I took out my phone and texted Ryan.
ME:Red alert. Cheerleader thinks I want her man
RYAN:Just smile
ME:Ha. Already smiling
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
The Audition
“How was lunch?” Charlie caught up to me as I tried to make my escape.
I shrugged.
He frowned at me. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. Just…that girl, Elyse. Jake’s girlfriend? She hates me.”
I expected him to argue. Or defend her. Or reassure me.
I didn’t expect him to burst into laughter.
“Why are you laughing?” I asked, frowning.
“Sorry,” he gasped between giggles. “I’m not laughing at you. It’s just…Elyse hates everyone. Well…she hates any girl she thinks Jake might be interested in. But she’s not his girlfriend.”
“Does she know that?” I asked.
“Yeah. But she hasn’t quite accepted it. So she scares off anyone who might be a threat.”
“I’m not a threat to her!”
“Aren’t you? He likes you. I can tell,” Charlie said.
“Not like that! We’re friends,” I insisted.
“I’m not the one you need to convince.”
I shook my head and sidled past him.
“I’ll see you later,” I told him. “I can find math class on my own.”
“I’ll meet you after!” he called to me.
There were mean girls at my old school too. I generally managed to stay under the radar, but the fact that I was thrown together with Jake put me right in the crosshairs. It would be fine. I just had to avoid her until I could get out of here and go home.
I got through math without seeing Elyse.
I made it through English too.
Now all I had to do was get to my locker and meet the guys at the car, and I was home free for another day.
Charlie met me at the door to my English class. Of course. He kept up a steady dialogue all the way to my locker.
“How do you manage to get to all my classes before the bell goes off?” I asked him suddenly.
He blushed.
“I told my teachers I had to help my new foster sister settle in. They said I could help you out for the first week.”
“Charlie!” I shoved him playfully. It was kind of sweet. Like having a little brother, I thought for the second time.
Jake was leaning against my locker when we got there. I looked around but thankfully, no Elyse.
“Ready?” I asked, opening my locker and switching out some books.
“Not exactly.”
“What do you mean?” I asked distractedly, trying to remember what homework I had to do tonight.
“Tryouts for Our Town. They’re after school.”
“Today? Umm…okay. Is there a bus? Charlie and I can take it. Right, Charlie?”
Charlie looked between me and Jake.
“I’m actually doing the lighting. I always go to the auditions.”
“So what am I supposed to do?” I asked, stuffing the last textbook into my bag.
“Come with me. I still think you should try out.”
“No way!”
“Then just watch. Please? I could use the moral support.” He looked pleadingly at me, hands clasped. “Pleeeease?” He batted his eyelashes at me while he begged.
I smacked him with my bag.
“Fine.”
He grinned and took my arm and Charlie’s and pulled us toward the theater. I hadn’t seen it yet, and I was duly impressed when he pushed the doors open. It was larger than I expected and opulent with red velvet seats and a curtain edged in gold. There were a lot of students trying out; Elyse among them. She was right up front, and I watched as she turned and saw us. Her eyes squinted into slits, but her face cleared up almost instantly as she waved and called out.
“Jake! Over here! I saved you a seat.”
“Thanks, Elyse, but I’m going to sit with Charlie and Lucky.”
Oh lord. This was bad. So much for staying under the radar.
“Go sit with her,” I whispered to him.
“What?”
“Go. Sit. With. Her.”
“Why? I’m fine back here.” He dropped into a seat and put his feet up on the one in front. Charlie immediately did the same. “Sit down, Lucky.”
And what else was I supposed to do? I was already drawing attention. I sat down heavily beside them and tried to ignore the curious glances. And the hostile ones.
One by one, students walked onstage and did monologues. Elyse was one of the first and much as I hated to admit it, she was really good. Much sweeter onstage than she was in real life.
And Jake…Jake blew me away. He was amazing. He actually stopped being Jake and became George. It was incredible.
“He’s so good,” I breathed to Charlie, smiling.
“I know.” He grinned back.
Jake bounded back toward us and stood over me.
“Come on,” he said, holding out his hand.
“What? Why?”
“I need a scene partner,” he said, reaching down and grabbing my hand, pulling me up. Oh, hell no.
“No way! I’m not trying out.” I fought against him.
“Lucky, I just need someone to do a scene with. Come on. Please? It’ll be fun. You don’t have to officially try out. But you said you loved the play, right? Just come up and read with me.”
“Is there someone else you can do a scene with? Like Elyse?”
“I don’t want to do it with her. Just help me out this once, okay? I’ll owe you. I’ll do all your chores for a week. A month!”
“Fine. Which scene?”
“Yes!” Jake handed me a script. “This one.”
I stood up and followed him.
“I’m supposed to clean the bathrooms, by the way,” I told him.
“What? Wait…I didn’t agree to bathrooms!”
“Oh, yes you did!”
“Fine. Bathrooms. Just read the scene.” He walked up to Ms. Jefferson. “I’ll go next. Lucky is going to read with me.”
