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by Jessica Burkhart

  “It so was,” I said. “Drew could have been more courteous and waited until you were around to give me his number.”

  Khloe was too engaged in looking at my BBM to pick up on my joking tone. “He should have been. I’ll have to talk to him about his timing. He cannot ask my roomie such awesome questions when I’m not there!”

  Khloe put down my phone, winking.

  “Well, I guess it’s a tradeoff, ’cause I missed Zack asking you out,” I said. “Even though I technically was here.”

  “Snoring, but here,” Khloe said, smiling.

  I washed up in our bathroom and changed into yoga pants and a snug tee. Khloe had books spread on her bed and Watch!—our fave network—on low in the background.

  “You’ve got play rehearsal tonight, right?” I asked. I sank into my chair and started taking out books for homework.

  “Yep. I have to leave soon. It’s going to be Riley-in-my-face day because she’s got a big scene to work on.” Khloe stuck out her tongue.

  “Sorry,” I said. “Remember something, though.”

  Khloe put her pencil in the middle of her math book. “I’m listening.”

  “You’re the girl who has a date on Friday. You’re also the girl who’s getting a jam-packed facial-slash-hair-slash-mani-pedi session before her date comes.”

  Khloe grinned, flipping her blond hair back. “I can so work with that! Just . . . eeeee! Can you believe I’m going out with Zack?”

  “Yes! You’re funny, pretty, silly, smart—he’s going to have an amazing time and so are you.”

  “I can’t wait to do our hair, and I’ve been dreaming about a cucumber mask,” Khloe said. “You’re going to look even prettier for Drew. You know, the boy in your contact list.”

  I resisted the urge to look at his name again. “A little maintenance is def needed. Everything’s been so crazy. I’m lucky I’ve had time to condition my hair.” I’d been wanting to blog, too, but there had been no time.

  Khloe stretched, getting off her bed. “Tell me about it. I always forget how much work fall musicals are until I’m in the middle of one.”

  “At least we’ll smell pretty while we work all weekend,” I said, shaking my head.

  Khloe, who’d been looking at her phone, tossed it in the black sequin messenger bag that she used for theater. “I totally forgot,” she said. “Jill just BBMed me to ask if I’d heard anything about the list.”

  “The list? What’s that?”

  “It comes out on Friday. It started last year, I think, by some anonymous students. Or a student. I don’t know. Anyway, someone in each grade e-mails a list with the year’s ‘potentials.’”

  I stopped unloading my books. This was way too interesting.

  “The list has a bunch of categories,” Khloe continued. She stuffed a book in her bag. “Like, Most Likely to Have a Hot Date at Homecoming or Most Potential to Get Caught Sneaking Out. Silly topics like that and some serious categories like class president—that kind of stuff.”

  Khloe checked the time and snapped her bag shut.

  “Did you make ‘the list’ last year?”

  She shouldered her bag, a thin smile on her face. “Yep. Most Likely to Wear the Best Outfit.”

  “Um, wow! Khlo, that’s cool!”

  “It would have been,” Khloe said, nearing the door. “Except Most Potential for Lead Roles went to Riley.”

  I winced. “I’m sorry.”

  Khloe opened our door. “Me too. But we’ll see who’s on the list this year!” She waved and let the door shut softly behind her.

  Almost an hour later, I was in the library elevator. A heavy bag of books was in one hand and a travel mug of hot vanilla black tea was in the other. I was so sleepy; I’d almost considered coffee for half a second. I got off on the fifth floor, where Lexa had told me a bunch of people were studying.

  I walked past rows of books until I reached the floor’s study area. Lexa, Cole, and Clare were together at the end of a long table. A bunch of people I didn’t know were spread out in the other chairs. Most were in groups, but some were solo with earbuds in.

  I pulled out a chair across from Clare and put down my mug.

  “Hey,” I said.

  They greeted me back.

  “Glad you’re here,” Lexa said. “Now I can see your face in person when I say . . . Drew gave you his number!”

  I blushed. “Lex!” I hissed as Cole and Clare giggled.

  “C’mon, Laur! Tell me everything,” Lexa said. “I can’t believe I was right there and I missed it by seconds.”

