Deep breath.
Three girls sat at the table in front of me, whispering. Every now and then they looked up from the flyer and scanned the room. Then they laughed and huddled up again. Finally one girl caught my gaze. She had shiny long blonde hair straight out of a shampoo commercial and was wearing the dress Leighton Meester wore on last night’s “Gossip Girl.”
I had to ask where she got it. Not that I could afford it if it was real.
I walked over and placed my tray on the table. “Hi, I’m Dani, can I si--”
The blonde sneered. “You’re kidding me, right?”
As if on cue, Queen Bee’s friends started laughing. All three gathered up their trays and moved to sit with a group of guys at the next table over, occasionally turning back to look at me and laugh.
Did I have something on my shirt? Maybe I wasn’t wearing the right shirt. Or even worse, maybe a huge zit erupted on my nose?
I was surrounded by a sea of people, bobbing along on the waves and forced to sink or swim. What would it be? I clutched my tray just like a life raft.
I’d never felt so alone. So small.
So…nothing.
I considered bringing dinner back to Ames Hall to eat in my room -- even spending time with Bev had to be better than letting everyone think I was a loser who eats alone -- when I saw a tall girl wearing a pink tank top with rhinestones across the chest waving in my direction.
For second there I thought she meant someone else, but apparently not, because she strode over to me. “Don’t let them bother you. They just think they’re too cool for school. Whatev. You’re the new freshman in Bev’s room, right?” When I nodded, she stuck her hand out for me to shake. “I’m Maya.”
My hands were full holding my tray, so I did an elaborate balancing act with one hand and my hip and stuck out my right hand. “Dani.”
Maya motioned for me to follow her to where she was sitting with a group of guys and girls. “What program are you in?”
“Dance.” Wow. I was about as talkative as my goth-girl roommate. What was wrong with me?
“Me too.” Maya’s cocoa-colored eyes shone. “So, what do you think of Bev?”
“Uh--” I stammered.
She held up a finger to silence me. “Don’t worry. I don’t like her either. She hates dancers. Total freak show.”
We finally approached Maya’s friends’ table. They, too, were huddled over a colorful flyer.
“Hey,” Maya said and caught their attention. “This is Dani. She lives with Bev Marcus.” The kids shot me a sympathetic look. “Dani, everyone.” Maya plopped herself down in between a short Hispanic girl and a guy who quite frankly puts the Sparta boys to shame. Whoa.
Hmmm...looks like I’m gonna like it here!
I placed my tray down at the empty spot next to a cute guy with spiky blond hair, dressed in a black t-shirt and ripped jeans. “What’s that?” I pointed at the flyer.
The Hispanic girl pushed the piece of paper over to me. “They chose our school for the next season of Teen Celebrity Dance-off!!” She smiled shyly. “I’m Analisa.”
“It’s not fair the auditions are only open to dance students,” Blond Spiky Boy said. “And let me guess, Analisa won’t be auditioning anyway because it’ll take away from your serious dance career?”
“It’s not ballet. That’s true,” Analisa said. “But as long as we still make our regular classes and rehearsals, it could only help.”
“Whatever, Kyle. You know you can’t dance anyway,” Maya said, dismissing him with her hand.
“Ladies, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” A tall guy with dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes the color of the Caribbean extended his hand and let it linger. Contacts? Had to be. Nobody has eyes that blue naturally. “Hi, I’m Craig,” he said, smiling and revealing the most adorable set of dimples I’d ever seen. He looked like he walked straight out of the pages of the Abercrombie catalog. Since the Devereaux School doesn’t teach modeling, I guessed ‘actor.’
“Dani,” I squeaked.
I was forced to rethink my decision not to shower. I mentally cursed myself for being anxious to get away from Bev.
Maya smacked Craig’s hand away as if he were a mosquito. “Don’t let him bother you.”
“He’s not bothering me.”
Maya sighed. “Whatever. I wanna hear more about the show.”
What were the chances I’d get on, especially against the senior girls? But still, I had a shot. Maybe not a good one, since my training is mostly limited to the classics, but I could still try. Man, this school was so cool. Much better than Sparta High.
“Who’s on the show?” I asked.
Analisa consulted the flyer. “So far, they’ve confirmed J.D. Danforth, Daronn Williams, and John Michael Cooper, but rumor has it Prince Harry and Daniel Radcliffe are in negotiations.”
I giggled. “Prince Harry and Harry Potter?”
Analisa cleared her throat before continuing. “Well, I seriously doubt the prince will do it. Isn’t he in the Royal Marines or something? Personally, I’m hoping for Robert Pattinson.”
“Yeah, right.” Maya’s laughter sounded more like a snort. “Like he’d really do this. I think that’s illegal anyway. He’d have to dance with underage girls.”
