“Hey, bro,” Elijah says, coming around the corner with a large coffee in hand.

“How you doing?” I ask.

He shrugs with his whole body. “I’ve been better. I really liked that guy. Oh, August, hold me,” he says, throwing his arms around me. I’ve never seen Elijah down. Usually he’s the brightest person in the room.

“I’m sorry, man.”

“I’ll never recover.”

“Too bad you’re in a city with no hot guys,” I joke.

He pushes me. “But I liked that one.”

I put my arm around him and head north. “Come on, we’re going to be late.”

“Wherever are we going?” he asks.

“Just trust me,” I say, almost giddy for the surprise. We walk three blocks talking about the big tech day coming up tomorrow. Elijah has been through it at SPA, and he’s not stressed. Good for him.

“Watch out for Mrs. Templeton,” he warns. “She’s in charge of costumes. Stay on her good side or you might have a costume malfunction, like a rip in the back of your pants.”

“That didn’t happen.”

“Did so,” Elijah says. “To this kid named Trip Fischer my freshman year. Also, get in good with the sound guy. He controls your levels, and you want to be heard. His name is Kenny and he collects what people think is too many Pokémon.”

“I knew that,” I say.

“You did?”

“Yeah,” I lie. “Someone told me.”

“Oh, I guess you don’t need me.” Elijah pretends to be hurt.

“No, I need you. I’m freaked out about this week.”

“It’s no big deal,” he assures me. “Just too many hours and someone gets sick. Someone gets hurt. An actor has a breakdown. Typical tech-week stuff. Also, did you see Tess and Justin last night? God, get a room.”

“I hope she’s in love,” I say. “Maybe she’ll be nicer to me.”

“Don’t waste a minute on the haters.” Elijah tosses his coffee cup into an overflowing trash can.

“Here we are,” I say, pointing to the marquee.

He looks up. “Naked Boys Singing?”

“Thought this could take your mind off Duncan.”

“Oh boy, will it,” he says, hopping up and down and clapping. “Naked dudes are exactly what I need to see.” He stops jumping and looks at me seriously. “Is this real?”

I looked up reviews that confirmed the show is, in fact, guys singing in their birthday suits. Couldn’t find any videos online—probably due to the nudity. Hope Aunt Lil doesn’t go through my internet searches. “I guess we’ll find out.”