I cut Reid off. Was he that desperate to always compete?

“You might want to get back to practice. I hate it and I’m still better than you.”

I expected snark. A witty retort. A Reid response.

Instead, he placed the bowl of ice cream in front of me and my words sent him away, silent—with an expression on his face that made no sense because it could only be described as “hurt.”

But the clarinet weight was off my shoulders. I would never be my dad’s first choice—and I had gotten so caught up in the prank wars, I had become the person whose best friend leaves them without saying goodbye. That wasn’t going to happen again.

Still the image of Reid’s hurt face stayed with me as I sat frozen at the kitchen table and watched my sundae melt into mint chip soup, two Reid-signature maraschino cherries floating on top.

Without the clarinet, I was free from the constant pressure to measure up to Reid.

And I felt relieved.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

I don’t tell anyone what I’ve done. Not until it’s too late to fix it.

The week between learning the truth about what Reid did and the RSVP deadline for the Albany Institute audition is spent doubling down on all things Melted. We’re mere weeks away from opening night and everything begins to snap into focus. I’ve been so distracted by all things Reid. Not anymore. Henry and I are codirectors again and when Reid asks to hang out after rehearsals, I make excuses. I’m exhausted. I have too much homework. We have a long day tomorrow. It’s crunch time. All of which are true—but have been true. It’s never stopped Reid and me before from lingering after rehearsals.

Every time I look at him, I see who he really is and what he was going to do to us. But then I’ll watch him steal the stage, so into Melted. Or there’s a chai waiting on the kitchen table for me the mornings he has clarinet lessons. And it becomes hard to reconcile again.

I have to give him credit, he’s a better actor than I ever would’ve thought.

But I can’t confront him about it until that due date passes.

On Wednesday, Makayla asks Cherish to bring her DSLR to rehearsal during costume fittings and they do a photo shoot of Danica and Emerson in front of a green screen. Cherish and the photography club will create fliers with an illustrated Infernodelle backdrop that markets Melted’s partnership with The Sunshine Project.

The closer we get to opening night, the more clubs participate, and it feels so good.

Like a true showcase of why all our clubs matter.