Misfit Theater Company (Wattys Winner 2018)

30. Misfit Until the End

I'm still so close to tears by lunch time that I almost decide to pull a Gina and eat somewhere else. I don't want to be that strange girl crying while she eats at the end of the table by herself. But then Patti sits across from me with her packed lunch. Without saying a word, we both start to tear up.

"Thatcher told us about the cop and the ticket situation," she says solemnly. "Why do you have to leave theater, though?"

I want to tell her about this morning, so she can understand; but I know I won't be able to get it out without crying. Instead, I shake my head, pushing back the tears, and say, "My mom. I don't want to talk about it."

"She was mad?"

I nod.

"About the ticket or theater?"

"The ticket." But that's not true. "About keeping it from her, I guess. About Thatcher being a bad influence."

Patti stares at me blankly, blinking a few times. "He isn't, though. She's met him, right?"

"Yeah. I know."

The tears won't stop welling up, and one slips down my cheek. I wipe it away before anyone else sees, but Patti definitely caught it. She reaches across the table to rest her hand on mine. "Can't you convince your mom to change her mind?" she asks. Her question borders on begging.

I shake my head.

"I'm sorry. It totally ruins our plans for Romeo and Juliet. I have no idea how you're going to make it work now. I'm so sorry."

"I told you before, that's not what I'm worried about. We'll figure it out—Thatcher, Timothy, and I have been working with what we've got all year when it comes to our performances."

"What about Grant O'Reilly, though?"

She shrugs. "My plan was to pursue my dreams before I even knew about this opportunity, and it's going to be my plan long after Grant O'Reilly leaves. I'm never going to stop trying to be an actress, that's just who I am. But... well, I don't know if you've noticed, but... I don't have very many friends." She looks away when she says this, and continues not to make eye contact as she elaborates. "And you are my friend. Probably one of my first girl friends—friend who is a girl—if I'm being honest. I've never been close with people, because I used to get made fun of a lot in elementary school. I had these huge glasses that made my eyes look enormous, and my hair was even bigger then, if you can believe it. And I didn't want to play tag, you know, because I wasn't athletic. I wanted to play pretend, and no one wanted to play with me since I was that strange girl. Aside from Timothy and Thatcher, no one else really gave me a chance before you did." She looks like she could cry as she stops herself and shrugs. "I don't want you to be in a different class. I want you to be a misfit with us until the end."

I know if I keep sitting here across from Patti, listening to her talk about how much I mean to her, I'll burst into tears, because the truth is I've never really had a good girl friend either. I get up to sit beside her at the table, and I wrap my arms around her. "I want to be a misfit too," I say.

We hold each other for a few moments before Patti pulls away, saying, "I could ask my parents to call your mom, and try to persuade her to change her mind."

I chuckle. That would never work. "That's okay. Thanks, though. My mom and Principal Howard made up their minds. The class was already changed, and I doubt they're going to admit they were wrong and change it back. My life just sucks."

"Well... I refuse to change the script. We'll figure out how to do it with one less person, but I'm going to hold out hope that you'll come back."

"You'll be waiting all quarter."