The Comeback by Marlene Perez Page B

and stalked off.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with him?” I asked Monet.
    â€œNo idea,” she said.
    I shrugged. “Nothing can get to me today. You were right. Going out with Tanner was smart.”
    â€œHe’s a nice guy.”
    I shrugged. “He’s certainly good-looking, and that is definitely helping me get back on top.”
    â€œI didn’t set the two of you up so that you could use him to become popular again.”
    â€œSo why did you?” I was annoyed. Monet was acting as though I was committing a crime or something. “I’ve never made a secret of the fact that I like being liked.”
    â€œBeing popular doesn’t necessarily mean you’re liked,” Monet snapped.
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” The idea stopped me in my tracks.
    â€œAsk yourself why being popular is so important to you.”
    Ava came over. “Monet, where should I put this?” She had a painting of a Tuscan villa in her hands.
    â€œAva, that’s gorgeous,” I said.
    â€œThanks,” she said. “I painted it from a photo I took when we went on vacation there last summer.”
    Mr. Fanelli clapped his hands. “All right, places, everyone. And remember, people, you need to be off book. You’ve had four weeks to memorize your lines. I’m going to start imposing fines on Monday.”
    Most of the cast groaned, but I smiled smugly. I had a gift for memorization and had both Bianca and Katharina down cold.
    â€œSophie, Dev, where are you? I’d like to work with the two of you.”
    â€œI’ll get him.” I finally found Dev in the closet where the crew kept the supplies they needed to design the sets. I observed him for a minute as he hoisted cans of paint onto the shelf. The muscles in his arms rippled. Just then, he turned around and caught me staring.
    â€œFanelli wants us,” I said.
    â€œI’ll be right there,” he said.
    I hesitated. “Did I do something wrong?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œBecause you’re acting like you’re mad at me about something.”
    Dev ignored the question. “C’mon, Fanelli is waiting.”
    â€œLet him wait. You didn’t answer my question.”
    â€œSophie, why do you have to be like this? Just when I think I…” His voice trailed off.
    â€œYou what?” I said. Butterflies were building in my stomach. “What, Dev?”
    â€œNever mind,” he said. “I’m not in the mood to stand in line to worship the great Sophie Donnelly.”
    â€œNobody asked you to,” I snapped.
    Monet poked her head into the room. “Mr. Fanelliis asking where you two are,” she said. “He’s almost at the hissy-fit stage. He’s muttering something about spoiled little prima donnas.”
    â€œWe all know who he’s talking about,” Dev said, shooting me a glare. He strode off.
    â€œYour brother has a serious case of PMS,” I said.
    Monet was smiling. “It’s good to see that nothing’s changed with you two.”
    As we walked back to rehearsal, I wondered. Something had definitely changed between Dev and me, but what?
    Monet caught up with me the next day before class. “Hey, you had fun the other night, right?”
    â€œYou mean with Tanner? Yes. In fact, I was hoping he’d ask me out again.”
    â€œThat’s great,” she replied. “Because both he and Scott have to work on Friday night until closing and they wanted to know if we wanted to do something afterward.”
    â€œWhy didn’t he ask me himself?” I said.
    â€œHe’s shy,” she said.
    â€œSounds good,” I said. And it wasn’t like anyone else was beating down my door. I had to have some kind of social life or people would think I had turned into a recluse or something.
    But on Friday, I was in the library during freeperiod when Eli Hudson, a big-man-on-campus senior, leaned over to me from the