Neighbors

F I F T E E N

PIPER

I woke up the morning after I stormed out of Beckett's room completely unsure of how today was going to go. The two of us were supposed to perform two songs together during the pep rally however Beckett was too concerned with his reputation. So much that he wanted to back out. I had no idea how I was going to explain this to Mrs. Raylen. She had been promoting our performance around the school for weeks. I didn't want to let her down. Unfortunately, Beckett didn't mind disappointing her.

When I got to school, I tried my best to avoid Mrs. Raylen at all costs so I could get out of telling her about her male lead. I hadn't seen Beckett all morning and I was pretty sure he was skipping school so he wouldn't have to sing in the pep rally.

During third block, they made an announcement for all those participating to come to the gym. I grabbed my bag and trudged down there by myself. When I got there, I was surprised to see Beckett working with Mrs. Raylen on the dance routine. I set my bag down and made my way over to them. "Oh there you are, sweetheart! Ready to get to work?" Mrs. Raylen chirped. We worked on our different routines, going through all the steps and movements.

Soon, the rest of our group arrived and we all went to get ready in the costume shops in the auditorium. Beckett and I put on our mic packs and got changed.

"What made you change your mind?" I asked Beckett when I finally got a chance.

"I couldn't let you guys down. We've all worked so hard for this and it wouldn't be fair of me to just drop out and leave you all to suffer." His eyes told me that he meant what he said. "Plus, I've always wanted to be a prince," he remarked lightheartedly. I rolled my eyes at him as I tugged my shirt over my head, replacing it with my light blue dress.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted last night," he apologized. I glanced over the screen that was shielding my body from sight. "You were right. I was only concerned about my reputation and I was letting everyone down by dropping the role."

I didn't know what to say so I just nodded as if to say it's okay. I ducked down behind the screen to slip on my heeled booties. Neither Beckett nor I spoke a word. We silently got ready, exchanging only a few awkward glances. Just as Beckett was about to say something, Mrs. Raylen knocked on the door telling us it was time for the pep rally to start. We scurried and adjusted our hair and outfits.

"Do I look okay?" Beckett called out. I turned and saw him standing there with his arms out. I made my way over to him and ran my fingers through his brown locks. I straightened out his t-shirt and jacket.

"You look fine." I sent him a small smile before taking his hand. "Come on so we don't miss anything." I led him out of the auditorium and we jogged down to the gym. We entered and sat down with Mrs. Raylen and the rest of the theatre kids who were participating in the performance.

Our principal introduced the first act which happened to be the cheerleaders. They all came running onto the mat that they had laid out, pompoms ruffling. I saw Gabrielle blow Beckett a kiss and I quietly scoffed at her actions. I had to admit, it made me a bit jealous to see this. But to my surprise, I saw Beckett roll his eyes out of the corner of mine.

They performed their routine and all the guys whooped and hollered every time their skirts rode up. This was one of the many reasons I hated straight high school guys. The cheerleaders exited the floor and their mat was rolled up and moved out of the way.