I'm With Cupid (14 page)

“Are there more kids coming?” Lena asked Abigail, surprised at how few people were in the auditorium.

Abigail shook her head. “Mr. Jackson only invited a few people back to audition, the ones who were really close to making it in the first time. He wanted to call you, but I begged him to let me do it. I knew you'd freak out!”

Lena looked at Mr. Jackson across the room. He flashed her a reassuring smile, like he believed she deserved to be there. She had to show him that he was right to give her another chance.

Abigail gave Marcus a wave. “Are you auditioning too?”

He laughed. “No way. The last time I auditioned for anything, I peed my pants.” His cheeks went pink. “I was, um, in kindergarten.”

Lena cringed and explained, “He's here for moral support.” No doubt Abigail would go back to making fun of Marcus behind his back after this.

She was surprised though, when Abigail laughed and said to Marcus, “Don't tell anyone, but the first time I had to talk in front of the whole class in first grade, I was so nervous that I cried in the bathroom beforehand.”

Marcus smiled his bright, infectious smile. “Well, it looks like you've gotten a little better at the whole public speaking thing. I heard you're awesome in the play.”

Abigail shrugged at the compliment, but Lena could tell she was flattered.

“If you need to go cry in the bathroom on opening night though, we'll cover for you,” Marcus added.

Abigail laughed and flashed Lena a look that she could only describe as “approving.” Finally, her friend was getting a glimpse of the nonweirdo Marcus that Lena had gotten to know.

Just then, she spotted Brent Adamson on the other side of the auditorium, lugging in some sets for the play. Oh no. Before she could duck out of the way, Brent's eyes met hers. Lena waited for him to drop his end of the set and go running off to the bathroom. Instead, he stopped and cringed. His face looked a little pale, but it wasn't green. Then he shook his head and went back to pulling the set piece.

“Did you see that?” Lena whispered to Marcus.

He nodded. “I think it's finally fading.”

“Thank goodness!” Lena said. “I was starting to think I'd have to wear a mask all the time or something.”

“All right, folks,” Mr. Jackson called. “Let's begin! Those of you auditioning, go wait in the wings.”

“Break a leg,” Abigail whispered as she walked by.

Even though Marcus wasn't technically allowed to, Lena had him follow her up onto the stage. She read over the monologue, the same one she'd used for the first audition. The one she'd royally messed up. Suddenly, her whole body started shaking, like there was a tiny earthquake going on inside of her. What if she messed up even worse this time? That would prove that she didn't have what it took to be a real actress one day.

When they found a spot in the dimly lit wings, she turned to Marcus and said in a panicked whisper, “What if you're right and I am some kind of robot? Maybe that's why I didn't get in the first time. You and Mr. Jackson both said I was stiff. Maybe I can't act at all!”

Marcus shook his head. “You can do this. Ever since all this stuff happened to us, you've been so different. So much more
you
. Just be that way onstage.”

Lena closed her eyes. He was right. Ever since their powers had swapped, she'd been struggling to push down all the emotions swirling inside of her. But she'd been failing, as if all those feelings were leaking out of her no matter how much she tried to hold them in. She'd even cried at the hospital yesterday! Lena couldn't remember the last time she'd lost control like that. Maybe that's what Marcus meant when he said she'd become more like herself.

She'd told him that he needed to stop running, but the truth was, she'd been running too. From her feelings. From the possibility of getting hurt or losing control. But actresses had to embrace all of those things or they'd never be any good.

“Thanks,” she said. And then she did something she would have never expected. She leaned forward and kissed Marcus right there in the wings, in front of everyone.

The minute their lips touched, energy zinged through her from the top of her skull all the way to the bottoms of her heels.

“Wow,” they both whispered. Then Lena's eyes popped open, and she gasped as she realized that the air around them was
glowing
.

“Did you feel that?” Marcus asked.

Lena nodded. She glanced down and thought she even saw a wisp of smoke coming out of her shoes. Could this mean…? Was it possible…?

“Lena Perris!” Mr. Jackson. “You're next!”

She staggered back, her entire body thrumming with electricity.

“Lena? Are you there?”

“I'm-I'm coming!” she called, stumbling onto the stage. She could barely think, barely breathe. She felt electric. She tried to calm herself down, tried to push the giddiness away so she could focus on her audition piece. But then it hit her. Why should she push it away? Why shouldn't she use it? After all, it was what she was feeling.

