Malory and Kyle must participate in the annual April Fest production as the leading co-stars. If they can cooperate by the end of the production, their long records of uncivilized behaviour towards each other will be forgotten. 
Malory and Kyle attempt to cooperate, grabbing the opportunity to make a positive impact on their own future. In the process, they become entangled in the chaos of the other’s personal life. Malory learns of Kyle’s disturbing reality, and Kyle learns of Malory’s scarring past. Can these two brilliant but messy teens learn to rely on each other in the face of their silent battles?

Between The Lines

 It’s Tuesday. Kyle, Ron, Olivia and I are sitting in the cafeteria again. Today, we’re all eating fries. We’re also all caught up in the thought of a million different things at once. 


 “Yesterday I practiced the scenes with Morgan during the last two periods because they were free for us both. Ron was there. He was watching us. I think Morgan’s a great actress. Her only problem is she doesn’t feel the emotions of the characters very easily –or without guidance. It takes her a while before she actually gets it.” 


 “I think it’s just because of the role she has. She’s not doing history so maybe it’s the thought and pressure of having to inhabit the body of a lady from the eighteen-hundreds in Europe,” Ron suggests. 


 “Probably,” I say, biting into a fry. 


 “And then there’s me,” Kyle says, “I don’t do drama, I don’t do French, I don’t do History, but I’m the leading male. I do adore our education system and praise them for their use of common sense.” 


 “It’s alright, Kyle,” I say, “because I can help you to pronounce the French words properly. Did you forget? I’m always first in French class.” 


 “How could anyone forget? Everyone knows that,” Ron says, sulking. “You top every class. I don’t know how you do it but I’m too scared to find out.” 


 “What about me?” Kyle asks, offended. “I’m as smart as she is. We just excel in different subjects.” 


 Ron looks at him for a moment, contemplating. “Na,” he says. “I never had a thing for Science and Math.” 


 After that, there’s a short silence and then Olivia kicks me under the table. 


 I scratch the back of my neck for a few seconds. “I... don’t... know?” 


 Ron raises a brow, confused. “What do you mean you don’t know? Didn’t she leave for China around the time when this term started?” 


 “Wait,” Kyle says in realisation, “Ron, you knew about her mom?” 


 Ron stares at Kyle, almost dumbfounded. “She’s in my class, Davidson. We talk. Of course I know about her mother.” 


 “So I was the only person out of the four of us who didn’t know her mother worked outside of the country?” Kyle asks, baffled and offended. 


 Olivia nods. “How could you?” she asks. “All you two ever did was argue. She never would’ve had the chance to bring that up in a conversation and… if she did have the chance there’s no way she was going to tell you that anyway. You might have used it against her.” 


 “I’m sure she’s still looking after the panda. She’ll tell me what’s going on once she’s not busy working or too tired to talk. I’m not worried about my mom, though. She’s got everything handled,” I say, confident. 


 “Sometimes she has to go from one continent to another and she doesn’t make a stop here at home, isn’t that right?” Ron asks. 


 I nod. “It gets pretty lonely, I gotta admit. But I’m used to it by now, and I mean, everyone knows I can take care of myself.” 


 A beat passes –then two –and I can feel Kyle’s eyes on me while his lips are pressed to a straw, a bottle of grape juice is tight in his grip. I hear him swallow. “That’s pretty messed up, Lloyd. You’re all alone here. I could see why you were all depressed last week when Olivia stopped talking to you.” 


 “Hey!” Olivia says, throwing a fry –two –three at him. “We resolved that issue already. Don’t bring it back up!” 


 He bursts out laughing as he keeps dodging fries. 


Busy, Busy, Busy [4]