Page 9 of My Twin Sister's Ex

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Jessilyn

Reese and I walked into Drama just as the bell rang, and we took a seat next to each other like we normally did. I was nervous to find out who my partner for the Drama Competition would be, but I was hopeful that it would at least be someone who was a good actor. I needed to win this competition, and it made me crazy to think I had no control over who my partner would be.

Mr. Brownley started the class, and I sat forward, eager to hear the moment when he announced who we would be paired up with. Finally, he pulled out a paper and began calling out names of people who would be working together.

“Jessilyn, you will be with Bennett.”

My mouth fell open. Bennett? Mr. Brownley was kidding, right? Bennett didn’t even memorize his lines. I wasn’t sure he’d even put in the minimum effort required to pass the class. Having him as a partner would be a nightmare.

I clamped my mouth shut. I was probably making a spectacle of myself. I took the stack of stapled papers Mr. Brownley handed me and thumbed through it. Our scene was taken from a play I wasn’t familiar with. We were supposed to be young and in love. I froze when I read the stage directions that said we had to kiss. I flipped the page. There it was again—another kiss.

I could do that. With anyone. Just not with Bennett.

I’d had onstage kisses before. It wasn’t a big deal. But there was no way I was kissing my twin sister’s ex-boyfriend. It was way too weird.

I snuck a peek across the room to where Bennett was sitting. He hadn’t even opened his script. He’d just tucked it under his chair. He didn’t even care enough to read through it to start familiarizing himself with the scene. How could Mr. Brownley have stuck me with him? Didn’t my teacher realize how important it was to me to win this competition? I needed it for my college applications. This wasn’t just some joke class to me. Plenty of kids in the class thought it was an easy elective they could skate through. But I took it seriously.

Hadn’t I proved myself to Mr. Brownley? I couldn’t understand how he could do this to me. My future depended on me winning this competition, and there was zero chance of that happening now. Not with Bennett as my partner.

Maybe there was still hope. If only I could convince him to let me partner up with Reese. Sure, he’d turned me down once, but if I just explained how important it was for me to win the competition, maybe he’d listen this time. It was worth a try.

As soon as the class ended, I approached Mr. Brownley. I plastered a big smile across my face. Maybe if I seemed professional and friendly, he would be more willing to take my suggestion into consideration.

“Hi, Mr. Brownley.”

He looked up at me. “Hello, Jessilyn. What can I do for you?”

“I was hoping you’d allow me to switch partners. I know you said before that it wasn’t an option since you’d already assigned partners, but I was hoping you would reconsider. Reese and I work extremely well together, and I’d be willing to come up with the scene for the two of us to save you the trouble of finding the perfect scene for us.”

He shook his head. “I can appreciate what you’re trying to do here, but I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

“It’s really important for me to do my best in this competition. I’m hoping I can win so I can use it on my college applications. As you probably know, Duke’s musical theater program is very competitive.”

“I’m well aware of how competitive the program is. I’m a graduate from Duke’s theater program myself.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize that.”

“Jessilyn, you already have an impressive theater resume. From what I understand, you’ve been in productions since you were very young. Is that right?”

“Well, er, yes. But that’s not the same as winning a competition.”

“But you’ve been the lead in several productions?”

“Yes.”

“That should be enough to impress even the people at Duke. It is a competitive program. But you’re very talented. You won’t have trouble getting in.”

“I’m glad you believe in me, but that doesn’t mean the professors at Duke will feel the same way. I’m going to need the edge winning this competition will give me.”

“Then I suggest you get to work.” He stacked his papers on his desk like the discussion was over.

“I would, except I’m partnered with Bennett. There’s no way I’ll be able to win with him.”

Mr. Brownley crossed his arms. “It’s important to figure out how to get along with people you may not find easy to work with. I think it will be good for you to learn to work with Bennett.”

“He doesn’t even take this class seriously.”

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