"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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Anton was gone. Jack was visibly shaken up. I didn't blame them, but the timing couldn't have been worse. We had less than half an hour before our performance started, and nothing seemed right.
Juan was, oddly enough, being a leader all of a sudden. He had Samantha checking all our costumes and brushing up our makeup. He'd already gone to check to see if all the props had ended up in the loading area.
I wasn't as nervous since I knew we couldn't place lower than third. It probably helped that at least three of the groups we'd competed against in the scene round were awful.
Unfortunately, Elmwood and Kirby weren't joking around. I'd heard some of the Elmwood girls talking in the bathroom about how they knew they would win since they'd placed second and first in both rounds of monologues.
Carson was talking to his bandmates who made the trip. His girlfriend Rissa was helping him fix some of his makeup. Carson had somehow ended up with too much blush near his eye, so Rissa was scrubbing at it with a cloth.
"How did you manage that?" The drummer, whom I assumed was Foster, asked.
"I can't believe you dressed up as a clown," Eileen, the keyboardist, giggled. "You know this is totally going on the band's Instagram."
Carson groaned. "I am a harlequin, and I asked for support from my friends, not ridicule."
Foster laughed. "Dude, next time, don't get the role in the school play that requires you to wear a hat with tassels and bells."
"Carson's just clowning around," Eileen smiled and tossed her dark hair. "Actually, that might make a fun song. Foster, make a note for the phrase 'clowning around' later."
"Already dreaming up cords," Foster said as he pulled a string of earbuds from his pocket.
Jack approached the group. He and Foster exchanged slaps on the back. Rissa waved as she finished fixing Carson's makeup.
"You should have let me do it," Eileen said. "I am the professional."
Eileen looked like a model. Her makeup and contouring were perfect. On the other hand, Rissa only wore a little bit of pink lipgloss and blue mascara.
"You aren't a professional," Rissa rolled her eyes. "You have half the girls in the area following you on Instagram for makeup advice. Besides, the only person who gets to put makeup on my boyfriend is me."
"You look great, dude," Jack handed Carson his hat. "And it's almost time to go on. It would be best if you let Rissa, Foster, and Eileen find their seats. They can help us load the truck after the show since I totally saved you last night helping Carson set up for the bonfire."
"Bye, Carson," Rissa planted a kiss on his cheek. "See you after the show."
Carson watched his friends exit the tent and then wiped at his cheek. Jack was silently laughing until Carson shoved his shoulder.
