Melinda’s Story

I was surprised to see the dining hall so empty. As I stood in line for a sandwich, I realized that it was still fifth period. Most students like to wait until after classes to eat on Saturday. Including my friends. I would have to eat alone.

I took my sandwich into the servery to get some fries before grabbing a salad. The vegetable soup sounded good, too. My tray was starting to look like Walter’s. After grabbing some glasses of water, I headed to my usual table.

I had nearly finished my soup when Walter sat across from me. I raised my eyebrows.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in Latin?”

“Asks the girl who skipped class. What happened to your face?”

“I have rehearsal.”

“And you’re rehearsing how to eat soup?”

I rolled my eyes. “We had a lunch break. Why aren’t you in class?”

“We had a pop quiz. Henderson let us go afterwards.”

“Nice.”

“Pat texted me his English class was canceled so let’s have lunch sixth. But seriously, what happened to your face?”

“I’m a gingerbread cookie.”

“You’re joking.”

I giggled, biting into another fry. “Nope. Makes sense when you see the show.”

I could sense that fifth period was ending and sixth beginning. The handful of people in the dining hall began to leave as others trickled in. Even ten minutes later, the place was still pretty empty.

Pat placed his tray between me and Walter. “Hey, third formers. How’s it going?”

Walter shoved a forkful of salad into his mouth. “Not bad. I aced a Latin pop quiz. Melinda skipped class.”

“Our good little Melinda? Skipping class?” There was a note of surprise in Pat’s voice.

I glared at Walter. “I did not skip class. I was excused from all my classes today. Plus, I went to art first period.”

Pat pointed a fry in my direction. “You’re excused from all your classes today?” I nodded. “We’ll come back to that. You’re excused from all your classes and instead of sleeping in, you get up and go to an eight o’clock class?”

Well, when he put it that way, it was a little embarrassing. I nodded sheepishly. Pat turned to his brother. “She’s going to be a bad influence on us, isn’t she?”

Walter shrugged. “She makes me do my homework. And go to church.”

Pat turned back to me. “So, how’d you get so special that you get to skip class?”

“We’re rehearsing for tomorrow’s Nutcracker all day. We’re on a lunch break. Everyone else went on a fast food run, but I stayed here.”

Pat grabbed the canary yellow Daily Docket and scanned the schedule. “I don’t see anything. Oh, wait. There it is. But, it’s not a student production.”

“I was invited to join the advanced tap class.”

“That’s sick!”

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I just found out today I’m the youngest person in the class.”

“Why is it on here twice?” Pat gestured to the paper before returning it to the table.

“We have two performances tomorrow. Then, the company dancers are doing their regular version of the Nutcracker next month, without the advanced classes. Thankfully. I think I would be Nutcrackered out if I had to do it next month, too.”

Pat flashed me that famous smile. “I’ll have to come check it out tomorrow.” He turned to his brother. “So, am I allowed to talk to you at the dance tonight?”

Walter made a series of faces as he held an obvious internal debate before finally deciding, “Maybe?”

Pat shook his head, turning in my direction. “Am I allowed to talk to you at the dance tonight?”

I giggled. “I guess so. I’m not sure I’m going, though.”

“Why not?” both brothers asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t have a date.”

“I thought we were going together.” Walter sounded slightly wounded.

“I thought you were just joking about that.”

“Oh, is it safe to ask now?” Pat interrupted. “What happened to Townie? Did you break up?”

“Yes. I’m not discussing it.”

Pat held up his hands. “Just curious. Well, Chloe and I had the same arrangement you guys did. We’re going together as friends. If I’m allowed to talk to you, maybe we can all hang out together.”

“Chloe?” Walter asked.

“Yes, Chloe. My most awesomest friend.”

I had no idea who he meant, but Walter must have figured it out. “Wait. Meghan’s Chloe? No, she’s not. She’s Meghan’s friend.”

Pat smiled. “Meghan’s not here anymore, so I stole Chloe.”

Walter shook his head and looked at me. “Chloe was Meghan’s best friend for the last couple of years. Meghan roomed with her, even though last year she could have lived in the faculty houses with other seniors.”

“Chloe came to visit Meghan during long weekend when she was in the hospital.”

I smiled. “Sounds like a good friend.”

“That’s why I snatched her up. Anyway, think about it. I think the four of us might have fun. The rest of my friends all have real dates, so they just want to dance with each other.”

