Before I can respond, another text comes through:


I gotta run. What looks like an entire softball team just got in line. But just try and enjoy the night. Leo seems pretty cool. You might have fun.


I pluck the remote from the coffee table and skim through the channels. I pause on Celebrity Sightings, hoping for mention of Flyboys or Caleb Waters, but it looks like he’s not in the news this week.

Two channels up, I catch the end of my commercial. I watch myself stroll across the quad with a backpack slung over one shoulder. A camera zooms in. “Hazelton Forest University. Affordable education and professors who care,” TV-me says. “What more could you want?”

“Maybe a Division I soccer team?” I mumble under my breath. I keep flipping until I find an episode of the Los Angeles season of So You Think You Can Model. The remaining six girls are doing a black-and-white photo shoot wearing lingerie and old-time movie star makeup. I wonder what Kendall is doing right now. I wonder what she’d think of me hanging out with Leo. She might actually approve if I told her it was going to provide the money I needed to go to Costa Rica. Kendall is very goal oriented.

The doorbell chimes and I unstick my legs from the sofa. “Later, Mom,” I holler toward the open door of the study.

The tapping stops. My mom peeks her head out of the study. “Remember, curfew is midnight,” she says.

“Got it.” It’s only six thirty. I can’t imagine Leo and I being out past ten, let alone midnight.

I open the door and slip out onto the porch. Leo is wearing black pants and a pale blue dress shirt with the top button undone. His hair is slicked back on the sides and slightly spiked up on top.

“Hey, Lainey.” He laces his fingers together in front of his body and shifts his weight from one foot to the other.

He’s nervous—how cute. I smile. “Hey. I like your hair that way.” I tug on the hem of my miniskirt as I make my way down the driveway toward Leo’s sky-blue Ford Taurus. Maybe I should’ve worn something a little longer.

“Thanks,” he says, unlocking the door for me. The first thing he does when I get in is toss me a wad of twenties. I debate counting it, but then decide that would make an awkward moment even weirder, so I quickly slip the money in my purse. If he’s willing to pay for this, then I shouldn’t feel bad about it.

We head toward Hazelton Forest. Suburbia flies by. Pizza places, dry cleaners, Bianca’s church where I learned to play soccer, even though I’m not and never have been Catholic. I pick at the vinyl trim on the edge of my seat. Leo drums his fingertips on the steering wheel. Neither of us says anything. One of us needs to. We might as well be driving out to the desert to bury a body together.

“So how’d you meet Riley?” I ask finally.

“We were both in Karlsson’s Intro to Acting class together,” he says.

“Cool. I wanted to take it last year but Kendall talked me out of it. I probably shouldn’t have listened to her.”

Leo smiles big enough to show teeth. “It was the best. Almost like not even going to class. I probably never would have talked to Riley if we hadn’t been paired up for a skit. She is so funny. And gorgeous.” The smile fades from his lips. His body sinks back into the car seat. “Probably out of my league.”

“You can’t think like that,” I say. “Or else you’ll make it true.”

“What do you know about people being out of your league?”

“More than you think.” I toy with the strap of my purse. “You didn’t know me in middle school. I used to be an awkward mess. Everyone was out of my league.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I remember when I first started liking Jason, at the beginning of freshman year. Kendall forced me to talk to him when she caught me staring out her bedroom window, watching him swim laps in the pool. ‘At least say something to him,’ she insisted. ‘Or I’m going to tell him I caught you drooling over his half-naked body.’ Rather than endure life-threatening humiliation, I managed to squeak out a few words when he came back inside.” I shake my head. “I can’t believe I’m telling you this story.”

“Go on.” Leo has both eyes on the road but a smile plays at his lips.

“Over the next few weeks, Jay and I became friends. I was shocked when he asked me to Homecoming. All I saw was this guy who could have his pick of girls, but for some reason he wanted me,” I say. “For the first few months we dated, I was always waiting for him to break up with me.”

“What did you do?” Leo asks. “How did you get over it?”

“I think a lot of it was Kendall. If it weren’t for her constantly reminding me of my fabulousness, Jay and I probably wouldn’t have lasted as long as we did.” I stare straight ahead through the windshield, watching the reflective road markers zoom by. “But enough of that. Tell me more about this play.” I don’t like thinking of the Lainey I used to be. What if it was dating Jason that changed me? Does that mean if I don’t win him back I’ll go back to being awkward and insecure?

Leo brakes slowly and smoothly as we pull up to a red light. “It’s the story of a guy who sells his soul to the devil.”

I snort. “Why would he do something so dumb?”

“It’s complicated,” Leo says. “He’s disillusioned with his life. But basically he does it for a girl.” Cars on either side of us fly past as he accelerates in the same controlled manner. He pulls off the highway and turns into the Hazelton Forest campus. We drive past the student union and the social sciences building where my mom has her tiny windowless office.

“Well, just so you know, I’m not the devil,” I give him what I hope is a devilish grin.

“Pretty sure your friend Kendall has dibs on that title,” he says.

Kendall and I have managed to share almost every class since sophomore year, and I don’t remember Leo being in any of them. “You don’t even know her,” I protest. “She’s not that bad.”

“A failing grade is not that bad. Mono is not that bad,” Leo says. “Kendall Chase is evil. Everyone knows that. You practically said so yourself.”

“She was just trying to help me with Jason,” I say. “And everyone must not know that, or else she wouldn’t be the captain of the soccer team. And the front-runner for student government president.”

