Carlton looks murderous in an adorable way. To someone else, he might look scary, but I know the soft, charismatic Carlton. The one who laughs uncontrollably when I tickle his face with my braids, and who would rather study the art of vocal cadence than ever have a physical altercation with someone who offended him.
“Yes, seriously. Dude has been pissing me off since we were kids. It was all over Little Birdie yesterday. Why are you acting surprised?”
I bite my lip, fighting a sudden, irrational urge to laugh. Zayne just seemed so harmless when I met him yesterday. “I heard about you having to run lines with him, but I haven’t downloaded the Little Birdie app yet. I keep forgetting.”
Carlton continues to glare at his balled-up fists on the table. The unease in my stomach returns. Gone is the funny and easygoing guy I spent the summer with. The one who made my cheeks hurt from smiling and my knees weak. Who briefly took my mind off Mom’s absence. It’s such a shift in demeanor, he seems like a different person.
“Hey.” I touch his shoulder. “What could he possibly have done to get you this worked up? I’ve never seen you like this before.”
“Dot.” Carlton squares his shoulders. “You know how badly I want to get into Underwood Academy. Nigel Weathers is going to be at this season’s performance, and there’s no way he’s going to be able to see my potential if I get stuck playing a supporting character.”
“So, the part you play really matters, then?”
“Of course it does.” He shakes his head. “Nigel Weathers is the admissions director for Underwood Academy. He comes to our school every year to hand-select two students, Dot. Only two. And he always chooses the lead actors.”
“Okay. I can see why you’re so worried, but what does Zayne Silverman have to do with it?”
“The jerk messed with my script, Dot. Myscript.And I stumbled on my lines.”
My mouth falls open. “What? What do you mean?”
Carlton sighs. “All I know is that one moment, I’m running lines with Meredith, and the next, I’m reading with Zayne for the audition, and my lines are crossed out with Sharpie, and different lines are added in with pen. It’s like he took my script and messed with it, so my audition would be ruined.”
I wrinkle my nose. “But that doesn’t make any sense.”
“So…I’m lying, then?” Carlton’s tone is stiff, and my stomach sinks. I don’t want him to get the wrong idea, and I don’t know why I’m sort of defending some boy I barely met yesterday.
“Of course not. I just mean that I can’t see why he would do something like that, or why you wouldn’t just tell Mr. Saltzman and ask him for a new script.”
“I’d never give Silverman that satisfaction.” Carlton shakes his head. “He obviously wants to play the lead, too. Don’t be stupid.”
Stung, I flinch at his words. But he’s right. I have no reason not to believe him. If Zayne’s as bad as Carlton says, it’s him I should be interrogating.
“I didn’t mean that.” He touches my chin, bringing my gaze back to his. “I’m so sorry. I’m just stressed.”
My heart softens, but before I can respond, two lunch trays plop down on our table. I squint up through the fluorescent lights at Meredith and Mabel. They both have their hair up in buns and are donning denim jackets over their uniforms. “You two are matching,” I tell them. “It’s like I’m seeing double.”
Meredith laughs. “What good is being a twin if you aren’t allowed to match?”
Mabel glances from me to Carlton. “Everything okay?” Her tone is uneasy, like she can sense the tension between us. Or maybe she’s referring to the Little Birdie post from yesterday.
I shrug. To be honest, I’m not sure if Carlton is alright. He’s never acted like this before, not in the three months I’ve known him. Hopefully, once he gets the lead role in the play like he’s hoping, he’ll be able to relax.
When no one answers her question, Mabel crosses her arms. “I need to use the bathroom.” She raises her eyebrows at me pointedly.
I catch on, acknowledging the classic code for needing girl-talk. I may have been homeschooled for the majority of my life, but I’m not clueless. At least, I hope I’m not. I stand from my spot next to Carlton. “Me too.”
We leave the table and walk through the halls to the nearest bathroom. The chatter from hoards of students surrounding us drowns out my thoughts as we make our way through the sea of white button-ups beneath navy vests and cardigans, pleated skirts, and beige trousers. The halls of this school are narrow, paneled in smooth dark wood, with the occasional nick in it that makes me wonder who left it andwhen. The historical architecture at every corner makes me feel like I’m in a castle. Except the bathrooms. They’re a much newer addition to thebuilding, and I find it jarring every time I step into the modern, cool-toned area.
We wordlessly stop in front of the sinks. It’s clear that neither of us needs to use the restroom. Mabel fixes her hair in the mirror and darts her eyes to mine through our reflections. “What was that about?”
I frown. “What was what about?”
“Carlton. He looked like he was ready to rip someone’s head off.”
“Ah.” So, it was obvious. “Yeah, he’s really upset about Zayne Silverman.”
Mabel winces. “It was awful, Dot. I know I didn’t go into much detail yesterday, but you should have seen him after his audition. I thought he was going to cry. And C never cries.”
