“I can’t believe you know the lead!” Bella trilled as they all packed into the car.

“Yeah, we’re good friends,” she heard herself saying.

Each night, starting at dress rehearsal, she’d done Brody’s and Nessa’s makeup. The school didn’t have a dressing room or anything, so the whole cast used the choir room. The leads did their hair and makeup off in the corner. The ensemble splayed their stuff all over the rest of the room, and waited there before the show and in between each group song.

In the makeup corner that night, Sophie saved Brody’s and Nessa’s makeup for last, so it would be fresh, and so they could warm up their voices until the very last minute.

Unfortunately, a terrible error in the song “The Wells Fargo Wagon” had been made the night before. The harmony sounded off or something, and Mr. Rhodes called everyone except Harold Hill to come to the stage for a quick rehearsal about a half hour before the curtain went up. That left Sophie alone in the room with Brody Dixon.

She fought the urge to paint his face like a clown or to give him overly eye-lined eyes. Her impulse to do an excellent job won out.

Sophie and Brody hadn’t been alone since … well, since before the list came out, when they’d sat in his room together.

She remembered that right before he’d tried to kiss her, he’d told her something like, “It’s wild, because you’re, like, the prettiest girl I’ve ever met, but you’re also so, so smart.” And she’d thought it was this huge compliment, replaying it in her head over and over, thinking his smile meant he’d be her boyfriend by the end of eighth grade, and that they’d go into high school and run everything together.

But that hadn’t been a compliment. It shouldn’t have been “wild” for a girl to be pretty and smart, or any combination of anything.

And he’d never be her boyfriend.

As she silently dabbed his face with stage makeup, knowing that night was his night to be taken down, she wanted the truth.

“So did you ever actually like me?” Sophie asked, her neutral face revealing none of the bravery that the question took.

Brody briefly glanced up from the game on his phone.

“I mean…” She let the powder brush lower to her side. “Were you just trying to get the girl everybody else liked? Or something like that? Like with Eve?”

Brody half laughed, half grunted. “Aw, man, you’ve got me all figured out.”

Sophie raised an eyebrow. “Just be straight with me!”

He went back to his game. “It’s all no big deal, Soph. God.”

She put her powder brush down in her makeup kit, snatched his phone, and held it behind her back. “No! You are going to explain yourself to me!” she demanded.

“Come on, give it back!” He started to stand to reach it, but she put up a hand gesturing for him to back off. He stayed seated.