The Fake Boyfriend Experiment

by Stephanie Rowe

I gritted my teeth against the urge to close my eyes and scream until my brain exploded. “Two minutes.”

  She held out the phone. “I’ll time you.”

  “Thanks!” I grabbed the phone and took it back into the family room. “Erin? What’s up?”

  “You have to come to Keith’s pool party on Saturday.”

  “I want to.” I sighed and closed the door. “But I can’t. There’s no way I can swing that. I have this recital and—”

  “No, you have to,” Erin interrupted. “Les thought you were cute.”

  “No way!” My breath caught and I immediately felt a million times better. I hurried over to the couch and sank down, hugging my favorite pink throw pillow to my chest. “He did? Seriously? You aren’t lying, are you?”

  “But he thought you were a little weird and possibly lacking in personality.”

  Oh…that wasn’t so good. I clutched the phone in dismay. “Really? Are you sure?” Like that was a surprise, though. I mean, seriously. Was there any chance of him thinking I was charming and interesting based on our conversation? Not so much.

  “I don’t know what you said to him,” Erin said, “but if you don’t come to the party and redeem yourself, I doubt he’ll go to the semi-formal with you.”

  Anxiety rippled over me. “Redeem myself? How?” Was there a chance? Really?

  “Be funny. Talk about something besides the piano. Flirt.”

  I bit my lip and fought against the rising panic. I didn’t have a personality, not like my friends did. I was who I was. How was I supposed to fake a life I didn’t have? “Maybe it’s not a good idea. Rafe called tonight and said he wasn’t that high on me going with Les.” Fake boyfriend to the rescue. Sigh.

  Erin snorted in disgust. “So what? If Rafe won’t go with you, it’s too bad for him. You have to go. It’s the event of the year! Don’t you know that this is the dance where we establish the group of guys we’re going to hang out with for our entire high school career? If we don’t get in with these guys, we’re going to spend the next four years doing our homework on Friday nights instead of having a social life.” She sighed. “You have to be part of the group, Lily. It would be horrible without you. Please?”

  Oh, man. I wanted to go so badly. “Erin—”

  She groaned. “My mom’s yelling at me to clean my room. I have to go. I’ll talk to you at school tomorrow. Party’s at two on Saturday. Please find a way to be there, okay? Gotta go. Bye.”

  She hung up, and I threw the phone at the couch. It bounced off and then hit the floor with a crash. The battery cover flew off and ricocheted under the coffee table and the phone beeped, then died. This was so unfair!

  My mom opened the door and stuck her head inside. “Time’s up. Practice.”

  I jumped up and hurried over to the piano bench. “Mom, I really need to do some studying with Erin on Saturday for this project we have. Can I go over to her house for a few hours in the afternoon?”

  My mom’s eyebrows went up. “You have a recital.”

  I clenched my fists and hooked my feet around the legs of the bench. “I want to skip it.”

  Her brows went even higher. “You can’t skip a recital. What’s wrong with you?”

  “Mom, please!” I couldn’t keep the desperation out of my voice. “One day off. That’s all I want. Why is that so much to ask?”

  “Because your audition is two weeks from Saturday. Miss Jespersen said you need practice.”

  Argh! The audition again! It was like this demonic nightmare stalking me, pecking at my brain until it imploded. “But what if I don’t want to do it?”

  My mom frowned. “Do what? The audition?”

  “No.” I folded my arms over my chest. “Piano. What if I don’t want to play the piano anymore?”

  A dark silence fell over the room. The silence was so thick I could feel it pressing down on me. I couldn’t believe I’d just said that. I’d hated the piano for so long. I’d complained about it. But it had never even occurred to me to actually walk away from it. I hadn’t meant to say it. I hadn’t even thought it, not really.

  But now that the words were out there, hovering, I didn’t want to take them back. I felt hope for the first time in a long time, hope that maybe there was a way out of this. No piano. The words made me shudder with excitement. Yeah, sure, there was guilt too, and some shock, but beneath it all was a sense of empowerment. Go me.

