My Senior Year of Awesome (22 page)

Audrey II is hidden offstage for the first number, but I climb inside the shiny green metallic stem to hide from the rest of the cast when a sudden attack of stage fright hits me. My hands start to shake and my breathing turns shallow. Through a peep hole in the middle of the huge plant contraption, I glimpse my mother sitting in the front row and instantly feel calmer.

Next to Mom sits Aunt Tina, who left work early, rode the Acela train into Philly from New York, and then hopped on the regional rail line to Harmony. She threw open the door and strolled into our apartment, as if she’d only traveled a few blocks from her office. Aunt Tina was a member of the Harmony High drama club before succumbing to art of leveraged buyouts, so she’s beyond thrilled to watch me star in a musical at her former high school.

Before I’m completely ready, the crew rolls Audrey II on stage for our first scene, halfway through Act I. When the curtains rise, I twist my neck and raise my arm to adjust a branch. Audrey II’s giant stem shifts a bit and through my peep hole I spot the person sitting on the opposite side of my mother.

Mr. Drum.

His tattooed arm rests on top of Mom’s shoulders. At the sight, my knees cave in, and the plant sways precariously, forcing me to redirect my attention before the structure capsizes.

“Shoot!” I hiss, tightening my hold on the interior handles, straining to keep the thing upright.

“Sadie! Control Audrey II!” Mrs. Cutler stage-whispers from behind the curtain. I suck in a huge breath, lock my knees, ignore the ache in my hamstring, and attempt to get back into character.

As they say in the acting business, the show must go on, despite the shocking appearance of my mother’s new love interest, who also happens to be my ex-Driver’s Ed instructor. I manipulate Audrey II like a pro, and my timing even draws several big laughs from the audience. Jana’s growling Audrey II voice wavers a bit for the first scene. After we receive our first round of applause, she suddenly snaps into character. By the end of Act II, I don’t even mind my striking resemblance to a sequined, glittery pea pod.

As we take our formal bows, I step out from behind an immense leaf and wave to the roaring crowd. Ten rows back, Andy’s head pokes up above the masses. When our eyes meet, he brings two fingers to his mouth and whistles long and loud, inciting further applause. Mr. Drum follows suit and a huge grin spreads over my face. I soak up the audience’s thundering appreciation until the curtain drops like a ton of bricks, abruptly ending my big moment.

“Was that who I think it was clapping for you?” Jana asks as she helps unravel me from a gauzy outer layer of glittery leaves.

“Who, Mr. Drum?”

“Mr. Drum was in the audience? I meant Andy. Chica, I think you need to set some relationship parameters before you invite everyone to see you in action.”

“I didn’t invite either of them. They just showed up!” I dig my green-painted fingernails into her arm. “Don’t let me go out there alone.”

“Ha! I wouldn’t miss this for all the sequins on your sparkly, green leotard.”

Together, we walk into the darkened, mostly empty auditorium.

“No Andy in sight,” Jana whispers. “Conflict avoided. Good luck with Mr. D.” Like a coward, she slips out the side door to find Ben, leaving me alone to deal with my family drama.

“You were wonderful,” Mom says, grinning broadly when I join their little group.

“Stunning. I truly believed you were a plant,” Aunt Tina agrees. “Right, Scott?”

“Nice job, kid,” Mr. Drum says, shifting his hulking weight back and forth. Do teachers get nervous in front of students, ever? I guess when they’ve been kissing your mother, they do.

“What a fun night this has been,” Aunt Tina says, with a sly smile. “Scott, I hear you taught our little Sadie here how to drive.”

“Just the classroom portion, Aunt Tina,” I say. “I’m not driving yet.”

“After I finish helping Kathleen brush up on her driving skills, Sadie, maybe we can go out together.” Mr. Drum turns to Mom. “You’re the most beautiful driving student I’ve ever had. But also, the least mechanically inclined.”

“Really? As bad as me?” I ask.

“Worse,” he says. He’s dead serious.

“Maybe your teaching skills are the problem. Right, Sadie?” Mom asks, but she’s looking at Mr. Drum. Her hand rests on his forearm, covering one of his scarier tattoos.

“I refuse to answer any teacher-related questions until after graduation,” I say. Meanwhile, Mr. Drum leans in and kisses Mom right on the lips. Oh, yuck! Aunt Tina and I engage in mutual eye rolling.

“Can I talk the three of you into a late dinner at The Green Lagoon?” Mr. Drum asks after he and Mom break it off.

