Meet Me After Class

Chapter 17: The Cast

"Megan Jones? The devil must be shittin' on all of us! Why and how on earth did she get the lead role?"

Instead of entertaining Penny's absurd reaction to Megan landing the female lead in the play, my nose crinkled at the questionable lunch Adam had plopped on the table. "What is that thing?"

"Did Martha shit on it?" Penny asked, failing to conceal her disgust.

Adam just shrugged. "Meatloaf! What else could it possibly be?"

Penny grabbed Adam's fork and gave the brown lump a skeptical poke. "I swear to Hades, Martha's going to kill us all, man. One day. I just don't get why Principal Peels hasn't fired her yet. Martha no longer fits the job after her bad break-up."

How Penny got that juicy piece of news, I had no idea. I was not even sure if it was true.

"Hello, guys!"

"Here comes the dashing Mr. Thomas Ainsworth." Penny sneered at me as Brinson rushed over to our table with blatant excitement.

"I am beyond thrilled to be playing Thomas, Wendy," Brinson declared, slamming his tray down next to Adam.

"Dude!" Penny cried as bits of mush from Adam's meatloaf went flying in every direction. Adam, stationed directly in front of his plate, dabbed his face with a napkin, not saying a word to complain. Of course, he wasn't looking happy.

Brinson dropped into the seat. "I'm so sorry, Adam," he immediately apologized, mindlessly pressing napkins to Adam's face. "I am just seriously overwhelmed with excitement."

"I can see that," Adam muttered, his lips drawn in a thin line.

Penny narrowed her eyes at Brinson and quickly gave him a sweet smile that I knew was pretty much forced. "And to what do we owe the pleasure of having Mr. Thomas Ainsworth at our table today?"

Brinson grinned at me. "When Luke and Parker told me the results were out, and I saw, with my very own eyes, the casting list and that I got the lead role, I literally jumped and almost hugged Melissa."

Penny bristled and speared a piece of her banana bread with her fork, with more force than necessary. "Yup! You and Megan got the parts, alright."

And we were back to her grievances.

I came to school early that morning, feeling like a zombie. I was up until 2 AM, stressing about when rehearsals would finally start and the fact that I had to work closely with people I hadn't really talked to or gotten to know in the past years. Outside my room, my world generally revolved around Penny and Adam.

Yes, I worry a lot.

But as Penny and I made our way to the lunch period, my mood lifted. After some convincing, Melissa agreed that Penny could assist with the backstage action, as Mr. Scott had described it. I wouldn't be navigating the chaos alone; my two best friends would be right there with me.

Brinson crumpled the dirty napkins, wearing a frown. "Yeah. Unfortunately, Laura didn't get the part." He cast a fleeting, wistful glance in the direction of the cheerleader. "I was really hoping Megan wouldn't get the role." Turning to me, he added, "Don't get me wrong, but I'm sure Mason would be there to support his girlfriend. And it's not that I'm afraid of him, but you know how that dude is."

Penny shifted her attention to Brinson, pondering his thoughts. I knew exactly what she was thinking, and I was proven right when her face lit up, and she finally gave Brinson a genuine smile.

"Dude, we get you. Don't worry; we hate them too—"

"No, I didn't say I hate them. I'm just—"

"It's okay, Brinson. We get it."