It’s the day before the dance. Nav, John, Clairna, and I decide to meet in the auditorium during recess to put the finishing touches on the decorations. The final piece we have to make is the blue and white balloon arch. We blow up so many balloons, and with each one I feel the tension creeping up in my shoulders. It’s just the four of us in the auditorium. Mr. Davis ran to the office to make some copies.
“I don’t care how weird I look dancing tomorrow. I’m gonna dance the night away.” Nav does some robotic move, and John and Clairna start laughing.
“I’m so excited. Mom’s pulling me out of school a little early so I can get my hair and nails done. What are you gonna wear, Annabelle?” Clairna asks.
This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. “I’m dressing up… as Daphne.” I say the last two words almost like a whisper.
Nav leans in. “Like who?”
“Why would you want to dress up like your cousin?” Clairna fills a balloon with air.
“She’s not,” John says.
The balloon slips from Clairna’s lips and swirls all the way to the floor.
“Not what? Not coming?” Nav looks at John for answers.
John shakes his head. “My name is Bennett, and I ain’t in it.” He continues to place the balloons on the arch.
“I’ve been lying to you guys,” I say.
Clairna’s jaw drops lower with the passing of each second. Nav just kind of stands there looking like he doesn’t know what to do with his arms.
“Girl, I am not following you. So your cousin isn’t coming?” She snaps her fingers together. “Darn, I so wanted to rub that in Rachael’s face!”
I scan my brain for the right words. “No, it’s just that — Daphne is… me.”
Nav doubles over and starts laughing. “So you’re your own cousin? What kind of freaky joke are you trying to tell?”
John finally stops building the arch and throws me an anchor. “Guys, what Annabelle is trying to say is that her real name is Annabelle Daphne Louis. She’s Daphne, the YouTube star.”
Clairna and Nav don’t say anything for a second, but it doesn’t take long for Clairna to show how she really feels about my keeping a secret. “You’ve been lying to us this whole time?” Her voice is a good three pitches higher than before.
“Why didn’t you just tell us from the beginning?” Nav says. Then he looks at John, disappointment all over his face. “And you kept it from us too?”
“Wait, you told John before you told me? I thought I was your girl, Annabelle!” Red surfaces on Clairna’s whole face.
“This isn’t John’s fault,” I say. “He was just trying to be a good friend.”
“Well, that makes one of us!” Clairna says.
“I can explain. All of this was an experiment to try new things at school as a way to make friends, since I was new here.”
“So that’s what we are to you, Daphne? An experiment?” The words jump out of her mouth like a pack of knives.
“You guys aren’t an experiment. You were the first friends I made here. It’s just that once I started getting popular, I felt like if I said anything about the YouTube thing you wouldn’t want to be my friends anymore.”
“Well, you got that part right!”
“Are you gonna tell?” I ask.
“You can have your experiments and your fans and your lies! I’m sure you’ll figure out how to let everyone else down.” Clairna storms out of the auditorium, and Nav runs after her.
And my tears start up all over again. “What am I supposed to do now?”
John hands me a tissue from his pocket. The tears are coming out thick and fast. I wipe my eyes with it, trying my best to stop the flow, but it doesn’t work.
“Now you find a way to tell the truth… to everyone.”
“But how?” I ask.
John scratches a patch of hair on his head, but doesn’t offer a response.
“I understand if you don’t want to be my friend anymore either,” I say.
John places his hand on my shoulder. “I’m not going to let you go through all of this by yourself.”
“But everyone is expecting me to show up tomorrow with my cousin Daphne. Clairna and Nav hate me. Rachael hates me. Meanwhile thousands of people in YouTube land think I’m the greatest thing ever, but those people aren’t real. You guys are. Basically this whole experiment is one big failure.”
Just then Mr. Davis walks in, in the best mood ever. “Tomorrow’s the big day, guys! Ah, it looks like a winter wonderland in here!” He skips and sings his way up to the stage where we’re standing.
I turn my back so he doesn’t see the red in my eyes.
John says, “We’re all done with decorations, Mr. Davis. If you don’t mind, we’ll head back to class.”
I look around the gym. It’s done, but it’s not to my full liking. But none of that matters because I don’t have the energy to blow one more balloon.
“Where are we going?” I ask John.
“Do you have your cell phone and your laptop on you?”
“Yeah, but why?”
“You’re going to the dance tomorrow… as Daphne. It’s time for one final experiment.”