I’d prefer the floor to open up and swallow me whole rather than sit through an entire meal with my Driver’s Ed teacher. But, given my mom’s current state of rapture, I’m okay with risking total embarrassment for the sake of her happiness.

Plus, The Green Lagoon has excellent burgers.

***

Mom and Aunt Tina sit through the entire
Little Shop
show again on Saturday night, along with my mother’s now official significant other. Meaning that we are all now aware they are a couple, but we still need to work out a few kinks in our family dynamic. Treating me to a burger at The Green Lagoon was a smart way to begin a long, mutually appreciative relationship, though. Everyone loosens up after a few green beers (or in my case, diet Cokes) and the four of us really bond. Mr. Drum didn’t reveal my driving distractions list, for which I will owe him for all of eternity. Aunt Tina and my mother bickered about their clothes and hair like sisters do, and we all laughed about my Audrey II costume.

After dinner, Mr. Drum dropped Aunt Tina off at the train station before driving Mom and me home in his truck. He told us how he rebuilt the engine, which he claimed purred like a kitten. Mom pretended to be interested, and I closed my eyes in the back seat as the exhausting schedule I’d kept the last few months finally caught up with me.

At the end of the night, Mom invited Mr. Drum into our apartment. I can’t say this for sure, but when I entered my room, ready to collapse into twelve hours of deep sleep, he didn’t appear to be in a hurry to leave.

I’m just glad he didn’t stick around for breakfast. I doubt Mr. Drum would even recognize me sans makeup. Morning-after Sadie is not a pretty sight.

Anyway, I miss a few cues during the second Little Shop show because I’m so happy and excited for Mom. I know Mr. Drum, and deep down, he is a good person. For years, I feared my mother would end up with a total rat. No one, and I mean no one, wants rat relatives, even if they are step-relatives.

When the last notes of the finale echo in the air, the curtain drops and the audience roars. The stage crew yanks the curtain back up, and I notice Andy, much closer to the stage tonight, clapping with his hands held above his head. Our eyes meet, and then he jogs up to the stage with a huge bouquet of flowers. Jana is squealing next to me, because Ben gave her flowers too.

But mine are bigger. Just saying.

I stare at Andy, completely speechless, but he just shrugs as if to say, it’s all cool and walks back to his family. All of the Super Ks are in attendance for my last-ever performance as a plant.

Should I have kissed Andy, like Jana kissed Ben? In front of everyone? I flash back to my last kiss with Andy and remember how much trouble I had stopping the process once we got started. No way is that happening with both of our mothers less than ten feet away.

Next up is the cast party at Leslie’s house. I hurry backstage; tearing off pieces of my costume, ready to kiss the green monstrosity good-bye. The stage crew lumps together near the exit, wearing black T-shirts, acting too cool to mingle with the cast, but Leslie told me they always show up for free food. Jana holds both of our flowers while I shed my final layer of glittery gauze.

“Ben’s waiting for me,” she says.

“Will he go to the cast party?”

“I’m not sure. We may have other plans. Why don’t you walk out with us?” Jana says, acting oddly evasive.

In the parking lot, we run into Andy and Sidh, talking with a group of younger girls, including Colette. And Melinda Banner. I stare hard at Jana’s little sister, and she nods her head, sending me an affirmation, before looking away with sad eyes.

“Ben’s over there. Be right back.” Jana takes off toward her boyfriend’s minivan, deserting me among the sea of girls circling Andy and Sidh.

“Nice flowers. Apparently there was some truth to the Senior Superlative.” Melinda sashays over to me.

Rather than disagree, I clench my jaw shut. Though I’ll never admit it, Melinda’s probably right. Colette uncovered the truth I hadn’t been able to find on my own. I place my hand on my hip and lift my chin in defiance. “Who knows the truth? You might have missed the story of the year at Harmony High.”

Melinda’s nose wrinkles. “Andy and Sadie the story of the year? I think not.” She spins around and huffs off.

“Sore loser,” I mutter.

“Great job, Sadie,” Sidh says, reaching out to punch my arm affectionately.

“Thanks. Did Andy pay you to come with him tonight?”

“Nah. He mentioned something about you manipulating mechanical devices while dressed in skimpy clothes.” Sidh’s thick eyebrows wiggle up and down suggestively. Andy leans back against his car; a guilty grin plastered on his face. Slowly, the group of girls begins to drift away.

“Thanks for the flowers,” I say, turning to Andy.

