Page 22 of The Ruse

But apparently, this year they wanted me to overhear all the gossip so that I’d know they remembered last spring and that they were going to be keeping an eye on me.

I didn’t even try to eat lunch in the great hall with everyone. Back then, I used to sit with Bailee and all of her friends. But after what happened, since her friends thought I’d offed their queen bee, I opted to just eat with Owen in his classroom.

A huge part of me was tempted to just call Aunt Vivian right now to ask if I could finish my senior year with my cousins in Ridgewater. But here I was, walking toward the auditorium after school anyway.

If rehearsal sucks, then I’ll quit,I told myself as I opened the door to the backstage.I’ll tell Owen that I tried but Eden Falls just wasn’t for me.

I was putting my drop-out speech together in my head, lining up all the reasons for why Miss Crawley would need to find a different guy to play Raoul, when a petite, twenty-nine-year-old woman with wavy blonde hair looked up from where she was adding chairs to a circle on the stage.

“Asher!” Miss Crawley said, a huge smile spreading across her face when she saw me.

And before I knew what was happening, she was striding across the floor in her heels.

There were probably rules against teachers hugging their students at school, but she must have forgotten the proper protocol in that moment because she wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace. “Welcome back! I’m so happy to see you again.”

I didn’t know what it was about those few words, but I found myself getting choked up. Because for the first time in the four days that I’d been back in Eden Falls, someone besides Owen and Rosa was happy to see me.

I forced my emotion down my throat—I didn’t need everyone in the room to know I was a wreck—and patted my drama teacher on the back. “It’s good to see you, too.”

She stepped away a second later, seeming to remember herself and that she could be reported to the school board for hugging a student. But when she looked up at me after clearing her throat, her green eyes were smiling.

“It looks like you’ve grown a couple inches taller since I saw you last spring,” she said, inspecting my appearance.

“Probably an inch or two,” I agreed. I’d been about six feet last year, and when my aunt’s tailor had measured me and my cousins for the tuxedos we were supposed to wear to this fancy event in Manhattan over Christmas break, the tailor had said I was six-foot-two.

“Well, just don’t get too much taller, okay?” she said.

“I’ll try not to.”

Not that I could really control it.

A few more students came backstage. Miss Crawley seemed to remember that she had things to get ready before our first rehearsal because she said, “Anyway, it’s so good to have you back, Asher. Just find a seat somewhere in the circle and we’ll get started soon.”

She went to greet the other students. After looking around the circle of chairs, I decided the one in front of me was as good as any and sat down.

Now we’ll see if anyone dares sit less than four chairs away from me.

A few minutes went by, and just as expected, the chairs immediately surrounding me did not get filled. One girl, who was probably a freshman or sophomore, almost sat two chairs to my left, but just as she was hovering over her seat, she seemed to recognize me and sat in another seat farther away.

The room got more and more crowded with cast members and crew. I noticed a few students hesitating at the back of the stage, glancing over at me every so often like they knew they were going to have to sit close to me but were putting it off for as long as they could.

It was one minute before Miss Crawley had said we’d be starting our first rehearsal when someone in a blue plaid skirt and white collared shirt sat down a seat away.

I lifted my gaze to see who had dared sit so close to the school pariah and was surprised to find Elyse.

My mouth hung open for a second as I watched her tuck her light-brown book bag beneath her seat. And she must have felt my stare because when she sat up straighter, she glanced my way and asked, “Sorry, um, were you saving this seat for someone?”

“N-no…” I shook my head, slightly in shock. “I, well—” I cleared my throat. “—I just assumed everyone must have gotten the message about my leprosy.”

“Your leprosy?” She furrowed her brow. “What are you talking about?”

“Well…” I gestured to the empty chairs surrounding me. “So far, it seems like everyone thinks I have some sort of contagious disease.”

She seemed to notice the invisible forcefield around me for the first time. Then with a shrug, she said, “Well, I guess I’m going to just take my chances.”

So maybe she wasn’t as scared of me as I’d thought.

Nash, who had just finished chatting up Miss Crawley, took the seat on the other side of Elyse. He leaned back in his chair, draping his arm across the back of Elyse’s like it belonged there, and then his gaze flicked to me.

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