Matt grabs my shoulder, giving it a shake. “Yeah. Keep up, man,” he says with a laugh. He can probably tell I’m overanalyzing how things went today, but he also knows I don’t want to tell anyone about it. There’s a good chance nothing will come of it, and I’d rather not have to explain what will likely be my biggest disappointment to date.

My face falls as I stare at the card in hand, but I catch myself before anyone notices, reading it out loud and setting it down on the table.

When your dad pulls you aside to talk about _____ and how it’s affecting your _____.

Holy shit. Talk about the shoe fitting. There are too many things I could put in those slots. My dad has an opinion about everything I do, and it’s never good.

The door to the common room swings open, and my jaw tenses. Red walks in with another girl, laughing at something she must have said.

She looks different.

She’s kind of pretty now that she’s taken a shower and isn’t wearing a shirt for a shitty band that’s two sizes too big. Her red hair is long, falling to her lower back, and I like the way her hips move when she walks.

Too bad she’s annoying and tried to make me look like a stalker in front of our entire English class.

Looking over her shoulder at her friend, she says something I can’t make out, and both girls laugh in response. Once she’s facing forward again, her big, brown eyes scan the room before settling on me and immediately dimming.

My mouth quirks at her reaction.

“Hey!” the perky blonde with her says as she approaches the table, but Red stays quiet.

“Hey,” Matt says with a grin. “I don’t think we’ve met yet. Do you two live together?”

“No,” the blonde answers. “I’m Izzy. I’m in 416 with Jess.” She points to Bridget/Jaqueline who’s obviously neither. “I just met Margot a few minutes ago.” She looks over at Red as she makes the introduction.

Red, aka Margot, looks at everyone and offers a polite smile.

“Who do you live with?” A guy, whose name I’ve also forgotten, asks her. He introduced himself thirty minutes ago, but I’ve got nothing—not even a guess. Just because we live around these people doesn’t mean we have to be friends with them . . . but I guess I should at least try to remember their names.

She rubs the side of her arm like having all eyes on her makes her nervous. “Oh, my friend Rae from high school. She’s at the library.”

“Already?” Matt asks with a furrowed brow. “It’s the first day.”

Margot lifts her shoulders in a shrug. “One of her textbooks didn’t come in on time. I think she went to see if they had a copy.”

“Bummer,” Matt says with an understanding nod.

“Well, I’m Keith,” the guy says, and I vaguely remember him telling me his name now. “Hey, do you want to play?”

Izzy peers at our table, her eyes wide. “Oh, I love this game! Are you sure you don’t mind starting a new one?”

“You can take my cards,” I offer. “I was planning on sitting the next one out, anyway.” I’m used to practicing every day, but while I was preparing for the audition, I kicked it into overdrive. For weeks, I’ve been practicing nonstop, determined to make sure I’d play flawlessly today. Now that I have nothing to prepare for, my hands don’t know how to relax. Even the playing cards are making me fidget. I find myself shuffling for no better reason than to move my fingers.

Izzy looks over at Red. “What about Margot?”

“Don’t worry about me,” Margot says as she pulls up a chair. “I can just hang out.” For the first time since she walked in here, her eyes lock on me, brimming with challenge. “So, what’s your name?”

7

margot

He looks up at me impassively. “Jackson.”

That’s it. One word.

He focuses on the cards in his hands and starts shuffling. His dismissal makes my blood simmer, but I turn to his roommate and smile. “And yours?”

His roommate gives me a wide grin. His black hair is short and neat, and his brown eyes have a kindness behind them that’s impossible to fake. “Matt,” he says as he sets his cards down to shake my hand.