St Mary's Academy Series Box Set 1

by Seven Steps

“Hey, nerds, give it a rest!”

  Joe and I looked at each other and laughed. Then, he threw his head back and sighed.

  “Well, I guess we’ll have to call it a night,” he said.

  I was exhausted, and completely Shakespeare’d out, but I had to admit it was nice learning my lines with Joe. He had a calming presence, and when I started to get stir crazy and goofy, he indulged me for a bit before helping me re-focus. And I loved how he played Lysander. When he got deep into the scene, he’d give me these smoldering looks that made my chest ache and my gut fill with butterflies.

  And, the weird part was, I was starting to get into Hermia’s role too. I played her strong and confident. All the things that I missed about myself, I pumped into Hermia. She was the Sasha Fierce to my Beyoncé. The Ziggy Stardust to my David Bowie. The Hannah Montana to my Miley Cyrus. Where I was weak, she was strong. Where I was apprehensive, she was flirty. Where I was afraid, she was confident.

  I was beginning to like her more than I liked myself.

  I walked Joe to the door, sad to see him go. We’d spent so much time together tonight, pretending to profess our love and escaping my father on our wild journey that I didn’t want it to end.

  “So, tomorrow we’ll work on act three and watch the movie maybe?” he said, standing in the doorway.

  “Yeah. You bring the popcorn, and I’ll bring the talent.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “The talent, huh?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Someone’s getting a little confident in themselves. I like it.”

  I shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens when I hit that stage tomorrow.”

  “Don’t worry. You can do this.”

  “Can I, though?” I blew out a breath. “It feels like every time I stand in the spotlight, I fall apart.”

  Joe leaned against the doorframe. “My grandma used to say, if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.”

  I smirked. “Was she a weather forecaster?”

  He smiled and pulled up the rim of his camo hat, allowing me to see his hazel eyes more clearly.

  “No. It means that everything changes. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. You just have to wait it out.” He leaned a little closer. “This thing you’re going through, the stage fright, it’s not going to last forever. I saw a girl tonight who worked harder than I’d ever seen her work before. You were unstoppable. Keep being that.”

  My brows furrowed. “Unstoppable, huh? I thought I was a runner and a quitter.”

  “That was before. Then, I waited a minute.”

  He pulled down his camo hat and smiled. “Night, Jelly Roll.”

  His words stayed behind as he turned and walked away.

  “Good night, Superman,” I whispered.

  I closed the door behind him, wondering, for the first time, if there was a light at the end of this tunnel after all. Could I be unstoppable? Could my life really change?

  That night, I dreamed about Joe and me running away into the night. In my dream, he read me poetry, then kissed me. I wrapped my arms around him, melting into his embrace. Somewhere in the distance fireworks went off. Little Cupids gathered around us and sang. Roses grew around our feet and little hearts popped around our heads like bubbles. It was completely cheesy, but amazing too. When he pulled away, the dream ended, and my heart ached.

  Dumb dreams.

  Needless to say, I had a little trouble getting out of bed the next morning. Some small part of me wanted to stay in the dream. To hold Joe close just a little bit more. To hear him whisper just a few more of his poetic words.

  I did not indulge those feelings.

  Throwing back the covers, I quickly dressed and headed out the door, hoping Purity could distract me as my mind desperately clung to the image of Joe’s lips. The feeling of his arms. The way his hazel eyes turned so green.

  I groaned and ran faster down the stairs.

  Purity was in the lobby, waiting for me. We usually drove in together with Eric and today was no exception.

  “Hey, lady,” she said. She was smiling so big I saw all her teeth. What was she so cheery about? “Kiss any boys lately?” she asked.

  Oh my God. Did she know about my dream?

  I sucked in a breath.

  Relax, Sophia. She doesn’t know. You’re being dumb. Just chill out. This boy has got you all tied up in knots.

  “No.” I stuck my tongue out at her. “I have been on my best behavior.”

  “Good to hear,” she sang.

  “So, about the night of the art show—”

  She immediately put her hands up. “Not going there.”

  That has been her answer every time I tried to talk about it.

  I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Whatever.”

  We walked out the door and into the cool morning air. The sun was still low in the sky, turning the buildings gold. It smelled like cold and pavement, but there was something else in the air too. The floral scent of new buds just starting to wake from their winter slumber.

  Eric sat in his black jeep, a pair of black sunglasses on his face. I waved at him through the window and he held up a two-finger salute in return.

  “What’s up with him?” I asked.

  Purity opened the door and climbed in.

  “Someone was out late last night with Ariel.”

  We climbed in and she shook Eric’s shoulder.

  “Come on,” he protested. “I only had one cup of coffee.”

  “Eric, were you out being a naughty boy?” I teased.

  He shook his head. “A gentleman never kisses and tells.”

  I slammed the door and put on my seatbelt while he started the car.

  “Where’d you go?” I asked.

  “Yesterday was our three-month anniversary, so I took her to see the fireworks.”

  “Fireworks? Where?”

  He adjusted his mirror and put the car in park. “Disney World.”

  The car lurched forward as my eyes opened wide. “You flew to Disney World on a week night just to see fireworks.”