“No problem. It’s a closing night tradition. That’s what I heard, anyway.”

I wonder who gives him his information.

“So, no tutoring tonight?” I ask.

He smiles. “Nope. Some of us are going to Bella Pizza. If you want to come, I’ll drop you off at Leslie’s later. I hear the cast party is an all-night event.”

Again with the inside info.

“Um, let me check with Jana. I’m not sure …” I say, and dash over to my best friend, standing with Ben next to Dominic’s car.

“What’s up, sis?” Dom asks. We share a smile. Dom would make a great brother. As far as his boyfriend potential, well, he needs to work on that.

“Are we doing the party thing, Jana?” I ask.

“Dom and Ben want to grab pizza first. The van’s low on gas, so Dom’s driving. I don’t think you can fit.” Jana grins triumphantly and then slides her gaze across the parking lot to Andy.

“Plant-girl can sit on my lap.” Dominic smirks.

“You know what, I think Sidh and Andy are going to Bella Pizza too. I can just catch a ride with them and meet you there, okay?”

“Great idea, Sadie,” Jana says with a sweetly innocent smile.

My best friend is on the brink of achieving her dream ride in the Altomeri hot rod.

“Are you jealous?” she asks, lowering herself onto Ben’s lap. His arms wrap around her like a safety belt.

“Not at all. Add it to our list,” I say. “See you when I see you.”

“Have fun riding with Andy,” she calls, as they zoom away.

By the time I return to Andy, he’s all alone. “Where’s Sidh?”

“Previous engagement. Ready to go?”

I sweep my eyes around the empty parking lot. “With you?”

Andy’s light eyebrows raise. “Do you have another ride?”

“No, but … just the two of us?”

“Something wrong with that?”

“No, I, uh …”

“Sadie, I trusted you enough to let you drive my car. Don’t you trust me?” Andy’s blue eyes gleam in the moonlight, daring me to say no.

This is what I wanted, right? I think so. I climb into the passenger’s side.

“Did you talk to Colette?” I ask him once I’m settled.

He nods. “You were right. The vote was fixed.”

“Andy, I’m sorry you didn’t get the
Most Likely to Succeed
award. It’s the one Senior Superlative that actually matters.” I fold my hands in my lap and twist my fingers together tightly.

But, Andy, being Andy, doesn’t appear upset. “Cindy Min deserves it, too. She’s already written like three novels or something. Besides, Colette’s right, I’d already gotten into my first choice for college.”

“Well, not that it means anything, but I voted for you as
Most Likely to Succeed
.”

Andy presses the power button on the dash to start his car. “It means a lot. Thanks. So, you and Mr. Drum, huh?” he asks, trying to be causal, but I hear a hitch in his voice.

I burst out laughing. “Ugh. No way.”

“Really? He looked a little overly affectionate when he hugged you after the show last night. For a Driver’s Ed teacher, that is.” After checking the rear view mirror, Andy backs out of the parking spot. “You and Jana always talk about how Mr. Drum’s so good-looking. But he’s, like old enough to be your dad …” Andy clears his throat and pauses, at a loss. I decide to help him out.

“That’s a good thing, because he’s dating my mom.”

Andy screeches to a stop in the middle of a three point turn, narrowly missing the dumpster sitting beside the cafeteria.

“Watch it! Do you want to get us killed?” I scream.

“No. Sorry. Can you say that again?”

“Mr. Drum has been secretly dating my mom. For five months. Some kind of forbidden love, I guess.”

“And no one told you?”

“No! I just found out. My mom made me take Driver’s Ed because she was hoping I would realize he’s a great guy before she fessed up. But I was kind of clueless.”

“Well, who expects that to be the underlying reason for mandated driving instruction?” Andy shakes his head in wonder. “Are you okay with their, uh, relationship?”

“Yeah, sure. I mean, it was sort of a shock, but now … I’m okay.”

“Good. I guess. Sorry, but I don’t even know what to say, Sadie.”

“It’s fine, Andy. I’m still adjusting to it myself.”

We drive on in silence.

“So, do you get to keep the costume?” he asks.

“The bejeweled green leotard? Yes. You can borrow it, but I don’t think it will fit you.”

“Heh heh heh.”

At the sound of Andy’s laugh, the tension between us dissolves. I crack up. Seriously. I cannot stop laughing.

“Hey. What?” he asks, reaching for my hand to stop it from repeatedly banging his dashboard. His fingers curl around mine and I freeze mid-slap. “Did you spend too much time squeezed into the plant?”