by Kylie Key
“There were rumors that you’d had a nose job that went badly wrong,” Olivia said in a low voice, “And someone else said you’d been born with two noses.”
Lily asked if we wanted to see the photos of when she was a baby. She said it wouldn’t be pretty, but Olivia and I were curious. We were amazed at the before and after photos, and also more amazed by Lily’s resilience. Yes, she said she’d been bullied and ostracized at school, but her family had always been her rock, and now she thanked us for being on her support team.
“Team Lily, Team Lily,” Olivia cheered, and she nudged Lily and teased, “But I think Blaire is Team Alex.”
I sneered at her and tossed a pin cushion in her direction, but she caught it easily and they both laughed at me.
It was true I was looking forward to rehearsal, and not just because I wanted to see our costumes in action, but to see Alex again. In a group I could chat and be friendly, it was being alone with him that scared me.
But Alex never arrived.
At first I thought he might be running late; he stayed with a host family who lived a few miles out of town. When Mrs Dornan gave us a ten minute break I checked my phone to see if he’d messaged. But there was nothing.
I was hoping one of the others would query his absence, but nobody did, so I asked, “Hey, where’s Alex? Isn’t he here?” As if I’d only just noticed, and hadn’t been fretting about it for the past forty five minutes.
“I thought you might know,” Chloe mused, raising her eyebrows. “Didn’t he take you home?”
“He dropped me off,” I said, “but he didn’t say anything.” I knew I’d not given him a chance to talk about anything, babbling on about drivers licences.
“Maybe he’s sick,” Olivia said with a giggle, “he did eat a lot of pizza. And brownies.”
Chloe nodded, and I found myself agreeing that might be true, though it sounded ludicrous.
Mrs Dornan queried the whereabouts of Alex and several other kids who hadn’t bothered to turn up. She asked the class to let them know that we would have an extra rehearsal tomorrow afternoon, now being only one week until the first performance. For some reason the fact he hadn’t told anyone annoyed me, deeply annoyed me. Even though his absence didn’t directly affect me or any of the scenes, it was downright rude that he hadn’t let any one know. Common courtesy, wasn’t it? Or maybe the Brits didn’t care about good manners?
“Maybe he’s gone out with his host family? Sightseeing?” Lily suggested, and it was true that exchange students were taken out and about to see the local attractions, but surely he could have informed someone.
As Mrs Dornan called us back to positions for another run-through, I sent Alex a quick text: Did you forget about rehearsals?
It probably sounded angry, but that’s because I was! It made no sense at all!
And I was even madder when there was no response—to either me or Lily. And not to the one to tell him about the extra rehearsal. Obviously his idea of friendship was different to ours. But perhaps it was a good thing. I mean, I didn’t want to get too close, I’d made that clear. Maybe he’d thought the same thing. He was here for such a short time, building a relationship might be too much hard work for little reward.
Ugh...my mind was messed up, my emotions scrambled. It was so unlucky to be crushing on someone you couldn’t get to know because you were harboring a secret identity. Getting too close to Blaire Ashley was a disaster waiting to happen. She was an imposter.
I had more things to worry about than an exchange student not committing to the winter concert.
LILY DROPPED ME OFF home—first. Yep, that’s right, she was also giving Ethan a lift. In fact, they were going back to Lily’s to practice their choreography for the final act. She invited me to stay, but I had to do a few alterations to Chloe’s costume. Chloe must have incorrectly measured her waist, because the outfit was a little too snug.
“I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” I said as I stood at the window waving to them. Then I bent down and teased, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.” A careless thing really—it was something Blair P would say, not awkward Blaire Ashley.
Lily blushed with the heat of a nuclear explosion, and I felt bad that I’d embarrassed her, but her lips curled into a smile and she winked at me. Ethan’s cheeks had turned pink too, and for someone who was used to being center stage, he lowered his head bashfully and ran his hand through his thick dark curls.
Margaret jumped up to make me a hot chocolate when I came in, urging me near the fireplace to keep warm. Peppy left Tony’s lap to come sit with me.
