“Maybe you will,” Diego said with an apathetic shrug, “but who cares what a bunch of assholes think?”
“You’re right!” Mindy said, standing up straighter. “Why should I listen to what mean people have to say? Our friends and families love us no matter what, right?”
Diego cocked an eyebrow at this. “If you say so.”
“They wouldn’t be here if they didn’t,” she said, feeling the strength of her convictions. “Even in a town as small as this one, there are better options if someone wants to see a play. None of us are professionals. Which is even more reason not to sweat it!”
“Yeah,” Diego said, no longer sounding so certain as he stared out into the audience.
She followed his gaze and saw the same tall woman as before. “We’ll make our families proud,” Mindy assured him. “Just by trying.”
“Is that how it works?” he asked, as if genuinely curious.
“Of course!” She looked him over. “Oh my gosh! We’ve got to get you into the right jacket. Come on!”
Any jitters she felt were forgotten as she tended to her other responsibilities. Before she knew it, she was huddled with the other Jets while waiting for their cue to take the stage. Anybodys wasn’t usually in the opening scene—not from the very beginning—but they only had so many dancers and needed to fill the stage. They had invented a character to pair with Anybodys that they had jokingly dubbed Nobodys, who in real life was a goofy looking guy named Scott that she had known since grade school. So at least she wouldn’t be dancing with Troy. That helped set her mind at ease, despite her body filling with jitters. In a good way, as it turned out.
As she followed the rest of the cast out, the tension in her was like the string of an instrument that could be plucked and played. Every muscle movement needed to be precise. She envied professional dancers who disguised endless hours of training as fluid grace, but luckily she only needed to be a tough street kid with jerky movements. And when she finally did have a line, not saying anything at all was a much more terrifying prospect than getting it wrong. The audience didn’t burst into applause, but they also didn’t start booing. She was going to survive this!
Mindy felt so relieved when retreating backstage for the scene change that she hugged Diego the moment she saw him.
“I knew you’d be good,” he rumbled, arms still at his sides. “People are probably wondering why you’re not the star.”
“Oh stop!” she said. Then she blinked and pushed him away. “Actually, get going! Your first scene is coming up.”
She watched him from the wings. Instead of a bridal shop, they had gone with a tailor, Marco complaining about how cheap his suit was instead of Maria not liking her dress because it looked too childish. She mouthed the lines along with the actors, adoring the romance of it all.
Then it was time for the big dance at the gym, which was one of her favorite scenes. She always felt like swooning the first time Maria and Tony laid eyes on each other, and for whatever reason, it was even hotter as Marco and Tina. She didn’t mind returning to the stage, since it gave her a better view than she would get from the front row seats. She concentrated on the choreography. Mindy and the other dancers were supposed to spin around the love-stuck couple as Marco and Tina spotted each other across the gym and were drawn together.
She felt irritated when Faith twirled into her field of vision, and then confused, because she and Troy were on the wrong trajectory. They would be in the way as Diego and Whitney walked toward each other. She noticed Keisha on the side of the stage, appearing just as concerned. When she glanced back at the star-crossed lovers, she saw Troy’s foot dart out. Diego stumbled over it and fell facedown, just barely managing to land on his palms.
The entire audience seemed to suck in their breath at once, followed closely by a chorus of sympathetic noises.
“Graham says hi,” she heard Troy mutter as he spun away with Faith while wearing a vicious grin.
Diego raised his head, fury in his eyes. Whitney rushed over to him while remaining in character. “Angels aren’t meant to walk,” she improvised while helping him to his feet. “Dance with me instead!”
The lights dimmed, the spotlight focusing on them alone as they began to move in unison. Diego was still scowling, but it made his character seem proud rather than helpless. Mindy listened to their lines long enough to make sure the play would remain on track. Then she glared at Troy, not that he noticed. He was too busy laughing it up with Faith. He actually looked proud of what he’d done! She couldn’t understand how or why. But she’d make sure that Ms. Deville learned the details of what she’d witnessed, because a couple of assholes didn’t belong in a company of actors. Not if she had anything to say about it!
— — —
Diego clenched his hands into fists as everyone around him reveled in their success. The play was over and had gone all right, aside from one infuriating moment. He gritted his teeth while scanning the backstage area for Troy, but it was hard to find him with the arrival of so many adults. Mindy’s parents were embracing her not far away. Diego caught snippets of how surprised they were to see her on stage and how proud she had made them. He doubted his mother felt that way. She had come to his play expecting to see him dance like his father used to, and instead he had fallen on his face. He wouldn’t have blamed her for walking out then. Maybe she had. He hadn’t been able to bring himself to look. All because of Troy fucking Dixon.
No… That wasn’t right. The message had been loud and clear. Graham was behind this. The jackass who had gotten him suspended. The dickwad who had given Ricky shit about his suicide attempt and was picking on him again, now that Diego wasn’t around during gym class.
Someone slammed into him from the side. Diego looked down to see his boyfriend hugging him.
“You were amazing!” Ricky said. “Even better than when you played the Beast!”
“Are you blind?” Diego grumbled. All around him, parents were looking in his direction, probably wanting to congratulate him like they had last time, but he couldn’t handle that right now. Especially since his mom was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she was too embarrassed of him. He noticed Troy standing with his smiling parents and clenched his jaw. “You wanna get out of here?”
“Oh.” Ricky blinked in surprise. “Okay.”
Diego stomped toward the exit, resisting the urge to circle back and knock Troy on his ass in front of his family. Turnabout was fair play. But what he wanted even more was to cut the head off the snake. The next time he saw Graham…
“Are you okay?” Ricky asked, still keeping pace with him.
“Yeah,” Diego growled. “Just peachy.”
When he reached his car, he noticed a piece of paper pinned beneath a windshield wiper. If it was from Graham or one of his lackeys, he was going to lose his fucking mind!
“Did you get a parking ticket?” Ricky asked.
“I dunno.” Diego grabbed the note, which was a page torn from a small lined notebook. He unfolded it and read:
You did good. -Mom
Diego stared in disbelief. Especially when he glanced around, because Marti must have walked around the parking lot searching for his car, just so she could leave the note. Or she probably drove around, because she wasn’t dumb. He returned his attention to those three little letters at the end. Mom. That she had referred to herself in that context was enough to make a lump form in his throat.