“Okay, cast members get ten minutes to go over their lines,” Ms. Klein says. “Exactly ten minutes. We’re going to run the entire show, so I want you to pay attention to how often you’re looking at the script.”

Mr. Palumbo glances at her, but instead of saying anything, turns his attention to the rest of the students.

“If you’re ensemble, come over to the choir room with me,” he says. “We’re going to focus on nailing the first few songs.”

I resist the urge to sigh. That means I’m going to be left alone with Ms. Klein. I try not to pout as he leads a large chunk of the company out of the auditorium. It’s not even like I can work with the cast on my own terms, since Ms. Klein just gave them something to do. Maybe I’ll watch their performances with her and try to give some pointers of my own.

As the actors take their places, I shoot Pops a picture of D.W. from Arthur without any context. He loves things like that, even though I don’t think he understands them. He doesn’t answer right away, which means he’s probably doing something important—maybe grading assignments. I flick through my other apps—Facebook, Instagram—but it’s the same stuff I saw at lunch. The algorithms are the worst. I feel like I’m running in circles all day.

Sometimes Twitter can be pretty interesting. It wasn’t such a big deal at my old school, but it feels like everyone here has an account. It’s great for news—breakups, college announcements, or just drama in general. The backstage crew runs the Drama Department’s account, which is super interesting because of a certain someone I’m trying not to look at.

“What about crew?” a freshman named Lily calls from the stage. “What do we do?”

“Jesse is in charge of you,” I say, shoving my phone in my pocket. “Ask him what he needs help with. If you can’t find him, I’ll try to get something for you.”

Lily nods before scampering backstage. I turn my attention to the rest of the backstage crew kids. Most of them are focused on painting set pieces like tables and chairs so they look like they came from the same place. It doesn’t take long for my eyes to focus on one kid in particular.