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Wondering what parts of her body she inked meon.
Wishing she’d never erasedme.
7
“How nervous are you?”Elle asks me on the way out of Entertainment ManagementFriday.
“It’s going to be great. I didn’t even know Finn was on the faculty list until the fall,” I admit as we start down the hall. “He wasn’t when Iauditioned.”
“FinnHarvey?”
I look up to see Jake, the guy from the library, fall into step withus.
“Lucky,” he goes on. “The guy’s a rising star. But I don’t know anyone else who got Finn. It’ll be cool to work with someone who knows how to bustin.”
Excitement works through me. “Exactly.”
Elle jerks her head toward the dining hall. “I’m this way. Annie, I’ll catch you tonight?” Her eyebrowswiggle.
“Forsure.”
“What’s tonight?” Jake prompts as sheleaves.
“A bunch of us are going out to this club. You should come.” I give him the details, and henods.
“You give any thought to the showcase?” heprompts.
“Yeah. I’m auditioning for sure.” Last night I watched some video from past events. The talent level is off the charts, particularly from the people whoclose.
But the faculty who preside over the auditions have to choose someone. I’m already strategizing how to make sure that someone isme.
“It’ll be a first-year uprising.” Jake pumps a fist in the airgiddily.
I wave goodbye, then head for the stairs to the practice rooms on the second floor. I’m five minutes early, and my swipe card doesn’t let me in. I wait in the hallway, watching people flowby.
Classes have been tough the first week, but deciding to focus on the showcase has given me an anchor, a reminder of why I’mhere.
I’ll do whatever it takes to be that good. No excuses, nodistractions.
Tyler coming to my room yesterday was adistraction.
Not only walking in to find him there, studying my things as if he had every right to be in my space, but the things hesaid…
“You taught me to want things I never let myself want. You taught me todream.”
And the look on his face—like I was the most beautiful thing he’d everseen.
It doesn’t matter that he sounds torn up about what happened between us. He’s the one who walkedaway.
My hand finds my necklace under myshirt.
AfterThe Little Mermaid, I took the rose Tyler had handed me in the garden and had it preserved in order to remember what happened, to remind myself I’m not fragile and that my dreams matter more than a brokenheart.
Now, every time I look at it, I think ofhim.
I’m not letting him in again. We can coexist, we can even be civil, but we’re not going to be friends. We’re definitely not going to be more thanthat.
I’ll have my chance to practice keeping him out because we’re all going out to a club tonight for Beck’sbirthday.
