Rosie’s mouth opens but no words come out. I swallow past the lump in my throat and elbow her lightly, making her snap out of it.

“Go ahead,” my best friend says, her voice hoarse.

I stare at her for an extra beat, my stomach twisting into knots, and then I force myself to turn back to the stage.

Sofia takes a deep breath, before a huge smile breaks across her face. “Oh my God, Charlie, look. Look, look!”

“What?” Rosie reads from the script, the tips of her ears turning red.

Sofia bounces on her toes, a look of wonder on her face. “Someone left this note in my locker. It’s...a pickup line?”

“Oh?” Rosie reads, and I consider my best friend’s expression, watching as some tension slips out of her, replaced by something warm.

Sofia nods, clutching a letter to her chest, her eyes wide. She even brought her own props—impressive. “It says, ‘I can’t remember the other twenty-one letters of the alphabet. All I know is U R A QT.’ It’s addressed to me. What do you think it means?”

Rosie coughs, pulling my attention back to her. “Well, from over here it looks like you have a secret admirer.”

“No way, Charlie,” Sofia says, scoffing, but then she hesitates, looking down at the letter. “I mean, there’s no way, right? Do you really think...do you really think someone likes me?”

“Yeah,” Rosie says, her tone slightly off, as if she’s out of breath. I doubt anyone else can tell. “I think someone does.”

“Huh,” Sofia says, running a finger along the edge of the letter and worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “It doesn’t feel real, you know? Like why would someone leave a note in my locker? I’m just...me. I don’t know.” She looks up, a soft smile playing at her mouth. “I guess I never thought the day would come.”

“I always knew it would,” Rosie says softly, before clearing her throat. “And scene!”

“Yay!” Sofia does a bizarre but enthusiastic celebratory dance. “Thank you so much!”

“You were wonderful,” Rosie says, and each word seems to carry a weight. “Thank you.”

As soon as Sofia hops off the stage, I turn to Rosie again. “Listen, I didn’t mean—”

“Let’s just forget it, okay?” Rosie says, tucking an auburn curl behind her ear. “It’s fine.”

I shake my head. “It’s not fine, I wasn’t—”

“It’s fine, Mina,” Rosie says, but she won’t look me in the eye. “I think Sofia should be cast for Vivienne.”

“Okay,” I say.

Rosie’s mouth twists. “Are you saying okay because you agree, or okay because you think I want you to agree?”

I stare at her hopelessly, willing her to just look at me. “Because I agree.”

“Great,” Rosie says, but her tone is flat. “Next!”