Chapter 25
FIFI
At the game, Ricci is the unlucky one who ends up sitting next to me, with Nina and Pammy on her other side.
“Ouch, stop squeezing my hand. What are you, giving Anaconda? It’s not going to help your boyfriend score his third goal if you break my bones.”
Nina snickers, and I smile at her, letting go and squeezing my own hands together on my lap.
Then we all shoot to a stand simultaneously as we watch Trick steal the puck and skate for a breakaway.
Jumping up and down madly while the crowd roars so loud I can’t even hear my own screaming, I hyper-focus on Trick as he dekes the goalie and flips the puck into the net.
Ricci almost lifts me off the ground in a jubilant hug, and we all jump like we’ve been injected with grasshopper genes.
By the time the game ends, I’ve calmed down enough to gather my wits and re-focus on the fashion show and getting to the MUB—Memorial Union Building—to rehearse on the small stage they set up for us. As we walk out all smiles, Nina flips her phone out and frowns.
“Don’t tell me,” I say.
“It’s a text from Darcy.”
I stop short, causing our group to stop as the exiting crowd flows around us.
“She says she’ll see us at the Ball. She totally ignored my demand that she delete her posts about you and Trick.”
There’s a ping I recognize as a social media alert on Nina’s phone.
Ricci plucks the phone from Nina’s hand.
“Don’t tell me what it says. I don’t want to know. I need to focus on kicking butt at the fashion show. I want everything to go perfectly.”
“I was going to shut it down,” Ricci says, stuffing the phone in her pocket.
“Hey—” Nina protests.
“I’ll give it back later and you can turn it back on. I’m voting we have a moratorium on social media for the rest of the night.”
“Sounds good to me,” Pammy says.
I give each of them a hug. “I’ll see you all at the Ball.”
“Break a leg,” Pammy says, and I laugh as I take off in the direction of the MUB.
As soon as I put my dress on, all the jittery nerves that have plagued me pretty much all day, settle to a manageable level. When I take my turn in one of only two mirrors in the make-shift backstage area of the Granite State room, calm confidence takes place of the nerves.
Maybe it’s because this dress makes me feel connected to Trick, or maybe it’s because it looks so gorgeous and different in a funky yet definitely high-end glam way.
“It’s almost time. I wonder where Darcy is,” Tamara says over my shoulder.
“I don’t know.” I scrunch my face, as my tummy rolls at the thought of what Darcy could be up to. I move aside and Tamara takes a turn in front of the mirror.
“You look fantastic, Tam. That’s a brilliant design. So fire.”
She hugs me as Professor M whirls through our small backstage area. There are only twelve of us—make that eleven without Darcy—but the small space is crowded.
“Has anyone seen Darcy?” Professor M asks, commanding all our attention.
There’s a murmur of confusion and we all end up answering no.
Professor M glances at me and shifts her head indicating she wants me to follow her.
“Excuse me, Tam. I’ll be right back.” I follow the prof to a quiet hallway off the staging area where she takes out her phone.
“I’m calling her. If she doesn’t show, I’ll let her know she should withdraw from class or take a failing grade.” She presses the contact icon and puts the phone to her ear while she watches me.
I nod. I have no idea what to say. And no idea why I feel sick. Something is going on with Darcy. She seems like a troubled girl and it’s such a waste.
I’m wondering what could have gone wrong to make her so angry and negative, when prof M puts a hand up to get my attention.
“Hello Darcy? This is Professor Matami. We’re at the MUD and the fashion show is going to begin in twenty minutes. Where are you?”
She listens for a few beats, frowning.
“It sounds like you won’t be joining us—”
She listens, shaking her head and looking sad. My chest clenches.
“I see. I’m sorry things aren’t going well for you, Darcy. I hope you will do better in the future.” She pulls the phone from ear and gives me her full attention.
“Darcy is withdrawing from the course.” she shakes her head, looking away from me and I want to ask what’s wrong because there’s clearly something wrong, but I have no right.
She takes a deep breath and turns back to me. “That’s all I’m going to say.” She pats my arm. “Let’s go give them a show.”