“Uh, sorry,” Niall said from the stage, looking discomfited. “We’re just having a little—Freddie?”
I turned to Freddie, hoping that maybe, this time, he would be able to do something about it. I ?glanced behind me and saw that the music manager looked repulsed, but she hadn’t left yet. And maybe she wouldn’t hold Freddie responsible for the fact that Alfie loved prawns. Maybe Freddie could still fix things, get things back on track. I turned back to the stage and felt my stomach plunge as I realized this was absolutely not going to happen.
Just like before, Freddie was scratching at his neck, his face getting red and puffy, his eyes filled with dread. “How?!” I practically yelled. I turned to see, right on cue, the music manager storming off just as Freddie fled the stage and Niall stepped up to the mic.
“Sorry about all this,” ?he said smoothly, with a wink to the crowd. “Maybe something a capella from me as my mates get themselves sorted?”
“I have to go,” I said, already heading toward the exit.
“You’re leaving?” Bryony asked, sounding confused. “You just got here!”
“I’ll be back,” I promised, breaking into a run. “Just give me a second!”
Ifound Freddie just where I knew he’d be. In his inconvenient spot, standing in the middle of the path. This meant everyone had to walk around him, but Freddie—lost in the good news that he’d just gotten—was oblivious to all of it. I could see his face was back to being regular-size, not red and puffy.
I’d hurried through what was now becoming a routine with Bryony and Ms. Mulaney—encouraging Bryony and the Emmas to go on the roller coasters, splitting off from Ms. Mulaney when she got her ill-fated agent call. The only slight detour I’d taken was to write out the Freddie list once again—this time, adding the new things that I’d learned.
Freddie
-Brother named Jack
-From Croydon
-Loves Excalibur!/poster above bed/Geraldine Bewley school project
-Weird fruit and vegetable allergy
-Rocky road ice cream/Sweet Emporium
-Surf liner up to LA for meetings
-Manager coming tonight
-Mates with Niall from school days
-Lyrics in black notebook
-Tristram´s real name is Doug; he´s from Chicago. Alfie is Aussie. Lettuce is rocket??
-Always losing phone
-Mum told him he´d lose his head if not attached to his neck
Sometimes the only home you´ve ever known/is the favorite sweatshirt you´ve outgrown.
Knowing your moment of destiny is just around the corner.
But I wrote this list as fast as I could? and then hurried to find him, because we didn’t have a surfeit of time. Clearly, it hadn’t been enough to throw out Alfie’s dinner—he must have eaten some of the cursed stir-fry before we got to the green?room, which meant we needed to stop it as soon as possible.
I walked right up to Freddie—he was still staring at his phone, reading the email about the manager coming. And I hated that I had to burst his bubble so soon after getting good news, but the faster we got through this part, the sooner we could start fixing things.
“Hi,” I said, coming to stand right in front of him. “I’m Cass Issac.Excalibur.”
Freddie just blinked at me, then looked down at what he was wearing. “Like, my shirt?”
“Not exactly.” I gave him a smile, took a deep breath, and launched into my explanation.
It didn’t take as long this time, or maybe I was just getting better at going through the situation. But by the time I got to the part about what was going to happen with the performance unless we intervened, Freddie started nodding.
