by Jazz Taylor
I stay in the back, singing when it’s time, helping the crew when Nic and Thomas are just talking. And I’m not anxious. Not even a little. The crew is where I belong, where I always have. I’m glad I tried to play the part because it helped me be friends with Nic and Harper, but I’m even more glad Mrs. Thompson let me stay in the back. I feel better than I have in days. I even ate dinner last night.
It’s not long before the play’s over. The actors take the stage as the audience cheers. I clap as hard as I can.
“Nic Pearson as Juliet!” Mrs. Thompson calls. Nic bows and the audience screams. “And Avery Williams as Juliet’s vocals!”
My face heats up as the crew pushes me onstage. Nic holds out her hand to me, and when I take it, I don’t feel so bad. We bow together, and everyone yells and cheers. While Mrs. Thompson calls out the other names, Nic and I look at each other, holding hands, and I don’t know if I’ll ever feel this happy again.
After Mrs. Thompson is done, she comes to me and Nic. She’s smiling. “Great job tonight, girls. I knew you both could do it.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Thompson.”
“Hey!” Harper waves at us from backstage. “Look who’s here!”
I look behind her, and tears well up in my eyes. It’s Dad. He came.
I run to him, and he engulfs me in a huge hug. “Oh, I see we’re on speaking terms again, huh?”
“I can’t believe you came.” I hug him tight. “I’m sorry I yelled at you, Dad. I don’t hate you.”
“I know.” Dad lets me go and puts one hand on my shoulder. Maybe I’m seeing things, but his eyes seem a little watery too. “You sounded amazing. I’m so proud of you, Avery.”
“You two make me sick,” Andrew says from behind, but he’s smiling.
Nic joins her family, and it’s one big party. I meet Harper’s aunt, who’s bubbly and always laughing, and Nic’s whole crew is here. I’m beaming the entire time. Harper says we should go to Waffle House after we clean the theater, and everyone agrees.
“One second,” I say, and run to the back of the theater. I open Phantom’s closet one more time. Harper really was in a fixing mood, because she convinced her aunt to take Phantom in. I’m so glad she’ll have a real house to live in and real food every day instead of just turkey sandwiches. I’ll miss her, but Harper said I can visit her any time I want. I have a feeling Nic, Harper, and I have a lot more sleepovers in our future.
Phantom looks up at me from her cat bed, then gets to her feet, purring. I cradle her in my arms.
“I did it, Phantom. I did the play. Not the way I thought, but I did it.” She purrs and nuzzles her head against my cheek. I hold her for a long time as the noise in the theater dies down. I’m calm and happy, and Phantom, Nic, and Harper all helped me get here. I hug her to my chest, then put her down in the cat carrier Harper gave me. “Thanks for being my cat therapist for so long, Phantom. I promise I’ll let you know how real therapy goes. Now, come on. You’ve gotta meet your new family, and I’m going to hang out with my friends. And my girlfriend.” That’s gonna take getting used to. I pet her ears and zip up her carrier. She flops onto her side and yawns, still purring. “Let’s go.”
I close the closet door behind us and join everyone waiting for me.
Innumerable thanks, as always, to Grandma. You are kind and wonderful, and I’m so blessed to have you as a grandmother. You’re also the best plotting buddy, despite being completely uninterested in both cats and theater.
Big thank you to my wonderful agent, Holly Root! Thank you for your patience, and for sending me the “do you like cats?” email that started it all. Huge thanks also to my amazing editor, Olivia Valcarce, the pun-master and best editor a girl could ask for.
Emily Chapman, you are my best friend and a rockstar. I’m so glad you’re in my life (and I am very grateful for your iconic live tweets whenever you read my books).
Tas, my beloved CP and friend—you are one of my favorite people on this planet. Thank you so much for reading the worst first draft I’ve ever written and staying up late to listen to my absolute nonsense.
J. Elle! Thank you for reading the first three chapters and telling me this story has legs. And for sending me pictures of the cutest dog in the world, Max! And thank you, SJ, for cheering me on every day while I was drafting this story.
Thank you to my writing groups: the slackers, WiM, Scream Town, AltChat, AoCs. I love you all dearly. Thank you for the laughs, the tears, the overwhelming love and support. I owe y’all so much.
And finally, thank you, younger me, for staying. We made it.
Jazz Taylor is a writer, receptionist, and huge cat fan. She loves watching cooking shows (despite being unable to make anything more difficult than ramen noodles). She lives with her hilarious grandmother in Alabama.
Kat loves walking her neighbor’s irresistible pug, Meatball. So Kat turns her hobby into something she can do with all her friends: Four Paws Dog Walking is in business! But wrangling puppies and pleasing customers turns out to be harder than they thought. Can Kat keep taking care of the dogs she loves without hurting her friendships?
Since Lety’s first language is Spanish, she loves volunteering at the Furry Friends Animal Shelter, where the pets don’t care if she can’t find the right word. When the shelter needs someone to write animal profiles, Lety jumps at the chance. Grumpy classmate Hunter also wants to write profiles, so he devises a secret competition between them. But if the shelter finds out about the contest, will Lety be allowed to adopt her favorite dog?
When Natalia finds a lost cat with a litter of newborn kittens, she’s desperate to keep one of them. Whether or not her mami says yes to a new pet, the rest of the kitties will need homes—so Natalia starts an anonymous online account to find each cat the purrfect owner. But as her classmates apply, her matchmaking scheme gets more complicated. And what will Natalia do when her former best friend applies for a kitten?
Best friends Nadine and Daniel always make time to catch up over pumpkin spice lattes. But their routine is shaken up when a new girl, Kiya, starts at their school. Daniel falls for Kiya the second he sees her. Which would be fine … if Nadine hadn’t recently realized she might be falling for Daniel herself. Nadine knows she has to find the courage to tell Daniel how she feels, but what if she’s already lost her shot?
Homeschooled Amelia can’t wait to start regular school for the first time … but the transition is much harder than she imagined. Everything about her seems wrong, from her clothes to her hobbies. So when Amelia starts to volunteer at an alpaca ranch, she’s overjoyed to be doing something she’s good at—taking care of animals. But when the alpacas are put in mortal peril, can Amelia save the only place that’s ever felt like home?
Copyright © 2021 by Jazz Taylor
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
First printing 2021
Cover design by Yaffa Jaskoll
Cover photos © Melanie DeFazio/Stocksy
e-ISBN 978-1-338-68469-8
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