I saw Elyse’s mouth drop open.
“Ready?” He was back by my side.
“I guess,” I said, not missing the openly hostile group of girls staring at us.
“Then let’s go!”
He led me up the stairs and onto the stage. I had been in drama for years and I was no stranger to the stage. But usually the audience didn’t hate me before I opened my mouth.
I stood upstage, holding my script lightly, waiting for Jake.
He came up behind me.
“Emily, can I carry your books home for you?”
“Why…thank you. It isn’t far.”
And just like that, it began. We became Emily and George. And we were good. I forgot everything around me. I forgot about the girls glaring holes through me. I forgot about everything except George and Emily.
We finished the scene and stood staring at each other in the sudden silence of the theater. The silence lasted a moment and then applause. I heard Charlie yell, “Yes!” somewhere beyond the edge of the stage. I saw kids standing out of the corner of my eye. And I saw Ms. Jefferson clapping and smiling broadly.
Jake grinned at me, then grabbed me in a hug.
“That was amazing,” he yelled in my ear, lifting me off the ground.
And I was smiling too. And blushing. I admit it. But even as I felt my face grow warm, I pushed it away. I didn’t have time for that fluttery feeling Jake was giving me. Not when my grandmother needed me. I ignored it and caught sight of Charlie and smiled wider. I hugged Jake back and over his shoulder saw Elyse staring at me with such hatred that it wiped the smile off my face instantly.
I pulled
away from Jake and nodded at him.
“Good job,” I said, smacking him on the shoulder like a footballer before walking away from one of the few perfect moments I had experienced in months, the applause still ringing in my ears as I pretended not to see the hurt look on Jake’s face.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Confrontation
“Let me just grab my stuff and I’ll meet you at the car,” I called to Jake and Charlie when we left the theater after the auditions.
“Want me to come with you?” Charlie asked.
“No, I’m good. Be right out.”
I dashed toward my locker. I was starving and I had no idea what Sarah was making for dinner, but it was a safe bet it was going to be amazing.
As amazing as the applause had felt.
I was smiling as I grabbed my stuff. I was so distracted, I didn’t hear anyone coming up behind me until I was surrounded by a bunch of cheerleaders.
“Running off to see Jake?” one of them asked.
“He’s giving me a ride home,” I agreed.
“Home?” Another girl laughed.
I ignored that comment.
“You need to leave Jake alone,” the first girl said. “He belongs to Elyse.”
“He BELONGS to her? Are you serious? So she owns him?”
I really should have kept my mouth shut.
“No, I don’t own him. Obviously. But we’re together, okay? And I’m not about to let some outsider come in and distract him.”
“Look, Elyse. I’m not interested in Jake, okay? You’ve got nothing to worry about,” I told her, closing my locker and looking around me for a way out of this.
“I just don’t want you walking around his house in your underwear or something,” she said.
Huh?
“It’s a foster home, not a brothel. No one is walking around in their underwear. Least of all me. Now if you don’t mind, I need to meet Jake and Charlie.” I made a move to step around her, and she blocked me. She actually blocked me! “Excuse me,” I said calmly, admittedly talking to her like she was a child. “Can I get by?”
“Can I get by?” one of the others mimicked. I pasted a smile on my face. I figured I’d let them have their fun and then get bored and move on.
“Do you really think someone like Jake would be interested in a nasty little slut like you?” Elyse hissed at me.
“Now we know where the term ‘get lucky’ came from,” another girl said, laughing cruelly.
“What did you just say?” I asked, not even knowing who I was talking to at this point.
“Oh, what? Are you going to go all ‘war party’ on us?” Elyse asked.
“You better shut your mouth,” I warned her, my hands clenching into fists.
Elyse grinned suddenly and then started to whoop, doing an awkward version of a war dance around me, patting her hand against her mouth as she went. Within seconds, her friends were following behind.
As Elyse passed me, I turned, and before I could think about what a bad idea it was, I drew my arm back and punched her square in the face. When she didn’t go down, I hit her again in the stomach.
She dropped like a stone.
A stone that was gasping for air.
One of the others lunged for me, and I shoved her hard into the lockers. I swung around, ready to hit the next girl to come at me or to run for the door if I could.
And before I could make a break for it, I felt a hand grab my shoulder.
“Lucky!” Ms. Jefferson looked shocked. “What have you done?”
“Me? She started it!”
It was hard to defend myself when Elyse was bleeding on the floor.
“I don’t care who started it. Elyse, we’d better call your parents. Lucky, just come with me.”
The girls had helped Elyse up and were supporting her as she walked.
“What do you expect from someone like her? She’s trash,” Elyse sniffed.
“Indian trash,” someone else said.
I looked over at Ms. Jefferson, who had to have heard, but she was looking straight ahead.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Unexpected Kindness
I waited outside the principal’s office for what felt like an hour. They had called Sarah and Edward, and I felt terrible. They were so nice, and I knew this would disappoint them. I didn’t start the fight but somehow, I didn’t think that would matter.
