Hiding.
Mabel
Why?
Me
Meredith and Carlton are mad at me. Little Birdie posted about me and now everyone keeps staring.
Mabel
LOL. Get used to it. You’re in theater now. LB is obsessed with us, which means the rest of the school is too.
Me
Great.
Mabel
Give Mere & C time. They’ll stop being mad soon.
I put my phone away. My heart feels a little bit warmer now that I know Meredith being mad doesn’t mean Mabel is also mad by default. I hope she’s right about them cooling off sooner rather than later.
By the time I walk into the drama room after school, Meredith is already present, sitting with her back to me and engrossed in a conversation with her twin. Mabel sees me whenI walk in and brightens. “Hey, Dot,” she says, making Meredith look over her shoulder at me.
“Hey,” I say. I’m shocked by how many people have turned to look at me now, even among the theater students. It’s not that I necessarily have a problem with being looked at—it’s more the reason they’re all looking at me. I, the newbie, landed the lead role without deserving it. Little Birdie alerted every single student at Fallbrook Prep of my presence because of it.
I’m already contemplating quitting.
I glance around the room at the faces pointed in my direction. Many of them drop their glances when I look their way, but others just keep studying me. I wonder if someone in this room could be Little Birdie. It’s likely, since everyone here heard me tell Mr. Saltzman I go by the name Dot, which was mentioned in the blast. I squint at all the different faces as if doing so will somehow help me uncover the anonymous blogger’s identity.
Carlton walks in and I watch as his thick frame passes right by me. I’m guessing that means he’s still not happy with me, so I look around for a different place to sit. The desks in the drama room are all pushed against the back wall to make room for rehearsing and improv, so everyone has formed small groups and found crannies of the room to sit on the hardwood floor. I briefly consider sitting with Mabel and Meredith anyway, especially since Carlton has just joined them, because it’s not like I know anyone else in this room. I am the outsider. Ironically, joining the play was supposed to eliminate that label of mine. But now that I’m supposed to play the lead, it looks like I’ve alienated myself even more.
Rue joins the group, and I make my way over, swallowing my apprehension. I try to make eye contact with Meredith, but she turns her head away as I approach. Rue and Mabel scoot over, so I plop down next to them on the floor. I offer Carlton a smallsmile, hoping he’ll return it. He meets my eyes briefly and then faces the front of the classroom.
Mr. Saltzman is passing out the full script to everyone, and when he reaches us, Mabel offers me some highlighters. “It’s so you can highlight all your lines,” she whispers.
“Thanks.” I pick a yellow one and find my first set of lines to run the marker over. Turn the page. More places to highlight text. Turn the page again. More lines. My stomach drops as I flip through, the full weight of my part finally settling in. It looks like I have the most lines of almost any character, with the possible exceptions of Meredith’s character, Nelly, and Heathcliff, played by Zayne.
Zayne.
I sit up straighter and look around the classroom, trying to spot him. I peer over the clusters of groups, trying to find his hair, since his face isn’t in my line of sight.
“Who are you looking for?” Mabel asks curiously.
“Zayne Silverman.”
Carlton makes an incredulous sound, breaking my concentration. “You mean your new boyfriend?”
An awkward silence falls over the five of us. Is he really going to act like this in front of our friends? Rue examines her nails, and Meredith’s mouth lifts into a smirk.
“Knock it off, Carlton,” Mabel says in an even tone. “You know it’s not her fault.”
He sighs. It’s deep, heavy. An angry sigh. He walks to the front of the classroom to sharpen his pencil. I shoot Mabel a grateful look. “Thank you,” I mouth. She smiles back, her brown left eye and green right eye twinkling.
Mr. Saltzman clears his throat, straightening the beret on his balding head. The class falls into a hushed silence. “Let’s have the crew and ensemble head over to the auditorium to take notes on the first scene, and then I want all the main roles except Dotand Zayne, my Cathy and Heathcliff, to head next door where I’ll join you shortly.”
My stomach tangles with nerves, hearing myself spoken of as Cathy.