  Clare nodded, making her red curls bounce. “You’re so lucky! Drew’s so cute. Every girl is, like, in love with him.”

  “He’s definitely cute,” I said. “But we just traded numbers.”

  “Just?” Clare wrinkled her nose. “I think not.”

  We laughed quietly. I took out my math book and notebook when I spotted a librarian patrolling the room. I didn’t want to get kicked out of the library. Everyone else hunched over their books until the librarian disappeared.

  “Riley at rehearsal too?” I asked Clare.

  Clare nodded. “Yep. She’s been practicing like crazy. I have to wear headphones when I’m studying in our room or I actually start to write whatever lines she’s running!”

  “Totally understand,” I said, smiling at her. “Khloe’s taken the whole ‘singing in the shower’ thing to the next level.” I realized that I liked hanging out with Clare when Riley wasn’t around. Clare acted like a different person—someone I could see as Khloe’s friend.

  “Riley’s practicing even more because of next weekend,” Clare said. She blew out a breath, running her fingers through her curls.

  “What’s next weekend?” Lexa asked.

  I stayed quiet, watching the interaction between them. Clare and Lexa’s relationship was complicated. Lexa was Khloe’s BFF, but she and Riley were far from friends. This was one of the few times I’d seen Lex and Clare have a conversation.

  “Riley’s going to New York City next week,” Clare said. “She’s staying with her aunt because she got a callback for a pilot.”

  “What?!” I said. “A callback? When did she audition? And where?”

  “Riley not saying anything about an audition seems weird,” Cole said. “C’mon, Clare, even you can admit it’s odd that she didn’t brag about this.”

  Clare narrowed her eyes, bristling a bit a Cole’s comment. “Yes,” she finally said. “Riley usually tells people when she has something big going on, but she thinks this gig is a longshot, so she didn’t tell many people.”

  There was no way Khloe knew about this. Her reaction wasn’t going to be exactly joyful when I told her. Not when she already had this thing with Riley.

  “She didn’t leave campus,” Clare continued. “She sent in an audition reel she’d made over the summer. Now, I guess the casting directors want to see her in person.”

  Lexa and Cole asked more questions, but I zoned out. I’d learned all of the vital stuff about Riley’s weekend away. Plus, the pile of homework in front of me needed to get smaller. ASAP.

  “Hey, hey,” Jill said, appearing. “Did I miss quality studying time?”

  We all welcomed her.

  “Nope,” I said. “You missed the good gossip, though.”

  Jill frowned. “I’ll be asking you for the deets later, Lex,” she said to her roommate.

  I glanced at Jill, knowing this was the time to ask about the DVD. I’d put off asking her because I didn’t want to stir the now-quiet pot, but I had to know. Jill pulled a chair next to me; everyone else had gone back to work.

  “Jill,” I said quietly. “Can I ask you something?”

  She nodded. “Sure. What’s up?”

  “The morning of the sleepover, was there any time that Riley was alone with the DVDs?” I made sure to keep my voice low so Clare didn’t hear. “Like, could she have arranged it so you’d choose the DVD somehow?”

  Jill shook her head.
“It’s totally my freaky luck’s fault. I picked up a random stack of DVDs, went through them, and picked the one with your show. We were all in the room together, and Riley didn’t have access to the DVDs.”

  “It’s not your fault,” I said. “It was just something I’d been thinking about and had to ask. Plus, Khloe only said it once, but I think she believes Riley planted the DVD.”

  Lexa, catching some of my sentence, leaned in. “You know Riley and Khloe have a messy past. It totally makes sense that Khloe would, well, hope that Riley did this. Then Khloe would finally be able to get revenge for last year.”

  “What’s last year?” I asked.

  Lexa glanced around, but no one else at the table was paying attention to us. “Last year, Riley was the one to give Khloe directions to the audition room for the fall musical. Khloe had missed the announcement, so she took Riley’s word.”

  Jill shook her head. “Khloe and Riley didn’t know each other yet, so poor Khlo had no way of knowing that Riley gave her the wrong directions.”

  “Oh, no!” I said.

