The Comeback Read online

  “I see you every day, too,” he pointed out.

  I pulled away from him to look him in the eye. “Yes, but I’m your girlfriend,” I said icily.

  “Sorry, babe,” he said soothingly. “You’re right. Let’s get some food. You haven’t eaten anything yet.”

  Angie was standing at the buffet eating the shrimp with sensual abandon when we approached. She was using so much tongue that I wondered what she would do when faced with a real live boy instead of a member of the shellfish family.

  I thought it was tacky, but Connor didn’t seem to mind. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her.

  “How’s the shrimp?” I said.

  “Delicious,” she said. She licked her lips. “Great party.”

  “I’m glad you could make it,” I said to her, a fake smile plastered on my face.

  “I was pleasantly surprised,” she said.

  I wanted to say something to give her the verbal smackdown she so richly deserved, but there was the sound of shattering glass coming from the kitchen. “Excuse me a moment,” I said. “It sounds as though I have some cleanup to attend to.”

  Someone had broken two of my mother’s crystal goblets. I didn’t think she’d be too upset. She’d gotten them in the divorce and had shattered a couple against the fireplace already.

  I liked those goblets, though. We’d used them at every family holiday. I sighed and got out the broom.

  After I’d cleaned up the mess and hidden the rest of the breakables, I went outside, but there was no sign of Connor. Or Angie.

  The festivities petered out around one a.m. and I headed to bed.

  I woke up the next morning to the sound of my cell ringing. Monet’s number flashed on the screen. “Hello?”

  “Oh, good. You’re alive,” she said.

  “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Haven’t you heard?”

  I peered blearily at the clock beside the bed. It was past noon. “Heard what?”

  “Half the people at your party ended up in the emergency room last night,” she said.

  “Hey, I didn’t serve them.” It was true. I knew people probably brought alcohol, but I didn’t approve of drinking. Besides, I couldn’t get anyone to buy it for me.

  “It wasn’t booze,” she said impatiently. “It was the shrimp.”

  “The shrimp?”

  “Food poisoning. I told you to put it on ice. People have been texting all morning. Everybody thinks you did it deliberately.”

  “Why would they think that? I just forgot to keep it cold. That’s not a crime.”

  “Angie Vogel is one of the people who got sick, that’s why. People are saying you served tainted food to take her out of the running.”

  I was shocked. “I’d never do that! It was an accident. She was gobbling that shrimp like there was no tomorrow.”

  “Well, you’d better send out an apology, and soon.”

  “I will, I promise.” After I hung up, I drafted a quick apologetic text and sent it to everyone who’d come to the party. I felt horrible.

  I felt much better a few hours later when I found out that most people hadn’t eaten the shrimp. Monet was overreacting, but to keep goodwill intact, I used the credit card my dad had given me for emergencies to send flowers to everyone who’d ended up with food poisoning. It had turned out to be a very expensive party. I probably should have listened to Monet.

  Yet somehow, I blamed it all on Angie. I couldn’t get over the feeling that she’d gotten sick just to spite me. Drama queen.

  Chapter 3

  What do you mean, I didn’t get the lead?” I slammed my locker shut and leaned against it to glare at Monet. It was the Monday after my disastrous party, and it was shaping up to be a pretty lousy one.

  “Sophie, don’t be like that,” she replied.

  “Like what? I’d be the best damned shrew ever. Who else could play Katharina, anyway? And you know it’s the only decent part in that whole misogynistic play.” I blocked out the fact that Angie Vogel had Fanelli eating out of her hand during her audition.

  “Who’s using their SAT words?” Monet teased. She was trying to coax me out of my bad mood, but it wasn’t going to happen. Not today.

  “At least tell me that Connor and I are playing opposite each other,” I said.

  “C’mon, we’re going to be late for the first rehearsal,” she said, avoiding my eyes.

  I stopped in my tracks. “Tell me,” I commanded. I’d been certain that I was going to be Katharina. I’d been involved in drama since I was a freshman. No way would Fanelli give it to anyone else. Not after everything I’d done for the drama department.