As she stood in the middle of the stage, she didn't only say the words. She became Alice. Scared, excited, overwhelmed Alice. She let herself feel every line, every word, until it seemed like they were part of her.

And then, finally, it was over.

“Great job, Lena!” Mr. Jackson called from the front row while the other kids clapped. “Tremendous improvement!”

Lena felt her face glowing with excitement. When she went into the wings, she saw Marcus waiting for her with that same glow on his face.

“You were amazing,” he whispered.

“It worked, didn't it?” she said. “We're back to normal!”

He smiled. “I think so.”

Together, they snuck out the side stage door and into the hallway. Then, when they were sure no one was looking, they called up their energy.

Marcus's was a bright red. Lena's was a deep purple. Exactly like they were supposed to be.

“It worked!” Lena threw her arms around Marcus and squeezed him until her muscles ached.

“But how?” Marcus asked. “What did we do differently?”

“I don't know.” Lena's whole body was still dancing with energy. “It had to be something that we missed at the party.”

“We did everything the same way.”

Lena frowned. “Maybe that was the problem. We let Connie push us into that closet, just like the first time. And we let Eddie do it too.”

“What do you mean?”

“Aren't you always saying that you can't force love? Well, maybe we couldn't force our powers to swap back. We had to kiss because we wanted to, not because someone was making us.”

And then it hit her. She'd kissed Marcus because she'd wanted to. She hadn't been scared of feeling something for him, of being a weak, mushy girl. Because being with Marcus didn't make her feel that way. It made her feel more like herself. She'd been jealous of her dad having Marguerite to laugh with and talk to, but the truth was, Lena already had those things with Marcus. She'd just been too scared to admit it to herself until now.

“I can't believe it's really over,” Marcus said. “Do you feel all back to normal?”

“No, I feel better. Like I could do anything.”

They heard Mr. Jackson through the auditorium door asking everyone to gather around.

“Sounds like he's going to announce his decision,” Marcus said.

“Wish me luck,” she said. Then she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the auditorium.

“Ah, Lena, there you are,” Mr. Jackson said. “I was about to announce that you, young lady, are one of our new playing cards!”

Lena whooped with joy. This was the moment she'd been dreaming of for years. Being onstage. Being an actress. It was finally happening. And it was only the beginning.

Lena was still beaming on her way home. Her happiness dimmed though, when she thought about what her returning powers might mean for Mrs. Katz. Was the old woman's extra time finally up?

She pulled to a stop across the street from the old woman's house and was surprised to find Mrs. Katz and the mailman outside in the garden, happily pulling weeds. As she watched them laughing together, the air around Mrs. Katz shifted, and Lena caught a glimpse of her soul. It was faint and wispy, barely clinging to the old woman's body. It wouldn't hold on for much longer. Mrs. Katz probably had a day, maybe two, left.

Should she warn Mrs. Katz how short her time was? As Lena watched the woman tuck a flower behind the mailman's ear, she decided not to. Even if Mrs. Katz only had a couple of days left, they would be happy ones that she never would have had if this whole power-swapping mess hadn't happened. Let her enjoy the time she had left without worrying about what came next.

Lena gave Mrs. Katz one last look, knowing she'd probably be visiting her again soon, and headed for home.

She found her dad slumped on the couch, watching some boring show about rocks. She didn't need Marcus's powers to tell her that the gray cloud of loneliness was back.

“Dad, are you okay?”

“Sure, Lena. I'm great.” She couldn't help noticing that he'd stopped calling her Chipmunk again.

“Dad,” she said, sitting down next to him. “I'm worried about you.”

“About me? Why?”

“Because you keep pretending you're fine, but you're not. I thought having Marguerite around would help, but now you're miserable again.”

“Lena, you don't need to worry about me. I'll figure things out.”

“But I can't help worrying. And if you pretend you're fine when you're not, then what's to keep me from doing it? Then we'll just be lying to each other.” She sighed. “In fact, I think we've already been doing that. Ever since Mom left, we've barely talked about it. And we've both been taking all our sadness and putting it into these little boxes, hoping it'll go away. We can't do that anymore. I
won't
.”

Her dad looked at her for a long while. “I thought you were doing all right.”

“So did I,” she said. “But that's why I couldn't get into the play, because I forgot what it was like to actually feel things. I was pretending, and so are you.”

