Somehow, I made it through the rest of rehearsal. I felt like crap. But Mrs. Sorenson and Ms. Langford had given me another chance, along with the rest of the cast. I owed them all 100 percent. So I sang and smiled and danced full-out. It was so exhausting that all I could think about when Mrs. Sorenson dismissed us was taking a nap.

Margot zoomed out of the auditorium before I had a chance to say anything. Which was fine, because I felt so jumbled I’d probably mess it up if I tried to talk to her now. I bolted to my car, sped home, changed into my pajama pants, and sat on my yoga mat, resting my head against the side of my bed.

Fixing things with Margot and Jude wasn’t as easy as it was with Ethan. And going back to the musical wasn’t as easy as I’d thought it would be, either, since now I had to do ballet. Actual ballet. With Kira. I pressed my head farther into the soft mattress, tempted to crawl onto it and lift the covers over my head. To hide from reality like before. But I’d promised I wouldn’t disappear from the musical again, and I’d promised myself I would try to fix things.

I took a deep breath. Kira. Ballet. That was on Saturday. That could wait for now. What I couldn’t wait for any longer was talking to Jude. I needed us to be back where we were. I needed to talk things over with him in the quiet, just us, like we had before.

I ran downstairs, still in my pajama pants. Because when you get the balls to talk to the guy you’ve been wanting to talk to for weeks, you don’t wait around. I flung the door open and almost screamed.

Jude was there. On my doorstep. Next to a woman I recognized from somewhere. Her fist was up, about to knock. “The famous Alina!” she said, smiling wide and lowering her arm. “I’ve been dying to meet you! I’m Isla.” She shook my hand with warm, enthusiastic pumps. Oh my God. The refrigerator pictures. Jude’s mom.

“Hi, um, great meeting you,” I said, glancing at Jude, who was carefully avoiding my eyes.

My mom appeared behind me, guiding me away from the door. She invited them in and took Isla’s bag as they exchanged mom talk about some yard sale they were planning. Jude and I hovered awkwardly. I was really glad he was here, but why was he here?

Isla turned back to me. “I’ve heard so much about you, I feel like I know you already. I can’t wait to see you two dance together in the musical, I was—”

“We get it, Mom, it’ll be the thrill of your life,” Jude said.