  “Is Erin trying to talk you out of playing the piano?” my mom finally asked. “Because if she is, I don’t want you spending time with her.”

  “No, it’s not Erin. It’s me. Why can’t I—”

  The doorbell rang, and a relieved look washed over my mom’s face. “I’ll get that.”

  She bolted from the room, no doubt planning to call Miss Jespersen to find out how to deal with me as soon as she got rid of whoever was at the door. I didn’t know who was pushing me harder, my mom or Miss Jespersen. Together, they were too much.

  I groaned and flopped back on the piano bench, my head hitting the wood with a thud as I lay down. “Ow.” I propped my feet up on the piano in a show of total disrespect for the instrument and stared at the ceiling, thinking about the party, trying to figure out how in the world I could get there. Party or recital? There was no comparison. I wanted to be free to live my life. I really did.

  “Lily.”

  I didn’t even look at my mom. “Who was at the door?”

  “Miss Jespersen.”

  I made a face. “Did she drop off a list of ways to torture me?”

  “No, I didn’t,” my piano teacher said.

  Yikes. I yanked my feet off the piano and scrambled up, wishing that for once I could manage to keep from making a total idiot of myself. Crusty was standing next to my mom in the doorway, and my dad was standing behind them. Miss Jespersen was in pair of pleated black pants and sensible heels, and my dad was still in his suit from work. All of them looked way serious, and I felt a shimmer of panic crawl up my spine.

  Even thinking of Crusty as Rafe’s aunt didn’t keep me from wanting to jump through the window and run away screaming. What was she doing in my home? This was my world, the one place I was safe from her, and she’d tracked me down like an assassin on a mission.

  I swallowed hard and lifted my chin. “What’s up?”

  My parents and Miss Jespersen filed into the family room and lined up on the couch.

  I sat on the piano bench, twitching while I waited for them to attack.

  “Where were you after school today?” my dad asked.

  I felt the blood drain from my face. How did they know I’d bailed on practicing?

  “I came by at three thirty to drop off the backpack you left behind yesterday,” Miss Jespersen said. “You weren’t here. I was so worried that I had to come back tonight and make sure everything was all right.”

  Oh, no. I was so busted! But at the same moment, anger began to roll through me. What right did Crusty have to check up on me and report me to my parents? We all knew she hadn’t come tonight to make sure I was okay. If that had been her only concern, the phone would have worked perfectly well. She came to report me to my parents and get me in trouble.

  My mom eyed me. “Not only are we concerned that you obviously lied to us about where you were, but the bigger concern is this audition. You can’t afford to take a day off from practice right now.”

  Wow. They were more upset because I’d squandered three hours of my life instead of the fact I’d lied to them and run around town without permission? But they clearly were, because no one had even thought to ask me where I’d gone. It was sort of shocking, actually. What if I told them I had a fake ID and had gone drinking with my friends? Would they even care? I kind of thought not. To them, I was nothing more than a set of fingers that played the piano. That was it. Nothing else.

  Crusty nodded, her eyes all beady and demanding as usual, but when I saw the look of annoyance on my dad’s face, it was too much. My dad was always mellow about my piano. H
e was the one who was my respite, who would ask me about school and homework at the dinner table. He didn’t really care if I went to recitals, and he was always happy to take me for ice cream instead of having me practice when my mom was gone. And yet now they’d gotten to him so much that he was looking at me like I’d let him down?

  Enough! “Stop it!” I jumped to my feet. “I’m sick of this!”

  “Lily, sit down,” my mom said. “Now.”

  But my dad set his hand on her leg and looked at me. “Sick of what, Lil?”

  “Piano. Being tortured. Having no friends and no life.” I glared at my mom and Miss Jespersen. “Being told I’m a failure fifty times a lesson. I’m not a loser and I’m sick of you trying to convince me I am!”

  “Of course you’re not a loser, or a failure,” my dad said, looking genuinely surprised. “Why would you think that?”

  I pointed at Crusty. “Because she tells me that all the time.”

  My parents looked at Miss Jespersen and her sweet old lady look vanished. She narrowed her eyes and shot me a hostile look that definitely increased the odds of my parents believing that she was a demon in disguise. I smiled at her. “And Mom backs her up,” I added.