I was touching a sore spot on my head where it had hit a locker and where a bump was steadily rising when Sarah walked into the office. She sat down heavily beside me.
“Are you all right?” she asked. I almost burst into tears at her unexpected kindness. I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. “The principal said they were going to expel you. Do you want to tell me what happened?”
I wasn’t even sure I could speak. I had been expecting to be kicked out again, but she was being so nice to me. I didn’t deserve it. My grandparents would be ashamed of how I had acted. I knew that. They had taught me to be better than the people who treated us badly. But I had never had much patience for racist pieces of garbage like Elyse.
“She called me trash and started doing a war dance around me.” I sniffled, wiping angrily at my eyes.
“She what?” Now Sarah looked like she wanted to punch someone. “Did you tell anyone?”
“Who’s going to believe me?” I asked.
“I do! Stay here. I’m going to have a word with the principal.”
Sarah stormed off, leaving me alone. Almost. Charlie poked his head around the corner about five seconds later.
“The coast is clear,” he whispered over his shoulder. He sidled in like a secret agent with Jake right behind him. “She told us to wait in the car,” Charlie said, falling into the chair beside me. Jake sat on my other side.
“Are you okay?” he asked. I nodded. “What happened? All we heard was that there was a fight and you were being kicked out for punching Elyse.”
“She’s a racist little bitch and she started it,” I blurted out. “She called me trash. NO! She called me Indian trash. And she did a war dance.”
“Are you serious?” Jake asked. Charlie looked unsurprised. I nodded.
“I’m sorry, Lucky. Is Sarah talking to the principal?” he asked. I nodded. “Well, she can probably talk them out of expelling you. Especially if you told her what Elyse said.”
“I did. But I don’t know. She said it right in front of Ms. Jefferson, and she didn’t say anything.”
Jake put an arm around me, squeezing wordlessly, while Charlie hugged me violently from the other side. I was tearing up again. They didn’t even know me, but they were being as fiercely protective as I’d expect Ryan to be in the same situation.
Sarah reappeared then, stopping suddenly in front of us.
“I thought you guys were going to wait in the car,” she said.
“Lucky needed us,” Charlie said.
“Am I being expelled?” I asked. Sarah smiled suddenly.
“No. I told him if he was going to expel you and not the other girls, I’d go to the school board and complain. He agreed to give you another chance. But Lucky…you can’t get into fights. It’s not something Edward and I are willing to put up with. Understand?”
I nodded, extricating myself from the boys and standing up.
“I do. Thank you for talking to him for me.”
She tilted her head to the side and studied me.
“Of course. As long as you’re staying with us, we’re your family, Lucky. And we’ve got your back. Right boys?”
“Right!” Charlie yelled. Jake nodded.
“Yeah. We do,” he said, leading the way out and back home.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Flying Under the Radar
My life continued with me basically spending my days trying
to avoid Elyse. I had my lunch switched so I no longer saw Jake, but Charlie kept me company. And we didn’t have any classes together anyway, so as long as I took the long way to most of my classes and avoided the hall where her locker was, I pretty much managed to fly under the radar.
After my “violent outburst,” I didn’t make the cast of the play. I tried not to care. I pretended I didn’t. But being up onstage with Jake had been amazing, and I wished I could be up there rehearsing and having fun with the rest of the cast. Elyse had got the part instead, so I helped paint sets in the art room on the other side of the school, well away from the theater.
“How are they doing?” I asked Charlie, who met me outside just before the cast left the theater so I could stay out of Elyse’s way. It seemed ridiculous that I was the one who had to go out of my way to avoid her. But I was also the one who had something to lose, so I kept far away and jealously wished it was me on the stage.
“Good. Jake is amazing. But Elyse can’t remember her lines. And she overacts. It’s annoying.”
I laughed.
“Are you saying that just to make me feel better?” I asked, leaning against the car and shoving him with my shoulder.
“No! I’m serious. She sucks. She’s as awful an actress as she is a person.” He grinned.
I laughed again.
“Well, isn’t this cozy?” said a voice that sounded so close to the Wicked Witch of the West that it sent a shiver down my spine. I had always hated that character. My own personal wicked witch was sauntering up with her band of flying monkeys. “And I thought you were after your older foster brother. I didn’t realize you liked younger men,” she cackled.
Charlie stood up, squaring his shoulders, and opened his mouth to respond. I stepped in front of him, pushing him back gently against the car.
“Hi, Elyse. I hear you’re killing it in rehearsals,” I said, smiling in what I thought was a friendly way, but my facial expression felt suspiciously like a grimace.
“Aren’t you sweet,” she cooed. “Jake and I have pretty amazing chemistry onstage. And off, if you know what I mean.” She threw her head back and laughed kind of maniacally, I thought.
Charlie was struggling to get around me.
Just Lucky Page 9