  He shrugged. “Like you said. It was a week night. Otherwise we might have gone someplace really fun.”

  “The life of a billionaire playboy,” I said.

  “Playboy? Nope. I’m a one-woman man.”

  “That’s his way of saying he’s whipped.” Purity chuckled.

  I turned to look at her when something caught my eye.

  Her neck had a red spot on it. Like a really red spot.

  I gasped, knowing exactly what it was.

  Sweet, innocent Purity had a hickey. When? And, more importantly, who?

  “Is there a bug in here?” I asked.

  “No. Why?”

  “Because something bit you on your neck.”

  Eric snickered, while Purity pulled her jacket tight around her reddened throat.

  “It’s a pimple.”

  “Yeah,” Eric said. “A two-hundred-pound pimple.”

  “What?” I cried. “You’ve been kissing boys and not telling me?”

  “Not boys. Just one boy.”

  “Who? Spill!”

  “No. We promised we wouldn’t tell anyone until the time was right.”

  “Friends don’t have secrets,” I argued.

  “I know, but it’s so new. I don’t want to jinx it.”

  “Is it someone I know?” I demanded.

  “I can answer that,” Eric spoke up.

  My anger went nuclear as realization dawned on me. “Eric knows? You won’t tell me, but Eric knows?”

  “That was completely unintentional. He walked in on us. I didn’t tell him, I swear.”

  Eric made a gagging sound. “Sophia, seriously, I threw up in my mouth a little bit when I saw them together. Not a lot. Just enough so I could taste the cheesy fries I had for lunch.”

  “Gross.” I slapped him on the shoulder, then turned my attention back to Purity, whose face was turning more and more red by the minute.

 
“Purity, come on. We’re best friends. If you have a boyfriend, you have to tell me.”

  “No.” She waved her hands in front of her. “I don’t have a boyfriend. We are totally not there yet.”

  “But you’re at neck sucking?”

  “A minor digression that will not happen again until we cement our feelings for each other.” She adjusted herself in her seat, as if she was wearing a ball gown instead of jeans and sneakers. “I made sure I was crystal clear on that point.”

  “Tell me!”

  “I will. At the right time.”

  “And when will that be?”

  “At junior prom. If we are still together, then I’ll tell you who it is. If we’re not, there’s no need to worry about it. We can all just move on with our lives.”

  I stared at her, shaking my head. I always knew Purity was a private person but not this private.

  Who was this guy? And why was she hiding him from me? I thought we told each other everything.

  I bit my lip and sat back in my seat.

  “Fine. Don’t tell me. It will just make it all the sweeter when I find out who it is on my own.”

  “You won’t. We are very discreet.”

  “Not if your cousin knows who it is.”

  “That’s because we live together.”

  “Are you saying I won’t find out who is it?”

  “I’m saying you can’t find out who it is. It’s impossible.”

  “Care to place a little wager on that?”

  Her brow twerked up. “I’m listening.”

  “If I find out who this guy is before junior prom, then you have to wear the ugliest clothes I can find to school for one day.”

  She smirked. “Confident, aren’t we?”

  “You of all people should know that my sneaking skills are legendary.”

  “Hardly.”

  “So, you agree, then?”

  She thought a minute. “Why does this sound like a sucker bet?”

  I smiled and nodded at her neck. “You should know.”

  She squeezed her lips together, a challenge in her eyes. Finally, she held out her hand.

  “Fine. It’s a bet. One I’ll gladly win.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “Yes, we will. And when I win, I get to dress you for the day in whatever I want.”

  “It’s a deal.”

  She grinned. “Well, I guess it’s game on then.”

  “Yup. Game on.”

  Eric chuckled from the front seat as he parked the car in the school lot. “You girls are crazy.”

  We climbed out of the car and headed inside. There were still fifteen minutes left before the bell rang, but Bella, Cole, Jasmine, Ollie, and Ariel were already waiting by Bella’s locker. When Eric caught sight of Ariel, he lifted his glasses up. The heat that passed between them nearly set my hair on fire.

  She looked just as tired as him. Her hair was in two messy braids that hung down by her butt, and she was dressed in jogging pants and a cropped sweater.

  “What time did you get in last night?” I asked.

  “Three,” she said. Eric brushed past me, anxious to wrap his arms around her. When he did, she sank into him.

  I had to admit, seeing the love between them made me, in my single state, a little jealous.

  “If only we all could jet set off to Disney World to watch the fireworks on a school night,” Jasmine said.

  I bit my inner cheek. I’d never even been to Disney World.

  “Hey, guys,” a voice piped up from behind us, and we all turned. Joe stood there with an armful of flyers. I tried to ignore the way my heart skipped a beat.

  “Hey, Soph.” He smiled at me.

  “Joe. Hey.” My voice was breathless. I wondered if anyone else noticed.

  “What’s with the flyers?” Cole asked.

  He looked at the colorful papers in his arms as if they’d suddenly appeared there.

  “Oh, just hanging up some posters for the play.”

  He handed us all a poster. I gazed down at the big white sheet of paper with A Midsummer Night’s Dream written in colorful print.

  “Neat,” Cole said.

