Prologue
“Don’t you think it’s a little ambitious to put onLes Misérables?”
Charlotte shifted the phone from one ear to the other. “No, why would I think that? These kids are really talented, and they’ve got the singing chops.”
Savannah snorted. “Yeah, but they’re seventh graders. How disciplined can they be? You know they’ll end up losing focus, and you’ll end up stressing yourself out…just like you always do.”
Charlotte frowned, reached into the box, and pulled out a streamer from last year’s production ofWicked. “I donotalways do that. It’s called having faith and reaching for the stars.”
Savannah started to laugh. “It’s called falling flat on your face.”
Charlotte scowled. “You know, it would help if you had a little more faith in me. I’ve put on a few of these plays so far.”
Especially since Charlotte was always supportive of her sister, regardless of whatever endeavor Savannah put her mind to. Over the years, Charlotte had learned not to balk or wince as her little sister had flitted from one project and one course to the next, always chasing something just out of reach.
It wasn’t Savannah’s fault she couldn’t commit to anything, at least not completely. But Charlotte found herself worrying about her little sister far more than she wanted to. With their mother indulging her whims and every flight of fancy, it was up to Charlotte to be the voice of reason. To stand firm in the belief that consistency was the key to success.
No matter how good Savannah was at something, and she had many discernible talents, Charlotte knew if she didn’t stick to one thing, she wasn’t going to get very far.
Which was why Charlotte had spent the better part of a year trying to convince Savannah that medical school wasn’t for her.
It was the biggest commitment of her professional career!
And the last thing Charlotte wanted was to see her sister crash and burn so publicly while she stood on the sidelines, unable to help. She hated knowing she’d tried and failed to get through to her sister, but now, she had no choice. Regardless of her feelings about the matter, and how she broke out into a cold sweat at the thought of her sister being away in med school, where anything could go wrong, she knew she had to be supportive.
Savannah deserved at least that much.
Her sister’s voice turned garbled, and then, Charlotte couldn’t make out anything. She pulled the phone away from her ear and shrugged when the line went dead. After she tried to dial Savannah back a few times, only to get a busy signal, she shoved her phone back into her pocket. With a sigh, Charlotte glanced around the Lawrence School auditorium and sighed. Then, she placed both hands on her hips and tried to envision the audience in the seats, a few of which had stuffing hanging out of them.
The auditorium itself was huge, with several rows of seats that glistened and shone underneath the overhead lighting. When Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut, she saw the rows ofparents on their feet, cheering and clapping, and she saw herself standing backstage, tears in her eyes.
Even though it was summer, and the students were still a couple of months from coming back, she already had high hopes for the year.
Once she opened her eyes again, she reached back into the boxes to go through the decorations and costumes from last year. Although most of them wouldn’t be suitable for this year’s production, she knew she wanted to try to make use of some of them.
With a smile, Charlotte sat down in the middle of the quiet stage and tucked her legs under her. She fished her phone out of her pocket, selected a random playlist, and began to hum along. A few boxes later, she had a shawl thrown over her shoulders, a plastic tiara on her head, and was belting out a sad song from the movie version of the play with her arms flung on either side of her. She was so engrossed in the lyrics and the feelings bubbling up within her, she didn’t hear the door open.
And she didn’t realize she was being watched until Patrick Lisbon, the science teacher, jumped on stage and joined her in harmony. Charlotte lost her rhythm and stumbled over the lyrics as she fumbled for her phone. Hastily, she jabbed the screen until she was able to stop the music. Slowly, she turned to face Patrick, who stood there with one hand in the pocket of his tanned khakis and an easy smile on his face.
Charlotte’s heart missed a beat when he lifted his gaze to hers.
She opened her mouth and forgot the rest of her sentence.
Say something, Char. You can’t just stand here like an idiot.
Color crept up her neck and cheeks as she shifted from one foot to the other and tried to rein in her racing mind. But the harder she tried to focus on salvaging her dignity, the farther away it felt. She was standing in the middle of an auditorium in ashawl, with a sparkly tiara on her head, and smudges of color on her fingertips.
She couldn’t have planned a more embarrassing moment if she’d tried.
Patrick reached into the nearest box and flicked his sandy brown hair out of his eyes. “So, does this mean you’re going to be putting onLes Misérablesfor the winter play?”
Charlotte swallowed and ignored the thumping of her heart. “Yeah, what do you think? Too ambitious?”
Patrick shook his head and put back a foam scepter he’d dug up. “No, but it might be a little too dark. Doesn’t Fontaine die in the first half or so of the movie?”
Charlotte paused. “Well, yeah, but it’s a powerful story about standing up for what you believe in. About honor and bravery and loyalty.”
Patrick nodded. “Yeah, but it’s still depressing. I mean, it’s right there in the title. You couldn’t think of anything else?”
