Page 62 of Just a Little White Lie

“I’ve definitely seen you before.”

I shrug, trying to hide the panic sizzling through me. “Maybe around town. I work at Body Health. It’s a gym on the main street.”

“Nah.” She shakes her head, and I silently beg her to drop this already. “We hardly ever get to go into town.”

Alexia huffs and shakes her head.

“You never get to go into town?” Lauren’s face wrinkles with concern. “What do you do all weekend?”

“Hang here.” She shrugs while the guy next to her starts muttering.

“You need money to go into town, and we ain’t got none of that.”

His buddies start nodding, and I can sense a wave of animosity rising over them.

“Okay.” I clap my hands, figuring a little distraction is the best course of action here. I don’t want the mood turning sour before we’ve even begun. “We’ve got to pick some songs. I can mash them up into a five-minute set.” I turn to check with Lauren. “Is that how long we’re allowed?”

“Yeah, I think. I’ll double-check the rules.”

I nod, then face the kids again. “So, that’s like three to five songs. Throw some suggestions at me, and we’ll see what we’ve got.”

“You’re really gonna let us pick?” The guy who brought in the list is looking kind of cynical.

I point my thumb at Lauren. “She let you pick your team name, didn’t she? This is your performance. You should have final say on the music.”

The guy is obviously impressed by this, and the appreciative smile Lauren beams me is gonna be a keeper. I tuck it away in my memory and try to ward off that spike of desire.

“Right, let’s get into this. What kinds of music do you guys like?”

“I think the lyrics should count,” someone calls out. “So, maybe something with the word ‘misfits’ in it would be cool.”

“Great idea!” I move to Lauren’s side, and we crowd around her laptop, managing to find a couple “misfit” songs and choosing the one by Apollo LTD. It’s got a good beat, and I like the part in the chorus where I can already visualize a sequence of moves.

“Okay, what’s next?” I glance at the group.

“I like ‘This Is Real’ by Jax Jones,” Purple Lips says.

Yeah, I really need to learn their names.

“Got it, Trixi.” Lauren adds it to the list.

“Oh! And ‘Don’t Start Now’ by Dua Lipa.”

“Yes! I love her!” A girl with a freckly nose and almond-shaped eyes shows some enthusiasm.

Lauren jerks in her seat, raising her eyebrows. “I’m pretty sure that’s the first time you’ve said anything other than your roll call answer, Charlize. Good job.”

The girl blushes at Lauren’s compliment, dipping her head and scuttling back into her cave.

Lauren adds that song to the list, and my smile grows. “This is good. Okay, another.”

A few more are shouted out, listened to, discussed, and finally “Dance, Dance” by Fall Out Boy is thrown in for the old-timer—me, apparently. So hilarious.

And then “Higher Ground” is voted on as well. It’s a little slower, but the lyrics are awesome, and it’s good to have varied dynamics within the set.

I’m already starting to visualize how this will go. It’s all coming back so naturally, like no time has passed, no betrayals have slayed me, and no evil woman has destroyed my career.

“Okay, guys, get up. Let’s start working on some moves.” I line them up and go through the basics, making sure they’re getting it right from the outset. No point learning it incorrectly and forming bad habits.

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