Sandcastles

Chapter Ten

"What happens if I mess up? What if I don't get in to Stanford?" Madeline asks nervously while biting her nails. She made me walk all the way with her to her locker just so she could tell me how nervous she was. Today is the last regular game of the basketball season, and the representatives from Stanford are here to watch her play. This is her one shot to get in the college that she's always dreamed of going to. I wish that I had dreams of attending college. Oh well, I don't.

"Madeline, you've played great the whole season." I explain to her. She sighs and looks down at the ground.

"Yeah, but that was also when Marc was here." she mumbles. I roll my eyes at her. Marc left last Thursday to go back to the University and Madeline has acted like it's the end of the universe.

"You're going to do great. Go warm up. I have rehearsals this period." I tell her. She nods and runs of to the gym.

This is usually my gym period, but we started doing rehearsals this period. I walk to the large auditorium and walk backstage. They've already started with some of the opening scenes that I'm not in. Actually, we haven't really rehearsed any of the scenes I'm in.

I look at the script and see that I'm not in the scene at all. I study the script for about thirty minutes when someone sits beside me. I look up, seeing that Alexander is looking down at me with a smirk. He's in this scene but I guess he's already done.

"Hi." He says.

"Hello." I drag off. I haven't really seen him except during drama rehearsals since I'm still grounded, according to Mom. She still hasn't found out about me going to the beach secretly, which is great.

"You going to be at my game later?" he asks. I shrug my shoulders.

"Maybe. Probably for a few minutes." I say.

"Aw, want to see me in my uniform again?" he asks with a grin. I roll my eyes.

"In your dreams, Ludwig." I tell him.

"More like nightmares, Hollywood." He says with a smirk. I scowl at him and he laughs before standing up and talking to some of his friends.

I have yet to go out on stage when the bell rings. I trot out from backstage and through the auditorium, only to be stopped by our director. Troy lets go of my arm and looks at me with a gleaming smile.

"So it's probably good that I don't drive for a while, but do you want to hang out sometime?" He asks me. I smile at him.

"Um, I'm grounded at the moment so not for a while. But I would love to." I tell him. He nods his head before going to talk to some of the other actors.

I head out of the auditorium and into the dull hallway of our school. I push through to my locker and get my stuff out. I then turn and go to the gym to watch Madeline play. I pick an empty spot on the bleachers. Usually I would sit by Ben, but now he's sitting with Helen.

Speaking of Helen, you can't even tell that's she's, well, you know. It hasn't been that long since she found out and nobody has said anything about it, which means no rumors have spread. And I'm super proud of my brother for actually staying with her, even though they weren't a couple in the first place. I think it's sweet and gross at the same time.

I can see the old guys in suits sitting in the very top section, taking notes and staring intently at Madeline even though it's just warmups. She's doing good in the warmups, making every single layup and three point. I really hope that she gets into Stanford.

"Is this seat taken?" a raspy voice asks to my right. I'm on the bottom row, so John Tyler has rolled right up beside me. "Oh wait, it wouldn't matter. I can't sit anyways. I'm practically glued to this wheelchair for the next few months."