“Hello, I hate spiders,” Drew interrupted. “Did you guys not hear me? Hate. Spiders.”
Brynn and Candace giggled. “Sorry,” Brynn said. “No more spider talk.”
“Thank you. What should we talk about instead?” Drew asked.
“Anything but school,” Candace blurted without thinking. It wasn’t something she’d ever have said in front of Joshua or Rowan. But Brynn and Drew just made her feel comfortable. Like she didn’t have to carefully choose each word.
“No problem there,” Brynn said. “It’s a party. Who wants to think about school at a party?”
All of my friends, Candace thought.
“Seriously. It’s too stressful to think about school on the weekend. We should be thinking about movies,” Drew said. “I went to see that new Keanu one last night. There was at least one explosion every ten minutes. It was incredible.”
“I like him better in romantic movies,” Candace said.
“Yeah, me too,” Drew answered quickly.
Candace stared at him, then burst out laughing.
“What?” he asked.
“No boy likes romantic movies better than action movies,” she said.
“That’s true. I’m totally lying,” Drew agreed. “But I would totally go to a romantic movie with you.” Candace noticed the tips of his ears getting red. “Would you want to? Go to a romantic movie? Or even a movie about spiders?”
Brynn knocked shoulders with him. “Smooth,” she commented.
Candace couldn’t believe Drew had just asked her out. She hardly even knew him.
But she knew enough to know she’d probably spend the whole night laughing. And not talking about school.
“Candace, aren’t you going to pull out TriBond? I want a rematch,” Joshua called.
“Um, I should…” Candace said, taking a step away.
“Wait. You can’t leave me hanging,” Drew protested. “Tell me no if you must, but I have to have an answer. Otherwise it’s cruel and unusual.”
“It would be fun…”
And it would be, it would be so much fun. But she couldn’t do it.
“But I have so much homework. I have time to brush my teeth when I’m done, and that’s it. So I can’t. Sorry.” She rushed away to Joshua, Rowan, and Samantha. “I think the game’s up in my brother’s room,” she told them.
“No rush. We just saw that you needed rescuing,” Samantha said.
Candace felt her forehead get wrinkly. “Rescuing?”
“From the drama geeks,” Joshua explained with a grin.
“Oh.” That’s all she said. Oh. She knew she should tell her friends how cool and fun Drew and Brynn were.
But she knew they wouldn’t get it.
And she didn’t want to get into some big thing with them. She had enough problems in her life already.
Brynn coughed, a piece of tortilla chip suddenly refusing to go all the way down her throat. All she’d wanted when she headed over to the end table was a snack. Instead she ended up hearing a whole bunch of nasty about her and Drew.
And Candace hadn’t said anything to defend them.
It’s so not fair. None of Candace’s friends really know Drew or me, Brynn thought. She lifted her chin. They didn’t. But they were going to. Brynn wasn’t going to run away crying—even though part of her wanted to. She was staying. She was going to work this party. These were the most popular kids at school.
She thought about getting Drew to mingle with her. But she decided they’d have an easier time with the socializing if they stayed apart.
She wandered into the kitchen. Two boys and a girl were chatting near the sodas. Brynn grabbed the bottle of Diet Coke and poured herself a glass. “Hi,” she said to the boy nearest to her.
“Hey.” He gave her a brief nod.
“I’m Brynn,” she said. “I’m new at Wilton.”
“Yeah, I know. You’re in my music class,” he told her. “I’m Scott.”
“Oh. Right, hi.” Brynn was embarrassed that she hadn’t recognized him. “Sorry. I’m bad with faces.”
“Don’t worry about it, nobody remembers Scott,” the girl said, teasing him. She smiled at Brynn. “I’m Marina, and this is Glen.”
“It’s nice to meet you guys,” Brynn said, relaxing a little. These people were being nice. Clearly not everyone thought she was a drama geek unworthy of speaking to.
