I raise my hand in a halfhearted hello in response.

“This the band audition? For the drummer of Proper Noun and the Noun?”

I nod.

“Nice!” She pumps her fist and walks into the room, then glances behind her. Another girl trails in a second later. She’s dressed in tight black jeans and a ratty-looking T-shirt and is clutching her bag in both hands like it might defy gravity and take off into outer space at any moment. Her dark hair hangs in front of her face, but when she blows it off and glances around the room, I realize it’s the girl from drama class earlier today. The one with the great smile, who made me feel like a human being for a minute. What is she doing here?

The first girl comes over to me, all confident and oozing sex, and sticks her hand out.

“Lucy,” she says.

The couch I’m sitting on is so old that it takes me a few seconds to struggle my way out of its bent coils and stand so I can properly greet them. I glance at the second girl to make sure she didn’t witness my complete lack of coordination, and of course she’s staring right at me. We lock eyes, and she raises an eyebrow and smirks. I bite my bottom lip and look away as fast as humanly possible.

“Hey. Zach.” I shake the Lucy girl’s hand, which is weird because I haven’t shaken another kid’s hand, like, ever, but I’m barely concentrating on her even though she’s a total smoke show. I can’t help glancing over at her friend again, hoping she’ll make a move to introduce herself.

“So…this is the band, huh?” Lucy surveys the room and doesn’t seem too turned off, which is a miracle. If I were her, I’d make a break for it. All the guys in the band are just milling around, ignoring that someone is, you know, actually here to audition. On the other side of the room, Matt and Rosaline are making out again. My stomach turns. At least this time he isn’t trying to catch my eye while his tongue is smashed inside her mouth.

“Yup.” I don’t really know what to say, per usual, and I’m still distracted by her friend, who’s now slumped against the wall next to us with her arms crossed. “Umm. You’re here to audition? I assume…? Or…?” I do an awkward nodding thing in the direction of her friend. “Is she?”

Lucy glances over at the other girl and smiles. “May? No, not her. I wish. Every band needs a badass trumpet player and backup singer.” The two of them appear to have some weird private conversation with their eyes, then May drags herself over to us, like she’d rather be anywhere else. I know the feeling.