“Yeah, well, I gotta go change. It was good to meet you.” Les took off in a sprint, ditching me in the middle of the field.
He was running away. From me. Both my fake boyfriends had ditched me before anything had even started. That had to be a record of some kind.
I saw Erin glance back at me as Les ran past her, and she raised her eyebrows and gave me a thumbs up.
I managed to grin and nod.
What were the chances Les was going to go to the semi-formal with me?
Zero.
I was so hosed.
CHAPTER SIX
Three hours later, I slammed my forehead into the piano keys with a horrendous clang and screamed. Why was I so bad? Why couldn’t I play anymore? Every time I touched the keys, my playing got worse, like some horrible nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. What was wrong with me?
I couldn’t play the piano, and I’d been shot down by two fake boyfriends. My life was over. There was nothing redeemable at all. Not even my belly button ring.
I banged my head on the keys again, the crash of the chords a horrible noise of misery. Maybe I should start playing with my head. It sounded better than when I used my hands.
The phone rang and I jerked upright. Please let that be Rafe calling to tell me he’d dumped his girlfriend because he’s so hopelessly in love with me!
My mom answered the phone. “Well, hello, Erin. I’m sorry, but Lily is still practicing. Can she call you later?”
“Wait!” I jumped up and ran into the kitchen, where my mom was making meatloaf. “I need to talk to her.”
Mom gave me her stern look. “Have you finished practicing?”
Dude, yeah, I was so over that look. Did I really care what she thought of me anymore? I mean, all I did was let her down, so why bother? “I need to talk to Erin about homework.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Really?” Her tone was dripping with skepticism.
“Really.” Total lie, but what else was new with me these days? “I’m serious, Mom. It’ll take two minutes.”
She sighed. “Miss Jespersen said you need to focus. The audition is soon and you aren’t nearly sharp enough.”
I gritted my teeth against the urge to close my eyes and scream until my brain exploded. “Two minutes.”
She held out the phone. “I’ll time you.”
“Thanks!” I grabbed the phone and took it back into the family room. “Erin? What’s up?”
“You have to come to Keith’s pool party on Saturday.”
“I want to.” I sighed and closed the door. “But I can’t. There’s no way I can swing that. I have this recital and—”
“No, you have to,” Erin interrupted. “Les thought you were cute.”
“No way!” My breath caught and I immediately felt a million times better. I hurried over to the couch and sank down, hugging my favorite pink throw pillow to my chest. “He did? Seriously? You aren’t lying, are you?”
“But he thought you were a little weird and possibly lacking in personality.”
Oh…that wasn’t so good. I clutched the phone in dismay. “Really? Are you sure?” Like that was a surprise, though. I mean, seriously. Was there any chance of him thinking I was charming and interesting based on our conversation? Not so much.
“I don’t know what you said to him,” Erin said, “but if you don’t come to the party and redeem yourself, I doubt he’ll go to the semi-formal with you.”
Anxiety rippled over me. “Redeem myself? How?” Was there a chance? Really?
“Be funny. Talk about something besides the piano. Flirt.”
I bit my lip and fought against the rising panic. I didn’t have a personality, not like my friends did. I was who I was. How was I supposed to fake a life I didn’t have? “Maybe it’s not a good idea. Rafe called tonight and said he wasn’t that high on me going with Les.” Fake boyfriend to the rescue. Sigh.
Erin snorted in disgust. “So what? If Rafe won’t go with you, it’s too bad for him. You have to go. It’s the event of the year! Don’t you know that this is the dance where we establish the group of guys we’re going to hang out with for our entire high school career? If we don’t get in with these guys, we’re going to spend the next four years doing our homework on Friday nights instead of having a social life.” She sighed. “You have to be part of the group, Lily. It would be horrible without you. Please?”
Oh, man. I wanted to go so badly. “Erin—”
She groaned. “My mom’s yelling at me to clean my room. I have to go. I’ll talk to you at school tomorrow. Party’s at two on Saturday. Please find a way to be there, okay? Gotta go. Bye.”