Chapter 24

Ruby

At the end of my last class for the day, I run to my locker to get ready. Nancy shows up a few minutes later as I’m hurriedly fixing my hair and primping my uniform.

“Wow, got a hot date or something?” she says. She’s wearing her cheer uniform and opens her locker to braid her long red hair in the mirror.

“I’m… I’m auditioning for the school play,” I say. I can’t explain why, but I’m both excited and nervous at the same time.

Nancy spins around to look at me and bounces excitedly on the balls of her feet, clapping her hands together.

“Oh my gosh, really?!” she says, loud enough for the surrounding students to look at us.

“Shh,” I mutter, feeling my face flush with embarrassment.

“I have to come with you to your audition. Are you going right now?” Nancy says, this time much more quietly.

I look at my watch. “It’s in fifteen minutes.”

“Okay,” she says, grabbing her bag and slamming her locker shut. “I’ll meet you there. I have to, um, meet with someone really quick.”

Smirking, I look away from my mirror and over my shoulder at Nancy. “Is this ‘someone’ the boy who asked you to dance last week?”

Nancy blushes a bright red and scurries away without saying anything.

When I’m finally somewhat satisfied with my appearance, I sling my book bag over my shoulder, shut my locker, and make my way toward the auditorium. My palms sweat with anticipation and my heart pounds.

As I cross the main entryway toward the auditorium and make eye contact with Atwood, however, my anxiety only grows. He smiles and walks over to me, looking as handsome as ever in an all-black suit. I can feel the jealous eyes of the other students on me as he approaches. Thankfully, the crowd is dwindling now that classes are over.

“Miss Ruby,” he says, stopping at a respectable distance in order to keep up appearances and hide our status as mates from the other students.

“H-Hello,” I stammer nervously.

“Where are you headed?”

“I’m, um…” I look down at my feet. “I’m auditioning for the school play.”

Some of the other students whisper to each other as they pass by, but Atwood pays them no mind.

“That’s excellent!” he says. “I’m glad to see that you’re making an effort to get involved here at the Academy.” He squeezes my shoulder and winks surreptitiously. “Break a leg,” he says.

The vision of Ethan in a hospital bed with a cast on his leg flashes across my mind again. “Uh… what?” I mutter.

“It’s a saying in the acting world,” Atwood says with a chuckle. “It means good luck.”

“Oh.”

With that, Atwood crosses the entryway and begins to ascend the stairs.

Wait! I say using our mindlink. Atwood stops on the stairs, listening, but doesn’t turn to look at me.

My heart begins to race as I ask the question that’s burning inside my mind.

Do you know anything about what happened with Ethan?

Atwood doesn’t respond. He stands on the stairs for several moments, clenching and unclenching his fists. Then, without a word, he ascends the stairs.

I’m perplexed, and I definitely get the impression that Atwood knows more than he is letting on, but the audition is in five minutes. Without another moment of hesitation, I run to the auditorium.

Nancy arrives at the auditorium at the same time that I do. Her lipgloss is smeared on her face a little bit, and her cheeks are rosy. I choose not to say anything, partially so as not to embarrass my friend but also partially because I’m too nervous myself to think of anything but the audition.

We open the doors and step inside. There is a table with sheet music for the song we have to sing, which I take. The drama club teacher sits in front of the stage at a piano while female students line up to audition. They all seem to be doing vocal warmups, which only makes me more nervous. I don’t even know any vocal warmups. In the first few rows of the theater seats, a group of students is already seated; I’m guessing that they’re already part of the cast.

Nancy squeezes my hand as I approach the line, then takes a seat a few rows back when auditions begin.

As the first girl begins to sing, the girl in front of me turns around to look me up and down.

It’s one of Donna’s friends.

“Ugh,” she says under her breath. “What are you doing here?”

“Just… trying to get more involved in the school,” I whisper.

She rolls her eyes. “You know stagehands don’t need to audition, right?”

The first girl finishes and the line moves forward as the second girl gets up to sing.

I gulp silently and tap Donna’s friend on the shoulder. She turns around with wide eyes and mouths the word: “What?”

“I heard about Donna and Ethan,” I whisper. “I just wanted to say that I’m really sorry. I hope they’re okay.”

Donna’s friend frowns deeply and narrows her eyes at me. She sticks out her finger and pokes me smack dab in the middle of my chest. “As if you didn’t have something to do with it.” Then, she turns back around. I look over to make eye contact with Nancy, who makes a face as if to say “What the heck?”

Before I know it, it’s Donna’s friend’s turn. I’ll admit that she sings beautifully. When she’s finished, the other students clap and cheer. She does a little curtsy and prances offstage.

“Miss Jones,” the drama club teacher says with a smile. “You’re up!”

I take a shaky breath and climb the stairs to the stage, then stand on the “X” marked with tape. The stage lights are blinding, but I’m pretty sure I can hear the other students whispering to each other.

“Start whenever you’re ready,” the teacher says, poised to play her piano.

I clear my throat nervously and hold my sheet music up so I can see it.

“Make sure we can see your face,” the teacher says kindly.

Anxiously, I lower the paper. My hands are shaking. I clear my throat again.

I start to sing. My voice is weak and wavering, much unlike the way Donna’s friend sang.

My voice cracks.

The students in the audience snicker and the teacher pauses her playing. I can feel my face getting hot and tears pricking the backs of my eyes, and all I want to do is run off stage.

But then, I see Nancy. She smiles at me from the audience and gives me two thumbs up with a big smile on her face, then closes her eyes theatrically to show me to do the same.

I close my eyes, then start singing again.

Before I know it, it’s over.

There is a long moment of silence, then clapping. I open my eyes to see Nancy standing at her seat, clapping vigorously. Soon, many of the other students follow suit. The teacher closes her music book and stands once the applause ends, then dismisses the students.

I come down off the stage. My body feels light and airy, as though I’ve been flying. Even if I don’t get the role, I’m happy to have faced my fear and auditioned.

“Miss Ruby, could you come here a moment?” the teacher says as I’m about to leave. Nancy waves goodbye as she leaves for cheer practice, blowing air kisses her whole way out, then the teacher and I are alone.

“Miss Ruby,” the teacher says, “have you sung before?”

I shake my head. “No, miss. Never. Only lullabies for my little sister.”

The teacher smiles. “Well, you have a lovely voice. I technically can’t confirm anything until the cast list comes out on Monday, but… let’s just say, you’d make an excellent lead.”

“R-Really?” I say.

She nods. “With a little work on your confidence, you would be perfect. You and Earl would make great leads.”

My heart leaps up into my throat.

Earl is the male lead?

That means that Earl and I will have to kiss.