Page 39 of The Glittering Edge

Maybe it doesn’t matter, because Penny isn’t the kind of person who breaks curses. She can’t even vote.

Ron bursts through the office door, and Penny quickly closes her laptop.

“It’s madness out there,” Ron says. He’s looking very official with his clipboard and costume of jeans, cowboy boots, and a suede button-up. He always co-hosts the drag show with Penny’s mom, and after a lot of back-and-forth, Penny finally agreed to be her mom’s replacement onstage, mostly because they might get more donations to cover Anita’s medical bills. Already anxiety is roiling in her stomach, but Penny’s mom always said being seen is a skill. It takes practice, like playing the piano or making the perfect latte.

“Naomi here yet?” Ron asks.

Penny winces. “Did I forget to tell you about Naomi’s food poisoning?”

“Food poisoning?”Ron throws up his hands. “That’s it. I give up. This is a disaster and I’ll never live it down.”

“Can’t you get one of the stagehands to run sound?”

“Both of them canceled last minute.”

Penny sighs. “I’ll do it.”

“Excuse me, li’l miss, how do you expect to do three jobs?” There’s a loud crash from the hall, and Ron gasps. “Miss Baja Kali, I have told you twenty timesnotto attempt a fouetté backstage. We cannot afford another hole in the plaster—”

Ron disappears in a cloud of agitation and perfume. Penny rubs her neck, steeling herself for a long night. Normally she loves working the drag show, but this is her first time back at the café since her mom’s accident. She expects to see her mom around every corner, and it hurts worse each time Anita isn’t there.

She reluctantly puts away her laptop and enters the chaos of “backstage,” also known as the back hallway, which is now overrun with performers doing last-minute costume checks. Out in the front of the café, it’s getting crowded. The tables have been replaced by rows of chairs with an aisle up the middle. Against the wide front window, there’s a miniature stage with a backdrop of silver sequins and a sign that readsIDOL WOOD REVUE.A smaller sign below it reads:BENEFIT FOR ANITA EMBERLY, A TRUE BIO QUEEN!

Time to conquer the sound system.

Ten minutes later, Penny is hunched over the control board, her mouth open. She might even be drooling, but whatever. There are entirely too many dials, so she finally pulls up a YouTube video for help. Just when she thinks she has it, she presses a button that makes an earsplittinghonk. People gasp and cover their ears, sending glares her way.

“Sorry!” Penny says weakly, cowering behind the counter. When the chatter starts again, Penny straightens up. “Come on, Emberly. You’re not even old. You can figure this out.”

“Or I could help you,” says a familiar voice.

Penny flinches. She discreetly wipes away the drool before she looks up.

Alonso De Luca stands across the counter, decked out in sequins and eyeliner.

Of course. His friend Aidan Lostis is one of their performers, so Alonso is always at the drag show. Penny should’ve mentally prepared for this, but he’s caught her in an unguarded, exhausted moment.

She looks away, continuing to fiddle with the mixer. But Alonso doesn’t leave.

“Do you need concessions or something?” Penny asks.

“Here,” Alonso says, leaning over the counter. “Don’t turn these two dials at the same time. It’ll create interference.”

“I’ll figure it out,” she says, hoping he’ll get the hint and leave. Penny is normally a pleasant person, but nothing about this moment is normal, and she can’t make herself act like it is.

“So you hate me now,” Alonso says.

The wordhatecomes out so strong Penny recoils from it—and from him. He notices, and his mouth turns into a thin line.

“Look, I… I’m feeling a lot of things right now,” Penny says. “And I don’t want to process those things in front of you.”

“That’s vague.”

“I’m allowed to be vague.”

“You’re allowed to be whatever you want.”

Penny throws up her hands. “What does that mean? What do you want from me, Alonso? Do you want me to absolve you because you feel guilty? I’m not going to do that.”

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