to have male friends. Girls were easy, but guys? It must have been before Mom died. Like everything else good in my life.
Chapter Nine
Good thing the teachers had low expectations on early dismissal days, because I couldn't concentrate. This morning's nightmare kept replaying in my head. Over and over I replayed the dreamscape, a vast institutional building run by faceless shadows.
Each door I flung open led to another empty, hospital-like corridor. "Amy? Where are you?" I ran across the white tile to the next steel-and-glass door, then the next one. "Amy!" I sensed her nearby, curled up, unable to call out. I needed to find her before she faded into the void. My heartbeat drummed in my ears. I opened one last door. Before I could peer into the dim room, my alarm shrilled, waking me.
"Earth to Salem."
"Huh?" My heart pitched into the next block. I shook my head as if my mind was an Etch n' Draw and I could clear the picture. The girl sitting next to me on the stage nudged my arm. Below us, Mr. Peters cleared his throat.
"Where is my technical crew?"
I, Queen of the Light Board, raised my hand. A scuffle sounded behind me. Sean, Grand Master of Sound, a carrot-top with Asperger's Syndrome, popped up like a prairie dog.
"I prefer you two not pair up for this assignment. But each of your teams will receive bonus points if you work the booth for the other teams' scenes."
I nodded my head, though I had no idea what he was talking about.
"That's all, people." Mr. Peters waved a fistful of assignment sheets. "Turn in your summaries. Get your assignments, find a partner, and get to work."
Dazed, I remained rooted to the stage while everyone else got to their feet and clomped down the stage steps. What was the assignment? How long had Mr. Peters been talking? I should have listened. Now I was at a bigger disadvantage than usual. Alone on stage, I rose to my feet.
Aidan hustled up the stage stairs. He must have been among the first to grab an assignment sheet. Pilar followed, taking each step slowly as she teetered on super high heels. They made her legs look amazing, but must have been torture on her feet.
Aidan thrust a paper in my hand. "We're still teaming up, right?"
"Yeah. Sure." I glanced down at the assignment, wondering what I had missed.
Aidan splayed his hand across his heart and said to Pilar, "Alas, bright star, I am already spoken for." He glanced down at Nazario, who watched us from the front of the auditorium. "But I believe yon knight could be persuaded to cast his lot with you."
Pilar's doe eyes would have entranced a lesser soul. She nodded to Aidan and fluttered her hand as if she held an invisible scarf. "Therefore, I bid thee farewell."
Aidan bowed. "Farewell."
They would have made the perfect couple, with their matching dark hair and exotic good looks. I shoved my razor-cut hair behind my ear and wished for once I hadn't dyed it black and purple. "You can pair up with her if you want," I said as Pilar tiptoed down the stage stairs. Though I couldn't imagine whom I'd team up with if he did.
Aidan frowned. "We had a deal. I keep my word." He glanced at Nazario and Pilar. "Unless you'd prefer to work with the hulk down there. I'm not sure how great of a playwright he'd make."
"Playwright? What are you talking about?" Panic rampaged through my nervous system. "I suck at spelling. I can't write a whole play."
"Wow, you are out of it today. We 're supposed to rewrite one of the plays we summarized. You know, like West Side Story is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet and Ten Things I Hate About You is a remake of The Taming of the Shrew…"
"Are you serious? We have to write an entire play?"
Aidan pointed to a paragraph on the assignment sheet. "We have to write a synopsis for whatever idea we come up with, and then write and perform a single scene of our proposed play."
"In Shakespearean English?"
"If we want. The play can be set in the modern day, or the future, or whatever. Any ideas?"
I
Chapter Nine
Good thing the teachers had low expectations on early dismissal days, because I couldn't concentrate. This morning's nightmare kept replaying in my head. Over and over I replayed the dreamscape, a vast institutional building run by faceless shadows.
Each door I flung open led to another empty, hospital-like corridor. "Amy? Where are you?" I ran across the white tile to the next steel-and-glass door, then the next one. "Amy!" I sensed her nearby, curled up, unable to call out. I needed to find her before she faded into the void. My heartbeat drummed in my ears. I opened one last door. Before I could peer into the dim room, my alarm shrilled, waking me.
"Earth to Salem."
"Huh?" My heart pitched into the next block. I shook my head as if my mind was an Etch n' Draw and I could clear the picture. The girl sitting next to me on the stage nudged my arm. Below us, Mr. Peters cleared his throat.
"Where is my technical crew?"
I, Queen of the Light Board, raised my hand. A scuffle sounded behind me. Sean, Grand Master of Sound, a carrot-top with Asperger's Syndrome, popped up like a prairie dog.
"I prefer you two not pair up for this assignment. But each of your teams will receive bonus points if you work the booth for the other teams' scenes."
I nodded my head, though I had no idea what he was talking about.
"That's all, people." Mr. Peters waved a fistful of assignment sheets. "Turn in your summaries. Get your assignments, find a partner, and get to work."
Dazed, I remained rooted to the stage while everyone else got to their feet and clomped down the stage steps. What was the assignment? How long had Mr. Peters been talking? I should have listened. Now I was at a bigger disadvantage than usual. Alone on stage, I rose to my feet.
Aidan hustled up the stage stairs. He must have been among the first to grab an assignment sheet. Pilar followed, taking each step slowly as she teetered on super high heels. They made her legs look amazing, but must have been torture on her feet.
Aidan thrust a paper in my hand. "We're still teaming up, right?"
"Yeah. Sure." I glanced down at the assignment, wondering what I had missed.
Aidan splayed his hand across his heart and said to Pilar, "Alas, bright star, I am already spoken for." He glanced down at Nazario, who watched us from the front of the auditorium. "But I believe yon knight could be persuaded to cast his lot with you."
Pilar's doe eyes would have entranced a lesser soul. She nodded to Aidan and fluttered her hand as if she held an invisible scarf. "Therefore, I bid thee farewell."
Aidan bowed. "Farewell."
They would have made the perfect couple, with their matching dark hair and exotic good looks. I shoved my razor-cut hair behind my ear and wished for once I hadn't dyed it black and purple. "You can pair up with her if you want," I said as Pilar tiptoed down the stage stairs. Though I couldn't imagine whom I'd team up with if he did.
Aidan frowned. "We had a deal. I keep my word." He glanced at Nazario and Pilar. "Unless you'd prefer to work with the hulk down there. I'm not sure how great of a playwright he'd make."
"Playwright? What are you talking about?" Panic rampaged through my nervous system. "I suck at spelling. I can't write a whole play."
"Wow, you are out of it today. We 're supposed to rewrite one of the plays we summarized. You know, like West Side Story is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet and Ten Things I Hate About You is a remake of The Taming of the Shrew…"
"Are you serious? We have to write an entire play?"
Aidan pointed to a paragraph on the assignment sheet. "We have to write a synopsis for whatever idea we come up with, and then write and perform a single scene of our proposed play."
"In Shakespearean English?"
"If we want. The play can be set in the modern day, or the future, or whatever. Any ideas?"
I