“I've wanted to be strong for you. I thought if I was all right, then you would be too.”

“Can't we both be honest?” she asked.

He nodded and took a sip of coffee. Real coffee, Lena realized. Not just hot water.

“All right,” her dad said. Then he laughed suddenly. “You know, I realized that I must have been pretty lonely to go to all that trouble to get Marguerite to go out with me again. I wouldn't have pursued her otherwise.”

“Really? But you guys have so much in common. It seemed like the perfect match.”

“I thought so too at first. The only trouble is that I hate scientists. They're boring.” He laughed again. “I know how that sounds. But can you imagine me talking to someone exactly like me for hours? We'd bore each other to tears. I need someone who's interested in other things. That's why your mom and I worked so well together, at least for a while.”

“So you'll try dating again?” she asked. “Even though it's all just brain chemicals?”

“The science is part of it, of course. But maybe I've been oversimplifying a bit because it made me feel better after what happened with your mom. Love might be chemicals, but it's more than that. And honestly, I think I've done enough moping around. It's time for me to have a life again.” He chuckled as Professor let out a joyful bark in the backyard. “If our old dog can find love, then I think any of us can.”

“As long as you don't have a date the first weekend of December,” Lena said. “Because you're coming to see me in the school play.”

Her dad's face lit up. “What? You got in after all?”

She told him about the emergency auditions—without mentioning the supernatural stuff, of course. “I'm going to be a playing card! I only have one line, but it's a whole line! You'll get to hear me speak onstage!” She was giddy just thinking about it.

“Wow, Chipmunk. I can't remember the last time I saw you this excited.”

Lena laughed. She couldn't remember the last time she'd
felt
this excited.

Her phone beeped, and Lena grinned wider when she saw it was a message from Marcus.

“Who's that?” her dad asked.

“My boyfriend,” Lena said. Then she froze in shock as she realized the words that had come out of her mouth. She had a boyfriend. A real one! Wait until she marked that in her calendar! Okay, it didn't seem fair that “get into the school play” and “first boyfriend” would fall on the same day. Or maybe it was more than fair. After all, how lucky could one person get? At this rate, she'd be done with her checklist in no time. Even though she had to admit that it didn't seem all that important anymore.

“Boyfriend, huh?” her dad said. “And what does this boyfriend of yours have to say?”

She opened the message, and her stomach sank as she read it.

Meet me at the hospital. It's Olivia.

• • •

Lena prepared herself for the worst. Who knew what their powers swapping back might have done to Olivia?

But when she got out of the hospital elevator, she was surprised to hear what sounded like a party coming from Olivia's room, people laughing and chatting. She poked her head in and spotted Marcus sitting on a chair, talking with a redheaded man who looked vaguely familiar. But most important, Olivia was sitting up in her bed and laughing along with them. She was awake!

“There you are,” Marcus said, catching sight of her. “Keith, Olivia, this is Lena. She's the one I was telling you about. My, um—”

“His girlfriend,” Lena said, which made Marcus beam back at her so brightly he could have been a supernova.

“It's so nice to meet you,” Olivia said. “Marcus has been singing your praises. Thank you for helping me in the park that day.”

Lena shot Marcus a questioning look. What was going on here?

“Olivia woke up yesterday,” Marcus explained. “And the doctors say if everything stays the same, she'll be able to go home next week.”

“Wow, really?” Lena said. “That's great.”

“Then maybe the two of us can have our first official date,” Keith said, taking Olivia's hand.

Suddenly, Lena recognized him. He was the redheaded man who'd called 911 that day in the park.

Marcus smiled and gave Lena a knowing nod. She couldn't believe it. Even though these two hadn't been zapped with a “love boost,” they'd somehow wound up falling in love with each other? Lena remembered the spark she thought she'd seen in Olivia's chest. It hadn't been her imagination after all.

“But how?” she asked. “You were in a coma!”

Olivia laughed. “I'm not sure. Keith said he sat here and read to me for hours. And when I woke up, I felt like I'd known him for years, even though I'd never seen him before.”

“I can't explain it, but I just knew I had to be here when she woke up.” Keith shrugged. “It's one of life's mysteries, I guess.”

“Maybe it was supposed to work out this way,” Marcus said.

Lena shook her head in wonder. Maybe it all was.