I glanced at Walter. I could see he was thinking the same thing as me. Most of our friends were going with significant others. A few of the others had found actual dates. Walter and I were the only two of our friends without dates. If we didn’t go together, we probably wouldn’t have a very good time.

Pat and Walter both had to return to their classes so they didn’t stay very long at lunch. I was anxious to get back into my costume before it got too late. While Walter headed to his programming class, Pat walked with me to the Arts Center.

We were stuck at the intersection for a short while. There were a lot of cars visiting campus for Wheeler Weekend.

“Hey, Pat?”

“Hmm?” He was watching the traffic.

“Why are you always hanging out with us? I mean, don’t you want to hang out with your own friends?”

Pat sent me the same pained look I’d seen Walter give me on occasion. “Walter’s my brother and I love hanging out with him. I really missed him when I was away.”

We crossed the street, first in one direction, then the other, before he explained. “When we were growing up, we were always together. Even if I was doing a movie, Walter was usually on set. We even shared tutors sometimes. But, when I started Hartfield, he wasn’t there anymore. One of the great things about shooting during the school year wasn’t missing classes, it was spending time with my brother. This last movie was really hard because he wasn’t there.”

“So, you’re trying to make up for lost time?”

“Something like that.”

“And, what about me? Why do you spend time with me?”

“I like you. You’re my Meghan replacement. Only, nicer. Meghan’s been . . . I’ll be polite. She’s been cranky lately.”

I giggled. “Walter said almost the same thing when I met her.”

“You and Walter should come tonight. I think you’ll have fun.”

I stayed in the Art Center courtyard as Pat continued up the hill to the language building. Before delving into the dead zone known as the Black Box, I checked my phone one last time. Walter had texted me, asking one more time if I would go to the dance with him as friends.

I responded immediately.

I had plenty of time to change back into my costume and touch up my makeup before Madám Cherí stood on the stage calling for the party guests. Miss Serena marched through the black box with the younger girls trailing her a moment later. I looked around the room. None of my classmates had returned.

The party number rehearsed twice through before Madám Cherí was satisfied and called for the Spanish Dance. The black box was still empty. Madam Cheri called the jazz class again.

I wasn’t sure what to do. With a sigh, I put down my book and went searching for Miss Serena. I found her in the greenroom.

“Um, Miss Serena? The jazz class? They all went out to eat and their not back yet.”

She sighed. “Fine. I’ll tell Madam Cheri. Have the ballet class come rehearse.”

“Um, they went, too. I’m the only one here.”

I could see Miss Serena was not happy. I followed her to the stage, watching her share the information with Madám Cherí, who was livid.

After the decision was made to go ahead with the first act and have the advanced classes rehearse, I was sent back to the black box. I returned to my book. The party scene was about half over when the rest of the advanced classes finally returned.

After quickly changing into their costumes, they all hurried to the mirror to adjust their makeup. Livvy sat beside me.

“We got stuck in this long line at the restaurant. We ended up at . . . what’s-it. That sub shop.”

“Barney’s?” The local chain was one of my favorite restaurants.

“Yeah, that one. There was a freakishly long line, and they were sooo incredibly slow! And the traffic today is a nightmare. Is there something going on? I mean, here in town?”

“It’s Wheeler Weekend. All the sports teams are playing Wheeler. I guess it’s kind of like Homecoming, because my friend said a lot of alumni come to the games, especially football.”

“That explains why I had to park on the football field. So, how mad was Madám Cherí?”

“Let’s just say that the performances better be flawless, ‘cause otherwise we’re gonna be here all night.”

---

The performances were not flawless. The jazz class continued to miss one of their cues so that all six dancers finished the number at different times, instead of together. The four ballerinas in the advanced ballet class kept knocking into each other. Two of them had trouble remaining en pointe.

Madám Cherí had both groups practice during the intermission, warning them of their errors and delaying the start of the second act. But, both groups continued to make the same mistake during the dress rehearsal. As a result, Madám Cherí made all three advanced classes stay in the theater to rehearse after dismissing the intermediate and company dancers, even though my class had not made any noticeable errors.

It felt like forever before we were dismissed. After a long lecture about punctuality, I stowed my costume and dance bag the greenroom and headed outside.

Checking my phone, I realized I had missed everyone’s games, except the varsity football. Many of my them had gone into town for dinner, but some were in the dining hall. I decided to join them. As much as I wanted to cheer for Andy, I doubted the team had any hope of actually winning.

