was my inspiration and the one who constantly pushed me to be the best person I could be. Still, this didn’t prevent our usual mother-daughter flare-ups. Or make me want to live in the manner that she did. Despite my outward appearance as the good girl, the perfect daughter in most ways, I knew the truth. I often vented my frustrations at our shitty home life and at having a well-known father who was more talk than action and who treated my mother like crap. I often wondered why she just didn’t leave him. Then I remembered Raisin’s chronic medical issues and my grandfather’s recent diagnosis and all the bills piling up on the counter. I couldn’t lie and tell myself that I wasn’t immune to my father’s charms and easygoing manner—or to his big promises, which never got fulfilled—even when I knew he was full of it.
I looked up and saw Debbie Lowe and Stacey Swanson standing in our orbit. They gave me a quick glance that told me I was all but invisible to them. These were the two senior girls who’d lost out on the Sandy Olsson role, although Debbie had gotten the coveted Rizzo part. What were they doing here? I had never been accepted into their social sphere and never would, which was fine by me. I glanced over at Willow and noticed that she was ignoring them. And who could blame her, especially after the cold shoulder they’d given her during the show’s run?
“We thought you did an amazing job, Willow,” Stacey said, as if someone had put her up to the task.
“Thanks,” Willow replied, still focused on removing her makeup.
“We’re really sorry. We were wrong to treat you that way,” Debbie said.
Willow chuckled. “How big of you.”
“A bunch of us are having a cast party tonight. We’d love for you to be there,” Debbie said.
“What about Katie?”
They turned in unison and looked at me as if I had a contagious disease. “Sure. She can come,” Debbie said.
“Hey, Katie Eaves. You want to go to a cast party tonight with these two?” Willow said.
Seeing her discerning eyes flare at me in the mirror, I scrunched my face up in an indeterminate way, not sure how to respond to this question. Gil, I noticed, happened to be standing behind us and filming the entire encounter, an encounter almost as dramatic as the one that took place onstage.
“Sorry, ladies. I think Katie’s saying that she’d rather attend my cast party instead,” Willie announced.
“Oh, we had no idea you were having a party tonight,” Stacey said. “Maybe we could stop by.”
“Katie,” Willow said, “did you hear me invite these two hyenas?”
I shook my head, embarrassed by her coldness. I actually felt sorry for Debbie and Stacey, even if I didn’t like them. Willow’s behavior seemed over the top and beyond mean. And yet I smiled to myself, knowing they’d brought it upon themselves. Maybe Willow had been instructed to act this way by her father. To create conflict for his reality show. An act calculated to squeeze maximum drama out of the pettiest of things. I knew from watching all those reality shows that they thrived on this kind of friction, manufactured or not.
“Katie obviously didn’t hear me invite you two, either,” Willow said.
“Willow, don’t be a bitch. We’re admitting that we screwed up,” Stacey said.
“A little late with the apologies, don’t you think?” Willow flashed them a smile so perfectly theatrical that it stunned me. It also made my skin crawl. “Catch you later, bee-yotches.” She spun back to her cosmetic mirror and resumed staring at herself.
The girls gave me a sympathetic look as they left, and it pissed me off. Who were they to judge? Weren’t they the same girls who’d already made up their minds about Willow and harassed her after she won that part? Refused to speak to her or have anything to do with her? Besides, I knew her better than anyone. To me, she was a loyal friend and a uniquely talented performer. I tried to look past her personality quirks and character flaws and accept her for the person she was. And I believed she treated me the same way.
“That was an amazing performance. You were absolutely wonderful, babe,” her father said. He put the camera down and stepped closer to her. But I wondered if he was talking about her performance onstage or backstage.
“Thank you, Daddy.”
He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “You’re going to be an