LOUIS
“Do you know what the musical is yet?” asks Chris.

I shake my head. “No. Mr. Willard hasn’t said anything yet.” Then again, why would he say anything to him?

“Dammit.”

“Why?”

“I’m hoping we do, like, Little Mermaid or something. Something technically hard to do.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Why? We did a fairy tale last year.”

“You sayin’ we should do, like…like Guys and Dolls?”

“Sure.”

“Annie?”

I grunt my response.

“Chicago?”

“Go for it.”

Chris sighs. “You’re not listening anymore.”

“Dude, I’m not a theater person.”

He grumbles and turns away from me. “Well, I hope we get to do something cool for it.”

Later that morning I heard we’re doing Hello Dolly! from Jessie. Which, I guess, is a good musical. I don’t really know what it’s about, but I guess it sounds like a good one.

Though the announcement in precalc one period later catches me off guard. Erica turns around and says, “Did you hear?”

I look up from my mechanical pencil (which has turned into this really interesting thing to look at) and ask, “No, what?”

“Mrs. Arora?”

“The shop teacher?”

“Yeah, she’s quitting.”

My eyes narrow. That doesn’t make sense. Because Mrs. Arora has been running shop classes for, like, three decades. And she’s a super badass. I heard she fought two sharks once, and then immediately filmed a car commercial in Japan. And she helped out building the sets for Beauty and the Beast last year. “She’s quitting?” I ask, because I’m not sure if it’s true.

Erica purses her lips and nods. “Mhm. Yeah, she handed in her two weeks notice last week, apparently.” She puts her arms on the workshop table and leans in. “It also means we’re out someone to design the set for the spring musical.”

“What does that mean?”

She shrugs. “Why’re you asking me?”

“Because I’m talking to theater’s mob boss. You know everything.”

She smiles smugly. “Thank you.” Then she frowns. “But I don’t know what Mr. Willard’s gonna do.”

Mr. Willard later announced that the spring musical’s set would be designed by the student body. Kinda like how the set, script, music, costumes, and casting are all done by the student body for the fall variety show.

Apparently, he didn’t sound very excited for it. He said it, as Erica puts it, like it was a last resort.

The bell rings half an hour later. Erica and I walk out together, because we both have an interest in how the set’s gonna end up looking. Because I’m probably gonna be roped into it somehow it and she’s gonna be someone in it.

I mean, I don’t mind helping. I like helping out.

“Who do you think’s gonna do it?” I ask.

“Will might,” she says.

I give her a look. “Will won’t join. He’s fighting to play Barnaby with David.”

She snorts. I smile, too, because I can’t see Will’s mohawk fitting into a period show. Unless it was combed over. “Well, what about Gavin?”

“He’s going out for Vandergelder.”

“Brian?”

“Isn’t he wrapped up in debate team?”

Erica wrinkles her nose. “Oh, what about Maddie?”

“She’s going out with Steven, and she works a part-time job.” I snort. “She doesn’t have time for anything anymore.” But something makes her eyes bigger, like she’s just had the best idea. “What are you doing right now?”

I shrug. “Free period, why?”

She smiles. “Want to join me for lunch?” I say sure, because I don’t have anywhere to be. “Also question: so you know my friend, Aaron?”

I blink, because I’ve never heard that name before. “I don’t think I do. Why?”

Erica locks arms with me. “Oh, just because…he asked about you once.” She frowns. “He said I was trying to play a joke on him or something stupid like that, but I wasn’t.” She clears her throat. “I also didn’t know it was happening.”

I’m still not really following. “So…you want me to meet him?”

Erica grins. “No, I just want you to stand there and look pretty.” She gives my cheek two pats and leads me into the cafeteria.

We buy food, and she steers me over to a mostly empty table with one guy sitting at the end. He catches sight of Erica and then of me, and he doesn’t look happy.

I try to say something. “H-hi – ”

“Aaron, this is Louis. He asked if he could join us for lunch.” She smiles, and it looks totally fake. We sit down. “So, Aaron, you know about our spring musical, right?”

He nods, but he’s looking suspiciously at me. “Yeah. You told me about it in English, but…” Aaron frowns, and I know he knows more than I do. He’s also still looking at me. “…didn’t say anything else.”

“We would like you to join the set design board thing they’re gonna come up with.” Erica smiles big.

“Wait, h-hold on – ”

“Shhhhhhhh,” she whispers, pushing her hand over my mouth. She hasn’t stopped looking at Aaron.

I guess this is how I get roped in.

“No,” is his immediate answer.

Erica’s smile grows. She turns to me. “Hey, Louis, so when we were in, what, 4th grade?” She looks at Aaron and then looks back at me. “We went out to McDonalds, and – ”

Aaron has this pissed-off look on his face. “Fine. Finefinefinefinefinefine. I’ll join.” He glares at Erica and sighs. “You’re blackmailing me.”

She shrugs and makes this exaggerated “wELP SORRY” face. “Consider it collateral for a later time.”

I lean forward and say, “Wow. I’ve never been used to help blackmail someone.”

Aaron sneers. “Sorry.”

“I’m not,” Erica says, taking a bite of chicken nugget.

I side-eye her and sigh. “I’m real sorry, dude.”

He sighs. “Don’t be. You didn’t know.” He sadly takes a bite out of a chicken nugget, but some mustard smears on the corner of his mouth.

I open the top of my pasta bowl and whisper, “Y…you got…” Aaron tries with his tongue and misses. I get up for a napkin and come back to give him it. “Sorry. Again.”

Aaron sighs. He wipes his mouth and folds the napkin down on his tray. He drops his brown eyes. “Stop saying ‘sorry’. It happened. Move on.” He looks up at me and continues eating.

‘I have definitely seen those eyes before.’

My stomach twists, and I begin picking at my pasta bowl.