Chapter 27

Ruby

Atwood takes away my phone for the week and makes me clean up the mess I made in the bedroom, which is a fair punishment for my behavior. I’m thankful that he doesn’t restrict my newfound access to the library, although as I wake up on Monday morning I’m terrified to think of the brutal punishments that will come from Alice and the Queen this week.

Alice’s punishments begin with her usual routine of ripping me out of a peaceful slumber and forcefully combing my hair and dressing me before school. She gives me nothing but an apple for breakfast and sends me on my way with a glare.

When I arrive at school, Nancy is waiting for me by the door. After the events this weekend, it’s nice to see a friendly, smiling face.

“Good morning, bestie,” Nancy says excitedly. She immediately grabs me by my hand and drags me off before I have a chance to get my bearings.

“The cast list is here!” she says as she pulls me along down the hallway. “I waited for you to get here so we could look at it together. Although, between how beautiful your singing was and the fact that the drama club teacher wanted to speak to you privately on Friday, I think we both know who got the lead role!”

I do know, or at least, I’m 99% sure just in case the teacher had a change of heart, but I don’t say anything. Nancy and I stop behind a group of students who are all crowded around the casting flyer.

Donna’s friend is at the forefront of the group. Her shoulders are shaking. I’m not sure if she’s crying or just really, really angry.

When she turns around and glares at me, I realize that it’s a mixture of both.

“You!” she snarls, pointing at me. All of the other students turn and stare. She stomps up to me like an angry child, her eyes red with tears as she clenches her fists.

“I was supposed to get the role of lead,” she says with a disdainful grimace. “All I’ve ever wanted was to be the lead, and now, during my senior year, I finally had a chance. But no, the new girl who can barely even sing gets it!”

“Aw, come on, Beck, it’s not that deep,” Nancy says, stepping in front of me protectively. Donna’s friend -- Beck -- glares so intensely at Nancy that I think daggers might shoot out of her eyes.

“Get out of my way, Cow,” she mutters, shoving past Nancy and I and storming down the hallway.

Nancy turns around to look at me and rolls her eyes.

I bite my lip. “I really don’t need to play the lead,” I say quietly, thinking about how I would have to kiss Earl on stage if I took the role. “I wouldn’t mind being a stagehand or something.”

Nancy’s eyes narrow and she grabs me firmly by both shoulders. “Don’t you dare let Donna’s friends bully you out of the spotlight!” she says. “She’ll get over it. She’s just mad because she’s got the hots for Earl.”

My first day of drama club practice is nerve-wracking, but it actually goes pretty well. Aside from Beck’s anger at being cast as my understudy, everyone else actually seems pretty nice. As the days pass, I find myself relaxing into the role and kind of starting to make some friends -- not that anyone will ever take Nancy’s place as my best friend.

To make matters even better, attending play practice for several hours every day after classes means that Alice and the Queen have less time to torture me, although they still make sure to get their strict punishments and snide remarks in whenever they can.

After a week of practice, however, I’m starting to notice something. Earl and I have good chemistry on stage, but as soon as we’re not acting he’s extremely cold toward me and barely even talks to me. It’s strange to me after how nice he was before and during the night of the party. I suppose that it’s not entirely unheard of due to the incident with the photos, but word has already gotten around school that the photos were staged and most people have forgotten about it.

Earl seemed so understanding when I met him. Why wouldn’t he be understanding about this? The closer we get to having to rehearse our kiss, the more nervous I become.

“Great job, everybody,” the teacher says one night after practice. “Tomorrow we’re going to start rehearsing the second act. I want you all completely off the script by the end of next week, so make sure you spend lots of time studying and practicing your lines.”

We’ve just finished rehearsing the big musical number at the end of Act One, in which Earl and I dance together. As soon as the teacher dismisses us, he steps away from me without a word and hops down off the stage.

I descend the steps and go to grab my things. It’s gotten much colder outside this week, especially in the evening, so I’m slipping on my jacket when I look over to see Earl whispering something to Beck then looking over his shoulder at me with narrowed eyes. Beck smirks and walks away.

If we’re going to be rehearsing the second act and kissing for the first time next week, I want to figure out what the hell is going on with Earl. Maybe if I just talk to him, I can get him to see my point of view about the photos. I mean, what else could his cold demeanor be about?

I nervously walk up to Earl. He pretends not to see me as he buttons up his coat and gathers his things.

“Um, hey, Earl,” I say.

He stops and looks at me. It doesn’t even seem like he’s trying to hide his dislike of me anymore.

“Can I help you, Ruby?”

It occurs to me now that I didn’t even think of what to say before walking up to him, and now, faced with his obvious disdain in combination with his handsome face, I’m tongue tied.

“I have a student council meeting, so if you don’t have anything to say, then please move,” he says annoyedly.

I gulp. “Actually, I wanted to ask you something,” I say meekly. Earl raises an eyebrow at me.

“What is it?”

“I… I just noticed you seem distant lately. If it’s about the party… I can explain.”

Earl folds his arms and glares at me. My face turns red.

“I’ll tell you what it’s about,” he says quietly, leaning so close to me I can feel his breath on my face. “I know what you are.”

“What I… am?” I ask, confused.

“Yeah.” He reaches out and pokes my sternum. “You’re a filthy little hybrid.”

My eyes widen. I’m less so confused about how he found out and more so shocked that Earl feels this way about hybrids.

“I don’t want anything to do with the likes of you,” he says with a sneer. “Frankly, I think you all deserve to burn like the trash you are.”

Over Earl’s shoulder, I can see Beck standing by the doorway. She’s got a huge, menacing grin plastered across her face.

“Earl, I-” I begin, but he cuts me off.

“You don’t belong here, mutt,” he growls, spitting at my feet. Then, he storms off and leaves the auditorium with Beck on his heels.

I stand there for a moment, completely speechless. Thankfully, all of the other students have left the auditorium, because a sob escapes my throat. How could kind, sweet Earl say something like that?

I run from the auditorium, down the hallway and out the back entrance to meet Atwood at his car. When I get in, he looks both confused and upset.

“What happened?” Atwood asks, reaching out for me.

I swat his hand away, making him even more confused.

“Just… please take me home,” I say, looking out the window so that he can’t see my tears.

Atwood begins driving, but persists with his questioning until I finally break and tell him what happened. We’re not back at the castle yet, but he pulls over on the side of the dark road and pulls me into his arms. He kisses the top of my head. His scent helps to ease my pain.

“I’ll take care of this,” he says under his breath.