I study my lap to hide my smile. Not at the situation, but at my cousin’s surprising reaction.
Never have I seen Cat show such straightforward agitation—not even when battling for her freedom during her stay in my time. Then she kept her distress and planning neatly contained, at least around my parents and brother. She never expressed her frustration in public…though the fact that Lucas has the power to make her so openly distraught now is telling in itself.
The realization is sobering, and my heart hurts for Lorenzo. But I know more than anything he would want Cat to be happy.
Back at Lucas’s table, I see him gently but firmly move Desiree off his lap. She does not appear fazed. She continues to prattle beside him while a pained smile crosses his handsome face. He transfers his focused gaze about the room as if he’s searching for something—or someone—and when it lands on Cat, Lucas’s pained smile becomes genuine.
As if of their own accord, the corners of my mouth lift at the sight.
Chapter Eight
It is the second to last class of the day, thank Signore, and as destiny, the scheduling gods, and our mysterious gypsy girl would have it, I enter drama class. According to Cat, this is one of the most highly sought-after electives in the school, and I am fortunate to have been admitted.
We both know there is much more than mere luck at play.
Almost as soon as I enter the small theater where the class meets, a pretty brunette sidles up beside me. She looks over my outfit and the hands I have clenched into anxious fists at my sides and says, “You’ve gotta be Less.”
“And you must be Hayley,” I say, smiling as I take in her outfit. She has paired a bright blue hat with a yellow T-shirt and red skirt, a skirt that is both long and modest in the back and chopped scandalously short in the front. Cat told me her new friend desires to be a fashion designer one day, and after seeing what society deems “fashion” today, I silently wish her luck. “I was hoping we would soon meet.”
Hayley nods her head toward the front of the classroom where a large stage awaits, and I fall in step beside her. “So, Cat tells me you’re quite the talented actress.”
Heat fills my cheeks, and I shake my head. “I fervently wish to be an accomplished performer, yes, but I am afraid my cousin is overzealous in her praise. I have only been in one play.”
She gives me a look over her shoulder. “Living around here, you learn pretty quickly that experience has very little to do with talent. Trust me, with that girl’s background, Cat can spot talent. And if she says you’ve got it, then you’ve got it. Thank God, too, because heaven knows this place could use some fresh blood.”
When we arrive at the front row, she tugs down the bouncy bottom of a dark blue chair. She takes her seat and waits for me to do the same. With a grin, I pull my own chair bottom down, and then on a whim release my hold, watching it snap back up. I bite my lip to contain my laughter. Life here is filled with hidden amusements.
I am still standing, smiling at my latest discovery, when a bored voice dripping with condescension asks, “Never used a chair before?”
A tall blonde sashays past me, not bothering to wait for a reply to her rude question. She marches up the four steps leading to the stage and comes to a stop in the very center, thumbs flicking over the screen of her phone.
Taking my seat, I whisper, “Please tell me she is not the teacher.” The girl does not appear much older than I am, but the way she commands the stage with her presence implies a sense of expertise.
“Oh, heck no,” Hayley says with a roll of her eyes. “That is Kendal Williams, Wicked Witch of Roosevelt Academy and a star in her own mind if no one else’s. She’s the main reason we so badly need new blood in here. She thinks she’s a bag of awesome because her résumé’s filled with lame commercials hawking tampons and a half dozen forgettable walk-on sitcom roles.” She looks at me and says with complete earnestness, “She’s the teacher’s pet and the source of all that is evil in the world.”
Having learned the fine art of sarcasm from Cat, I smile and casually cast a glance at the back of the theater, wondering when the real teacher will appear. That’s when I spot the true source of evil in the world tromping through the open door.
“Him again,” I mutter.
Hayley follows my gaze and laughs. “Don’t tell me. Your first day here and you’ve already fallen for the Michaels charm?” I scoff, and she shrugs. “Don’t get me wrong, the boy’s a hottie. I just wouldn’t waste my time or heart on him.”
I abruptly turn back around and busy myself with smoothing the wrinkles in my skirt. “Certainly not. The boy is insufferable.” Austin stomps down the center aisle, the tread of his heavy boots sounding even louder as they echo off the theater’s walls, and tosses his bag on the ground. I wait until he slumps in his seat and closes his eyes, again failing to notice my existence, to ask, “But purely for the sake of curiosity, why not?”
She laughs. “Inquiring minds, huh? Well, for one, you could do better. I don’t really know you that well, but you seem like a sweet girl. Plus, Austin’s not the relationship type. You see Wicked Witch over there? As far as I know, she’s the only one he’s ever actually dated, and that was years ago.”
My gaze snaps back to the stage. Kendal, the wicked witch, has looked up from her phone to watch a napping Austin, a line creasing the skin between her eyebrows.
“It all happened before I got here,” Hayley continues. “But from what I hear, they were pretty hot and heavy. Up until she cheated on him in front of the whole school. Since then, girls fawn all over him, drawn to the whole bad boy thing he’s got going on, but he ignores it. The surf is his mistress,” she says dramatically, flashing me a smile.
Despite Austin’s obnoxious behavior, I cannot help feeling a sense of sadness listening to the tale. I do not know what a surf is, but I do know what it is like to be betrayed by the one you care about most. Did Kendal give him any warning, or was he caught as unaware as I was? I fight the urge to go to him and offer him a hug. To let him know that I understand his pain.
But then he opens his eyes.
I try to look away, even though I know that I have already been caught, but it is impossible to do so. The deep blue depths of Austin’s gaze ensnare me. The rest of his face is a mask, hiding away his secrets from the world…but in the eyes riveted on mine, there is an unmistakable flash of emotion.
Anger.
It is there and then gone in an instant, but my breath catches at the intensity. I blink my eyes and spin back around.
“Holy cow, girl,” Hayley whispers under her breath. “That boy looked like he wanted to eat you for dessert.”
“We had a disagreement earlier today,” I explain as my heart attempts to beat out of my chest.
“Must have been an epic one.”
A woman with curly brown hair and large spectacles enters through a side door, and Hayley pulls a notebook out of her bag. Scooting low in her seat, she whispers, “Looks like Satan’s spawn saw that little eye showdown, too.”
Looking to the stage, I see the previous squiggle between Kendal’s eyebrows has transformed into a series of deep grooves between narrowed, hateful eyes. Centered on me.
“Girl, you sure know how to make a first day interesting.”
“It does seem to be a talent I possess,” I confide, already wishing the day were over.
As our teacher, Mrs. Shankle, goes over all that the drama class has accomplished in the last few years, I quickly learn that Hayley was right. Kendal is the teacher’s pet—a title she seems to hold thanks to a succession of starring roles.