Backstage: Third Time's the Charm

Bianca Blackwell

Bianca Blackwell
Grade 11
Music Program

I noticed the way Austin smiled at the waitress who brought us our dinner. I shoved down the irresistible feeling that Jax could be right. Could Austin really be bad? I reached for my burger.

"You're awfully quiet," Austin observed. He turned his pearly teeth in my direction.

I smiled despite the uneasiness churning in my stomach. "Just thinking."

He snorted. "Don't tell me it's about those diva primas."

I bit my lip. "But, do you really think it's a good idea to change things when they've already been set?"

Austin rolled his eyes and took a bite of his burger. "It's fine," he said between bites. "They'll deal."

I looked down at my food, but the feeling in my stomach had taken away my appetite.

"What's really bothering you, Bianca?" He washed down the burger with a sip of soda.

"Nothing." I shrugged away the question.

Austin reached across the table. He placed his hand on top of mine. "I know something's up." He smiled again.

I pulled away. "It's just... Carly said you'd been bullying her. That you were blackmailing her into the film. But she's lying, right? I mean she's your ex. Of course, she's lying," I tried to reassure myself.

"Carly's many things, but she's not a liar," Austin said.

I stared at him from across the booth. "What do you mean?"

"It's true," he said. "But that's just the way the world works. You'll see. This film is going to make both of us household names."

I shook my head. "You can't be serious."

"Come on, Bianca. It's not a big deal."

"You can't do this. It's wrong!" I stood and grabbed my purse.

"Bianca." Austin tried to calm me down, but didn't move to get up.

"And you're delusional! A short film is not going to make us household names."

His eyes narrowed. "It will once I win the contest. It's prestigious. It could change everything."

"No," my voice hardened.

"If you leave, you can't come back. You can't seriously want to throw this opportunity away."

"I do if having this opportunity means lying and blackmailing people."

Austin scoffed. "Then you'll always be a nobody."

I reached for my glass of water on the table and tipped the cup over Austin's head. He sputtered as he wiped away the water dripping down his face.

"Just wait and see who's the nobody." I didn't look back as I walked away.

*********************

I woke up the next morning sick with guilt. I glanced at my clock, wishing I had more time before I had to go to school. My friends had been right. They'd only been trying to protect me.

And what about Carly? I remembered the way her face had crumpled when she told us about Austin. My stomach churned even more.

I kept my arms crossed over my stomach as I walked into Keaton and willed the few bits of toast swirling in my stomach to stay there.

Miles and Alya stood outside Mr. Parks' class. Miles had his guitar slung over one shoulder, and Alya held her guitar case at her side. Their chattering stopped as I approached them.

"Can we talk?"

Alya looked at Miles. "Now isn't a good time."

"Lunch then," I said. "And if you can get Jax and Scarlett, it would probably be a good idea."

Miles' lips twitched, and then he nodded.

The rest of the morning moved at an agonizing pace. Finally, it was lunch period, and I nervously anticipated their arrival. I saw them enter the courtyard and head my direction. None of them smiled.

Miles and Alya talked with Scarlett quietly, but Jax trailed behind them, clearly irritated.

"All right. We're here." Alya slung her book bag to the ground and sat next to me at the table. Everyone else stood.

"I guess I should start with 'I'm sorry'," I fumbled through the apology. Then I told them what had happened the previous night.

"Did you really pour a whole cup of water over his head?" Scarlett asked. Her voice betrayed no emotion, but I thought I saw a hint of softness creep into her eyes. Or, maybe it was my imagination.

"You were right." Those words also felt heavy on my tongue. I hated apologizing and admitting I was wrong. And today I'd done both. "I should've listened to you. What are we going to do now?"

"We?" Jax exploded. "There is no 'we'."

"Jax." Miles reached out to touch Jax's shoulder.

Jax brushed his hand away. "You accused us of lying. Of trying to break you and Austin up for no other reason than that we didn't like him. I thought you trusted me."

"Trust you, Jackson?" I fired back. "It seems like the whole world is against me. Sometimes, I just need my friends to support me."

"What do you need now?" Scarlett studied me intensely. "What do you want us to do?"

"Nothing. I want to help you take him down. He can't get away with this."

"Jax, Sasha, and Jenna are working on it," Miles said.

"Jenna?"

"Her brother is in the same program as Austin."

"Why don't we just tell one of the dance professors?" I asked. "If they thought students were being endangered..."

"It would get Carly into trouble," Jax said. "She would get expelled if they thought she was responsible for a student's injury."

I sighed. There was nothing to do, but wait and hope we could find something to blackmail Austin with.

***************

"Jenna." I stopped her in the parking lot. "Look, if you need any help taking down Austin, let me know."

Her short stocky frame stood solid in front of me. "My brother said Austin knows everyone's secrets. No one would risk helping us."

I frowned. "There's something you should know. Freshman year, when you asked me if Jax was cheating on you with Kit? I lied. He never cheated on you."

Her eyes widened, and she took a step back. "Why?"

"I liked him. I was jealous," I admitted. It felt good to finally confess it. I had never told anyone what happened.

Jenna sniffed. Then she looked up at me. "Well, I forgive you. We've all done things we're not proud of. I know that better than anyone."

"Thank you," I said cautiously.

"So, why didn't it work out with you guys?" Jenna tilted her head.

"He actually cheated on me." I rolled my eyes.

"Seriously? Oh my gosh! Maybe it's a good thing I dumped him."

"Jenna? Can we start over? I'd like to have an ally."

"Don't you already have friends?" She asked in surprise.

"You can never have too many."

Jenna offered me a small smile. "I'd like that."

At least a few things had been resolved. We still needed to kick Austin's butt, but I'd saved my friendships, and even made a new one too.

Wow! This chapter ended up longer than I expected. I'm glad Bianca finally came around, and Jenna has a new friend. I wonder who's going to help them get rid of Austin for good?

Taking a short break from this storyline and heading back to the singers. Now that Miles has survived two major operations, how will he change? What does he see for his future?