“You never have anything bad to say to Laila,” he says, folding his arms. “It’s always me you have a problem with. Have you guys ever noticed that?”

He looks back toward the other cast members. Rocco slinks out of sight. Wyatt’s eyebrows furrow. Mia has already disappeared.

“That’s not true,” I say. “And I don’t have a problem with you. Your performance needs some work, but that’s why we’re rehearsing.”

“See, this is what I’m talking about,” Eric says. “I’ve starred in five school productions. How many have you directed, exactly?”

My face is heating up. I hate the fact that his words have an impact on me at all. Everyone knows this is my first time directing a school musical.

“Come on, Eric,” Laila says. Her face is red. “She gives me notes all the time.”

“Like what?” he asks. “ ‘Smile wider’?”

“That’s enough,” I say, forcing my voice to resemble something like steel. “We’re not going to waste time on this. You guys run lines on your own for a few minutes and then I’ll watch again.”

They slowly cluster together, Rocco and Laila tossing glances over at me. Eric is the last to move. He stares at me like we’re in some sort of battle. I take a step away from them, plopping myself down in a seat. My face is still hot and my breaths are coming out fast. I hate this.

I try not to have favorites, but Laila is the nicest, and she hasn’t needed as much feedback as the rest of the cast. It’s not my fault that she happens to be a quick study. And, God, I wish Eric would just talk to me after rehearsal or something. Calling me out in front of everyone implies that I have no idea what I’m doing.

“Something on your mind?”

I jump, turning to see Jesse. He has his headphones slung around his shoulders like usual, and a clipboard at his side. He’s already crossed out half of his list of notes. Show-off. With the amount of notes I take, it feels like I’ll never get rid of them before the show in December.

“Just thinking about everything we have to do,” I say, squeezing my arms around my stomach. “We have to finish costumes, get everyone off book, make sure the choreography looks great….It feels like everything is going by so fast. It’ll be December before you know it.”

“It’s always like this,” Jesse says, glancing at the stage. Ms. Klein is speaking rapidly to Laila and Eric, who stare at her with rapt attention. At least they don’t get pissed when she gives them notes. “It’ll be even faster next year. You’ll see.”