accident.â
âI know,â Katy agreed. âI keep thinking of when we were little. Remember that old tree house in Jakeâs yard? We were such good friends then. Nothing ever came between us.â
âThat was fun,â Selena replied. âI always had the best times in my life with you and Jake.â
âPlaces, everyone!â Mr. Riordan called.
When all the cast members had gathered, he cleared his throat and stared gravely at them. âOur theater family has suffered a terrible tragedy,â he announced dramatically. âWeâll all miss Jake. Butâas Jake himself would have agreedâthe show must go on!â
Is that all there is to it?
Selena wondered.
Does the show really have to go onâno matter what happens?
Mr. Riordan directed them to begin. Selena took a deep breath and prepared to speak her lines.
But it didnât seem to work. When Danny uttered Romeoâs words, she saw Jakeâs face. When the boy who had taken Jakeâs role spoke his lines, Selena imagined Jake in his place.
During a break, she wandered backstage. She wondered why Eddy hadnât come to rehearsal today.
Selena had only spoken to him once since Jakeâs death. She hadnât told him that Jake was the stalker.
She couldnât bear to think about it.
Katy sat backstage on a prop table, looking nearlyas glum as Selena felt. âHowâs it going?â Katy asked. âWhat are you doing back here?â
Selena frowned. âI just canât get into it.â
âI know what you mean. Iâve messed up the lighting cues three times. The stage manager is ready to kill me.â
âI keep thinking the show must go on,â Selena continued. âBut I donât get it.
Why
should we keep doing the dumb play? Jake is dead! Thatâs more important than a play. I wish Iâd realized that earlier. Maybe Jake would still be alive.â
âYou canât blame yourself,â Katy replied softly.
âI canât help it!â Selena cried. âI understand it now. When Jake wrote those notes, he was trying to get me to stop taking the plays so seriously. Theyâre all I ever thought about.â
Katy nodded. âMaybe so.â
âI guess he thought if he scared me, Iâd give it up. But I didnât pay attention to him. I should have listened.â
âPlaces!â Mr. Riordan called from the front of the auditorium. âSelena? Where is Selena?â
Selena started toward the curtain. She didnât know if she would have the strength to finish this rehearsal. Every time she thought of Jake, she wanted to cry.
No play is worth dying for,
she thought.
And no scholarship is worth losing a friend for
.
She stopped and turned back to Katy. âYou know what? Iâve made a big decision.â
22
Â
âM r. Riordan,â Selena called, âI need to tell you something. Itâs important.â
The rehearsal had just ended, and the teacher was stuffing his script into a leather briefcase. âNot now, Selena,â he answered, straightening up. âIâm already late.â
âIt wonât take longââ Selena promised.
âSorry,â Mr. Riordan called, striding to the door. âCatch me tomorrow morning. You were great tonight, by the way!â
âButââ
âSee you tomorrow.â With a brusque wave, Mr. Riordan disappeared through the door.
âDid you tell him? Did you tell him youâre leaving the play?â Katyâs voice startled Selena. She hadnât heard her friend approach.
âNo,â she answered unhappily. âHe was in some kind of a super rush.â Selena ran a shaky hand through her hair. âI canât stand it, Katy,â shemoaned. âIâm so jumpy. I should feel safer now that I know the stalker is gone, right? But everything about this play still feels wrong.â
âWell, I think youâre doing the
K.D. McEntire
Falguni Kothari
Elena Matthews
Erica James
Lillian Stewart Carl
Anthony Bourdain
Lucy Diamond
Rodney Smith
Marcel Proust
Alan Bennett