“So the junior college is offering a theory class over the holiday break,” Glen said. “Anyone want to take it with me?”
Marina frowned. “I’m not sure. Won’t it be too advanced? If it’s actually a college class, I mean.”
“Yeah, but you don’t have to put it on your transcript if you get a bad grade,” Scott said. “And then when you take it again in high school, you’ll have an advantage.”
“Um, what’s a theory class?” Brynn asked, confused.
“Music theory,” Scott said. “You know, learning how to write music and stuff like that.”
“Oh.” She wasn’t sure what else to say.
“Are you into music?” Glen asked.
“Of course she is. Why else would she be taking music class with me?” Scott said.
“Actually, I just chose it because Wilton required an arts class and I figured music went better with my interest in drama than sculpture did,” Brynn explained. “I’m really into acting. That’s my passion.”
“Oh,” Marina said.
“That’s cool, I guess,” Scott said.
“So are you guys up for the theory class or what?” Glen asked. “Registration ends next Friday.”
They kept talking, and Brynn kept smiling and pretending to be interested. But there was a hollow feeling in her stomach. Even the nice people here were so into classes and grades.
“See you later,” she finally mumbled and headed back into the living room. If I’m going to do this, I should do it all the way, she decided. She headed toward Samantha, Joshua, Rowan, and Allen. They were in the middle of a debate about whether or not you got a superior education at boarding school. Were they for real?
Even though she thought the conversation was sort of silly, she wanted to join in. Too bad the only boarding school I know anything about is Hogwarts, she thought.
She’d just about stepped up to the group when Samantha glanced over at her, then purposely inched closer to Joshua until there was no room between them. She whispered something to him, he looked at Brynn for a second, and they both laughed.
Brynn kept walking, pretending not to notice. But her heart was pounding hard in her chest. That had been so harsh! They’re all so rude, Brynn told herself. You’re better off not being friends with them.
So why did she still want them to like her?
chapter
NINE
“Suddenly Seymour is standing beside you!” Drew sang, his voice echoing through the empty auditorium.
“He don’t give me orders. He don’t condescend,” Brynn joined in. Her voice blended perfectly with Drew’s, and when they finished, everyone in Drama League cheered and whooped. Drew held out his hand for a fist bump.
Grinning, Brynn touched her fist to his.
“This is going to be the best production in the history of Wilton Academy,” he said. “It’s only the first rehearsal and already we rock.”
“You were flat for the entire first verse,” their drama advisor said wryly.
“Mr. Saunders, you cannot kill my joy,” Drew replied, laughing.
“Okay, I want to work on the choreography for the scene where the dentist meets his end,” Mr. Saunders said. “Brynn, you’re not in this scene, so you can take a breather. But don’t go far—we’re going to work on your scenes with the dentist next. James has to miss the next two rehearsals, so I want to make sure we go over all his scenes today.”
“Got it.” Brynn skipped down the steps from the stage, then headed out to the hall for a drink of water.
She felt like running right back into the auditorium when she
saw Samantha walking toward her. You are so not going to run from that girl, Brynn ordered herself.
Samantha paused and gave a mocking half curtsy. “All hail the queen of the geeks,” she said loudly, then continued on past Brynn.
Brynn sank down on the bench next to the drinking fountain. Her legs had gone to jelly. She didn’t think she could stand up another minute.
She was hit with a hailstorm of realizations. She wasn’t going to have one friend at this school who wasn’t in drama—even Candace, who was supposedly her friend already. She was never going to get invited to a party that wasn’t a drama party. Unless Candace gave her another guilt invite. If she liked a boy who wasn’t in drama, she wouldn’t have a chance.
So I have a choice, Brynn thought. Drama League or everything else.
She pushed herself to her feet and walked into the auditorium, straight up to the front of the stage. “Mr. Saunders, can I talk to you?” she asked.
The drama advisor glanced up at her in surprise. “Can it wait until we’re done with this scene?” he asked.
