"This is all your fault, director's pet. This is a play. I'm not falling in love with you, and I would never ever go out with you, Jack Garrison."
Jack and Shayna can't get through a rehearsal without fighting.
Cheerleader Shayna loathes perfect Ja...
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With Jack Garrison's miraculous return to school, my cheerleading peers were still driving me mad, asking why I kept denying that we were dating. That's how I found myself back with the drama society for lunch again on Wednesday.
Jules talked about some heavy metal band I'd never heard of, and Hugh followed along. Novah was in the back of the room reading again, which seemed to be all she ever did at school, and Rita was going over her Shakespeare lines over and over. It was pretty quiet until the door slammed open, and Samantha came in, giggling with Juan.
As usual, Samantha flaunted some ludicrous outfit that stretched the limits of the school dress code to the max. Today it was a cropped black shirt under a sheer purple cardigan, black and white checkered pants, and high-heeled combat boots. Her hair was dyed silver with strands of gold and done in pigtails. Her makeup looked designed for clubbing, and she topped it off with her signature red lipstick.
I thought seeing her with Juan would make me angry, but my rage settled into a block of indifference. Samantha had always been annoying, and Juan hadn't changed either.
He wore a basketball shirt and athletic shorts that went to his knees. He flinched when he saw me sitting beside Rita like he hadn't known I'd be there. That didn't bother me, though. It was almost like I'd outgrown him.
"Hello, Samantha," Hugh said cooly. "Juan."
"I'm so excited we get to work with Jamie Skylar today!" Samantha said. "I mean, like she's for real in the business. A real actress."
"It's not a big deal," Juan said. "Tell her it's not a big deal, Rita."
"I'm nervous," Rita said. "I feel like I'm going to forget all my lines."
"She's barely famous," Juan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "She can't change your life or anything."
I glared at Juan. "Imagine if someone from the NBA came to watch you play basketball and then gave you pointers afterward. Jamie Skylar is a professional. She knows things and can make us better."
Juan frowned but didn't respond. Samantha giggled again and squeezed his hand. Her grin was overstretched, and she batted her lashes at Juan. She practically vibrated from the coffee fifty-two-ounce tumbler of coffee in her hand. Someone seriously needed to cut off her caffeine supply.
"There'll probably be scouts at the festival, and maybe Jamie's tips can help us get their attention," Samantha said. "And speaking of attention, did you guys see Jack is back in school today?"
Like we could have avoided knowing that, with all the rumors swirling around him like the eye of a hurricane wherever he went, I hoped that Jack was at least staying away from some jabbering and whispers.
"Do we have to talk about Jack?" Juan grumbled.
"I mean, he is our lead," Samantha said. "And I saw him in English earlier. He seemed so defeated. We should do something to cheer him up."
