Backstage: Third Time's the Charm

Bianca Blackwell

Bianca Blackwell
Grade 11
Music Program

The bathroom smelled like hairspray and cheap perfume. It reeked of singers primping for the spotlight and ballerinas hoping to keep their stiff buns from slipping. But those that possessed the perfume were long gone. The Winter Showcase had started ten minutes ago, and almost everybody was inside the auditorium. My own performance, a duet with Scarlett, was scheduled in about twenty minutes, so I took my time perfecting my look.

"Bianca."

I turned and saw Kit, Scarlett's sister standing in the doorway. Characteristically, she wore a toque and a pair of headphones around her neck.

I smiled. "Kit!" I threw my arms around her, being careful not to get tangled in her headphones.

I knew a lot of people, including Alya thought it was weird that I was friends with my ex's new girlfriend. But, it, oddly, wasn't the weirdest thing I'd encountered at Keaton.

Kit pulled away, a look of panic on her face. "I think something's wrong."

"Scarlett isn't having another nodes scare is she?"

"No, it's Curtis."

"Curtis? Her brother?" I bit my tongue. Kit was sensitive about Scarlett's contact with her biological family.

Kit reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. "They got in a fight a few months ago. They haven't really been in touch, but Curtis texted her last night to say he's coming."

"Isn't that good?" I placed a hand on my hip.

"I guess." She shrugged. "I just get a bad feeling. They haven't spoken in weeks and he randomly texts her?"

"Is he here?" I grabbed Kit's arm and pulled her with me into the hallway. "We have to find out what he's up to."

"There!" Kit pointed.

At the end of the hallway, Curtis stood with another boy I hadn't seen before.

"That's one of Curtis's friends," she explained. "Scarlett said Curtis's foster parents asked her to talk to Curtis because he's been getting into trouble. Shoplifting and stuff like that."

"What do you think he's planning tonight?"

"Something big." Kit gnawed on her lip. "It would have to humiliate Scarlett and ruin the showcase."

"Let's circle back around," I suggested. "Text Jax and ask him to meet us out here."

Kit raised an eyebrow. "What's Jax gonna do? He's a total goof."

An image of Jax and I having a picnic in detention rose in my memory. I pushed down the thought almost immediately. Kit was my friend, and Jax and I had both decided that our relationship was over.

"He has good ideas," I said. "Sometimes."

By now, we'd circled back around, and stood in a hallway adjacent to the main corridor. On the other side, near a fire alarm I heard Curtis snicker.

"She'll be soaked," he said. "That'll show her."

'He's going to pull the fire alarm,' I mouthed to Kit.

She rolled her eyes and swiftly grabbed her phone.

What are we going to do? She texted.

I checked the time. I had eight minutes before show time. Where was Jax? I couldn't risk Scarlett getting bad press over this, and if the school flooded a second time, it would never reopen.

Besides, after the temper tantrum Scarlett had thrown, it had taken everything to get Clive Ritchie to agree to it. I'd taken a strict beating over the loophole Aidan had found in Scarlett's contract. Scarlett might not have cared, but my reputation as a manager had taken a serious hit after that. I wasn't going to let Curtis ruin this night.