𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐲, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞
𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮
Jules sat up a second later, and at that point, Lucy knew the teasing smile on her face too well. "You know what I just thought of?"
"What?"...
Lucy didn't really know how to feel about the play. She caught on pretty quickly that it was about Lexi's life. She felt bad, but she wasn't really paying attention. She had too much on her mind, and her high from earlier was still wearing off. Plus, Elliot was right there. She felt him glance over at her anytime something funny or interesting happened in the play. She kept wanting to look back, but she forced herself not to. She was still mad. Sort of.
She was almost completely zoned out until the auditorium doors opened and Cassie Howard strode down the middle aisle with the most terrifying smile Lucy had ever seen on her face. Rue glanced over her shoulder, caught Lucy's eye, and mouthed "Oh shit." Cassie walked onto the stage, clapping her hands slowly. Lucy sat forward in her seat. Now she was invested.
"Lexi, you really out-did yourself," Cassie said. The auditorium fell into a hush, everyone waiting with bated breath. Cassie laughed. "I mean, where did she find these knock-offs?" She gestured at the actresses on stage. A collective "Ohhh," rose from the crowd. "I mean, I had no idea my sister had this in her. Good job, right? Isn't she great? Here, unpacking all of her trauma- I had no idea how hard your life was, Lexi. Can we get a round of applause for how hard Lexi's life is?"
She started clapping. Some sort of mob mentality seemed to take over and the crowd started clapping and cheering. Lucy didn't know Lexi all that well, but in the moment, she sort of wanted to kill Cassie.
"Come on, guys," said Cassie. "I know they chop the heads off of criminals in Afghanistan or whatever, but god, it is nothing compared to living in my shadow."
"Yo, is this, like, a part of the play?" someone in the crowd called out.
Cassie looked over her shoulder in mock confusion. "I don't know. Lexi-" She turned and walked off towards the wings. "Is this part of the play? Lexi?"
A second later, she returned with Lexi, who looked like she might cry at any second. Lucy winced. She thought of Fez. She scanned the crowd, trying to find him, but there were too many people and it was too dark.
"You're the big star of the day!" said Cassie, dragging Lexi to center stage. "She's always wanted to be the star. This is your big moment. Shine!" Lucy could see Lexi's mouth moving, but she couldn't make out what she was saying. Cassie kept on smiling. "Oh, I should stop? Me? I'm not the one putting on a play to humiliate and embarrass you!" The smile was gone. Now, Cassie just looked scary. Lexi shook her head. "Oh really?" Cassie shouted. "Then what is this?"