The hot drink steamed up my glasses and I took them off to wipe the lenses. “Mom’s doing a video call tonight,” I said. I’d been looking forward to finally seeing her onscreen, having not connected other than by text so far.
“Mmmm,” Margaret put a plate of cookies next to me. “Your Mom has had to go on an urgent trip,” she said.
“What do you mean?” I asked, perching my glasses back on my nose. “What trip?”
“Just something she has to take care of,” Margaret said vaguely, urging me to take a cookie. Any more of Margaret’s baking and I’d be altering my elf dress too. I waved them away.
“Just before Christmas?” Mom didn’t generally do work stuff in the holiday season. Dad or Uncle Matt did. Mom was usually well into entertaining mode at this time.
“It’s a busy time,” Margaret said crisply.
I hid my quivering chin by bringing my mug up to my mouth. I’d been at River Valley High for three weeks and in all that time I’d not had one video call with Mom, and our last conversation had been cut short because she said she had an important incoming call. More important than her own daughter! I had a sinking feeling that the shame I’d brought on her was not fading.
I excused myself to my room after I finished my drink, needing some time to sulk and brood and generally feel sorry for myself. It was daunting to realize that I was in this alone. Knowing Mom wasn’t there for me hurt, it was gut wrenching. And nobody was doing a thing to prove my innocence. I was going to have to do it myself. Clear my name, but how? My instinct was that Zara Raymond had set me up, but it was beyond me why she would. Okay, we weren’t friends, but that didn’t make us enemies, either. We co-existed in our own spheres at Covington Prep. I needed to text Jack to see if he could seriously do some investigating about my hunch.
I picked up my phone, my mood immediately brightening. Alex had texted back! And he was offering to give me a ride tomorrow. Why did he have to complicate things by being nice! Well, he did drive straight past my house, it would be rude to turn him down. And besides, it was a lift, not a date, or a marriage proposal.
“Did I miss much?” Alex asked, when I jumped into the passenger seat of his truck. I was wrapped up like I was about to explore the Antarctic, such was the wind that had whipped up. I rubbed my gloves together, happy to be in the warm vehicle. Or maybe it was seeing Alex in his beanie, his cheeks and nose pink. And his lips, they were pink too.
“Have you been out in the wind?” I asked.
“I had to help move horses,” he said, “Uh, with my host mother.”
“Oh? Your host family has a ranch?”
“Uh, they have a few horses,” he said. “Why? Do you ride?”
Blair P had been horse mad when she was young, begging for a pony. Of course there was no room for a horse at our house, but I had owned one called Moonbeam, who lived at the stables where I had riding lessons. I had loved riding and my enthusiasm couldn’t be refuted but I never did well in the competitions. Alex couldn’t know about my horse.
“Oh, you know, when I was small, I had a few lessons,” I said with a laugh. A few years of lessons, actually. From age six to twelve. “Do you ride?”
“I can,” he said. “So, did I miss much yesterday?”
“The zombies were in utter chaos because you weren’t there,” I said, making him laugh. It felt strangely powerful to be able to do that, to see his eye
s light up and crinkle, the corners of his mouth lifting and parting to reveal his top row of teeth, and his lips...why was I so obsessed with his lips? I caught him up with what had happened, embellishing the story of how the zombies had looked like they were at an aerobics class rather than zombie-ing. I was sad that the ride to school wasn’t longer. I didn’t want to leave that nice warm truck and have to venture out into the cold. I didn’t want Alex to stop laughing.
He parked the car and turned off the engine. He turned to me with glistening eyes and I had an urge to taste his plump, pink lips again. I forced my gaze to the gloomy weather and said, “It’s nasty out there.”
“Nar-sty?” He had no idea how his pronunciation affected me...gah, one word got me all stirred up and remembering that kiss.
“We’ll have to make a run for it.” Who was I kidding? Blair P didn’t run.
“Yeah?”
I meant to say, “Yeah,” but a shiver ran through even though it was quite warm in the truck.
“Are you col—?”
Alex never finished the word, or maybe he did, but I’d gone deaf. Or dumb, or numb, or completely insane.