  “Riley told Khloe the auditions were in the gym because the theater was being renovated,” Lexa said, clicking her pen shut. “By the time Khloe figured it out and made it back to the theater, the signup sheet was full and she missed her chance.”

  “Khloe hasn’t forgiven Riley since,” Jill said. She pushed up her glasses. “Not like I would, either.”

  “Poor Khlo. I know she was really hoping Riley had messed with my DVD.”

  “Believe me,” Lexa said, leaning over. “Khloe will get a chance to exact her revenge. Trust me.”

  With that, we traded nervous looks and got to work.

  “Lauren? Laur?”

  Someone touched my arm. “What?” I asked, blinking. Lexa stood next to me, her backpack on the table. Everyone else was gone. “Where did Cole and Clare go?” I asked.

  Lexa sat down. “You passed out a while ago. You were sound asleep and none of us felt like waking you up was the right thing to do.”

  “What? No, no, I finished math and . . .” I shook my head, confused. I glanced down at the notebook in front of me. Nine problems were done. Nine. Out of thirty. I hadn’t touched my other homework. “Omigod.”

  I pressed a button on my phone, checking the time: 8:56.

  “I’m sorry, Lauren. The library’s closing at nine, so I had to wake you.” Lexa opened her mouth and closed it.

  “Don’t apologize, Lex,” I said, slamming my math book. “It’s my fault that I fell asleep. I would have done the same thing if I’d been you.”

  I smiled, not wanting her to feel bad. Inside, I was seething. Not at Lexa, though, at myself. When I’d fallen asleep doing homework before, at least it had been in my room with Khloe. Falling asleep in front of my other friends at the library was ridiculous. I kept up a steady chatter with Lexa as we took the elevator downstairs, not wanting her to try to make me feel better.

  We started back to Hawthorne. The dark campus was almost empty—lights glowed from dorm halls and cast yellow shadows on the lawn.

  “Is everything really okay?” Lexa asked.

  “Yeah,” I said lightly. “Like what?”

  “Just wondering about classes and homework. Khlo said you were up all night a few times working.”

  I didn’t want Lexa to think I couldn’t keep up. That sounded like I couldn’t handle Canterwood. It had been Khloe and Lexa’s biggest worry for me, and I’d promised a thousand times that I could handle everything I’d set up for myself at Canterwood. I’d chosen each class, pushed to take advanced courses, and hadn’t doubted that I could juggle everything. Until recently. Until I’d gotten a bad grade. Until I’d fallen asleep doing homework in my room. Until I’d fallen asleep in the library.

  “Classes are okay,” I said. “I fell asleep because math was so boring.” I smiled, elbowing Lexa.

  “Uh-huh,” she said. “I’m not going to give you the same ‘slow down’ speech, but I will say that I hope things ease up soon. Wouldn’t want you snoozing in front of Drew.”

  We passed a black lantern, the gaslit flame flickering and allowing me to catch Lex’s grin.

  “Nice. Thanks,” I said teasingly. “Maybe he thinks snoring is cute.”

  Lexa pulled open the door to Hawthorne and we squeaked inside just before curfew.

  “Add a little drool and Drew will ask you out for sure.” Lexa grinned, sticking her tongue out at me.

  I shook my head and sped up, getting steps ahead of Lex.

  “Good night, Lexa!” I called. I opened my door and stuck my tongue out back at her.

  Inside, the lights were on and Khloe, standing with her script in hand, stood near her bed.

  “Hey,” she said, smiling. “I was wondering if you were going to make it inside before Christina started asking questions.”

  I let my bag thump to the floor and flopped backward onto my bed. “I just finished studying at the library. How was rehearsal?” I wanted to talk about anything but schoolwork. It was going to come up the second I started doing homework in a few minutes.

  Khloe sat down, putting her script beside her. She looked cozy in a berry-colored cotton tee and matching plaid leggings. “Great,” she said. “I nailed all of my lines! Maybe I was born to be a teapot. We worked on blocking, and guess what?”

  “What?” I asked, smiling.

  “Mr. Barber said we’re not using old Beauty and the Beast costumes.”

  “Wow! That’s awesome. I know you were worried about the old costume being too bulky. Have you seen the new ones?”