“Those are just positions of power handed down from one despot to the next.” He pulls the car into a parking space outside the student amphitheater.

“What’s a despot?”

His lips curl upward, ever so slightly. “A dictator. Like Hitler.”

The messed-up thing is I’m thinking Kendall might not be offended by the comparison. Her need to dominate everyone and everything at school probably comes from the fact she has no control at home. I’d probably be exactly like her if I had grown up with her mom. I have no idea how Jason ended up so laid-back.

“Kendall has it tough at home.” I unclick my seat belt and slide out of the car. “And really, her bark is worse than her bite.”

“If you say so.” Leo doesn’t sound convinced.

We cut across the parking lot where families, other couples, and clusters of college kids are making their way toward the auditorium. Even though the sun is starting to set, the air hangs heavy and humid around us.

Inside the building, I let Leo lead me down the plush-carpeted aisle to a seat in the second row. The walls of the amphitheater are covered with gold-embossed dark purple wallpaper. Above our heads, glass-blown chandeliers tinkle from the breeze each time one of the theater doors opens.

He pulls his phone out and holds it in front of us. “To commemorate the night.” He leans over close to me and takes a picture.

I peek over his shoulder as the saved image pops up on his phone. Our faces come out extra pale against the dark backdrop of the room, but it’s a cute photo. “We look like a real couple,” I say.

Leo smiles. “Do you care if I post it online? No caption or anything. I’ll just let people wonder.”

“I don’t mind,” I say, settling back in my seat. If it leaks out, it’ll be just one more thing to make Jason jealous.

Leo slips his phone into his back pocket.

“So, what part does Riley play?” I ask quietly. Other people are talking, but there’s something about the fancy décor that makes me feel like I should whisper.

“She’s Gretchen.”

“And who’s that?” I smooth invisible wrinkles out of my miniskirt, adjusting the hem to cover more of my legs.

“The girl Faust is in love with.”

“Do they end up together?”

“If they did,” Leo murmurs, “it probably wouldn’t be called a tragedy.”

The lights dim and the thick curtain in front of us parts soundlessly to reveal a blue backdrop and fluffy, white clouds. The chattering of the audience fades away as two boys come to the center of the stage and begin speaking.

The language is kind of old-English sounding, but I can tell the boys are supposed to be God and the devil. I miss a few things, but Leo is watching raptly and I don’t want to disturb him.

“That’s her,” Leo whispers, when Riley first comes on the stage. Those are the only two words he says to me during the whole first act. It’s hard to tell what she looks like beneath her wig and heavy stage makeup. It surprises me how seriously the students are taking everything. The stage sets look like someone spent weeks designing and constructing them, and as far as I can tell no one flubs a line during the whole first section of the production. At one point, they close the curtain for a few seconds only to reopen on a completely new set.

What surprises me the most, though, is how much I like the show. There’s something otherworldly about the whole deal. I can almost see myself up there, in a fun costume with cool makeup. Preferably a play I actually understand, but still, I never imagined I would enjoy theater so much. Even my desire to enroll in Karlsson’s class was mostly because one of the projects everyone does is film a fake Celebrity Sightings segment and put it on the internet.

The curtain closes again and Leo turns to face me. “Intermission,” he says. “Fifteen minutes. Do you want to get up and walk around? Get something to drink?”

“I’m okay.” I’m still kind of dazzled by the ornate theater, by the glistening chandeliers and the golden threads embedded in the wallpaper.

“I’m going to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.” Leo squeezes past me and I pull out my phone and check my messages. No texts, but there is an email from Steve:


Hey L—

So far Ireland is really wet, but I don’t even need my fake ID to drink here, so it’s got that going for it, which is nice. How is everyone? How’s your summer going? I hope Dad’s not making you work too much since I’m not there to play barista.

Since when do you like baseball? I know you’re crazy about Jason, but don’t forget to do some things for yourself this summer too. The fall will be here before we know it.

More soon,


S


I type him back a quick reply:


Hey S—

Actually, Jay and I broke up and I was at the game with someone else. We might get back together though. I think he’s having some family issues or something.

Mom and Dad are the same as always (so, you know, kind of lame but points for effort, ha-ha) but they’re not overworking me. I gotta run because I’m actually at a play. I know, right? Since when do I like plays? Let’s just say I’m broadening my horizons this summer.

Stay dry,


L


Leo returns to his seat just as I am slipping my phone back into my purse. “Sorry if you’re bored to death,” he says. “I don’t even know if Riley saw us. She used to tell me it can be hard to see anything out in the audience because of the lights, that even the first rows are mostly just silhouettes of people.”

“What about at the end?” I ask. “Do the actors stand at the door or anything?”

“They come out for curtain call, but everyone will be clapping and she still might not notice.” He pauses. “There’s this after-party,” he says hesitantly. “I figured it might be a lot to ask.”

“We can go if you want.”

“Really?” Leo sounds hopeful. “The guy who’s throwing it lives a few miles away.”

I pull my phone out of my purse to check the time. It’s only 8:30 p.m. “No problem.” I twist my legs sideways as an older couple squeezes past us back to their seats. “I just need to be home by midnight.”

The house lights dim again and this time I find myself getting almost as engrossed in the play as Leo. I watch how the characters move around the stage, listening to the way they make their voices louder without shouting. Afterward I stand with Leo and clap as Riley and the actor who played the devil come out for their curtain calls. Leo puts his fingers in his mouth and whistles. Riley looks over at him. A little smile appears on her face, like she’s surprised to see him there.