When I placed my tray on the table, it was loaded with four glasses of water, a cookie, garlic bread, and an herbed grilled chicken over spaghetti with garlic and oil. Walter raised his eyebrows.

“Thirsty?”

“Nearly dehydrated.” I downed most of my first glass in one gulp.

Sarah nodded her head at me. “Where you been all day? I didn’t see you at Reflections. Or Math.”

“We discussed this. I had rehearsal today.”

“Oh, yeah. But, I thought that was after school, while we had sports.”

“Nope. We started at nine this morning. Just got out. Haven’t even been back to the dorm. I completely missed everyone’s games. Tell me about them.”

“We got . . . what’s the word I’m looking for?” Jade looked around the table for help.

“Whooped,” suggested an unhappy Xandra.

“Creamed,” suggested a dejected Sarah.

“Pounded,” suggested an usually upbeat Jessi.

Jade smiled gleefully. “Trounced! We lost 10 to 2.”

“Better than we did,” said Larry. “40 to 10.”

I looked around the table. “How about the other sports?”

Walter held up his phone. “Someone’s keeping track on the school website. I think one of the water polo teams won, girls JV maybe? But, pretty much everyone lost.”

“Leif texted me a little while ago,” Jade added. “He said that both the cross country teams lost overall, although he won his heat.”

Caroline nodded to me. “So, how did rehearsal go?”

“My class did well. Company did too, from what I could see. The other advanced classes had some trouble during our first rehearsal. Then, they were late for our second rehearsal, and that just made them mess up even more. So, the director kept us all late. I didn’t mind too much. The extra practice gave me more confidence.”

“What time’s your show tomorrow?” Sarah asked. “I wanna go.”

“There’s two shows, but the matinee is at two and I think students are free.”

“Awesome. Can’t wait to see it.”

The conversation quickly changed to the rest of the evening. While we all wanted to cheer for Andy, none of us felt like watching the team lose. That was time better spent getting ready for the dance.

Finally, Walter started playing on his phone. “The football team is losing by twenty points. It’s the second quarter. The stands are full of parents and alumni and students from both schools. It’s nearly impossible to get a seat. And, now that the sun went down, it’s getting cold quickly.”

Everyone had grown so accustomed to Walter always being able to answer their questions that no one asked how he knew all this. I said nothing, but he was probably texting his brother.

Sarah clapped her hands together. “Okay, that settles that. I’m going to the dorm.”

She was met with a chorus of “Me too” from the rest of the girls. The boys, meanwhile, decided to go cheer for Andy for at least one quarter of the game.

Melinda’s Journal

Saturday, November 4

I like you. Do you like me?

(Check one)

◊ Yes

◊ No

I remember my friends writing these notes to boys when we were in middle school. I never did. I never thought much about boys. But, my friends were constantly sending these around. Sometimes, they put my name on it and sent it to a boy I liked or a boy they thought I should like.

I miss those simple days.

Pat’s Story

The next morning, my sixth period English class was canceled. I knew Walter had a free period, so I texted him to meet up for lunch. Since his mind is always on his stomach, I figured it was a good bet he’d join me.

When I got to the dining hall, I found him sitting with Melinda. Her hair was pulled into a knot on the back of her head and she was wearing entirely too much makeup. She kind of looked like a clown. I set my tray down across from her.

“Hey, third formers. How’s it going?”

“Not bad,” Walter said, his mouth full of pasta. “I aced a Latin pop quiz. Melinda skipped class.”

I was shocked. “Our good little Melinda? Skipping class?”

Melinda wrinkled her adorable little face at my brother. “I did not skip class. I was excused from all my classes today. Plus, I went to art first period.”

“You’re excused from all your classes today?”

Melinda nodded. There was so much I wanted to say. “We’ll come back to that. You’re excused from all your classes and instead of sleeping in, you get up and go to an eight o’clock class?”

Melinda nodded, looking a little embarrassed, even though she was smiling.

I turned to Walter. “She’s gonna be a bad influence on us, isn’t she?”

I thought Walter was going to get upset about me including myself in his little group, but he smiled. “She makes me do my homework. And go to church.”

I turned back to Melinda. “So, how’d you get so special that you get to skip class?”

Her smile brightened. “We’re rehearsing for tomorrow’s Nutcracker all day today. We’re on a lunch break. Everyone else went on a fast food run, but I stayed here.”

I grabbed the paper in the middle of the table with the daily schedule. “I don’t see anything. Oh, wait. There it is. But, it’s not a student production.” I looked up at her.

