by Ali Novak
When we needed to leave for Danny’s play, Katherine was still at the sink, unconvinced that her kitchen was clean. Quite the opposite was true; I had never seen the place so sparkling. George was finally able to pull the rubber gloves from her hands and drag her to the car, but as soon as we pulled out of the driveway, Jack and Jordan realized they forgot the tripod for their camera, which they needed to film the play.
Five minutes later, Nathan remembered that he left the iron on and we had to turn back around again. When Parker noticed that she was wearing two different colored socks, everyone groaned in frustration. But this time, George told her to suck it up, and we continued on our way to the high school.
Only the row in the very back of the auditorium had enough empty seats for our entire group to sit, but we had to scoot by a family to get to the middle.
“Ouch, that’s my foot,” someone hissed as the curtain opened.
I sat down, Alex on one side and Nathan on the other.
“Up,” Cole whispered to Nathan.
Nathan leaned forward and saw that Zack and Benny had taken the seats after Cole. He shook his head. “No way, dude, I’m not sitting next to those two monsters.”
For that I was thankful. Since the party, Cole was different. Instead of his cocky obnoxious self, he was withdrawn and spent most of his time out in his garage. As a result, the dynamics of the Walter household had changed drastically. Without his outgoing attitude, which was the glue that got all of the guys and their different personalities to stick together, the house was silent. Everyone did their own thing—the days of baseball games and movie nights were fading.
On a rare occasion when I ran into Cole in the hallway, he would smile. However it was never a real smile, because it didn’t reach his eyes. I almost missed the smug smirk that was normally on his face. Alex on the other hand, was his happy-go-lucky, clueless self when his older brother was around. He flirted and laughed, acting like life couldn’t get any better. I tried to tone down the happy-couple vibe whenever we were around Cole, but Alex seemed to think that since his brother wasn’t acting mad, everything was fine.
It was a struggle for me to be around both of them at the same time when I could see so much happiness in one of them and so much hurt in the other. Knowing that I had caused all this didn’t help me feel any better. I didn’t want to feel the awkward tension of sitting between both boys for the entire play, because I wanted to focus on Danny’s performance.
“Too bad. I’m older than you, so I get to pick where I sit.”
When Nathan laughed, a woman sitting in front of us turned around. “Would you both be quiet?”
Cole glared at Nathan for a moment longer before giving him the finger and dropping into the only open seat next to Zack.
“Hey, Cole?” I heard Zack whisper. He held his finger an inch away from Cole’s cheek. “I’m not touching you.”
“Boys!” Katherine hissed at her younger twins. “If you don’t behave yourselves, then no dessert at dinner.”
They didn’t take their mother’s warning seriously because as the first actor stepped out onto the stage, I heard the twins’ evil giggles.
***
“Danny, that was amazing!” I exclaimed, pulling him into a hug. He had joined us outside the auditorium after the show, and he was still in his Romeo costume.
“Truly a heart-wrenching performance,” Isaac said, wiping away pretend tears. “Can I have your autograph?” Danny rolled his eyes and gave his cousin a small shove. They both laughed. “Really, dude,” Isaac said, getting serious. “It was great.”
“Thanks,” Danny responded, nodding his head. Doing one of those silly man hugs, they clapped each other on the back.
“Danny Walter?” a woman asked, coming up to our group.
“Yes?” He turned to look at her.
“Hi,” she said, extending a business card. Danny took it from her outstretched hand and quickly glanced over the tiny text. “My name is Jillian Rowley, and I’m a talent scout from the Starlight Group. We’re a theater company in New York, and I was wondering if you had a moment to spare.”
“I—um, yeah!” Danny said, looking back up. His face was neutral, but I had come to learn that Danny was very good at masking his emotions. The small stumble in his sentence said it all: he was ecstatic.
“Wonderful,” Jillian said and led him away from our group.
“What was that all about?” Alex asked, joining us. One of Kim’s sisters had been in the play, and after it was over, he’d gone to find Kim to talk about the latest GoG news.
“Danny told me about a potential talent scout attending the play this year,” I explained. “It was why he was so anxious about auditions. He wanted to make sure he got the male lead in case the talent scout came.”
He hadn’t said it, but I knew Danny thought his future depended on tonight’s performance. He hadn’t applied to college, not only because his parents couldn’t afford it, but also because he didn’t want to go. His dream was to be an actor, and even if nothing came out of this performance, he was going to move to New York City and follow his dream. It just meant that he was going to have to do it the hard way—waiting tables while auditioning for everything and anything.
“Jackie?” Katherine called. She and George were standing with the parents of the actress who played Juliet, and the other three were still deep in conversation.
“Yes?” I asked, coming up next to her.
“What was that all about?” she asked, nodding her head in Danny and Jillian’s direction. The woman was still talking, and he was nodding his head eagerly to every word.
“I’m not entirely sure yet,” I responded. “But she introduced herself as a talent scout for a New York theater company.”
