“No. He just doesn’t know you like him yet, that’s all.” I squeeze her hand. She doesn’t deserve to be burned like this. Especially since she’s always there for everyone else. She’s the only one of Carlton’s friends who didn’t turn her back on me when he did, and even still, she remained a good friend to him and Meredith by not letting me talk badly about them. “Everything will work out,” I tell her, trying to sound optimistic. But I know what she’s thinking, and I can’t help but agree—that Little Birdie is going to write about her crush on Carlton.
And then everything else is going to get even more complicated.
“Did you know,” she says, “that Meredith used to have really bad social anxiety?”
“No. That’s hard to imagine. She seems so confident all the time.”
“I know she does,” says Rue. “But she’s not always confident. When we were younger, I was the only person who knew how hard it was for her to socialize with people. It used to send her into a panic.”
“Used to? What changed?”
“I told her that I was scared too. And if I could fake it, so could she.” Rue smiles, a faraway look in her eyes. “I told her that anytime she felt like running and hiding, to imagine I was there, standing next to her, holding her hand. Just as scared as she was. That’s what started her interest in acting. Pretending all the time. And believe it or not, joining the drama club helped her break out of her shell. But now, I just wish I could take my own advice. I’m so, so scared of what all my friends will think if they find out I like C.”
It’s weird to think of someone as bold and apologetic as Meredith being afraid of what others think.Maybe we aren’t so different after all.I trace patterns on the steering wheel with my thumb. “You’re a good friend. They’ll all understand what you’re going through, Rue. But you just need to talk to Carlton. Tell him how you feel and see if he feels the same.”
“If Little Birdie doesn’t beat me to it.” Her voice is laced with bitterness. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her shift toward me, her eyes rounding. “Speaking of which…”
“What?”
“You and Zayne kissing!” she shouts. Her lips form a wide grin. “When did that start happening?”
I laugh. “Just before you came to the car, actually.”
Her eyes get round. “You mean I interrupted your first real kiss?”
“Don’t worry,” I giggle, though she definitely cut our moment off earlier than I would have liked. “It’s not like that.”
“Ah,” she says, like that explains everything. “Got it. It’s for the play, then.” All traces of excitement seem to melt off her face.
I try to match her words with meaning but fail. “What do you mean?”
“Method acting. You know…how lead couples get together to help improve their onstage chemistry? Zayne’s done it before, with that girl Cassidy who played his love interest last year. She ended up getting accepted to Underwood. That’s what you guys are doing, right?”
I’m stunned into silence for a long moment. She makes it sound like a common practice among the theater students at Fallbrook. But why am I just now hearing about it?
Because you’re stupid and naive, Dot.
Is that what Zayne has been doing? Method acting, so we’d have even better chemistry onstage? A few months ago, I wouldn’t put it past him, especially if he thought it would improve his chances at getting accepted to Underwood. But we’re closer than that now. He’s admitted he cares about me, and I’m going to choose to hold firm to that belief.
Even if it would be the ultimate revenge for the way I treated him when I first got cast as the lead in the play, Zayne wouldn’t do that to me. He wouldn’t.
“I like Zayne,” I tell her. “And he likes me, too. That’s the truth.”
She squeals, clapping her hands together. “Oh my gosh! This is crazy. Just wait till Little Birdie finds out.”
I smile at her enthusiasm, trying to ignore the sadness her statement makes me feel. Having Little Birdie spread lies about me is one thing, but I’m worried having something this personalput out for the whole school to read will feel like a bit of a loss, dampening the magic of new discovery. “Please don’t tell anyone. I want to keep it off her site as long as possible.”
She nods. “I won’t say a word. Promise.”
A surge of relief rushes through me. “Thank you.” As I drive us to my house, a bit of my hope is restored. Maybe this will be the first thing I’ll get to keep to myself since I became the new girl.
Chapter Twenty
Fledglings!
When a baby bird is born, its mother does not simply feed it an entire worm whole. No!
The mother must chew the food for its fresh hatchling, lest it accidentally choke.