  “Sophie, keep your voice down,” Monet said. “People are staring.”

  “Let them,” I said, but I did modify my tone. I was used to the staring, but I didn’t want everyone to know what I had planned. “I’ll talk to Fanelli,” I said. “He’ll see it my way. He always does.”

  “I don’t think so,” Monet said. “Not this time. He’s impressed by Angie’s vulnerability. And you don’t want to look desperate, begging a teacher for a role,” she added.

  Monet knew me too well. I loathed the stench of desperation. “What part did I get?” I said.

  “Bianca,” she said. She seemed to brace herself for another explosion.

  “Hmm,” I said. “There are possibilities there. As long as Connor is Lucentio, we’ll steal the show right from under little Miss Angie’s nose.”

  “Er, Sophie,” Monet started to say, but I cut her off.

  “Let’s go. We’re going to be late for rehearsal if we don’t get moving.” I linked arms with her.

  Monet wasn’t feeling well or something. She was having trouble keeping pace with me. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she didn’t want to go to rehearsals.

  Kennedy High had a fabulous auditorium, and that’s where we headed for the first meeting. We were a little late, but Monet was the stage manager and I was a lead. Nothing would happen without us.

  I spotted Connor’s blond hair. It was easy to locate him because he stood head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd. He was, as usual, surrounded by his adoring public.

  “Hey, Sophie,” he said. He gave my arm a friendly punch. What kind of greeting was that from my boyfriend? It was the kind of hello you’d give your soccer buddy, not your prom date. “Did you hear the good news?”

  Obviously, Connor felt the same way I did, that the important thing was that we played a couple.

  I snuggled into him and ignored his look of discomfort. What was with him today? “I know it’s not what we planned, but I think we can make the best of it.”

  “Yeah,” he said in a puzzled tone. “You’re taking it well.”

  “What?” I said. “Taking what well?”

  That’s when I noticed that Angie was standing next to him. And the script in her hand was labeled KATHARINA.

  My gaze went from her to the playbook in Connor’s hand. It said PETRUCHIO.

  I could feel my ears heating up. Mr. Fanelli chose that moment to walk up and hand me my playbook, marked BIANCA.

  “The ingenue role?” I sneered. “I could do that with my eyes closed.”

  “You’ll have your chance to dazzle us with your Bianca,” Mr. Fanelli replied mildly.

  “Who’s playing Lucentio if it’s not Connor?” I said, trembling with rage. I shot an accusatory look at Monet. Why didn’t you tell me?

  I tried, she mouthed, but my attention turned to the guy who was strolling up to our little confab.

  “Sorry I’m late, Mr. F.,” Dev said, smiling broadly.

  I moved to Monet’s side and pasted a fake smile on my face as I talked through gritted teeth. “Your brother? Your brother is playing a romantic lead opposite me and you didn’t bother to tell me? You know I loathe him.”

  A masculine voice responded before Monet could. “Right back at ya, Sophie,” Dev said. “But I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”

  I whirled around and glare
d at him. “You don’t even like theater. You just tried out to annoy me.”

  “Don’t flatter yourself,” he said. “Mr. Fanelli asked me to audition. He thought he might have problems filling the role when it got out who was Bianca.”

  I glared at him, but he strolled over to the stage and plopped himself on the edge. He looked unbearably pleased with himself.

  “Your brother is still a jerk,” I said to Monet.

  She shrugged. “Around you, he seems to be,” she admitted.

  I knew we both remembered how rotten Dev was to me in middle school, when I still had braces and baby fat. And much thinner skin.

  I was a completely different person now. The braces were off, the baby fat was gone, and my skin was now as tough as a rhino’s. More important, Connor and I were the most popular couple in the junior class. Everyone knew we’d be senior prom king and queen. Dev would be gone from the school by then. Just a distant memory. Oh, of course, lots of girls in the junior class thought he was the hottest senior boy, but all I saw was the guy who put a worm down my back when I was in sixth grade.

  Mr. Fanelli clapped his hands. “People, let’s settle down and get started.”

  “Monet, did you find the costumes yet?”