Wow, all those stars were totally hot. Daronn’s debut hip-hop CD landed him at the top of the Billboards at just sixteen, and who wasn’t in love with J.D. Danforth?
“Just guys?” I asked.
Analisa tossed back her curls. “Looks that way. I recognize most of them, but not Michael Cooper.”
I laughed. “You mean John Michael Cooper, right?”
Analisa blushed. “Oops, right.”
“You don’t know who JMC is?”
Analisa shrugged, twirling a strand of fettuccine with her fork. She wasn’t worried about carbs?
“Um, Great Expectations? Hello?” I asked.
“The book?”
Kyle rolled his eyes. “The band. They’re all over MTV.”
“Sorry, but I was never really allowed to listen to popular music,” Analisa explained. “My mom’s a ballet teacher. I only listened to music by dead white guys growing up.”
Maya shook her head slowly and whistled. “Girl, that’s some warped life you led.”
I felt my forehead scrunch up as I thought. “Why aren’t there any girls?”
“They were hoping to get Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift, but there was this whole controversy about whether Miley was a good role model and Taylor was too expensive,” Kyle explained.
“Anyway, their target demographic is teenage girls, so it just makes sense to only have guy stars,” Analisa said.
“Taylor Swift, now that’s a chick I could get behind.” A smirk graced Craig’s well-chiseled face.
Maya turned towards him, exasperation darkening her expression. “Was anyone talking to you? I didn’t think so.”
“So, how’s it work?” I asked.
A third guy, a tall, skinny Asian kid who, up to now, had been quietly doodling animé figures in his sketch pad, said, “They’re gonna choose five dance students to be partners for the stars. But I really don’t think it’s fair that only dance students can audition.”
“What do you care whether it’s just dancers?” Maya asked.
“Because,” Craig answered slowly, dragging out his syllables, spelling it out for a bunch of infants. “It’s national TV. My big break.” His already incredible eyes flashed a bright, piercing blue, making me go weak in the knees. It was a good thing I was sitting.
Definitely an aspiring actor.
Analisa laughed. “They’re only choosing girls.”
“That’s just it,” Ryan said. “It’s discrimination. We should sue.”
“Big words.” Maya smirked. “Someone’s been reading his Constitution, huh?”
I cleared my throat. “Actually, I think it’s only discrimination if the government does it. So you can’t sue.” Everyone stared at me like I’d grown a second head. “My mom’s a law professor.”
Craig smiled in my direction. “Guess we better listen to the new girl.”
Kyle fixed a hard stare on me. “I’m sure we could still sue.”
Maya shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Whatev. You trying out for ‘Law & Order: Special High School Unit’? Cut the act.” She stood up, lifting her tray with the regal air of a queen. “Gentlemen, it’s been real, but my girls and I gotta finish eating and get practicing.”
She marched away, and we followed her to a nearby table. I kept sneaking looks back at Craig and his friends, though.
“Why did we leave?” I asked. “They seemed really fun.”
“Tim’s pretty cool. Kyle has his moments,” Analisa admitted. “But Craig is a total jerk.”
I looked over my shoulder at the guys we’d just left sitting a few tables away. Craig definitely looked like the leader of the pack. “He seems pretty nice.”
Actually, he seemed really hot, but I wasn’t going to admit that to the girls just yet. Not when I barely even knew them. I’d start with nice. Nice was neutral. Nice was safe.
I could deal with nice.
“Girl, everyone in school thinks that, and it goes straight to his head,” Maya told me, a conspiratorial tone coloring her words. “Really arrogant. I don’t fall for that shit.”
“Yeah, don’t get any ideas. Everyone wants to date him,” Analisa said. “Anyway, I think he’s still with Hadley Taylor.”
“Who’s Hadley Taylor?”
Maya gestured over her shoulder. “You just met her.”
Great.
“He probably only likes her because she’s totally rich. One of the upper class girls’ dorms is named after her dad,” Maya continued. “Plus, she’s a junior and danced Sugar Plum her sophomore year.”
Shoot. Hadley Taylor was serious competition. Nobody ever gets the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy that young. I was way out of my league. Better write Craig off.
I knew I wouldn’t meet the guy of my dreams tonight.
“What grade are they in?” I asked, motioning towards the table of guys.
“Seniors,” Maya and Analisa answered at the same time.
“Craig has an audition for the Yale Drama Program in two weeks, but it’s just a formality,” Analisa said. “Everyone knows he’s going there.”
“And if not there, then either UCLA or Northwestern.” Maya shrugged. “He’s a cocky jerk, but damn, the boy can act.”
I looked back at the other table. “So how do we try out?”
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