“Cast list is posted,” Meredith tells her.
“I know. I saw it.” Rue brightens. “Congrats Dot!”
Congrats?I frown. “Congrats on what?”
“You got the lead female role. I’m playing your sister-in-law, Isabella.” Rue scrunches her nose. “Wait, why don’t you look more excited?”
Lead female role? What is she talking about? My stomach feels heavy, like I got stuck on a roller coaster with a drop I wasn’t prepared for. It’s like a nightmare about accidentally going to school in nothing but your underwear. That moment, looking down and realizing you have nothing else on. That’s how my stomach feels.There’s no way. There must be some mistake.
“But she didn’t even audition for the part of Catherine!” Meredith’s voice is frazzled, nearly a screech. “Idid!”
“Oh,” says Rue. She bites her lip. It takes her a moment to think of something else to say. “Well, at least you’re playing Nelly. Hers is arguably one of the most important roles.” Sheplaces a careful hand on Meredith’s shoulder, but Meredith shakes her off.
“I don’t want to play freaking Nelly!” she shouts. Her voice attracts the attention of a few students around us. I want to get in my locker and hide from their stares, but Meredith doesn’t even seem to notice. She turns to glare at me, her gaze filled with more venom than I ever thought possible.
Great. Now she’s mad at me. I hold up my hands. “I’m sorry! You know I didn’t try out for the lead. In fact, I’m pretty sure my audition sucked.”
She scowls. “Fantastic. Like that’s supposed to make me feel better, Dot.”
“Yeah, why would you even say that?” Rue side-eyes me.
My cheeks burn at her expression. This is exactly what I was worried about. I can’t help but recall what I overheard Mom telling Dad before she left, while they were discussing me possibly attending Fallbrook. “It would be good for her,” Mom said. “Bardot is smart, but sometimes that girl lacks self-awareness.”
Meredith storms off down the hall, just as Mabel approaches. Her lips are turned up into an impossible grin. “Guess what?” Mabel jumps up and down and then hugs me. It’s a bit jarring after speaking with Meredith, especially since they look so much alike. “I’m playing Catherine Linton!”
She pulls away, still grinning, and then takes in Rue’s round eyes and my shoulders, still bunched up to my ears after our encounter with Meredith. Mabel’s face falls. “Oh, no. Mere’s upset, isn’t she? I saw that she got cast as Nelly.”
Instead of answering, I push past them both and head to the main office of Fallbrook, where the bulletin board with the cast list is posted. Whispers echo through the halls as I march through them, and it takes me a moment to realize they’re aboutme.I’m the one being talked about. Fragmented phrases like,“Dot playing Cathy” and “Meredith is upset” and “wonder what Little Birdie will say” ring in my ears.
Mistake. This is all just one big mistake. It has to be.
I have to see it for myself. Maybe my name and Meredith’s name are right on top of one another, and she somehow got our roles reversed. That would make so much more sense.
I make my way through the halls, my footsteps echoing on the floor now that almost everyone else has cleared out to make it to first period. Luckily, mine isn’t too far from the office, so I’m not worried about missing the first bell.
I round the corner, expecting to find the list open and free from prying eyes, but instead find Carlton standing there, alone in the dim corridor. There’s a beam of light illuminating his symmetrical face through a high stained-glass window, like a spotlight shining on a stage. For a moment, I’m struck with longing, remembering our summer together. I miss the feeling of his warm hand in mine, his twinkling eyes telling me stories without a word. The gentle caress of his lips against mine, like a shared secret between us.
He scans the list, frozen in place. His shoulders are taut, and I realize what he must be seeing: my name under “Catherine Earnshaw,” next to his under “Heathcliff.” Despite everything, I can’t contain my flutter of excitement at the idea of playing his romantic interest, even though if it’s true, I’ll be in way over my head.
“Hey,” I say as I approach him, causing him to stiffen. He must not have heard me walk up, though I don’t know how he could miss it, since we’re practically alone in the corridor now that the bell is about to ring.
He points to the bulletin board. “Did you see this yet?”
I bite my lip. “No. But Meredith told me.”
Carlton stares at the ground, eyes shining. For a moment, I think he might cry, but then his eyebrows pull together and hismouth twists into a scowl. In one rapid movement, he turns and throws something hard against one of the lockers behind him, and I jump.
“What was that?” I stare at the object he threw, now lying on the ground. Carlton’s phone is face up with thin lines now cutting across the screen in different directions. My lips part. “Carlton, what’s wrong?”
His hands clench into fists. “What do you mean, ‘what’s wrong,’ Dot? How can you even ask me that right now?”
My stomach ties itself in a knot. I know how much he cares about this play, but would it really be such a bad thing to have me as his costar? I can’t deny that I’m more than a little stung at his reaction. “Look, I know I’m inexperienced,” I begin, “but is it really so bad that I’m playing Catherine? Aren’t you a little proud that I got the biggest role, first try?”
His eyes widen as he stares at me. He’s looking at me like he can’t believe he’s really seeing me, or something. It makes me feel like I’m on display. “Is that why you think I’m upset?” He exhales through his mouth. “Of course you would think that. Why am I even surprised? You’re always thinking about yourself first.”
My throat clogs with trepidation.
“I didn’t get the part, Dot!” Carlton’s voice is so loud, it echoes as it bounces around the walls and lockers surrounding us. “I didn’t get the lead role. I’m not playing Heathcliff.” His eyes have me locked in the tight grip of his angry stare. I can’t glance away from him, much as I want to.
