Page 22 of Dungeons and Drama

“I love your passion. If you want to make it in the arts, then you’re going to need a lot of that. And this is a good start.” She points to my phone and smiles gently, but my shoulders sag. Her tone isn’t what I was hoping for. “Butit’sa lotof work. And even if I agreed to direct the musical, you’d need to convince the rest of the administration, the Music Boosters, not to mention the rest of the student body and community. We’d need people onstage, sure, but we also need more people behind the stage and in the audience buying tickets.” She runs a hand through her long black hair, looking more tired than she should for being in her midtwenties. “Are you really serious about this?Reallyserious?”

I had stopped breathing toward the end there, anticipating her telling me to give it up, but I perk up at her question.

“Yes. Incredibly serious. I’ll do whatever it takes to convince whoever it takes. Please, Miss Sahni. I need this. The whole school needs this.”

She takes me in for a moment and then sighs. “I do agree it’s a tragedy to cut the arts like this. And I’ve always wanted to direct a musical—I did theater all through high school and college.” Joy floods me and I bounce in my chair—Ican’t help it—but she puts up a hand to stop me. “Don’t get too excited. I’m only agreeing that the musical is worth the work, not that it’ll actually happen. I’ll talk to Principal Holloway about the possibility of scheduling a meeting to discuss it further. But I’m already pushed to the breaking point, so if you’re as serious as you sound, then you’re going to need to be the one pulling together all the details to convince him and the others. A few notes on your phone won’t be enough—you will need a serious presentation if you hope to impress everyone. I’ll shoot for next month after homecoming. I’m overseeing that committee as well and I can’t think of taking on anything else until that’s behind me.”

My elation from a second ago dissipates. A big presentation with administrators? That sounds seriously intimidating.

“I’m not saying to give up hope,” she says quietly. “It’s not impossible—it’s just going to be an uphill battle.”

I nod and try to look more confident than I feel. “Thanks. I’ll keep working.”

I walk out of the school, my mind reeling. The good news is she didn’t say no. And she sounded like she was on my side. I’m not giving up. I whip out my phone and start texting Hoshiko to tell her everything.

Her response comes immediately.This is going to happen! I’ll help you as much as I can—do you think your mom will let me come over sometime?

I purse my lips.No, I’m still grounded

What about your dad? Would he mind?

I’m supposed to work Sat morning because he’s coming in late. Could you get there as soon as it opens? We could work together before he gets in

I’ll be there!

Chapter Eight

When Nathan walks into the store Friday evening for the D&D game, he strides directly to me, takes my arm, and pulls me to the back corner. It’s cool for mid-September, and he’s wearing an oversized navy sweatshirt with the hood pulled up to shield his face, like he’s hiding. His eyes bulge behind his black glasses.

“I can’t do this. Deal is off.” He tries to walk away, but I jerk him back toward me.

“Wait a minute, what’s going on? Why are you freaking out?”

I can’t stop myself from glancing over at the aisle where I stood with Paul and Lainey last week and made a complete fool of myself. Paul’s pitying face is still so vivid. I don’t want this thing with Nathan falling through until I’ve convinced Paul he was dead wrong about me, and so far there haven’t been any opportunities for Paul to see us together.

“I’m not freaking out.”

“You absolutely are. Calm down.”

He sighs and pushes the hood back. His hair is disheveled now, but he doesn’t notice. “She’s outside. I saw her pull into the parking lot as I was walking in.”

“Okay…”

“She’s going to see right through this. Or she’s going to be annoyed that I’m hanging out with you and then I’ll lose the small chance I still have with her.”

I put my hands on my hips. “Well, this is an interesting change. Weren’t you saying thatI’dbe the one who could never pull this off?”

“Riley—”

“Fine, fine. Listen, there’s nothing to worry about. None of that’s going to happen. People talk and flirt all the time. Even if she’s annoyed, she’ll only be annoyed with me, and I don’t care what she thinks.”

The bell chimes as the door opens and Nathan eagerly swivels toward it like one of Pavlov’s dogs looking for a treat.

“No.” I take his arm and physically turn him so his back is to the door. “No searching for her as soon as she walks in the door. No waving. No running to her side.” I narrow my eyes at him.

“I’m not going to be rude to her.”

“That’s not being rude. You’re only treating her like you’d treat anyone else. If you do that, it’ll make her think you’re losing interest. She needs to work foryourattention for once.”

---