wanted.â
âYou wanted a mushroom? Whyââ
âSpeaking of mushrooms,â Dad interrupted, âgo throw the pasta in, Addie. The sauce is already made.â
âI wanted a troll,â Addie told Zack. âSame palette.â
Whaley scrunched up his nose at his reflection and burst out laughing. âYouâre right, Zack. I
am
a mushroom.â Abruptly, he crossed the room to pick up his acoustic guitar heâd left in the corner. He threw the strap across his shoulder and began banging out blues chords, singing in a scratchy tenor:
Â
Well, Iâm a mushroom, babeee,
From Planet Zay-am!
Not no shiitake mushroom, babeee,
Like they got in Japan!
Donât you know Iâm a mushroom, baby?
Â
âYouâre a
troll
,â Addie said.
Whaley dropped down into the rocking chair, picked up the tempo, and shook his head wildly.
Â
Some girls love a fungus
Some girls love a spud
But Iâm here to tell you
That I ainât no dud
â
Â
A blues troll,â Mrs. T. observed. âI wish Iâd brought my camera.â
â
Wait
a second.â Almaz turned to Addie, narrowing her eyes. âWhat are you messing around with makeup for? I thought you were going to act.â She was tall and beautiful, and really strong, and when Almaz asked questions in this way, Addie had no trouble imagining her in her position as the intimidating left forward on her soccer team, charging the goal. She often thought goalies must quake when they saw Almaz coming. Addie, however, was going to try to deflect her.
âWell, isnât it a good makeup job?â
âSure.â Dad looked up from the paper, which heâd started reading again. âBut howâd the audition go?â
âIâll go cook the pasta,â Addie said, heading quickly for the door.
âHey, Adsââ Almaz followed, putting her hand on Addieâs arm.
But Addie shook it off and hurried out into the hall. In the kitchen she found the Dutch oven full of hot water fizzing on the stove, about to boil over. She turned down the burner and dumped in two packages of spaghetti. The steam made her face hot. She didnât want to talk about the audition.
But really, there was no way to avoid it. She sighed and grabbed a stack of plates out of the cupboard, shoved the kitchen door open with her foot, and went back to the living room. Might as well get this over with.
âIâm probably doing makeup again,â she announced as she plunked the plates onto the table.
Whaley put his guitar down. Zack looked up from his drawing.
âOh, honey.â Dad put an arm around her, but she wriggled away.
âGet the forks and knives,â she ordered Zack. When he got up and did this without arguing, she knew she must really be pitiful.
Almaz put her hands on her hips. âThatâs ridiculous. I read through that part with you. It isnât like you werenât good. And donât tell me any of those drama queens were any better!â
Addie shook her head, but couldnât bring out any words in response. Instead she went to fetch the brass candlesticks off the mantel.
Whaley followed her, awkwardly patting her back. âTheyâre morons, those theater people. Donât know a good thing when it smacks them on the head.â
Addie glanced up at him and managed a smile. âI
wasnât
bad. But no matter what I do, they just never pick me.â For some reason, she could take sympathy from Whaley when she couldnât from anyone else.
âWhoâs the student director?â
âTom Stark.â
âCase closed. Everyone knows he canât tell his butt from a hole in the wall.â
âThanks, Whaleyâthatâs disgusting.â Addie started pulling mismatched glasses from the cabinet behind the table.
âDidnât Mr. Crowley say anything?â Dad asked.
âHe wasnât there most of the time. His wife