Katherine raised an eyebrow. “Well, now,” she said, a flicker of a smile playing on her face. “That’s interesting news.” I could tell she was thrilled but was holding back in case things didn’t turn out the way we hoped.
“Did I hear something about a talent scout?” Cole asked, appearing next to his mom. After the play was over, he was charged with taking the younger kids to the restroom. Now Zack, Benny, and Parker were chasing each other about the auditorium lobby, weaving in and out of the crowd, but Cole was done with his babysitting job.
“Apparently the woman speaking with Danny is one,” Katherine told him.
“What woman?” Cole asked.
We all turned toward Danny and Jillian, but she was gone and he was making his way across the room toward us with a grin on his face.
“Guess what?” he asked.
“She wants to make you the next A-list actor in Hollywood, and you’re going to become so famous and rich that you can buy me a house?” Cole asked. We all shot him a look, but Danny was too happy to care.
“I’ve been offered a spot in their company’s summer training camp. After the program, if things go well, I could be in New York productions this fall!”
“Oh, honey,” Katherine said, pulling her son into a hug. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Congratulations, Danny,” I said, waiting for my turn to hug him. “This is so exciting!”
“Thanks, Jackie. I really owe you,” he said, pulling away from his mom to face me. “If you hadn’t spent all that time reading lines with me, I don’t know if I would have gotten the part.”
“That’s not true,” I told him. “But I’ll accept your gratitude anyway.”
“So when does this training camp begin?” Katherine asked.
Danny hesitated. “That’s the thing. I’d have to leave for New York as soon as summer starts.” When he saw the frown on his mother’s face, he added. “I am, after all, an adult and the company will provide lodging until I find a place to live.”
“Okay, dear,” Katherine said. “Why don’t we discuss this later?”
“All right,”
said Danny. It wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear, but there was still a huge, excited smile on his face.
“Mom! Mom!” Zack and Benny shouted as they crashed into their mother’s legs. “We’re hungry.”
“Come on, Walter clan,” she said, raising her voice so we all could hear her. “Head out to the cars. We have a celebratory dinner to prepare.”
Chapter 17
During the last week of school, I stayed locked in my room so I could focus on studying. When it was finally time for exams, they passed in a blur of Scantron sheets, true-false questions, and written essays. Afterward, the Walters spent the first week of our newfound freedom vegging out, their thoughts of school long gone, but all I could think about was getting my results back. I knew I’d aced all my classes because every final had been a breeze, but I needed visual confirmation before I could relax.
“Hey, guys, come here,” Nathan said.
I glanced up from my anatomy notebook. For the past hour, I had been sprawled out on Alex’s bed, double-checking all my notes to make sure I hadn’t missed a question on the exam. Alex was wrapped up in a quest on GoG and Nathan had been teaching himself a new song, but now his guitar was gone and he was hunched over his laptop.
“What’s up?” Alex called, hardly looking away from his own computer screen.
“Grades are in,” Nathan replied.
“Oh!” I scrambled off the bed and over to Nathan’s desk. He slid the computer to me, and I quickly logged in to my school account. “Come on,” I muttered as it took forever to load. Finally a new screen popped up.
“A, A, A, A, A, A,” Nathan said, reading off my results.
“No shocker there,” Alex said.
“You never know,” I told him. “Freshman year I got an A- in my history class because my teacher said my final paper was too long. That was horrible.”
Alex rolled his eyes. “Heaven forbid,” he said, but it didn’t bother me.
Finally it was summer. That meant I could relax and maybe even take a trip to New York. The knots in my neck and back loosened at the thought. But before I could go home, there was Will and Haley’s wedding, and tonight was the night before the big day.
Katherine had spent the entire morning making cupcakes, which Haley had requested over the traditional wedding cake. The two hundred or so personal chocolate cakes were left to cool on the dining-room table, and the room was strictly off limits to prevent any of the boys from eating them. The rest of the day was dedicated to scrubbing down the kitchen while Katherine kept an eye on the dining-room entrance to make sure no one snuck in.
At one point, I heard her shout at Jack and Jordan. Two seconds later, there was the telltale sign of retreat—the pounding of their feet on the stairs. Now that the kitchen was clean and all her cooking done, the space was off limits. The rehearsal dinner was taking place at a fancy Italian restaurant in town.
“You want to check your results?” I asked Alex, moving away from the computer so he could get a turn.
He grimaced and shook his head. “I’d rather not ruin this weekend’s fun. I’ll check on Monday morning.”
“Kids,” I heard George shout from the bottom on the staircase. “Everyone needs to start getting ready. We’re leaving in an hour.”
It was time for the celebrations to begin.
***
I didn’t know which was more alarming: the fact that Parker was sitting on my bed with a sleeping bag at her feet, or that she had a bouquet of flowers in her hands. After the lengthy rehearsal dinner, during which Zack stabbed Benny with a fork and Jack and Jordan almost set the tablecloth on fire, we headed back to the Walters’ house to get a good night’s sleep.
“Um, hi?” I said, not sure what she was doing in my room.