  It was my mom’s turn to look shocked. “I love you, Lily! I don’t criticize your piano!”

  Seriously? Did she really believe that?

  “Lily, I’m merely trying to push you to be the great pianist you can be,” Miss Jespersen said. “I wouldn’t be doing you any favors if I complimented you when—”

  I covered my ears and scrunched my eyes closed. “Shut up! Just stop it! I can’t take it anymore!”

  “Lily!” My mom looked horrified. “Apologize to Miss Jespersen immediately!”

  “No!” I stomped my feet in frustration. Why wouldn’t they listen to me? “I used to be talented, okay? But I’m not anymore. I stink at the piano.” I ran over to the piano and held up a stack of sheet music. “Do you see this? I can’t do it!” I hurled it across the floor, and the papers scattered across the carpet.

  My mom sucked in her breath, and I felt like cheering, because that meant she’d actually heard me. “Lily—”

  “I’m never going to live up to my potential, even if I practice until my fingers turn into bloody stumps! I can’t take all this pressure, and I’m tired of not being able to have a life! I hate it!” Tears were streaming down my cheeks, but I didn’t care. Let them see what they were doing to me.

  My dad narrowed his eyes and looked thoughtful, while my mom went crazy on me, telling me I didn’t appreciate the opportunities I’d been given, and Crusty started talking about getting me counseling to handle the stress of being a child prodigy.

  My chest heaving with sobs, I stared at my dad and he looked at me, both of us ignoring my mom and Crusty. My dad didn’t usually get involved in the piano stuff. It was my mom and Miss Jespersen’s deal.

  “Do you want to quit the piano?” he asked me quietly.

  My mom and Crusty shut up fast when I nodded.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “Yes.” Was he really going to let me do it? Could I really become normal? My throat tightened at the thought of not having any more pressure, of never facing the threat of failure again. Oh, God. Was it really over?

  “No,” my mom whispered in horror. “She can’t quit.”

  Miss Jespersen said nothing, but she was looking at me with the strangest look on her face, like she’d never seen me before.

  “Why haven’t you mentioned this before?” my dad asked.

  “I do! I tell Mom all the time.”

  We both looked at her, and her face paled. “But this is your dream,” she said. “I’m just trying to support it.”

  “No, Mom. It’s your dream.”

  “Lily!” My mom looked ill. “What are you saying? You love the piano!”

  “I used to. I hate it now.” I couldn’t keep the bitterness out of my voice.

  “Lily, go upstairs,” my dad said gently. “We need to discuss this.”

  Grateful for the reprieve, I nodded and bolted for the door.

  * * *

  Erin and I spent the next two tortured hours on the phone trying to predict the outcome of the summit meeting in my living room while we waited for my sentencing.

  Finally someone knocked on my door. “Lily?” my dad called out. “Are you still up?”

  I jerked upright. “They’re here,” I whispered.

  “You have to call me back as soon as they’re gone,” Erin ordered. “No matter what time. Swear?”

  “I swear.” I hung up and shoved the phone under my pillow. “Yes, I’m up.” I hugged my arms to my chest as my mom and dad walked in the room. When I saw there was no piano teacher lurking behind them, I sighed with relief.

  “You okay, Lil?” my dad asked.

  “Fine.” I eyed them as they sat down on my bed, one on each side of me, like they were trying to block my path to the exit. “What’s up?”

  My mom folded her arms over her chest and pursed her lips at my dad. “Hank? You tell her.”

  Oh, I knew that look. My mom so wasn’t happy with the decision. Please let it mean I’m free.

  But I could tell by the grim smile my dad gave me that I wasn’t getting my way. “We’ll make a deal with you,” he said.

  A deal? That had potential. That was further than I’d ever gotten before. “What kind of deal?”

  “You can stop taking lessons with Miss Jespersen.”

  My eyes immediately filled up with tears and I felt like a thousand pounds had just fallen off my shoulders. “Really? You promise?”

  “Is she really that bad?” My mom sounded so sad that I couldn’t tell her the truth.

