a Tony-worthy performance.”

  “He’ll be waiting with a dozen roses by the final act,” Tanya said. “Trust us.”

  Brynn took a deep breath, put on her best theatrical smile, and gave them both hugs.

  “Thanks so much for coming, Alex,” she said. “It means so much to me.”

  “No problem,” Alex said with a grin. “Just remember, when I play in the soccer championship next fall, it’s your turn to watch me.”

  “You know it,” Brynn said.

  Tanya hugged her one more time. “Break a leg out there. Just make sure it’s someone else’s,” she said, making Brynn laugh.

  Brynn watched her two friends take their seats, and then took her place on the set. The band struck up the music, the curtain rose, and a spotlight flashed down on Brynn. As she spoke her opening lines, she lost sight of the audience in the bright stage lights, but she hoped that somewhere out there, Jordan was watching.

  Each act flew by, and much faster than Brynn ever thought possible, she was acting out her final scene with Professor Higgins and the audience was bursting into loud applause.

  Brynn led all of the players in several stage bows, basking in the glow of the bright lights and the audience’s cheers. She could have stayed like that forever, but finally Mrs. Callaway ushered everyone offstage to change out of their costumes.

  “Brynn, you were fabulous!” she said, giving her a hug.

  Even Lindsay—shocker—offered a very gracious congratulations. “Yeah, you really were a great Eliza,” she said. “You were the right choice for the part.”

  “Thanks,” Brynn said, blushing. She changed quickly and, instead of enjoying the backstage celebration with the other actors, she rushed out the theater door and into the throng of people leaving the auditorium. Alex, Tanya, and her mom and dad were all waiting for her with huge smiles.

  “Bravo! Bravo!” Tanya shouted, wrapping Brynn in a huge bear hug.

  “You were fantastic!” Alex said.

  “I didn’t overdo the accent?” Brynn asked.

  “No way,” Alex said. “I actually forgot you were American, you sounded so much like a Brit.”

  Brynn beamed as her dad laid a dozen white roses in her arms.

  “Flowers for our blooming actress,” her mom said, hugging her.

  Brynn tried to look as happy as she knew she should be, but when she noticed Alex and Tanya looking everywhere around the auditorium except at her, she knew right away. Jordan had never shown up.

  “Mom, Dad,” she said. “Could you guys bring me some water and food from the reception table? I�
��m so thirsty, and starving, too.” She was hoping they’d take the cue and give her a minute alone with her friends.

  “Of course,” her mom said, taking her dad by the arm. “We’ll be back in a few.”

  Once they’d gone, Brynn turned to her friends. “I can’t believe he didn’t come.”

  “I’m sure he had a really good reason,” Alex said. “He probably already left three messages on your voicemail.”

  Brynn pulled her cell phone out of her purse, but no messages popped up. She shook her head. “I can’t believe this.”

  “Don’t jump to any conclusions yet,” Tanya said. “Wait until you hear from him.”

  A single tear slipped out of Brynn’s eyes, even though she’d been willing herself not to cry. “I don’t know, guys,” she said. “Between Jordan and the whole camp reunion disaster, I don’t feel like I know who my friends are at all anymore.”

  “Yeah you do,” Alex said. “Us. We’ll always be your friends, no matter what. And the other Lakeview girls love you, too. Things are just a little messed up right now, but we’ll work them out. At least we found a hotel to stay in for the reunion next weekend.”

  Brynn nodded. “That’s true.”

  “And you’ve still got another five performances to go with My Fair Lady,” Tanya reminded her. “Maybe Jordan will come to one of the other ones this week since he missed this one.”

  “Maybe,” Brynn said, brightening.

  “Now,” Tanya said. “What are we going to do to celebrate your first standing ovation ever?”

  “How about some big, fat banana splits and some Audrey Hepburn movies at my house?” Brynn asked as her parents reappeared.

  “Sounds like the perfect plan,” Alex said. “And maybe you want to post a note on the camp blog to let everyone know you’re on your way to Broadway?”

  Brynn hesitated. She knew Alex was trying to play the peacemaker between her and Nat, but Brynn wasn’t quite ready to go there—not yet. “I’ll tell everyone when we see them next Friday,” she decided.

  “But what about the girls who won’t be there?” Alex asked. “I’m sure they’d love to hear about the play.”

  Brynn shrugged. She knew she’d have to face that sooner or later, but right now she just wanted to deal with one thing at a time, and Jordan’s mysterious no-show was at the top of her list. “I’ll tell them, too, when I’m ready.”

  Alex opened her mouth like she was going to give another convincing argument, but then stopped. “Grace is going to be floored when she finds out.” She giggled. “Everyone is going to be so proud of you.”

  “I hope so,” Brynn said. But what she was wishing, more than anything, was that Jordan had been there tonight to be proud of her, too.

  chapter SEVEN

  Tori ran through her mental list one more time. Aired out the condo . . . check. Made the bunk beds and cleaned the loft . . . double-check. Went grocery shopping for every kind of food known to mankind . . . check. Heated the

  Jacuzzi . . . check. Her parents had agreed to excuse her from school on Friday, just this once. The three of them had arrived at the Tahoe condo earlier that afternoon, and she and her mom had spent every second since then working to get everything ready.

  Ever since Sarah had canceled her ticket, Tori felt like the pressure was on, big-time. She wanted to make sure the four girls who were coming skiing had the time of their lives. Because if they didn’t, they’d be wishing that they’d gone to the reunion instead, just like Sarah.

  Now she waited anxiously at the gate as passengers from Grace’s flight deplaned. It seemed like it was taking forever for Grace to appear, but then Tori caught sight of a mass of bright red curls bobbing through the crowd of passengers, and there was Grace, waving like crazy.