“No.” Brynn knew she was being rude, but she couldn’t wait. If she did, she would lose her courage. “This won’t take long.”
By now, everybody was watching. She could feel Drew’s eyes on her from where he stood onstage. Brynn forced herself to ignore him.
“Okay. Everyone take five,” Mr. Saunders called.
Nobody moved. Well, too bad. Brynn was just going to have to do this publicly. “I quit,” she blurted out.
“What?” Rosemary cried from stage left.
“What?” Mr. Saunders echoed.
“I quit. I don’t want to be in the play.” The words tumbled out of Brynn’s mouth. “I don’t want to be in Drama League.”
“What are you talking about? You love acting,” Drew said, confused.
“And you’re great at it,” Rosemary added.
“What is this about, Brynn?” Mr. Saunders asked gently.
“Nothing. I just…I quit,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
Brynn turned and hurried up the aisle to the back doors of the auditorium, not looking back. If she looked back, she would see confused faces. Rosemary’s and Drew’s. Her peeps.
Brynn pushed through the double doors and hurried out into the school lobby. She turned right and went straight to the English wing. Wilton Academy clubs always put signs on their meeting rooms. She passed the Future Writers Club and the Wilton Poetry Jam and stopped at a classroom with a sign that said DEBATE CLUB.
Taking a deep breath, Brynn yanked the door open and stepped inside. Everyone turned to look at her. That’s okay, just act like you’re playing a role onstage, she told herself. She lifted her chin and put a confident smile on her face as she walked over to the teacher, Ms. McAdorey.
“Hi. I’m Brynn. I was wondering if I could join the debate team,” she said. “I hope it’s not too late.”
“Not at all,” Ms. McAdorey replied. “Welcome aboard, Brynn.”
“Thank you,” Brynn replied. Popularity, here I come!
By the time the bell rang for lunch on Tuesday, Brynn was exhausted. She had been assigned the Boston Tea Party for her first practice debate, and she’d spent half the night reading about it. She had to argue the position that the Boston Tea Party was a criminal act, and she couldn’t even imagine how to begin. It had taken her two hours just to memorize all the rules of debating—she hadn’t even started studying the actual Boston Tea Party yet!
Brynn got in the lunch line and stared at the choices: chicken parmesan, veggie burgers, or grilled salmon. I wish Rosemary was here, she thought. I have no idea what to eat. It didn’t seem likely that any school cafeteria was going to do a good job with grilled salmon, even an expensive school like Wilton Academy.
“What can I get you, honey?” the lunch lady asked.
“Um…a veggie burger, I guess,” Brynn said. Hadn’t Rosemary said they were decent the first day they had lunch together? She took her tray and headed out to the caf. Rosemary and Drew were sitting at the usual table, along with Eli and Trina.
There was an empty seat. My seat, Brynn thought. But if I sit with the drama geeks at lunch, doesn’t that still make me a drama geek, too?
She had quit the play. Something she really loved. She didn’t want it to be for nothing.
“Brynn! Hey!” Drew called, waving.
At almost the same instant, Joshua called her name. “Sit with us!” he added.
I quit drama and joined debate yesterday, and my life is already changing, Brynn thought. I’m getting an invitation to sit at the table with all the most popular kids.
“I’ve got to talk debate stuff,” she told Drew as she took the empty seat next to Joshua. Only a few feet away from the drama table, but so, so far away.
Brynn tried to focus all her attention on the conversation going on around her. She didn’t want to pay any attention to the little voice inside her that was saying she was a complete phony.
“All I’m saying is that it doesn’t make sense for one teacher to grade on a curve if other teachers don’t,” Samantha told Allen.
“So you think that the kids who have Mr. Marter will have higher averages because they’re graded on a curve?” Allen asked.
“Exactly. It makes the rest of us look bad.”
“It does not,” Allen said. “If anything, there will be fewer kids with As in Mr. Marter’s class…”
“Maybe we should get those two onto the debate team, huh, Brynn?” Joshua asked, leaning toward her.