“I was invited to join the advanced tap class.” Her eyes twinkled with excitement and I realized she must really love dancing.

“That’s sick!”

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I just found out today I’m the youngest person in the class.”

I glanced at the paper again before returning it to its home between the salt and pepper shakers. “Why is it on here twice?”

“We have two performances tomorrow. Then, the company dancers are doing their regular version of the Nutcracker next month. Without the advanced classes. Thankfully. I think I would be Nutcrackered out if I had to do it next month, too.”

I smiled, a million thoughts racing through my head. I really wanted to see this girl dance. “I’ll have to come check it out tomorrow.” Walter made a noise. Man, I forgot he was there. I turned to him. “So, am I allowed to talk to you at the dance tonight?”

Walter contorted his face several times, probably debating the pros and cons of being near me at the dance. “Maybe?”

Melinda giggled and I turned to her. “Am I allowed to talk to you at the dance tonight?”

She giggled some more and smiled. “I guess so. I’m not sure I’m going, though.”

“Why not?” Walter and I asked in unison.

Melinda shrugged. “I don’t have a date.”

“I thought we were going together.” I could hear the pain in Walter’s voice.

“I thought you were just joking about that.”

Even though I already knew the answer, I thought I would ask about her boyfriend. Just to be sure. “Oh, is it safe to ask now? What happened to Townie? Did you break up?”

“Yes. I’m not discussing it.”

I held up my hands in defense. “Just curious. Well, Chloe and I had the same arrangement you guys did. We’re going together as friends. If I’m allowed to talk to you, maybe we can all hang out together.”

“Chloe?” Walter asked.

I raised my eyebrows. “Yes, Chloe. My most awesomest friend.”

“Wait. Meghan’s Chloe? No, she’s not. She’s Meghan’s friend.”

I smiled, winking at Melinda. “Meghan’s not here anymore, so I stole Chloe.”

Walter just shook his head and explained how we knew Chloe. Then, I changed the subject back to the dance. “I think the four of us might have fun. The rest of my friends all have real dates, so they just want to dance with each other.”

 We left the dining hall together and I was able to walk with Melinda to the Arts Center, since it was on my way to Latin, sort of. There were a lot of cars arriving for Whomping Wheeler Day. She turned to me as we waited to cross the street.

“Hey, Pat?”

“Hmm?”

“Why are you always hanging out with us?” Her tone wasn’t sarcastic or mean. It was as if she sincerely was interested. “I mean, don’t you want to hang out with your own friends?”

I turned to face her, frowning slightly. “Walter’s my brother and I love hanging out with him. I really missed him when I was away.”

 We crossed the street and I tried to explain. “When we were growing up, we were always together. Even if I was doing a movie, Walter was usually on set. We even shared tutors sometimes. But, when I started Hartfield, he wasn’t there anymore. One of the great things about shooting during the school year wasn’t missing classes. It was spending time with my brother. This last movie was really hard because he wasn’t there.”

Melinda looked at me curiously, which looked funny with all that makeup. “So, you’re trying to make up for lost time?”

“Something like that.”

“And what about me? Why do you spend time with me?”

“I like you.” Realizing what I had just said, I quickly tried to undo it. “You’re my Meghan replacement. Only, nicer. Meghan’s been . . .I’ll be polite. She’s been cranky lately.”

Melinda laughed. “Walter said almost the same thing when I met her.”

We stopped at the Art Center stairs. “You and Walter should come tonight. I think you’ll have fun.”

As soon as we parted, I pulled out my phone. I texted Frank and Chloe, inviting them to see the Nutcracker performance. They almost immediately replied. Neither one was interested. I couldn’t show up alone. I texted Meghan as Mr. Henderson walked into the room.

She called later that afternoon while I was walking towards Chloe’s soccer match.

“Since when are you interested in the ballet?”

“Walter’s friend is in the show and I thought it would be nice to go. But, I’d feel kinda stupid going alone.”

“Go with Walter.”

“He still doesn’t want to be seen with me.”

Meghan rolled her eyes.

“What does that mean? That eye roll thing. Why do girls do that?”

Meghan laughed at me. “We can communicate by rolling our eyes. I think it’ll be fun to come to campus for the day.”

“Thank you!”

“Is there something else going on?” Meghan narrowed her eyes.

“No.” My response was a little too quick. I don’t think she believed me, but she simply said goodbye and ended the video chat.