Nessa knew that life was about waiting for the right moment—your moment. Not every moment could be yours, but then when it came, it was so sweet.
Nessa got it. She got the lead, the role of Marian the librarian, like she knew she would.
The cast list hung on the choir room door.
“Two lists in two days,” she heard Erin O’Brien grumble behind her. “Just great. I’ll probably be Woman Number Three in the chorus.”
But when Erin arrived at the list, she saw that she’d been cast in a big role and she spun around in circles in her purple wheelchair, getting high fives from everybody.
“Congrats!” Nessa beamed as Erin smacked her palm. Well deserved. Erin had an alto voice to die for.
Yes, Nessa assumed she would get the lead role, but you never knew for sure. You never knew if no matter how good Nessa was, that they’d go for the “pretty, stick-thin girl” as the lead and the “big and talented girl” for the funny mom. But it was Nessa’s voice that was so big that, in a just world, nobody could deny it. Plus, she was going to rock that librarian costume. She’d look so cute.
Nessa looked over at Lara Alexander, who had come back to school that day, and couldn’t help but feel a little good that Lara was disappointed with her part. At callbacks, the role of Marian had been between Nessa and Lara, and girls like Lara got so many other things. This belonged to Nessa.
Did thinking that make Nessa a horrible person?
Nessa went over to Lara, and even though Nessa hadn’t said anything mean out loud, she tried to make up for her own nasty thoughts.
“Lara, you’re going to be hi-lar-ious in your part. I can’t wait to see you do it. Oh my gosh, the audience is going to go bananas.”
Lara smiled, and that was good.
And Nessa smiled, too, because both their names were on the only list that mattered.
Behind her, Nessa heard a group of boys’ voices.
“I have to kiss her,” one voice complained.
Brody. Brody Dixon. He’d gotten the other lead, the part of Harold Hill, the guy she had to fall in love with.
Look, she wanted to say, I’m not so thrilled about it, either, slimeball.
The other boys laughed. “Dude, I’m so sorry.”
Was that Caleb? Caleb Rhines? What a traitor. She always helped him in jazz band when he lost his spot in the music.
Brody must have known she could hear him. Right? Who would say something like that when they knew people could hear? Nessa turned to look right at him.
Brody met her stare and strolled up to her, acting like he’d said nothing. He smiled his symmetrical smile and put a hand on her shoulder. She tried not to grimace.
“We’re going to be amazing,” he said to her.
He waited, as if she was supposed to smile or giggle or bat her lashes in response. Nessa raised an eyebrow at him. “We’ll see.”
His grin stayed plastered on his face as he added, “It was really nice of Mr. Rhodes to choose you for the part. He’s such a good guy, right? You’ll be great.”
What in the world was that supposed to mean?
Brody walked back toward his friends, and they laughed about something—maybe her—as they headed toward the school’s front doors to leave.
“You think my dad is gonna waste his time at a ‘community meeting’ tonight?” Nessa heard Brody joke as he led his boys off.
“It was really nice” to choose her? It wasn’t “nice”! She had earned it! Brody got his part because he was handsome in that actory way. The boy couldn’t sing his way out of a paper bag! Good thing most of the Harold Hill songs were talky and he could fake his way through them!
Oh man, was she angry.
Nessa tried to think of what her mom liked to say. Find your center. Her mom’s center was probably Jesus. But for Nessa, it was some other feeling, some other strength within her that she didn’t have a name for yet and only felt when she sang.
Find your center, Nessa.
No luck.
Mr. Rhodes was a “good guy” for casting her? What?
Why did she have to exist in a school with boys like Brody in it? And why did his ridiculous opinions have to gnaw at her so relentlessly? Maybe it was because she worried that his opinion mattered the most. If not to her, then still to the rest of the school. The world.
She wanted to scream, but instead she texted Eve.
Got the part! ☺
Then she took a breath, made her face match the smiley emoji she’d just sent, and turned to the other theater kids, ready to celebrate and to pretend that nothing ever hurt.