Lockers slammed around me as I changed out of my smelly pads and back into sweats. I grabbed my phone, looking for an update from Lilly.

I didn't have access to my phone on the field during football practice, so when I got back to the locker room, it surprised me that I had two missed calls and four missed texts.

I pulled my shirt back on and sighed. It was strange for Uncle Anton to call me during practice. He knew I wouldn't respond, yet he'd left a call and four texts. Scrolling through the messages, my eyes widened at the news he'd sent me.

It seemed problematic. As much as I wanted to worry about the situation, Jamie did give good advice. She kept her head in a crisis and likely found a favorable solution.

The other call was from my sister, Lilly. She hadn't left a voicemail, so it wasn't an emergency. I'd call her when I got out of the locker room.

My phone started pinging over and over. Messages were coming in from the theater group chat, fast and furious, as Tasha announced she was quitting.

I scrolled down the messages as the locker next to mine slammed shut. I didn't know if adding anything to the group chat would help. I knew if I did respond, everyone would want to know if I knew what my uncle thought.

"Dude," Chad, one of the linebackers, grinned next to me. "Yo, Jack. Clingy girlfriend or something? You've been staring at that phone a long time."

I looked up. Chad was trying to crane his short neck to read the texts on my phone. I switched it off.

"Nah," I said. "Just some school group chat."

"Heard you and Carrie broke up," Chad said. "Some luck, huh... or was it your idea?"

I sighed. Talking about my love life was never fun. Unfortunately, most of the school considered my dating life public gossip.

"Carrie said I was distant," I gave him a 'what can you do?' shrug.

Chad scratched the side of his head. "Hate it when girls do that. Thought about who'll be replacing her?"

Personally, I hadn't. The real issue was that I didn't care about dating. Sure, there were some nice girls, but I mostly dated for show. There was one girl I liked, but she hated me for unknown reasons.

"He'll find somebody," Brandon, a blocker, said. "He's the great Jack Garrison. Any girl would be crazy not to go out with him."

"What about Parker's sister?" Chad asked. "Shayna is the head of the cheerleaders. That's a good match."

I tried not to flinch at the name. Instead, I waited for someone to remind Chad that Shayna was unavailable.

"Isn't she dating Juan Perez, the basketball point guard?" Brandon frowned. "Saw them sitting together at lunch today."

Yep. There it was. Shayna was dating Juan. He'd never liked me much. He was a talented athlete but not quite stocky enough for football.

We'd been friends when we were younger like all kids throwing around a ball at recess. Then, when organized sports started in middle school, he stopped being so friendly.

A perfect match for Shayna. She'd found someone who resented me as much as she did and was happy. I couldn't fault him if Juan could give her what I couldn't.

Pushing it from my mind, I said goodbye to the guys. I didn't need to be late for rehearsal. My uncle would have a fit.

I got in my jeep and called up my sister Lilly on speakerphone. My hands gripped the steering wheel hard. They loosened when she picked up on the second ring.

"Hey, Jack," she said.

She sounded relaxed. That was good. She didn't ever call with good news. She should have been home by now from sitting on the bench through her junior varsity volleyball practice.

"Things okay, Lil?" I asked.

Lilly breathed over the phone for a heartbeat before she answered. "Dad took Mary and Maddy to visit Mom after school. Maddy is pretty shaken up. Mary's keeping her quiet. How long is your rehearsal today, Jack?"

A lump formed in my throat every time I thought about Mom. Cancer had kept her in and out of the hospital for a few years now. The doctors kept saying she didn't have long.

Mary and Maddy, seeing her gaunt and broken in her bed, broke my heart. Mom was a shadow of her former self, and we all knew she wasn't getting better.

I visited her once or twice a week. It was easier to lie to Dad and say that the girls tagged along with me, so they didn't have to go unless they wanted to see her.

"I'll be back before nine," I said. "And I'll see if I can't bring Uncle Anton with me. How's your arm today?"

Lilly was always the safe one, but she'd been the one to get hurt the last time Dad got angry. It wasn't her fault, and I should have jumped in to help, but I was too late.

She informed her volleyball coach and the doctors that she had crashed her bike. We'd been lucky that everyone bought the story, and no one thought to look closer.

"Doesn't hurt too much," she said. "Tell Uncle Anton I said hi. Miss you already, Jack."

Lilly hung up. I took a deep breath before I drove to the theater. Lilly was fine. Mary and Maddy were safe. No one had bruises or broken bones. I'd talk to them about Mom later and take them out for donuts.

Pulling up to the theater, I surveyed the lot and parked. Hugh, Carson, and Jules's cars were already there. I didn't see Juan's truck or Shayna's Prius. They were going to be late. Again.

I walked into the theater and found Kai, Hugh, Carson, Jules, Novah, and Rita chatting in the lobby. They seemed distressed.

"Anton's going to have a nervous breakdown with Tasha gone," Carson said. "We lost a lead."

I needed them to calm down. My uncle didn't need to see the rest of the cast panicking when he was already stressed with replacing Tasha. "He's got a plan."

Jules frowned. "Does he?"

"We all admire your uncle, Jack, but he isn't this foresighted," Hugh said.

I smiled. I learned at a young age that people were more likely to believe you if you were kind and confident. That was the one useful bit of wisdom my dad had ever bestowed on me.

"He'll surprise you this time," I said. "Promise."

"Right," Hugh said sarcastically.

