Summerlost by Ally Condie Page B

with the fabric company this morning giving them an earful,” Meg said, “and I’m using our strongest material right now to make him a new pair of breeches for the next performance. They will not rip.”
    â€œ
Thank
you,” Caitlin said. “With all my heart.” Then she paused. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance I can keep the Juliet costume at the end of the season?”
    â€œNo,” Meg said. “Not a chance. Festival property.”
    Caitlin sighed. “I know,” she said. “But I had to try.”
    â€œShe seems nice,” I said after she left.
    Everyone turned to look at me and I flushed. “I haven’t ever been around her before.”
    â€œShe’s one of the good ones,” Meg said. “You should have seen Brad Murray down here earlier. He was yelling at me right and left.”
    â€œHe’s a jerk,” said Emily.
    Privately, I agreed. Sometimes Brad Murray came over before the show to get some food from concessions and he liked to walk away without paying the bill. Gary always sworeunder his breath when we told him what had happened but he never made Brad come back and pay.
    â€œWhat’s that look on your face?” Meg said to me, so I told her what I was thinking about.
    â€œThat little snot,” she said. “Is he ever wearing his costume when he’s pilfering food?”
    â€œUm,” I said, because one time he had been and even the fancy actors were not supposed to eat while in costume.
    â€œLittle snot,” she said again. “He thinks now that he’s been cast as a lead he owns the place. But I remember him when he was a bratty kid running around at the Greenshow. Trying to steal food then too. He hasn’t changed.”
    â€œI didn’t know he was from here,” I said.
    â€œOh yeah,” said Emily. “I’m surprised you hadn’t heard. Everyone’s been making a big deal about it. He’s the first local cast as a lead since Lisette Chamberlain.”
    An icy hush fell over the room. Or did it? Maybe only I felt it. The other assistants didn’t seem to think anything of Emily throwing Lisette’s name out there.
    â€œI’ll tell you one thing,” Meg said. “Lisette Chamberlain would never, ever have yelled at a coworker the way Brad Murray yelled this morning.”
    I felt brave. Daring.
    â€œWould she have eaten food while in costume?” I asked.
    Meg didn’t get mad. She smiled. “Depended on the costume,” she said. “And the food.”
    And then we all went back to work.
    When I finished in the costume shop I took the steps two at a time. I couldn’t wait to get to concessions and tell Leo about Brad Murray and the wardrobe malfunction. And to share the Lisette information. It wasn’t much. Almost nothing. But Meg hadn’t seemed annoyed when I’d asked about Lisette.
    Leo was standing right inside the door of the building, looking out, with his arms folded.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” I asked.
    Then I saw them. The boys on the bikes. Making gestures at Leo through the glass. Cory was with them.
    â€œLet’s go somewhere else,” I said. “Into the Portrait Hall. Maybe they’ll be gone when we come out.”
    â€œI’m already enough of a coward for coming inside,” Leo said.
    â€œThey’ll leave you alone if you walk away,” I said. “You have to ignore them.”
    â€œYou sound like my parents.” Leo sounded mad. “Like every teacher ever. That doesn’t work. You can’t walk away every time they bother you. Sometimes there’s nowhere to go.”
    The boys had seen me come up next to Leo. One of them pulled up his eyes. Like he was pretending to be Chinese. Making fun of me.
    I heard Leo draw in his breath.
    And someone else behind me.
    I turned around.
    Meg.
    â€œThose little brats,” she said. “I’m going to go say