  So I said nothing. I mean, I wasn’t going to lie either. I had to stop the lies somewhere, right? It was getting difficult to keep track of all the untruths I’d been uttering lately.

  “But,” my dad continued. “We all agree your talent is too much to give up on.”

  I gritted my teeth and felt all the pressure crush back down on my shoulders.

  “We also realize that you’ve lost your passion for music.”

  Amen to that.

  “Miss Jespersen said she saw the old you when you were playing with her nephew’s band,” my dad said. “She said you were really dynamic when you were playing the keyboard.”

  I jerked my gaze to his face. “So?”

  “For one month, you can skip your piano lessons and regular practice, as long as you practice with Rafe’s band. Apparently, it’s a bunch of kids from his high school who get together and occasionally do concerts for free. No pressure. Just fun music.”

  My mom leaned forward. “Miss Jespersen believes it will help you find your passion again.”

  “But...” Sentenced to playing with Mass Attack? That was great news, not punishment. I swear, sometimes parents were completely insane, not that I was complaining. I stopped hugging my knees so tightly and sat cross-legged on the bed. “But they already have a keyboard player.” A very pretty one who was dating their drummer, one of my fake boyfriends.

  “Miss Jespersen assures us it won’t be a problem. Rafe’s going to call you tonight with the practice schedule.” My dad tapped my foot with his finger. “If you skip out on the band even once, it’s back to piano with Crusty again. Got it?” My mom cleared her throat meaningfully and my dad grimaced. “I meant, Miss Jespersen. You shouldn’t call her Crusty. It’s disrespectful.”

  I grinned, suddenly unable to contain myself. I was going to get to play with Mass Attack! I’d impress Rafe with my amazing keyboard talents, he’d fall in love with me, everyone would think I was cool because I was in a band and dating a hot drummer, and my life would be perfect. “I agree to the deal.”

  “There’s one more thing,” my dad added.

  “Anything!”

  He smiled at my energy. “It’s good to see you happy about music again, hon.” He patted my mom’s hand. “Isn’t it?”

&nbs
p; She nodded, but her mouth was tight. It was her guilt look, but I wasn’t going to feel bad about it.

  “The rest of the deal is that as long as you keep playing with Rafe’s band, we’ll let you postpone the audition to next semester, so you’d start with NESM for the summer term.”

  Relief swept over me. “Really?” Summer wouldn’t be so bad. I could study at NESM for part of the day and still have free time for my friends, unlike if I did it during the school year. And I couldn’t go on tour with Crusty if I was at NESM, could I? “That would be awesome.”

  My mom sighed. “You really don’t want to go to NESM?”

  “I can’t take it, Mom. Not right now.” Just the thought of not having it forced on me in two weeks gave me the hugest sense of relief and freedom.

  Mom started to protest, but my dad squeezed her hand. “You said you trust Miss Jespersen, Mary. Let’s give this a try.”

  No way! This had been Miss Jespersen’s idea? Having me play with Rafe’s band and postponing the audition? She’d come through for me? Maybe Rafe was right that his aunt wasn’t all bad. Maybe. I wasn’t ready to concede at this point, but for her to talk my mom out of daily lessons...wow. She and my dad must have seriously pressured her.

  The phone rang suddenly, and my heart nearly jumped out of my body. Was that Rafe calling me? How should I react? Should I be surprised? Should I—

  My mom raised her brows at the muffled sound of the phone, then reached under my pillow and pulled it out. “Hello?” She sighed and held the phone out to me. “It’s Rafe.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  I stared at the phone, my heart racing. Was Rafe going to be mad he was stuck with me? What about Paige? She would probably be upset, and then Rafe would defend her, right? Suddenly, all my excitement withered away, and I realized that he was not going to be happy.

  Or maybe he’d be psyched. I mean, we had had that awesome practice together, right? And we’d had so much fun when he’d driven me home. So, maybe he’d be cool with it.

  What should I say? Should I sing off-tune again to remind him of our bonding session just to make sure?

  My mom waggled the receiver in my face. “Lily?”