Leading Ladies #2 by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel Page A

Homecoming with him.
    BENNY NOVAK
was going to ask
ME
to go to Homecoming with
HIM
.
    I stuck the note back in my bag without saying anything. A year ago, I would have been ecstatic at the idea of Benny Novak asking me on a date. But this year, we had finally become friends. I really liked being friends with him. If it suddenly turned into a boy/girl thing, everything might be ruined. I didn’t think I could stand that.
    I caught Ivy looking at me. My little peek at the note had not escaped her. She knew me well enough to have an idea of what it had said from the expression on my face. She also knew me well enough to realize I didn’t want to say anything about it.
    â€œHey, Tally,” Ivy said. “What parts do you think Buster and Audriana will end up getting?”
    Tally’s face lit up, and she began writing something so complicated that she needed to add a diagram. Ivy and I watched her, as fascinated as if she were writing the secret location of the Holy Grail.
    As I watched, I couldn’t keep my mind from wandering. Everything was changing—everyone was pretending something.
    Ivy and I were both doing our best to pretend that everything was normal, that she was not moving away. I was pretending I was not about to become Benny’s
un
friend. Tally was pretending that she still had a shot at the lead role in
Annie
. Miko was pretending
4 Girls
—and me, Ivy, and Tally, the rest of The Four—didn’t matter.
ONE
thing needed to change.
    Maybe Benny wants to tell me something else
, I thought.
Maybe it’s an idea for the magazine or a prank I can play on Kevin.
    By the time the bell for lunch rang later that day, I felt like I was spinning. There were so many thoughts in my head.
    One step at a time
, I thought.
    There was no point in prolonging the agony. I went to the cafeteria and waited.
    But Benny never showed up.

I was standing in front of my gym locker in the girls’ locker room, shoving my basketball sneakers and dirty socks into a plastic bag. Not only had Benny Novak failed to appear in the cafeteria yesterday, but he had failed to reappear at school today. I swung by the nurse’s office to check the list, and sure enough, Benny Novak was out sick. He must have gotten the flu everyone else had. Part of me was relieved. The question of the dance could be avoided. At least for the next few days.
    Audriana came racing into the locker room behind a group of other girls and made a beeline for me.
    â€œIs she here? Have you talked to her?” she asked.
    â€œWho?”
    â€œTally. She has gym next period. Where is she? The cast list is up! I want to make sure she knows.”
    â€œI haven’t seen her, but you know Tally—she’s always running late. So? Who got Annie?”
    The door opened and several more girls came in. None of them were Tally.
    Audriana made a face.
    â€œValerie Stupid Teale,” she said. “Big surprise. And she’s strutting around like she’s Lady Gaga or something. Soooo irritating.”
    â€œWhat about you?”
    Audriana sighed. “I’m Daddy Warbucks’s chauffeur. I get to sing a solo line in ‘I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here,’ but that’s about it.”
    â€œWhat did Buster get?” I asked.
    â€œRooster,” she replied. “It’s not a huge part, but there are some really good scenes. He’ll be fantastic.”
    I had to agree.
    The door opened again. “Oh, there she is,” I said.
    â€œY’all,” Tally said, tossing her gym bag on the floor. “The world is
such
a cruel place.”
    Tally was back to normal, I noticed. Filled with Drama and
LOUD
.
    â€œYou saw the cast list?” Audriana asked. Tally nodded.
    â€œHonestly, why do people not see how awful Valerie is?” Tally asked. “She’s so fake and stilted—like she’s trying to act like she thinks an actor playing Annie should act. Ugh. The whole thing