  “Yes, Mr. Fanelli,” she replied. “And they’re already back from the dry cleaner.”

  “Kaitlin, be a dear, and try one on for us,” he said. “They’ve been in storage and I’d like to refresh my memory.”

  Kaitlin got up reluctantly. The costumes must be really ugly this year.

  I noticed that Connor was sitting with Angie. He said something to her in a low voice and she laughed. Her laugh matched her, sexy and confident. She had her hand on his arm and he looked like he’d just been handed a winning lottery ticket.

  Kaitlin came back into the room, wearing a long, flowing gown. It was too tight in the bust and was an ugly green that made her look sickly.

  Connor bent down and whispered in Angie’s ear. A panicky feeling rose up inside of me.

  “Those costumes are horrible,” I said in a loud voice, checking to see if Connor was paying attention. He looked up. “Look at Kaitlin,” I continued. “That dress makes her look pregnant.”

  There was a stunned silence before Kaitlin burst into tears and ran from the room. Angie got up and went after her.

  “Sophie,” Monet whispered, “I can’t believe you just said that.”

  The dismay in her voice clued me in.

  “You mean…?”

  I looked to Connor to rescue me from my own big mouth. He always saved me in situations like these. But not this time. He was looking anywhere but at me.

  Fanelli was wringing his hands and looking alarmed. The cast and crew glared at me. I’d just broken the cardinal rule of high school: Never let the adults, especially teachers, know the truth.

  “Could you just, for once, think before you open your mouth?” Dev said.

  At least he only thought I was an idiot. I realized what it looked like to everyone else. That I’d deliberately tromped on the feelings of a girl everyone liked. Even worse, I’d outed her in front of a teacher.

  Finally, Angie and Kaitlin came back in and rehearsals continued. I prayed Fanelli would forget about the whole thing, but I doubted I’d be that lucky.

  Dev and Monet were the only people who would talk to me the rest of rehearsal. Even Connor, my own boyfriend, avoided me like I had a communicable disease.

  That’s when it really sank in that I would be spending a lot of time with Dev. We were playing romantic leads. I tried to remember if I had to kiss him onstage.

  I was flipping through the script, looking for the dreaded love scene, when Mr. Fanelli said the words that struck fear into my heart. “Angie dear, Connor, where are you? I want my stars to spend time together and get intimately acquainted.”

  I swear there was a special emphasis on the way he said intimately. I started forward but felt Monet’s hand on my arm. “He doesn’t mean what you think he means, Sophie. Calm down. You know everyone is just waiting for some drama in the drama department.”

  I took a deep breath and looked around. It was true. All eyes were on me, waiting for a reaction. I wouldn’t give them a show. At least not yet.

  I watched as Mr. Fanelli led Connor and Angie offstage.

  “Don’t trust your boy alone with the lovely Angie?” Dev’s voice said in my ear. How had he gotten so close? And how did he know what I was thinking?

  I stuck an elbow in his rib and moved away from him. “Of course I do,” I growled at him. But I wasn’t telling the truth. I didn’t trust Connor, not completely. We’d been together for two years, but I knew that he wasn’t the sweet guy from the pool anymore. At least a little of his loyalty and affection was because I was considered the hottest girl in the class.

  Most of the girls hated me; most of the guys wanted me. And Connor liked that. But from the looks in the eyes of the male student body, there was someone else who was piquing their interest. And she was new—as Dev would probably put it, “fresh meat,” a challenge. The x factor, the unknown.

  And me? If they bothered to burn a few brain cells or (shudder) look through our middle-school yearbook, they’d see me, complete with brace face. People had short memories, and we all had our secret middle-school shames. Unfortunate haircuts, awful orthodontia, or embarrassing bodily functions. We’d left those secrets behind, but it wouldn’t take much to dredge up the memories of the old me. And then where would I be?

  Not a challenge. Not a popular, gorgeous girl. Just another girl who’d managed to lose the fat and gain a good hairdresser. No mystery there. And then Connor would dump me.