"No, I'm serious, man," I said. "He's got a plan."

Kai clutched his script in his hand. "Have you talked to him about it yet?"

"Of course, happens all the time in the theater world," I said. "He called Jamie and sorted it all out."

I didn't know if that was true, but Hugh nodded like he agreed with me. Jules and Rita looked more skeptical while Carson shook his head.

The door opened, and Samantha walked through. She pushed past Kai and walked straight into the theater.

"You could ask us to move," Novah called after her.

"What's she doing here?" Kai asked. "She's the stage manager and lighting coordinator. She barely shows up."

"I guess she's here to participate?" Hugh shrugged. "She was here three days last week, which was weird."

Then it hit me. Samantha was a natural conclusion that my uncle found. It made sense. Jamie must have seen it, too. Samantha was a part of the production but didn't have a role because she ran the lights and opened the curtain.

"You shouldn't worry, Hugh," I said. "She's here for a reason."

Rita's jaw dropped. "You don't mean..."

"Yep," I nodded.

"Hell no," Carson said. "She'll never stop talking."

"He's right," Novah said. "We'll never get anything done."

"Maybe we should give her another chance," Hugh said.

"We've been doing that since kindergarten," Kai said. "I am sick of Samantha."

That's when my uncle walked toward us. "Don't be strangers. We're about to start."

"Cue rehearsal thirty-eight," Hugh sighed. "Two more hours of disaster."

"Don't sound too excited," Rita grabbed his arm and led him to a seat in the theater.

The others followed them. Staying back, I nodded at my uncle. He gave me a knowing look, and I wiped the smile off my face.

"How's my favorite nephew?" He asked.

"I'm your only nephew," I replied.

"Doesn't mean you can't still be my favorite," Uncle Anton chuckled. "We'll talk later about..."

My heart stopped, and my tone dropped. "Not here."

"Sit down, son," Uncle Anton said.

I wasn't his son, and he wasn't my father. He was my cooky uncle who bounced in and out of my life as he was on and off-Broadway until he'd taken the theater job here.

"You're not my father," I reminded him.

Uncle Anton and I walked into the theater. Taking a seat, my uncle started doing a headcount. Shayna and Juan were still missing.

Uncle Anton tucked a pencil behind his ear. "I guess we'll start without them."

"Are they ever on time?" Hugh said to Carson.

Uncle Anton cleared his throat. "Since Tasha has the flu and her mother says she won't be returning to the production of this play. That means we are going to have to replace Celia."

Kai raised his hand. "Didn't there used to be only boys in the theater? Maybe you should replace her with Jack."

"As entertaining as that would be, Jack will still be playing Orlando," Uncle Anton said, although he was now smiling.

"Tasha will be better, though, right?" Carson asked. "Then she can take over again."

"What about Rita?" Hugh suggested. "Or Novah?"

Uncle Anton shook his head. "No, the festival is in two weeks, and we'd still be short a person. We have to add someone. That means..."

Samantha jumped up and interrupted him. "I'm Celia, guys!"

"She's the stage manager," Kai protested. "How can you expect her to act?"

"You're a band geek, Kai," Samantha crossed her arms. "If you can act, so can I."

"Samantha!" I needed to reign her in if we were going to get through this.

She wasn't the most popular person at our high school. Not by a long shot. She had an obnoxious mouth and usually seemed oblivious to what came out of it, but I still was kind to her. The last thing this cast needed was more fighting.

Carson asked the first practical question. "But who'll do lights?"

"Jack's sister Lilly agreed to join us," Uncle Anton said. "She's a freshman and old enough to compete in the contest."

That was new news to me, but I just smiled and nodded like Uncle Anton had told me everything ahead of time. He hadn't, but I didn't need to mention that.

Rita raised her hand. "Does this mean we have to reblock all those scenes with Shayna and..." she trailed off, looking guilty.

"Go ahead and say it," I said.

Rita stared at her Converse. "You know what I mean."

"Jack..." Uncle Anton looked at me.

Samantha blurted what everyone was thinking. "She was going to say, 'Are we really going to reblock all those scenes with Shayna and Jack?'" She paused, but no one answered. "Well, are we?"

"We have to," Uncle Anton sounded weary. "Perhaps this time, Jack won't be so in character."

I took a deep breath. Shayna made my feelings complicated. Orlando loved Rosalind, but Shayna really didn't want me to like her. It made the lines on stage blur between the play and my actual feelings.

"She has to behave, too," I said.

"Dude," Kai sounded defensive. "Don't pin the blame on her."

Jules rolled her eyes. "Let it go."

"It's mostly her, not me," I said.

Hugh glared at me. "Just don't provoke her."

Everyone always blamed me for slowing down rehearsals. Shayna was the one who couldn't see that I was playing a part. Yes, I liked her, but so did my character. Orlando was supposed to be smitten with Rosalind.

"I have no problem with Shayna," my hands went up in surrender. "She's the one who has a problem with me."

Samantha just rolled her eyes. "Pretend she's Rita. Rita isn't as pretty as Shayna."

Rita blushed and ducked her head. Samantha didn't even seem to realize she'd embarrassed the poor girl. I was about to say something to Samantha about apologizing when the front door to the theater opened. I looked over my shoulder and spotted Juan and Shayna walking in, hands clasped.

Kai glared at me. It was a great time to examine my shoes. We needed to make it through this rehearsal. For the collective good of the show, I would do my best not to fight with Shayna.