  “Blah,” Jasmine said, making a face. “Who did these?”

  Joe cleared his throat. “I did.”

  “You’re doing double duty as Lysander and the graphic designer?” Jasmine asked.

  Joe shrugged. “Well, I volunteered.”

  She shook her head. “How about we meet up and I help you out?” She handed the flyer back to him. “I can have some designs to you by this afternoon.”

  “Oh, uh, sure. I can work something out.”

  “Great. Ollie and I will meet up with you after the play rehearsal.”

  “Cool,” Joe said with a smile. “So, you do set design and graphic design?”

  “And some light vandalism,” Ollie said with a smirk.

  Joe frowned. “What?”

  Jasmine pushed Ollie and smiled nervously. “Never mind him. He’s just being silly. I’ll see you after school.”

  “Okay, cool. But what am I supposed to do with all these flyers?”

  “We’ll print the new flyers on the back of the old ones. That way we save paper.”

  “Clever. So, I guess I’ll just, uh, get to it. I’ll see you later.”

  “Later,” we all said.

  Joe moseyed down the hallway, back toward the drama room.

  “This is actually pretty great,” Cole said. “If you do this play, you could get over your stage fright and come back to the band.”

  I lowered my eyes. “I’m not sure about that. I still can’t sing.”

  “But you can talk and dance and act in front of everyone. Maybe the singing will come later?”

  The hope in his eyes made me hopeful too. “Yeah. Maybe.”

  “Okay, everybody, let’s take one step at a time,” Purity said. “Sophia is back on stage, even if it’s not in a singing capacity. Let’s applaud her for her step forward. And, eventually, if she makes it back to the band, we’ll applaud her there too.”

  “Of course,” Bella said.

  The bell rang, signaling the start of first period. We said our goodbyes and parted.

  Halfway to class, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

  I pulled it out and read the message.

  Joe: Your friends scare me a little.

  Quincey must’ve given him my number. I quickly typed back.

  Me: Yup, they do that to a lot of people.

  Joe: It’s cool. I’ll see you at rehearsal. Are you nervous?

  Me: A little.

  I watched the three dots hover near the bottom of the screen, indicating that he was typing.

  Joe: Don’t be. You’ll get through it. Remember, you’re unstoppable.

  I bit my lip. Why did that single statement warm my heart?

  I started to type back, then, when I realized I didn’t know what to say, I typed Thanks and dropped the phone back in my pocket.

  “You have that look on your face,” Purity said.

  I jerked my head up at her. “What look? I don’t have a look.”

  “You do. It’s the same look you get when you see that guy who played Superman. All dreamy-eyed.”

  “Number one, you are referring to Henry Cavill, not that guy. And two, how could I not look at him like that. He’s unreasonably hot.”

  “You’re changing the subject.”

  “What subject?”

  “Why are you looking so dreamy-eyed? And who was just texting you?”

  “Me? No one.”

  “It didn’t look like no one to me.”

  “It was just an old friend.”

  “From Texas?”

  I grimaced. Boy she was perceptive.

  “Maybe.”

  She sighed. “So, Joe’s texting you now?”

  I shrugged. “It’s about the play.”

  “Sure, it is. Well, you tell Mr. Flyer Guy that if he breaks your heart again, I’ll break his legs.”


  “P, really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  “You don’t have to worry about it. It’s not like that. We’re just friends. Besides, I think he likes Charlotte.”

  She made a disgusted face. “Ugh. If he likes that, then his taste is definitely questionable. Move him to the left.”

  She nudged me with her arm, and I gave her a halfhearted laugh.

  Did Joe like Charlotte? Were they still hanging out after school? I bit my lip as we walked into first period.

  In the end, it didn’t matter if Joe liked Charlotte because Joe and I were friends and nothing more.

  I repeated it to myself, drilling it into my brain.

  We are just friends.

  And nothing more.

  18

  Turns out that practice does not always make perfect.

  I was standing across from Lysander, aka Joe. His face tender and full of love, both of my hands in his.

  “So then two bosoms and a single troth. Then by your side no bedroom me deny.” His voice dropped to a purr that made me shiver. “For, lying so, Hermia, I do not lie.”

  My nerves wrecked up a million times over as he stared into my eyes.

  The lights were so hot and bright. I could barely breathe up here. It was stifling.

  It felt like a million eyes were on me, including five of my best friends who were watching me from the audience as they cut and glued fake flowers together.

  And then there was the small matter of Mrs. Simpson, who was biding her time before she could kick me out on my rear end.

  I froze.

  Memories of laughter from the Spring Fling rose into my mind, making me sweat.

  All the line drills and explaining and memorization flew out of my brain, leaving me here on the verge of a panic attack.

  I heard Charlotte and her cronies giggling from the wings of the stage and I wanted to die.

  My gut lurched. I thought I was going to vomit right then and there.

  Joe gently squeezed my fingers.

  “It’s okay,” he whispered. “Just keep your eyes on me.”

  “I can’t do it. I can’t remember my lines.”

  “You’re doing great. Just pretend like we’re back in your living room. You can do this. I believe in you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I know that you don’t quit. You’re unstoppable, remember? Now keep your eyes on me and focus.”