  “It’s so good to see you!” Grace squealed as she hugged Tori. “I can’t believe I’m here! The mountains looked so amazing from the plane. I’ve never seen mountains that tall in my life.”

  Tori laughed. “Just wait until you ski down them.”

  “That’s going to be awesome,” Grace said as they walked toward the baggage claim. “What time are the other girls coming?”

  “They land around six tonight,” Tori said. “But you can relax in the condo and unpack. We’ll all be together by dinnertime.”

  Grace clapped her hands excitedly. “I can’t wait to see them! I wonder if Nat will have the scoop on what’s new with everybody.”

  Tori laughed. “Probably. She already told me some news she heard from Sarah. Brynn got the leading role in My Fair Lady. The last performance was Thursday. Brynn totally kept it a secret this whole time.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Tori regretted them. She watched Grace’s face fall.

  “She was Eliza?” Grace said quietly. “She never mentioned anything to me. I knew she had an audition, but she never told me whether or not she got the part, so I just assumed she hadn’t. I’ve barely talked to her lately. I would’ve gone to see her . . .” She blinked rapidly, looking like she was about to cry.

  Tori could’ve kicked herself for opening her big mouth. She gave Grace’s arm a gentle squeeze. “I’m sure she was going to tell you. She probably just forgot.”

  Grace stared at the luggage as it rolled past them on the baggage carousel. “Maybe,” she said. “I’ll have to call her to find out how it went. We used to talk a lot, but now . . .” Her voice died away and she looked up guiltily at Tori.

  “I know.” Tori sighed. “Everything’s screwed up.”

  “No, not everything!” Grace said, trying to be more positive. “We’re getting to spend the weekend together, and it’s going to be a blast.” She smiled. “I’m really glad I came on this trip, Tori, no matter what.”

  “Thanks,” Tori said. “I’m glad you still feel that way.” She took a deep breath. “Now, let’s get your stuff and get back to the condo so that we can eat. Are you hungry?”

  “Starving,” Grace said.

  “Good.” As they drove back to the condo, the two of them talked and laughed and sang songs along with the radio, and Tori started to feel a little better. Things may not have worked out exactly like she’d hoped, but maybe this weekend could still be amazing anyway.

  Any way Sarah looked at it, the reunion weekend was off to an awful start. As planned, she stepped off the train at Penn Station on Friday night to meet the rest of the girls a full day ahead of the official camp reunion and get a head start on the fun. She was sure she’d be able to fix everything with Abby as soon as she got to New York. But nothing had gone according to her plans.

  Mia, the CIT from Bunk 4A and one of the chaperones for the weekend, had picked her up from the station alone—no Abby in tow. While all the other Lakeview girls were ecstatic to see Sarah, and the counselors who were chaperoning at the hotel—Andie, Becky, and Sophie—gave her huge hugs, too, Abby stayed hidden in the room she was sharing with Priya and Valerie.

  “You’re rooming with me and Brynn,” Alex had explained to Sarah. “Mia had you and Abby listed as roommates when we all first got here, but . . .” She shrugged awkwardly. “Abby’s still pretty upset.”

  “Oh,” Sarah said, her heart sinking. “Okay.” She tried to smile brightly, not wanting to make Alex or Brynn feel bad. But she’d been hoping against hope that maybe Abby had requested a room with her earlier in the day. No such luck.

  Now she was suffering through what was supposed to be a fab Thai dinner with her camp friends, but was more like a doom and gloom disaster. This was their first big night on the town; they’d gotten discount tickets to see the Off Broadway show Stomp! after dinner. But even with all the great stuff the counselors had planned for them, none of the girls seemed to be having a good time.

  Abby had chosen to sit at the end of the table farthest away from Sarah. Every time Sarah tried to make eye contact with her, Abby made a point of looking the other way. Priya tried to get a good conversation going by talking about Riley, her new crush at home, but nobody seemed all that interested. A
nd Valerie tried to liven things up by reading Teen magazine’s “50 Most Embarrassing Celeb Moments” out loud while everyone ate, but nobody giggled, even a little, at one of J-Lo’s wardrobe malfunctions.

  “I think this will be the first time I’ve eaten food I can identify with Lakeview campers,” Sarah said, trying to lighten the mood.

  It seemed to work momentarily, because Alex giggled. “That’s one of my favorite parts of the reunion. As Nat would say, it’s Camp Lakeview without the Lakepuke part.”

  A few of the other girls laughed, too, but Sarah noticed that at the mention of Nat’s name, some of the light blinked out in their eyes.

  “Nat can be such a prima donna sometimes,” Chelsea snipped. “We’re lucky she’s not here. And the other girls in Tahoe for that matter, too. We don’t need them.”

  Karen stared at her plate, looking close to tears. “But it’s not the same without them.”

  “Yeah,” Alex said. “I was just thinking how weird it was not to have to wait for Nat and Tori to get ready tonight. They always take forever, painting their nails and fixing their hair.” She sighed. “Even though it’s a pain sometimes, I kind of miss it right now.”

  “Me too,” Brynn said softly. “And I could totally use some of Nat’s advice on guys right now, too. I tried calling Jordan three times since the play closed yesterday, but all I got was his voicemail.”

  “I haven’t heard from him since before I left on vacation,” Priya said. “Something’s definitely up with that boy, and I’m kind of worried.”

  Brynn sighed. “I’m really worried, too, but I’m also really annoyed.”

  “I don’t blame you,” Abby piped up. “It is annoying when someone you care about blows you off.”

  And with that, Abby got up and headed for the restrooms, leaving Sarah turning several shades redder than the curry chicken on her plate.

  “I’m sure she didn’t mean that,” Valerie said.