Too Good to Be True by Laurie Friedman

show. I had to talk to Chloe and try to straighten things out. I was going to do it when I got to the high school auditorium, where we were rehearsing for the show, but the minute I showed up, Ms. Baumann sent me to the dressing room and told me to get in costume for my first dance.
    Everyone on the team was getting ready. Chloe was there, but she was surrounded by a bunch of other ninth graders who were all in the same dance. It wasn’t the right time to talk to her. She was with all her friends. Plus, Ms. Baumann came in while we were getting dressed and told us it was time to start.
    We went through all the dances in the firsthalf of the show. There were twelve of them including solos, ensembles, and the group dances. Anyone who wasn’t dancing was sitting in an area backstage, and Ms. Baumann said there was to be absolutely no talking backstage when other girls were performing, so I couldn’t talk to Chloe then.
    When we went back to the dressing room to get ready for our second round of dances, Ms. Baumann came back with us and said that on show night, we would have exactly ten minutes to change during intermission, which meant there would be no time for fooling around. She timed us while we changed, and no one said a word. There was no way I could have talked to Chloe.
    Then we went back onstage and went through the second round of dances. No breaks. No talking. Still no chance to talk to Chloe. When we finished, Ms. Baumann brought everyone onstage for the finale.
    When we had gone through the whole show to Ms. Baumann’s satisfaction, she sent us all to get out of our costumes and put them in thelabeled bags she had provided so nothing got lost. Then she gave us a final talk about Wednesday night and putting our hearts and souls into the show. Finally, she said we could go.
    It was late, and everyone started leaving the auditorium. It was my only chance. Chloe was walking out of the auditorium with three of her friends. I would have preferred to talk to her alone, but there was no way that was happening. I ran up to the group. “Chloe, can I talk to you?” I asked.
    The girls stopped and looked at me. My stomach was in knots. All I could do was sincerely apologize, like Dad said, and hope for the best. “Chloe, I’m really sorry about what happened.” I looked down at my shoes. “I know I hurt you. You told me you liked Matt. But honestly, things really didn’t happen the way you heard it.”
    My chest felt tight. It was scary explaining it in front of her friends. “I wasn’t secretly going out with Matt. I kissed him once. I hadn’t planned to kiss him at all, and right away, I wished it hadn’t happened.” I clasped my hands together in frontof me. It kind of made me look like I was praying. I guess I kind of was. “I feel terrible about the whole thing. I’m really sorry. I just want to be friends with everyone on the team again.”
    When I finished talking, Chloe’s friends looked at her like they were waiting to see what she would say. I waited too. Her response surprised me. “It’s OK,” she said. “I’ve gotten to know Matt better. I’m not really into him anymore anyway.”
    I don’t know why, maybe it was not having talked to her for so long or just knowing she understood, but I could tell I was about to cry. I tried to blink back my tears.
    Chloe was sweet. “I get it,” she said. “Thanks for apologizing.” Then she gave me a hug. It made me cry more. The other girls looked at each other like they weren’t sure what to say.
    Chloe’s friend Samantha wrapped an arm around me. “It’s OK,” she said, but I couldn’t stop crying. Tears were rolling down my cheeks.
    Chloe’s friend Alex shook her head. “You have to stop crying,” she said. “The last thing you want on performance night is puffy eyes.”Mya, this other girl, was nodding like