Because I leaned forward and kissed him again.
Oh yep. Blaire with an E was doing unpredictable things again. Crazy, impulsive, totally outrageous things. Who was this girl?
Alex’s lips moved with mine, a delectable taste of mingling mintiness, my senses soaring as his hand threaded around the back of my jacket, entangling with my scarf which I’d worn for practical warmth. I tugged at it myself, releasing it from my neck, allowing his fingers full access to it. A caress of my delicate skin sent a tingle down my spine and I heard him inhale, pleased that I’d spritzed on my favorite perfume, Paris. I may have been dressing like a pauper, but my little luxury made me smell like a princess.
A low groan emitted from one of us, or both of us—it was hard to tell. Our lips were locked together, the kiss deepening, as wild as the wind that was thrashing around outside.
We separated with a breathlessness that left both our chests heaving, like we’d failed a fitness test. I wanted to stare at Alex’s grin for eternity, but my senses were awry and I needed clarity.
“We better not be late,” I said, leaping out of the truck. My ankle jarred as I landed, but Alex was right there, hooking his arm through mine, escorting me to the school building. I clung to him, the fierce wind swirling about us, about to sweep me off of my feet.
Once inside, I reluctantly freed myself from his grip. Everything inside of me was saying it was madness, that I needed to back away. I tugged on my beanie as if in fear of it blowing away.
“Alex, I...” a feeble voice said, my feeble voice.
“You’re not going to apologize again, are you?” He tilted his head, a smirk in his eyes.
“I...I...I don’t know...what came over me,” I stuttered. And it was the truth. Why in the world was I so attracted to Alex Lord?
The front doors barged open and a bunch of zombies walked in. Alex and I hurried through to the rehearsal hall with them, both of us going separate ways into the dressing rooms. Chloe was waiting for me, anxious to see if her elf costume fit.
“It must be cold out there,” she said, “your face is red.”
“It’s freezing.” I removed my gloves and patted my cheeks, though they sizzled under my touch. Alex Lord had set them on fire. “I hope it fits okay.”
Margaret had found a thin red fur trim which I’d attached to our costumes to give them a little more pop. But Lily would still be the stand-out.
Chloe wriggled into her outfit and posed in front of the mirror. She tied her hair into a high bun and put a green bow on it.
“Do you want me to put your hair up?” she asked, producing another bow.
I didn’t want to seem rude, but I also didn’t want my hair up, exposing my face to an audience. Thankfully, Mrs Dornan came in and shouted that she wanted us all on stage.
“Maybe next time,” I mouthed, as I rushed out with the others.
Miss Kyler, who was in charge of the whole concert, introduced herself and explained the format of the show. Our act was going to be first, so we could have the set in place, and the dance class, the marching band, the glee club and choir would follow us. Miss Kyler carried a clipboard and had timings set to precise minutes. We were to be on stage for exactly eighteen minutes, and we would have two minutes to remove all props. The stage team would then prepare for the dancers. On Wednesday we would do a full dress rehearsal, and we would perform for the school on Thursday and to the public on Friday evening, which was the last day of school before a two week break. Tickets were close to selling out, she said, so she encouraged us to buy quickly so our families didn’t miss out. Margaret and Tony had already bought theirs, but Mom and Dad hadn’t responded to my text about it. Probably they would say it was too risky to be seen at River Valley High.
An incoming horde of students barged through the auditorium doors then, carrying large painted screens.
“Oh good!” Mrs Dornan clapped her hands. “The art students are bringing in the set.”
Miss Kyler looked at her clipboard and directed the first screen to the right. I could see it looked like Santa’s workshop. I was admiring it, and the one behind it, which was the night sky filled with stars, when my heart stopped. Bella Anderson, Jack’s girlfriend was lifting the back end of the screen. Bella knew me, we’d hung out before. I twirled myself around, positioning myself between Olivia and Chloe who were taller than Lily.
I pulled up the hood on my costume. “What do you think of the fur trim?” I asked, pulling the sides around my face.
