This book is for C. Thank you for inspiring me. You were taken from us too soon. RIP

When I pulled into the theater parking lot, I saw a red Jeep Wrangler parked right by the entrance, which sent my stomach to the floor. It was bad enough that I had to see it sticking out in the parking lot at school, but both the Jeep and its owner had followed me into the only extracurricular I liked.

It was a shame the red Jeep drew crowds. Most of my fellow juniors considered its owner, Jack Garrison, perfect. Anyone who didn't like him was just jealous.

Jack played quarterback for the football team and was voted junior homecoming king. When he was elected class president through write-in ballots, he humbly gave the presidency to someone who actually campaigned. Girls swooned when he breathed. Everyone treated him like his family money and charm held a halo around his blond head.

People had been shipping me with the golden wonder since the third grade. I'd long lost track of how many times the other cheerleaders had begged me to say yes when he asked me out.

Two months ago, I had the same sinking stomach reaction parking on the first day of school when I spotted Jack holding court in the parking lot. Then, I avidly ignored Jack climbing down from the car and walked into the school with my stomach doing flips.

Usually, my brother Parker kept me in line and reminded Jack that I didn't want anything to do with him. I was used to riding Parker's coattails. His popularity got me voted cheerleading captain. Even though he was graduated and off at university, I was still Parker Christian-Porter's little sister.

Without Parker, I felt alone. We liked the same movies and music. We both thought our dad was a deadbeat and supported our mom. Parker always came to my cheerleading events, and I attended all his games. We agreed on everything except Jack Garrison.

For reasons I couldn't fathom, Parker and Jack were friends. My brother mentored him in football. Then Jack ruined our lives. Instead of punching his light out like a good big brother, Parker forgave Jack. I was the only one who wasn't blind to it all. There was nothing perfect about Jack Garrison.

Even though I did my best to ignore him, he was always there. That day, he was chatting in the back of my first-period English class with his football pals and his best friend, Carson. They were laughing about something ridiculous, so I sat in the front with my back to Garrison's groupies.

There was a general babble until the teacher quieted the room for the morning intercom announcements. Normally, I didn't care what club was recruiting or whatever inane dribble someone stuck into the announcements. That day, however, I needed to ensure the principal announced cheerleading tryouts.

As captain, it was my job to ensure the word got out. They'd just finished a segment on mascot recruitment when a separate announcement caught my attention.

"Join Broadway professional Anton Sterling for auditions for As You Like It on Friday at 4 pm," the principal droned. "Fine arts credit included for those chosen to participate. See the drama society bulletin board for more information."

Crestview High School didn't have a theater department. The closest they got was the yearly talent show. I wasn't about to climb on stage for that, but being in a play was different.

Acting let me walk around in someone else's shoes for a bit. On stage, I wasn't a cheerleader or Parker's sister. It was a break from being myself.

Unfortunately, I didn't know where the drama society's bulletin board was. The only person I knew in the Drama Society was Tasha Gonzalez, our future valedictorian. I turned around in my seat to see if maybe, by chance, she was in my class.

Instead, Jack caught my eye. He winked and waved. I rolled my eyes and continued my search for Tasha.

I didn't meet Tasha until eighth-period physics. Her lab table was already full, and she was sitting next to a girl I'd never seen before. She had short dark hair and was dressed in a Doctor Who shirt and jeans.

"Hey, Shayna," Tasha smiled. "Have you met Rita Finch? She's new. Rita, this is Shayna Porter, the coolest cheerleader at Crestview."

I felt my cheeks heat. It was nice not to be introduced as Parker's little sister for once.

"Nice to meet you," I smiled. "Tash, where's the drama bulletin board?"

"Outside room 322," Tasha said. "You thinking of auditioning?"

"Yeah," I said. "It sounds fun."

"Miss Christian-Porter," the teacher said, and I stiffened.

My brother Parker was only bothered by our hyphenated last name when it made his name tricky to fit on a jersey. Personally, the name brought back memories. I preferred my mother's portion of the name, Porter.

"Porter," I said. "Just call me Shayna Porter."

"Very well, Miss Porter," the teacher said. "Please take a seat."

I had to wait until physics was over before heading to the bulletin board. There I found the sign-up sheet. I skimmed down the list to see the competition. Then my eyes fell on the one name I didn't want to see: Jack Garrison.

There were already two dozen names on the list, and the stack of flyers was low. Figured since Jack was involved.

After putting my name on the list, I attended Friday's first round of auditions. Naturally, Jack was there surrounded by a posse of fans. Then, after callbacks, I found myself cast as the lead, Rosalind.

Afterward, I called my brother up with the news. As usual, he was supportive and happy for me.

"That's great," he said. "Sounds like you got what you wanted. But you're calling me, so what's wrong?"

I sucked in a breath. "So, do you remember Anton Sterling?"

He was a bit of a local legend. He and his sister Sarah Anne had attended Crestview in their youth. Anton went to New York and became a Broadway actor. Nothing super big, but he was the closest thing the city had to a hometown celebrity.

"Yeah," Parker said. "Jack introduced us once."

Anton's sister Sarah Anne had become a photographer, married a lawyer, and moved back to her hometown. She was the bright mother of four, Jack, Lilly, Mary, and Maddy until the tumor in her head became a problem.

"He's directing," I said. "And well..."

