Page 42 of The Game Is Afoot

Mr. Forest’s eyes go wide in surprise, and then…fear? He holds his hands up, as if in defense.

“Ms. Miller, listen, if it’s about the casting, I am not talkingto any parents about this. The parts are final and every child was given the role where they have the best chance to shine. If you have a problem—”

“No, it’s not about that.” I put my palms up, too, talking fast. “It’s about, um—”

Now I just need to figure out what itisabout. Because something tells mesolving the mystery of why you cast Anabella as Annie to make Pearl think I’m cool and distract myself from another mystery and also all of MY life choicesisn’t going to fly.

“Yes?”

“I wanted to talk to you about something else.”

He raises an eyebrow, likeGet on with it.

“Um, well, it’s almost Pearl’s birthday. It’s Sunday.”

Out of all the things I could have said, why didthatcome out? But I guess it’s probably because she’s been reminding me it’s almost her birthday for months now…it’s imprinted on all of my cells at this point.

“You’re backstage during our closed rehearsal to tell me about Pearl’s birthday?” He narrows his eyes at me and then begins shaking his head. “Ms. Miller, I’m not sure what’s going on here, but I think I’ll have to speak with Principal Smith—”

“No, um, I mean—do you want to…come?”

He frowns, confused. But at least now he’s not still talking about snitching to Principal Smith. “You want me to come to Pearl’s birthday?”

“Um, yes! Yes I do! To play. Music. For the kids. At the party. We need some entertainment.”

My mouth has gone rogue. Because what do you meanparty? Andentertainment? All we have planned is a small family dinner, in large part because Ididn’twant to be in charge of organizing shit like this. I still have flashbacks to her first birthday,where I had a total breakdown over the color of her smash cake. There are so many other believable things I could have said that didn’t involve conjuring a birthday party out of thin air!

But Mr. Forest’s face immediately softens and then bursts into a brilliant, all-teeth smile. “Sure! It’s a little last minute, but I do love sharing the joy of music with my students.” He starts moving toward the door. “Just email me the details. And then I can send you my invoice, too. I’d need the deposit by tonight, of course, to lock in the date.”

He’s digging in his bag for that Tylenol as he walks away, so he misses my stank face at the word “deposit.”

So…I guess I’m hosting a birthday party.

I walk out into the late-afternoon sun in a daze, trying to reckon with that fact. A fucking birthday party. In days. Children at my house. All because I was sneaking around to see if Anabella deserved her role in a goddamn elementary school musical.

Man, Future Pearl better not be one of those adults posting videos online about how their parents screwed them up, because I havetried, clearly.

As I round the corner, I’m hit by a loud, wailing sob. My body goes tense immediately, and I search for Pearl, but it’s not my kid. There’s a boy sitting on the ground with a red face and cheeks covered in tears. I’m pretty sure he’s the same kid I saw with Axel just a few minutes ago, and yes, there’s that spiked Bowser shell, cast off next to him. His mom crouches next to him, alternating between rubbing his back and glaring at Florence over her shoulder.

Florence doesn’t seem to notice, though, because her eyes are locked on Axel as she kneels in front of him. She balances expertly on arched feet, even with Marigold in her carrier.

“How you’re feeling right now is valid, my sweet boy. Andyou don’t have to apologize if that’s not your truth. I know it hurt your arm, too, when you bumped into him.”

As soon as she mentions his arm, Axel reaches up to clutch it. His face is stormy as he stares at the ground.

I spot Pearl on the other side of them, crossing her arms with her own stormy expression, and I give them all a wide berth. I’m not trying to be involved inthat.

“Hey baby girl. I’m—”

She cuts me off before I can apologize. “You’re late.”

“Well, actually I was early, but I was…” I can’t exactly finish that withspying on your best friend—and you were right, she’s terrible!At least not in front of an audience of judgy parents. So instead, I go with bribery. “Do you want to go get boba?”

She nods once to let me know that’ll do…for now. But Florence blocks our escape.

“Hi Mavis! I’m so glad I caught you!” Axel is curled into her side, pouting, and Marigold sucks on her thumb, dozing. “I wanted you to know that when Detective Berry asked me about the snacks I had no idea that it would cause trouble for Corey—”

I make a weird, guttural noise that startles even me, but I need her to stop immediately. Corey and I decided not to tell Pearl anything because we don’t want her to worry, and I’m not about to have Florence ruin that for us.

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