"Ah, you can smell the depression of thousands of soul-less teens, having sold their soul to the devil for summer fun," said Erin.

The squad laughed and we all felt a bit better. It was Monday and the first day of the new semester. Most of the teachers were absent today so most of our classes would be free periods. Tonight was the semifinals for the talent show. Kat had pretended like she didn't know what Drew did to me at the party and w as as flirty as ever. Naturally, Drew didn't mention it to her or me, for that matter. And I was fine with that. Only Scarlett and Kyle and Luke knew what had happened.

Speaking of Luke, he was over at his locker with a bunch of guys he met at the pool party. I was happy that he was settling in so well and making friends.

Luke ate lunch with us and two of his friends joined, Tom and Chris. They were basketball players but were also massive musos. We all chatted about the talent show tonight and discovered that Tom and Chris were going to support Nate, who was on the team with them. Then we discussed our acts for the show. Scarlett and I were singing Wake Up by The Vamps, Kat and Drew were singing Thinking Out Loud and Nate and Leah were doing a dance to Heathens by twenty øne piløts. Those three acts and The Reason and the A team were apparently the hot favourites to win this year. The bell rang and we disbanded.

☆☆☆

We were all backstage and waiting for the show to start. Nate and Leah were warming up and doing stretches together and Drew and Kat were also warming up their voices. I was pacing and texting Luke, asking where he was. Scarlett and Kyle were in one corner and acting like the adorable couple they had become. They had announced their relationship as official on the last day of vacation.

The show started and I peeked out of the curtains. My dad had arrived and Christine was with him, not that I cared whether they watched or not. I had detached myself from them as far as possible. We were going to get our dresses and tuxedos fitted on Saturday morning. I noted, with satisfaction, that Luke was there but wasn't sitting with them; he was sitting with Tom and Chris. Mr Rivers announced the first act, Leah and Nate, and they went on.

The song started and they started dancing. They were wearing matching sneakers, sweatpants and closed baseball jackets. Then when the drums started, they simultaneously unzipped their jackets and threw them into the wings. I read what was on their t-shirts and laughed. Leah and Nate had made t-shirts that read "Neah Kylett Eritt '16". Scarlett turned redder than her hair but in the audience Kyle just whistled and cheered. Nate and Leah finished their dance perfectly and the audience cheered loudly.

Then three more acts went on, Morgan Fey and Squad Seventeen and The Reason. They were all good but The Reason was definitely the best of those three. Then it was Kat and Drew's turn.

They sat down on two stools and Drew started plucking his guitar. I'll admit that I felt jealous. They sounded amazing, looked great and the audience was enjoying their flawless performance. After finishing to enthusiastic applause, they walked off and Drew tipped me a smirk and wink as he sauntered past. I rolled my eyes. Just he wait til the finals. I'd show him, the little fuck.

Next was the A team, Chris Harley and Magician Mark, whose assistant seemed to have disappeared. Now it was time for me and Scarlett to perform. We walked on stage and Luke and Kyle wolf-whistled. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing yet Scarlett just looked mortified. I plugged in and gave my guitar a strum. Zachary, the sound guy, gave us a thumbs up and started the backtrack. We wrecked that song so hard. We were absolutely awesome and the audience cheered extra loud. Scarlett and I walked off stage and as we passed Drew, I smirked and tipped him a wink. Ha!

The Sexy Pitches, an a capella group, followed but we're admittedly average. And that was it. The judges called for ten minutes to decide the finalists. After what felt like an age, the contestants were called back on stage. Mr Rivers produced an envelope and proceeded to read the names.

"The first act through to the finals is...The Reason!"

This announcement was met with loud applause.

"Then we have Drew and Kat as well as Nate and Leah!"

The cheering grew. I even cheered at this. That meant that one half of the plan had qualified for the finals. Now just for me and Scarlett.

"The second last act going through to the finals is......the A team!"

The audience had been holding its breath and now broke into ecstatic applause and cheers.

"And now for the final act going through. The last finalist in the Kennedy High School talent show is..............."

I caught Drew smirking at me and shot him a filthy look. I caught Scarlett muttering a prayer next to me and felt a wave of nerves despite myself.

"Jay and Scarlett!"

The audience roared it's approval. Scarlett jumped up and cheered and I grinned like an idiot. Principal Rivers blabbed on some more about "thank you for coming", "proud of the talent" and "the finals will take place on" but I was not paying attention. Instead, I was giving my squad looks of triumph. We had done it! Now, revenge. 😈