  Khloe shook her head, almost bouncing on the bed. “Nope! We’re not buying them. Your fashion class is designing them and making them!”

  That made me sit up. “We are?! Omigod! We’re making actual clothes that people—you—are going to wear?”

  Khloe had a Cheshire-Cat grin. “Yep! Mr. Barber said your fashion class teacher is making the announcement tomorrow with all of the details. I don’t think you’re making all of them, but you’re definitely designing and sewing some.”

  “This is so cool! Ms. Snow told us to be thinking of a partner, and Cole and I already unofficially paired up. I’m so going to make sure we get to work on your costume.”

  “If you don’t get mine, maybe you guys can get Riley’s and be creative.”

  I pretended to write on my hand. Khloe had brought up Riley, so I had to tell her about the audition. Hopefully, Clare already had, but Khloe deserved to know if she hadn’t. “Note taken. Speaking of You Know Who, did Clare tell you that we’re going to be Riley free for a couple of days soon?”

  Khloe pursed her lips. “No. What do you mean?”

  “When I was studying tonight, Clare was at the library. She said that Riley sent in an audition tape to some casting director over the summer.” The happy look on Khloe’s face disappeared. “Apparently, the director wants to see her in person and she’s going next weekend. But Riley hasn’t told anybody because it’s such a longshot. And you know if Riley’s not telling people, she’s not going to get it.” I started talking faster, trying to stop Khloe’s face from darkening by the second. “She’s probably going to come back and make up a story that people in New York wanted to meet her and that she’s up for a role or something. But she’ll never hear back.”

  Khloe took in a big breath. “Whatever the deal, Riley’s going to the city. Someone wants to see her for something.”

  “Khlo, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to tell you because it’s no big deal, but I also didn’t want you to hear it somewhere else. If Riley’s going to New York, she’s splitting her rehearsal time between that and the play. Think about how hard you’re working as Mrs. Potts and how she’s spending less time on the play.”

  Now was definitely not the time to tell Khloe that her suspicions about Riley were wrong. It would only make her angrier toward the other girl.

  Khloe shrugged and drew her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. “I’m working on a
school play. Riley’s practicing for a New York City audition. She’s smart—she’ll be an okay Belle and knock out her audition.”

  “But you’ll be amazing,” I argued. “People are going to see this play. Important people. You’re going to get the attention you deserve while Riley’s distracted with something she’s not going to get.”

  Khloe looked down at her hands, then back at me with a small smile. “Have I told you that you’re a really good friend?”

  “Nope,” I said. “Never heard that from you before.”

  We smiled at each other.

  “Maybe you’re right,” Khloe said. “I can’t do anything about Riley’s NYC audition. I’m jealous, sure, but it was wrong to knock the play. Everyone is working hard on it, and I’m proud of my role. I’m going to work even harder.”

  “That’s my Khloe Kinsella.”

  Khloe and I chatted while I changed into pj’s and set up my books at my desk. Khloe accepted my explanation that I hadn’t finished all of my homework at the library because I’d gotten sidetracked. Khloe got into bed to read her lines and was asleep with the script on her chest hours before I turned off the desk light. I had a headache between my eyes, and without turning on a light, I tiptoed into the bathroom and took two Tylenol.

  When I climbed into bed, I rubbed my forehead, realizing that it was time to do the one thing I’d been resisting until now. Tomorrow, I’d take care of it.

  20

  DECISION MADE

  MS. UTZ FOLDED HER HANDS, STARING AT ME across her desk. “It’s nice to see you, Lauren. What brought you to my office today?”

  I was quiet for a second. I’d left lunch early, telling Khloe and Lexa that I had to meet one of my teachers. It was true—Ms. Utz taught my math class—but I wasn’t coming to see her about math.

  “I’ve been thinking a lot about my class schedule,” I said. “I think I took on too much. I really, really don’t want to ask, but am I able to change a class?”

  “Lauren, of course,” Ms. Utz said. She kept her eyes on me. “I’m glad you came to me about this. No matter how much I advised you to ease up your schedule, it had to be your decision. I’m here for guidance, not to force you to take one class or the other.”