Parker knew my pause all too well. "Shayna, tell me this isn't about your petty vendetta against Jack Garrison because that's a stupid reason to drop out of a play."

"We're playing lovers," I said. "Jack's celebrity uncle cast him as the other lead."

Parker was quiet for a moment. "So what?"

Now, I didn't like to fight with my brother, but this... He never had my back when it came to Jack. There was always a reason to defend that treasonous blonde punk instead of his sister.

"What do you mean 'so what?'" I demanded. "It's favoritism, or he needs Jack's money. That's why the school loves the Garrisons."

Parker sighed. "Shayna, even if that's true, why are you going to let that ruin this for you? They cast you as the lead in the school play. That's awesome."

It almost made me smile. Parker was good at that. Finding the bright side was easy for him. It was what made him so popular in high school.

"But acting with Jack?" I frowned. "I mean, I'm good on stage but not that good."

"Get that good," Parker said. "Triple dare challenge Shayna. Walk into rehearsal every day with your head held high. Act like he doesn't get to you. Maybe eventually, it'll sink in. Jack isn't a bad guy."

We'd done triple dare challenges since we were kids. Our mother introduced them to help us grow and build character. Turning down a triple challenge was admitting defeat.

I bawled my fists. "Fine, I accept your triple dare."

Now two months later, in late October, the sight of Jack's stupid red Jeep wasn't making me feel any better. The competition our play was entering was in two weeks, and "triple dare challenge" or not, I wanted to throw Jack off the nearest water tower.

I parked between Jules's beat-up minivan and Hugh's rusty Fiesta. I could have parked cleaner beside Jack's Jeep, but then my boyfriend Juan might suggest keying it, and I probably wouldn't stop him.

Juan auditioned only for the free art credit. I practically dragged him to rehearsals by offering to drive.

Juan was one of the only people at Crestview with a sane view of Jack Garrison. He saw straight through Jack's perfect smile and big blue eyes. It might have been jealousy, but it was much better than blind admiration.

I could tell we were late. Jules's beat-up minivan and Hugh's rusty Fiesta drove the carpool, and they were both parked next to Jack's Jeep and our director's SUV.

We entered the theater hand in hand. He whispered something about plans after rehearsal, and I vaguely nodded. Normally I wasn't big on public displays of affection, but in the theater sticking close to Juan reminded Jack that I was the one thing he couldn't have.

Juan made a big show of taking his letter jacket off my shoulders in the lobby. He was always insisting I wear it. He hung it on one of the pegs in the corner and walked with me down the theater's center aisle.

I spotted Jack immediately. He was holding court center stage, sitting with his legs dangling as he talked to Hugh and Rita.

Carson sat beside him, mindlessly plucking his ukulele. I'd known Carson since kindergarten, and he was nice and well-liked. His biggest fault in my book was the fact that Jack was his best friend.

It seemed like everyone was around. Jules was studying their script, Novah was engrossed in a novel, Kai charged his phone while playing a mobile game, and Tasha scratched answers into her SAT prep book.

I didn't see Samantha Chance lurking about. She only ran the lights, so she wasn't essential for every rehearsal. I wouldn't miss her. She was always talking nonstop and coming up with unhelpful suggestions.

"Let's get started," Anton walked out of the lighting booth with the gravitas and excitement of a game show host. "From the top. We'll see how far we get tonight."

Our director didn't remind me of his nephew. His scruffy brown hair was thinning. Glasses framed his face, and he was on the short side for a man in his early forties. Even though he has been in the acting industry for almost two decades, he looked more like a middle-aged dad than anything.

The cast scattered in different directions. Juan kissed me on the cheek and headed backstage to prepare for his entrance. Jules took their place on the front row. Rita plopped beside them, script out and ready to follow along. The boys took seats behind them. Even Tasha looked ready with her prep book alongside her script.

Only a couple of people were in the opening scene, and Anton liked to skip around, so there wasn't much point sitting in the narrow wings until closer to my entrance.

"Yo, Novah," Jack called.

Novah Roberson perked up from the back row at the sound of her name emerging from some Faulkner novel like a turtle coming out of its shell for air. Once, we were the only two Black girls in our neighborhood, and we were best friends, but after I moved across town, we lost touch.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Starting the show," Jack said. "You coming or what?"

Novah smiled and headed towards the stage. I walked into the audience to sit beside Tasha, but I couldn't avoid walking by Jack as he sauntered towards the stage.

"I look forward to our scenes in a bit," his mouth curved into a grin. "You ready to fall in love again?"

"You wish," I rolled my eyes and pushed past him.

"You wound me," Jack winked. "I'll see you on the stage."

Before I could say something stupid or consider breaking my deal with my brother and slapping Jack, Novah came to my rescue.

"Thought you said we were starting," she said from the stage. "Or can I go back to my book?"

Jack just grinned and hopped on the stage without taking the stairs. He looked back at the audience a moment later, and I could swear he was staring at me.

I wouldn't back down. He couldn't bully me. I didn't care if his crush was genuine or if his goal in life was to make me squirm. This was my stage, and I was an actress. No one could take this production away from me.

"Places," Anton said. "And scene."

Jack and Novah became Orlando and Adam in their opening scene. And with that, we began another rehearsal of As You Like It, just as likely doomed to crash and burn as Jack Garrison's one-sided crush.