Page 74 of Dungeons and Drama

I groan. “You guys predicted it would end badly from the beginning.”

“If he’s going to homecoming with Sophia next week rather than begging on hands and knees for you to date him, he doesn’t deserve you. In fact, he’s officially dead to me.”

I chuckle. Nothing beats BFF loyalty. “I know this is probably impossible, but I’m going to try not to think about it until after the meeting is over Wednesday. Although I’m not feeling great about that either anymore. I hope the performance goes well, but even if it does, it’s only part of thebattle. What if the budget I’m proposing is too high? Or they’re wanting more sponsorship from the community?”

“I know your brain is reminding you of every possible bad outcome in life right now, but let’s try to be optimistic. You’ve done a phenomenal job pulling the showcase together and we’re going to kill that. I already have my dance instructor on board to help with choreography when they agree to bring back the musical. And I bet you could get both of your parents to volunteer or donate as well if the administrators are looking for that—that is, if you actually told your parents what you’ve been doing lately.” She raises an eyebrow.

I rub my hands over my eyes, no longer worried about my makeup. “Maybe. Assuming my parents don’t flip when I drop this in their lap.”

Mom practically runs out of the kitchen when we get to my house. “Girls! How was it?” Her eyes skim over me. “Big night?”

Code for:You’re a mess.I guess I’m wearing my emotions on my face along with my smeared mascara.

“We did a ton of dancing.” I try for a smile.

“Good! Well, come see what I’ve been up to.” She beckons us into the kitchen. “I might have gone a little overboard.”

Our pristine kitchen island is covered with snacks. There’s a big bowl of cheddar and caramel popcorn, Twizzlers, cookies, drinks…and an entire charcuterie board because my mom can’t help being extra.

“Wow!” Hoshiko grabs a handful of popcorn. “This is awesome.”

“Thanks, Mom! This must have taken a long time.”

She shrugs, but I can see she’s pleased with herself. “I know you only get a few experiences like this in life, so I thought I’d make the sleepover a little more fun.” She leans against the counter and gives me a knowing look. “I didn’t realize Nathan was so cute. And say what you want, but it certainly looked to your father and I like you two were dating. You need to bring him around again so I can put him through the wringer.” She winks.

I grab a chunk of cheese from the board and shove it in my mouth rather than respond. There’s no way to reply that won’t lead to more Nathan-related questions and the possibility of tears. And, bonus, if I fill up on cheese, maybe that’ll dull the throbbing pain that comes every time his name is mentioned. It’s worth a shot, at least.

Hoshiko takes my elbow and moves me to the stairs. “This looks so great, Mrs. Morris, but I think we need to change out of our dresses so we can really eat.”

Mom nods and waves us away. “I want to hear all about Nathan later!” she calls behind me.

I muffle a groan and Hoshiko pulls me faster.

We stay up until two a.m., munching our way through Mom’s snack buffet and dissecting every detail of Hoshiko’s night with Lucas, when she knew she liked him, and the dance classes they took together. She brings up Nathan and Paul afew times, but I quickly pivot the conversation back to Lucas and she doesn’t argue. I’m not ready to do a deep dive into my feelings about Nathan or how I’m going to act around him now.

We sleep in late and then spend the early afternoon making final touches to the musical proposal. A wave of nausea rolls through me whenever I think about the meeting Wednesday after school. Everything is riding on this meeting. It was almost impossible to find a time when Miss Sahni, Principal Holloway, a school board member, and a parent from the Music Boosters could all meet, so if I screw up, then it’s all over. I hope I’ve done enough.

“It’s going to be awesome,” Hoshiko says. “They won’t be able to say no!”

I smile weakly. “Let’s hope so.”

I flip through my papers again. At least I can say I’ve done as much as I can to prepare.

After Hoshiko leaves, Mom follows me back upstairs. “How are you doing?”

“Good.” I sit on my bed and pull a pillow into my lap.

“Yeah? You seemed pretty down after homecoming. Did everything go all right?”

“It was fun. Mostly.”

She wanders absently around the room, looking at pictures and posters she’s seen a billion times. She’s trying to be casual, but I’m not buying it. “Did something happen with Nathan?” she asks. “High school relationships can be really hard.”

“He’s not my boyfriend, Mom. I know Dad keeps talkingabout it, but he’s blowing things out of proportion. Nathan and I are just friends.”

“Mm-hmm.” She’s clearly not convinced.

She wanders farther into the room and stops at my desk, where we’ve left the green stage makeup and the four hefty folders I put together with budget details about the proposed musical. Argh, I’d meant to store everything away before she saw them, but my head is all over the place and I totally forgot.

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