okay?”
“Okay . . .”
Hanna threw her other arm around Sirena. “Don’t worry. Em an I are going to build an ice castle to protect us from idiots. It’s going to be great.”
As I trailed behind the three of them making their way toward the front door of the Lodge, I tried to imagine being in Sirena’s shoes. Would I be so willing to acknowledge Emily’s feelings as she always was? My family was comfortable with a lot of emotions, but this wide-open vulnerability? We didn’t really do that. You pushed that serious stuff down. Made it into a joke.
Maybe that’s why Dad had never told me how dark things had gotten for him when Will was a baby. Or why Will hadn’t told me he liked Jonas. I caught the screen door to keep it from slamming into me and watched Sirena and Emily find seats on a bench together on the porch. Maybe they were onto something.
“You’re funny and smart, Emily. You’re going to be fine,” Sirena promised.
“Okay.” Emily nodded little nods.
“And you’ve also got Jonas,” I added, finding my voice. “He’s my brother’s . . . friend.” Almost slipped there. “My brother’s and my friend. He’s maybe not quite as nice as Hanna . . .” I grinned at her.
“Is anyone?” Hanna wondered, peering at the sky.
“But still super nice,” I assured Emily.
Paloma threw open the screen door and marched up to us, handing everyone a schedule. “We start rehearsal right away. Come on.” She gestured for us to come inside, and we followed her back into the Lodge. “Congratulations, Zelda. You kicked so much ass this morning. You totally deserve it!” Paloma gave me a high five as we all circled up by the stage.
“Thank you!” I shook my head. “I still can’t quite believe it. And hey—you and Sirena are with my brother, Will. Give him hell for me.”
Paloma nodded. “Done.” Her forward trajectory halted upon seeing Emily’s face. “Are you crying?” She turned to Sirena, concerned. “Is she crying?”
Emily shook her head. “No. I’m fine. I promise. Just surprised. I hadn’t—I didn’t prepare myself for—I don’t know why I assumed—”
“We’re fine.” Sirena tucked an arm around her.
“Okay.” Paloma looked unconvinced. “Because there can be crying in Gilda Radner, but if these guys are going to take you seriously, there can’t be crying in improv.”
“I think that’s baseball,” I joked.
“True. Also, improv.” She stared at Emily. “You sure you’re okay?”
Emily nodded, fiddling with the cuff of her shirt.
I squeezed her shoulder. “Would this have been a moment for the Pacific Coast Whale Sounds CD?”
Emily coughed on a laugh. “Yes.” She flashed a small smile at Sirena who pulled her into a hug.
“Youuuuu’re so braaaaaaave,” Sirena said, imitating a whale.
Emily laughed and hugged Sirena tighter. She let out a slow, deep breath. Then she let Sirena go. “I’ll be fine,” she assured us.
Paloma tilted her head. “Good.” She turned to me. “I’m glad it’s you, Zelda.”
I opened my mouth to ask her what she meant, but Roger and Dion whistled and waved for their JV teams to follow them. The Gildas dispersed just as Will and Jonas ran in from opposite doors. Seriously. Who did they think they were fooling?
They stared at the list on the bulletin board. Seeing they were on opposite teams, they glanced at each other, then down, then back, then both folded their arms awkwardly. I wished they could turn to one another for comfort like the girls did. But instead, Will and Jonas just exchanged shy smiles of disappointment and trotted off in opposite directions.
With the JV teams gone, I looked around the dining/stage area at who was left: seven guys who had done really well at the audition—two guys who looked black, and five guys who were probably white. Then my stomach dropped. Two of the white guys were Crotch-grabber and Finger-flipper.
“Hey, counselor,” Crotch-grabber said, sauntering up to me. “Get it? Counselor? Cuz camp? And cuz you’re a lawyer?”
I grimaced. “Got it. But if you have to explain your joke, then it’s not a very good joke.”
“Whoa! Kitty wants to fight!” Finger-flipper made a meow sound and clawed the air, crossing over to us.
I frowned. I was just standing up for myself. Plus, Crotch-grabber had started it. Wasn’t he the—
Ben clapped his hands, and everyone turned to give him their attention. “Congratulations and welcome to Varsity.”
The team whooped and hollered.
“As you know, my name is Ben Porter—”
More whoops and hollers.
Ben nodded and smiled. “And in addition to teaching and performing at