  Dev’s pesky voice broke me out of my reverie. “Come on, Donnelly, time to get cracking.”

  Wimpy role or not, I did need the rehearsal time. How else was I going to steal the show?

  “Coming,” I said, giving him a tight smile.

  We started to run our lines, reading from the playbook. I was surprised that Mr. Fanelli had chosen not to have a table read at the first rehearsal, but more time one-on-one with Dev meant that I could coach him.

  Turned out that he didn’t need any coaching. He was good, better than Connor. Dev had a deep, rich reading voice with actual feeling behind it. I’d always known there was more to him than a good-looking superjock, but I didn’t realize he was into drama.

  “Why didn’t you audition for the lead?” I asked him.

  “I’m a lead,” he said mildly. “Lucentio is a plum part.”

  “I mean Petruchio,” I said. “He’s the one who gets Katharina.”

  “That role didn’t interest me,” he replied, “and besides, Mr. Fanelli asked me to audition for this part.”

  I was miffed that Dev hadn’t been interested in the lead role. Even though I hadn’t been given the female lead, everyone expected I would get it. Hadn’t he wanted to work with me?

  “Did you take it because you thought you wouldn’t have to work with me? You could have gotten Petruchio, you know. You’re good enough.”

  His eyebrow lifted, but he didn’t comment. “Of course not,” he said.

  “Yeah, right,” I stated.

  “This isn’t middle school,” he said. The condescension in his voice made me want to smack him. “Some of us have grown up, if you haven’t noticed.”

  I had noticed, to tell the absolute truth. Dev was gorgeous, dark wavy hair, tanned skin, white teeth. Connor’s physical opposite, not at all my type. And now I was stuck with him and his “maturity” for six long weeks.

  Chapter 4

  But, Mr. Fanelli, you know that I should be Katharina instead of Angie Vogel.” It had taken me a day to corner him, but I’d finally tracked Fanelli down in the front office.

  Ms. Murphy, the principal’s assistant, watched us in fascination.

  “Sophie, my decision is final.” His voice shook a little, but his expression remained firm. “I am the director of this production.”

  “Of course y
ou are,” I soothed. “But it’s not fair. I’ve been a lead in every production since freshman year.”

  “And you’re still a lead,” he pointed out reasonably.

  “Everyone knows that Katharina is the star of the show,” I said scornfully.

  “But don’t you think it might be time for a little new blood?”

  “No, I don’t,” I said. My voice was rising. “Mr. Fanelli, you have to give me that part,” I shouted.

  There was a loud snort from the front desk, but Ms. Murphy had her head buried in paperwork.

  “No, I don’t,” he said. But he looked nervous.

  “Maybe I should just quit altogether,” I said loudly. Fanelli hated offstage scenes, especially ones that took place a few feet from his boss’s door.

  “Go ahead,” he said, but I could see a little bead of sweat form on his brow. “There are plenty of girls who would love to have the Bianca role.”

  He was right. If I quit, he’d give my part to some other girl, probably some stagestruck freshman, just to spite me. On the other hand, the guy parts were a lot harder to fill.

  “Fine, I will,” I said triumphantly. “But you know, Connor, my boyfriend, will go with me.”

  “Now, let’s not be hasty,” he said. “We can work something out.”

  I moved a little closer to the principal’s office and turned on the tears. “I’m just trying to do my best for Kennedy High,” I wailed.

  “What do you want?” he said.

  I opened my mouth immediately, but he cut me short.

  “I can’t give you the role of Katharina,” he said. “It would cause way too many problems.”

  I hadn’t really expected that he would take the role away from Angie, but now I knew I could make a demand. “A guaranteed lead for the spring musical,” I said.

  We shook on it and I tried not to inhale. He overdid it on the cologne. “You’re smarter than I gave you credit for,” he observed.

  “That’s what everyone says,” I replied. “See how easy that was?”

  I was at my locker at lunch the next day, waiting not so patiently for Connor. We had a standing Wednesday lunch date. Juniors and seniors could leave campus for lunch, unlike the freshmen and sophomores, who were confined like prisoners to the lunchroom swill.