“Yeah, it’s so cute,” Olivia said, and I breathed a sigh of relief as she put her own hood up.
“I’m getting nervous,” Lily said as we watched the set being assembled. “This makes it real.”
“You’ll be fine,” I said, crouching down a little to her height. “You got this!”
“I’m nervous too,” Chloe said. “What if I forget my lines?”
It was a good opportunity to take the girls into a huddle. “Come on, we’ll be fine,” I said, pulling everyone in, my hooded head down. Who knew how sharp Bella’s vision was? What if I came face to face with her? “We know our lines, we’ve got this!” My confidence was all false. Imagine if Bella recognized me in front of everyone!
“Yeah,” Olivia reiterated, “we got this!” Of course it was easy for us to say—we only had a few solo lines each.
The girls pulled out of the huddle way too quickly for my liking, making me feel vulnerable. Lily paced with nervousness. I could only hope that the art students would leave as soon as they had set up the stage. I was too scared to even look across to Alex and the zombies who were congregated in the opposite corner.
“Santa, can you hear that commotion outside?” Lily was muttering her lines as she walked back and forth, taking in deep breaths. I was about to use her as a shield, when Ethan, dressed in his Santa suit and fake wig and beard joined her.
The last of the screens was locked into place and Mrs Dornan ordered the cast to the stage. The art students descended the stairs, and I took the opportune time to bend down and fix my shoe. It didn’t need fixing of any sort—I was wearing a flat ballet shoe. I didn’t stand until I was sure everyone had left.
“Hurry now. To your places!” Mrs Dornan went into director mode, her voice loud and shrill. Miss Kyler looked to be carrying a stopwatch, like she was an athletics coach.
As Santa came ambling on stage, I was horrified to see the art students, including Bella, grouped together by the door watching us. I adjusted my hood and was barely breathing, barely functioning. I wished I’d taken the time to pile on a full face of elf makeup with candy cane striped lips and freckles. I would definitely do it for the show. It was possible Blaire Ashley was going to be exposed as a fraud, here and now.
I kept close to Olivia and Chloe, my hood still covering my head, my heart pounding like a storm in my chest. My concentration on
the scene was intense, and as it came time to say my lines, I was as confounded as anyone when I delivered them with an English accent!
Olivia’s eyes widened as she hesitated before speaking. As elves, we danced around the sleigh, my face no doubt as red as Santa’s suit. Trying to keep my gaze away from the art students, it happened to flit across to the wings where the zombies were waiting. Alex, the skin blackened around his orbs, was laughing. Not very zombie-like at all.
Apart from my newly acquired accent and several of the zombies tripping over themselves, the rehearsal went close enough to plan. Mrs Dornan had made notes and Bella and the art kids had disappeared, so I was able to relax somewhat. I had taken some of my own notes, namely to speak in a normal voice and to cake on the makeup.
In the dressing room, I had to come up with some reasonable explanation as to why I was now an English elf, so I laughed and said that talking to Alex must’ve rubbed off on me. Alex also laughed, but I didn’t mind. Not when he draped his arm around me and squeezed my arm.
“What was that?” he asked. “You weren’t making fun of my accent, were you?”
“No, I was being inclusive. You know, just in case you were feeling a bit homesick,” I said.
“Aw, thanks,” he said and he ruffled the side of my head and I leaned into his shoulder, forgetting that we were surrounded by my friends.
“We should go for ice cream,” Ethan said. “Who’s in?”
My heart faltered. If anyone mentioned ice cream, there was only one place they meant—Peter’s Ice Cream Shoppe.
“Yes!” Chloe and Olivia were boisterously keen for it.
“It’s a bit cold for ice cream,” I said meekly, not wanting to be a killjoy, but going anywhere near Peter’s was a train wreck waiting to happen. Hiding from Bella had been stressful enough. Peter’s was a known hang-out for the Covington Prep kids, especially on a Sunday afternoon. Yet, I wanted to be with my friends.
“Hey, why not come around to my place?” Lily unknowingly came to my rescue. “We could sit around the fire and have hot chocolate. I know Mom wouldn’t mind.”