Page 25 of Don't Love the Boy Next Door
I’m not interested in having an altercation with her, so I wait until she and her friends leave. It takes them forever, though, like Harper’s purposely taking her time so I would come out. The only thing that forces her to leave is the bell for next period. Which means I’ll be late.
After leaving the stall and washing my hands, I rush to class. I won’t let her words get to me. I can’t wait to wipe that smug smile off her face when she watches me on opening night.
***
My dance class was pretty intense this afternoon. I feel like the Tin Man fromThe Wizard of Ozas I get off the city bus and make my way home. I desperately need a shower.
I walk into a large, empty house. Phoenix has been streaming at her place the last few days because she feels a little guilty about not being home. It’s our last two years before we’ll leave for college, and she worries she won’t have enough time to spend with her loving, crazy family. It’s times like these I wish I weren’t an only child. The house is too big and too dark and too…lonely.
But the living room lamp suddenly flicks on, nearly sending me soaring to the roof. Clutching my racing heart, I find a middle-aged man with graying hair sitting up on the sofa and blinking at me.
“Dad?” I ask.
He rubs his eyes. “Hi, Katie. Are you home from school already?”
“Uh…it’s nearly six. I just got back from dance class.”
“Oh, yes. I’m glad you haven’t given that up. You’re an amazing dancer.”
“Thanks.”
The room is bathed in silence.
I head over to the recliner and sit down.
The room is still bathed in silence.
“You’re home early,” I say.
“Yeah, the judge dismissed the case.”
“Oh.”
Quiet again.
“How’s school?” he asks.
“Okay.”
He nods. Then he stares at the carpet.
“Dad, guess what? I got the lead role in the musical.”
“Hmm?” He lifts his eyes to mine.
“My school’s putting onBeauty and the Beastthis semester. I messed up my audition, so I didn’t get Belle. I was cast as the understudy. But the girl who got Belle quit, so I got the role.”
My cheeks hurt from the beam on my face. But Dad doesn’t look as ecstatic as I thought he would. In fact, darkness conquers his features.
“Beauty and the Beast?” he asks, his eyes far away.
“Um…yeah.”
He smiles sadly. “Your mom auditioned for Belle.”
“What?”
“But she didn’t get the role. Not even a callback.”