“Yeah, they seem like naturals,” Brynn replied with a smile. “They can’t even stop debating to eat lunch.”
“You call it debating, but it sounds like arguing to me,” Candace said. “They’re always arguing.”
“We are not,” Allen argued.
“Okay, that’s the con side,” Joshua said, winking at Allen. “You want to take the pro side, Brynn?”
“I don’t know. I’m new at the whole debate thing. I might not be ready,” Brynn joked.
Candace looked confused. “What are you guys talking about?”
“Brynn joined Debate Club with Joshua and me,” Rowan put in, turning away from Allen and Samantha, who were starting up their argument again, this time about which one of them had spent more hours on their homework the night before.
“You joined Debate Club?” Candace asked. “What about Drama League?”
Brynn shot a look over at Drew and Rosemary’s table. “I quit,” she said.
“You quit?” Candace repeated. “You quit the play?”
“Yup,” Brynn said.
Samantha raised her eyebrows, then gave a small nod of approval. “Smart move.”
“Very smart. Debate Club is going to have a killer year,” Rowan said. “We’re stronger than we’ve ever been, and the toughest team we have to face is West Cohelton.”
“And they lost their best debater,” Joshua said. “She moved to Georgia. So they’re totally beatable this year—as long as we’re all at the top of our game.”
“Well, I studied all night,” Brynn said. “I’ll be ready.”
A burst of laughter interrupted them. Brynn turned to see Drew using the bun of his veggie burger like a mouth, making it talk to Rosemary. Rowan rolled her eyes, and Joshua went right back to talking about debate.
But Brynn couldn’t help thinking that the kids at her old table were having a lot more fun than she was.
Candace’s head was spinning. It was Wednesday, and she’d only been at Rowan’s house for an hour, but it felt like a whole day. At least we’re not talking about math, she thought. Instead, they were studying history tonight.
The study group consisted of Candace, Rowan, Samantha, and Joshua. And this week, Brynn was there, too. Joshua and Rowan had asked her to join since they were all friends from Debate Club now.
“The point is, you can only judge history based on who wrote the stories,” Brynn was saying. “If there’s a war, whoever wins is the one who gets to wr
ite the history books. So all we learn is their side of the story.”
“This is about the Boston Tea Party, isn’t it?” Joshua teased her.
“Well, yeah,” Brynn replied. “If the British had won the Revolutionary War, we would all learn about the Boston Tea Party like it was an illegal act. It was breaking and entering!”
“But we won,” Candace put in. “So we learn about it like it was a great, heroic thing.”
“Right,” Brynn said.
“Did you know that in England they don’t call it the Revolutionary War?” Rowan asked. “They call it the American War of Independence, and they don’t really care about it very much.”
“Did you learn that during your class this summer?” Samantha asked. Rowan had spent the summer in London with her cousins, and she’d taken a class at one of the local colleges.
Rowan nodded. “I learned so much stuff, you guys. I’m definitely doing an exchange summer during high school. I think it will really give me an advantage in my social studies classes.”
“Maybe,” Samantha said doubtfully. “I’d rather do a community outreach thing. You know, start up a local interest study group or something. I think that looks better on a college application.”
“Yeah, but it’s not all about college,” Candace said. Her stomach was starting to ache. “It’s also about learning. Isn’t it?”
Chill, she told herself. Spider plant, spider plant, spider plant.
Thinking the words “spider plant” over and over was her new relaxation technique. It reminded her of the conversation she and Drew had had at her party. And that made her feel happy.
I wonder what he’s doing right now, Candace thought.
“Sure it’s about learning,” Samantha said. “But there’s only so much you can learn in school. You have to branch out and try to find education in other places, too.”
I can barely keep up with the education I’m getting at school, Candace thought. Am I really supposed to spend every second of the day learning something new?
“Wow. When are we supposed to relax?” Brynn asked, as if she had read Candace’s mind.
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