“These were waiting for you,” she said and tossed me the flowers. They came at me fast, but I managed to snap my hands up and catch the bouquet in time. Parker’s features wilted, almost as if she had been hoping to hit me.
“Who are they from?” I asked, burying my nose in the roses. They were beautiful with huge, deep red petals.
“How am I supposed to know?” Parker shot back as she made herself comfortable on my bed. “But whoever it was, they’re a sap. Roses? Come on.”
They must have been from Alex. He was so sweet. “I think they’re beautiful,” I responded, holding them out to admire. A note fell out and fluttered down to the floor. I bent down and snatched it up before Parker could read what it said. Hopefully, Alex hadn’t written anything too cheesy or inappropriate.
Jackie, the scribble read, I’m sorry I keep screwing up and making mistakes. Life didn’t come with instructions. There was no signature. My mouth went dry, and I quickly discarded the flowers on my dresser.
“What’d the note say?” Parker asked, curious about my sudden change in attitude.
I crinkled up the piece of paper and tossed it in the trash. “Nothing,” I said. “So what are you doing in my room?”
Parker opened her mouth to respond, but the bedroom door swung open.
“Jackie, I was hoping you’d be here,” Katherine said. She shuffled into the room backward, holding the end of a cot. Isaac appeared on the other end, muttering something about slave labor. As soon as they set it down in the limited empty floor space, he was gone.
“Isaac,” Katherine called after him. “Remember to bring those blankets and pillows in here.”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” he called from down the hall. Katherine pursed her lips, but didn’t say anything else on the matter.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Parker will be staying in your room for the next two nights,” Katherine explained. “Grandma Green flew all the way out from New York and is staying in her room.”
At the rehearsal dinner I’d met some of the Walters’ extended family, Katherine’s mother being one of them. Since Parker and I were the only girls, it made sense that we would have to share a room for the weekend so an out-of-town guest had somewhere to sleep. I just wasn’t sure if my new bunkmate was going to be hostile or friendly.
“Okay,” I said, avoiding Parker’s gaze. I could feel her watching me and didn’t want to appear too anxious. “So what’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“I want everyone out of bed by seven o’clock so we all have time to get ready. Knowing me, there will probably be some last-minute chores to complete, things that slipped my mind. I was wondering if you could possibly do Parker’s hair tomorrow. With eleven boys, I’ve never been an experienced hairdresser.”
“No, Mom!” Parker complained, jumping up. “I don’t want my hair done. Why can’t I wear it like I always do?”
Katherine gave Parker a stern look. Her daughter’s normal look typically lacked the use of a brush. “Because tomorrow we all have to look presentable. You especially since you’re in the wedding.” As she said this, a pile of bedding flew through the open door and landed on the floor with a thump. Katherine massaged her temple. “Thank you, Isaac,” she said and rolled her eyes. “A-plus effort.”
“No probs, Aunt Katherine,” he called, already halfway down the hall.
Katherine turned back around when we heard his bedroom door slam, and Parker immediately started to pout. “I never wanted to be the stupid flower girl anyway,” she grumbled, kicking at one of the pillows Isaac had slopped on the floor. “It’s stupid.”
“Remember, you’re doing this to make your brother happy,” Katherine reminded her.
This seemed to win the argument, but Parker still grumbled and plopped down on the cot, clearly not happy.
“Good,” her mother said with a curt nod. “You two should go to bed. It’s late and tomorrow is going to be long.”
“Good night, Katherine,” I said as she moved toward the door. The rehearsal dinner had worn me out, and I had no problem turning the lights off early.
“Sweet dreams,” Katherine said to the both of us. When Parker didn’t respond, she glared at her daughter.
“Night,” Parker mumbled.
After Katherine left, I turned to Parker to tell her that I wouldn’t do her hair too girly for the wedding, but the scowl on her face kept me quiet. Gathering my toiletries and pajamas, I decided to go down to the bathroom and get ready for bed, giving her time to cool off. When I got back, Parker had already turned the lights off and was curled up on her cot, clearly in no mood to talk.
I lay awake for a long time, unable to fall asleep. I could sense that Parker was awake as well, even though she didn’t move an inch. There was a tension in the room that could only be caused by another sleepless person.
Finally she sighed. “I don’t want to wear a dress,” she said, her voice coming up out of the darkness.
I wanted to tell her that it would be fun, that the right dress could make any girl feel special, but it was the first time she’d opened up to me, and I didn’t want to ruin it. “How come?”
“They’re so girly.”
“But you are a girl,” I said, choosing my words carefully.
“I’m a Walter,” she said, as if that meant something different.
“What does that mean?” I asked. “Because you live with a bunch of boys, you’re required to act like one?”
She considered this for a moment, and I could see her outline in the dark, twisting her blanket in her hands as she thought. “Yeah, kind of. Being one of the boys makes me special. Everyone at school knows who I am—Parker Walter, the tough girl with eleven brothers who can play tackle football and burp louder than any of the guys in my grade.”
I laughed. “But what about at home?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if you’re just one of the boys, what makes you different from your brothers?”
“I don’t know.”