Lies You Never Told Me(7)

“Sorry . . .”

“No, it’s okay, just . . .”

“Here, I . . .”

We talk over each other for an awkward moment, both leaning down at the same time. I get to it first, and she snatches it out of my hand.

“Look, I just wanted to thank you,” I say.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says, clearly annoyed. “And I’ve got a lot of homework, so . . .”

A shadow falls across the table. I look up to see Sasha, outline dark against the sun. A few feet behind her, the Sallys are standing in a tight group, glaring at me.

“Uh . . .” I say, stupidly. My heart drops.

“Hey! I was just coming to tell you we’re going to the Springs. But I see you might have other plans.”

Her voice is as bright as a blade, sharp with false cheer, her lips a blood-red slash on her pale face.

“Hey. Sorry, I was just . . .”

“Don’t I know you?” Sasha’s talking to the girl, not to me. “You’re in third-period computer lab, aren’t you?”

I’m almost afraid to look at the girl. I don’t want to incite more of Sasha’s wrath than I have to. But out of the periphery of my vision I see her nod.

“Yeah, you’re the girl that keeps throwing the curve.” If I didn’t know Sasha, I’d think she sounded impressed, but her eyes gleam dangerously. “What’s your name again?”

The girl pauses for a long moment before she answers. “Catherine,” she says.

“Yeah, that’s right.” Sasha turns back to me, smiling. “This one keeps getting perfect scores on the quizzes. We all want to kill her.” She says it almost playfully, like it’s all friendly teasing, but I know better.

If they didn’t before, they will now, I think. But her words give me an idea. “Yeah, I’m in English with her. I was just asking about the homework.”

It’s risky. She could fact-check pretty easily, catch me in the lie. But her eyes soften a little.

“Like you’ll even do the reading,” she says. She brushes her hair back over her shoulder. “Where’s my drink?”

“Oh . . . yeah.” I jump to my feet. The barista long since called my order, and the drink is sitting there on the counter, the ice half-melted. “Here.”

Sasha eyes it distastefully, then heaves a sigh. She plunges the straw in like an ice pick and swirls the cup gently. “So, are we going to the Springs or what?”

I swallow hard. “The thing is, Vivi’s got a recital. I totally forgot about it, but . . . I have to go to it.” I hold up my phone quickly, hoping the tutu picture will derail her a little. “How cute is this?”

Her eyes soften a little. I feel some of the tightness go out of my back as she takes the phone from me. “Oh my God, that’s out of control. Look, she put a little tiara on the dog!” She shows the picture around to her friends, and they all coo and croon in appreciation.

“You should come with me,” I say hopefully, edging away from the girl at the table. “It’ll only be an hour or so, and then we can go to Kerbey Lane after.”

Her gaze snaps up. “I’m not eating pancakes on our date night,” she says, her voice frosty again.

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. “Okay, then, Asti Trattoria or whatever.” Never mind that a meal at Asti will clear out the last of my birthday money. “Whatever you want.”

She sighs patiently, like I’m a little kid. “Of course we’ll go to Vivi’s recital. God, I’m not a monster.” She hands the phone back to me and turns to her friends. “You guys have fun at the Springs. We’ve got to get going.”

I finally exhale. Crisis averted. Barely.

“Thanks, Catherine. See you in class.” I give the girl a wave and turn to follow Sasha.

Halfway to the parking lot I risk a glance behind me. She’s hunched over her notebook again, her hair spilling down over her shoulders to hide her face. But I catch a glimpse of her eyes, wide and wary, as she watches us go.





FOUR


    Elyse




I’ve barely gotten through the doors on Monday morning when Brynn grabs me, sliding her arm through mine.

“The casting list’s up,” she whispers.

I lick my chapped lips. “Have you looked yet?”

She shakes her head. “Not yet. I was waiting for you.”

It’s officially my first test as a lead actor: pretending I don’t already know that I’ve been cast.

I could hardly sit still this weekend. One minute I felt like I could fly. The next, I felt like I might puke. I kept picturing what Brynn’s face would look like when she found out she wasn’t Juliet. When she found out I was Juliet. I’ve been dreading this moment for two days straight.

Now I steel myself, letting my best friend lead me to the ticket office. There’s already a crowd. I see Nessa craning her neck to see over someone’s shoulder. The basketball player grins widely and nudges a boy standing next to him. One girl is crying.

“You ready for this?” Brynn asks, squeezing my arm.

No. “As ready as I’m going to be,” I say, my mouth dry as sand.

Brynn’s eyes are bright, hopeful as she stands on her tiptoes to see over the crowd. My heart wrenches in my chest, so sharp for a moment I forget to be happy for myself. I know how much this means to her.