Thankfully, Olga isn’t just abandoning us.

“Okay, troupers!” she calls over the din of excited chatter, “your first skit is in thirty seconds. You’ll need at least four team members, and the theme is ‘awkward bus ride.’ ”

She’s not even done speaking before Andy—one of the clowns—takes control and starts handing out props. He thrusts the gramophone speaker into my hands and asks, “How is your singing?”

“Not bad, I guess.”

“Excellent,” he says. “Just keep singing as loud as you can and play along!”

Thirty seconds later Olga calls the first team forward—of course, A goes first—and we assemble in the middle of the gym, right under the spotlights. I can feel the rest of the troupe watching us—watching me—and a cold sweat breaks out on my skin. I sense Megan’s glare in particular; she wasn’t cast in this skit, so I imagine her there, in the shadows, throwing mental daggers at my back.

The four of us sit down on the floor in three rows—me all alone at the back, Andy at the front, and two others wearing giant hats and sunglasses in the middle. Andy nods to me, and I start to sing. Very off-key. And very loudly.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” one of the middle kids says, “could you please turn that down?”

“Of course, dear,” I say, and start singing louder.

Andy stops the imaginary bus and comes back to try to get me to quiet down, and there’s a moment where he tries to pull the gramophone from my hands and falls on top of the other passengers. Much to my surprise, the audience starts laughing.

The skit lasts about a minute, maybe less—it’s really hard to tell when you’re acting—and by the end, everyone on the bus is singing along to my terrible song. Andy yells out, “Scene!” and we stand and do a quick bow.

“That was great,” he tells me as we rush offstage. I just smile, suddenly very grateful I didn’t leave that afternoon.

Chapter

Eleven

Riley and Kevin’s team goes next. Kevin and three other guys I’ve never met before go onstage for this one, and their bus ride skit involves Kevin getting soaked with a lot of water. I can’t say I understand much of it, but it’s still fun to watch. I glance over to Riley while the show is happening and know she wishes she were out there—she’d probably make the whole thing much funnier. She’s good like that.

Next up is Tyler’s team, and there’s a small kick to my stomach when he and Branden step out into the spotlight. Try as I might, I can’t even focus on the other performers—my eyes are glued to Branden, and I can’t tell if the queasy feeling in my gut is anger or desire. The only consolation is the fact that every once in a while, I catch Tyler throwing Branden a small death glare. Knowing that Tyler’s definitely still on my team makes me feel much better. If only I could get over my attraction to Branden.

Their skit starts with one of the kids running up like she’s about to miss the bus. She’s wearing a huge patchwork coat and a hat that I think is actually a felt flowerpot. She gratefully gets on board and squeezes herself in between Tyler and Branden, then begins removing things from her pockets and asking the boys to hold them.

It turns out that’s the gist of the act; she pulls something out, like a rubber centipede, hands it to one of the boys, and they react. Usually by throwing it out the window. The scene ends when she pulls out a baby doll and the bus driver yells that they have a strict no-baby-flinging policy.

I roll my eyes at the bad acting, but if I’m being honest, that’s not what I was focusing on. I couldn’t take my eyes off Branden. I tried. I really tried to keep my attention glued to Tyler and his awkward acting, but my eyes kept sliding over to Branden.

Why did you pick her? I want to ask him. Why wasn’t I good enough for you?

Then I catch Megan from the corner of my eye and those questions die on the floor. A part of me wants to fight for him, to try and show off and catch his attention and hold it. But then I remember—there are only a few days left, and then I’ll probably never see him again. Even if he is from the next town over. I just have to make it through the next week without getting my heart broken and I’ll be okay.

Shouldn’t be too hard, right?

The next group goes on, and I see Branden glancing at me from the corner of his eye as he leaves the stage. My heart flips.

Okay, maybe this will be more difficult than I thought. Here’s hoping practice will keep me busy.

•  •  •

The rest of the improv show picks up steam, and by the end I’m nearly in tears with laughter. It was so fun to watch that I don’t even care that my team didn’t win—that honor goes to Branden and Tyler’s team. I wander over to Tyler to say good night and congratulate him. Branden stops me before I make it over.

“Jennifer,” he says. The way he voices it, it sounds like a question and a concern.

“Yeah?”

It’s nearly impossible to keep my pulse steady, but I think I’m moderately successful. At least until he puts his hand on my shoulder. Then my heart goes into overdrive.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

I catch Tyler’s questioning look and shrug off Branden’s hand.

“Yeah, fine. Thanks.”

“Can I talk to you?” he asks, but then Tyler steps up behind him and interrupts with a big hello and a huge hug.

“I can punch him if you want,” Tyler whispers in my ear. I shake my head slightly, and then he steps back. “You looked good up there,” he says, slapping Branden on the chest. “Wasn’t she funny?”

“Yeah,” Branden replies.

And then Megan steps up beside me like she’s part of the gang.

“Hilarious,” she says. She glances at me. “I’m so glad she’s finding her place in the troupe. Every good show needs a joke.”

“Hey,” Tyler begins, taking a half step toward her. I grab his arm and pull him back.

“Come on,” I say. “She’s not worth it.” And I drag Tyler back to the dorms.

•  •  •

“I don’t understand her problem,” Riley says, tossing a juggling ball back and forth between her palms. We’re in the back stairwell, her and Tyler and I, and there’s maybe twenty minutes until sign-in.

“Apparently Jennifer’s her problem,” Tyler says. “The way she was looking at you . . . Man, I’m surprised you made it out of there alive.”

“She must see you as a threat,” Riley responds. She tosses the ball to me; I barely catch it and nearly fall off the step when I do.

I laugh. “Clearly. I’m a huge threat.”

“Territorial behavior,” Tyler says. He snatches the ball from my hands and tosses it to Riley. “I hear girls are all about that sort of thing.”

“Oh, please,” Riley says. “Gay boys are worse.”

Tyler just chuckles. “Maybe.” He glances at me, then Riley. “So, are we still a ‘Go’ on Operation Brannifer?”

“Brannifer?” I ask.

Riley smiles and tosses me the ball; I’m expecting it this time, and the catch isn’t nearly as sloppy.

“Code name. You know, Branden and Jennifer, sort of like Brangelina . . .”

“I got it,” I say, tossing the ball back to her. “Do I even want to know?”

“Probably not,” she replies. She turns her attention back to Tyler and tosses him the ball. “But I don’t know. He doesn’t seem to know what he wants, and I can’t stand indecisive guys. I think she could do better.”

“Maybe,” Tyler says, “but I mean, this is her first kiss we’re talking about. I personally think it should happen at the circus. So romantic.”

Indignation flares for a hot second.

“You told him?” I ask.

Riley shrugs. “He guessed.”

“She didn’t even confirm it,” Tyler says, tossing me the ball. “Which is how I knew it was true. Don’t worry, your secret’s safe. But I do still think you should go for it. I mean, Megan’s clearly intimidated, which means you probably have a chance. You do still like him, don’t you?”