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Margo
Dad stuckhis head around the open door of my bedroom and appeared surprised to see me studying.
I removed my earbuds. “What’s up?”
“Aren’t you ready for rehearsal?”
“Ah.” I shrugged. “I knew you were working today, and Mam’s stuck working late, so I thought I’d take a break from it tonight.”
“I’m not that old that I can’t take a wander around after a day’s work,” he scoffed. “Hurry up and get ready before you get kicked out of the drama club.”
Five minutes later, we were out the door and briskly striding towards the community centre. Dad made a show of walking faster than me, forcing me to keep up.
“You’re so childish,” I told him.
He glanced over his shoulder.
I followed his gaze, but the street was empty. “Dad?”
“Sorry,” he said. “Habit these days.”
“Are you worried? Maybe we should go home.”
“Nah,” he said. “I was working at the community centre during your last rehearsal. You lot need all the practice you can get.” He couldn’t hold in his laughter any longer.
“Dad!” I made a face. “You’re not funny.”
“I’m at least a little funny.”
“Yeah? I should sign you up to be a stand-up comedian at the charity event.”
“Maybe not though.”
Though his words were light and easy, he continued to look over his shoulder. Everyone in my life had been doing their best to maintain normality, but we were all ready for things to go wrong. For some reason, I felt better knowing I wasn’t the only one.
When we reached the community centre, I hugged him. “Thanks, Dad.”
“For what?”
“Being there. Being you. For everything, really.”
“Silly girl,” he muttered, hugging me back harder.
He waited to leave until I went inside, and in the hall, I was greeted warmly by the rest of the club. The rehearsal itself went so well that halfway through, Tammie gathered us all together to praise us.
“You’re doing so great,” she enthused. “I’m so proud of each and every one of you. We’ve been through a lot, and we’re improving every rehearsal, so well done. You’ve done so well that I’ve set aside some of our funds for a treat tonight. Let’s bunk off early and go ice-skating in town. What do you think?”
The others all excitedly agreed, while Tammie pulled me aside. “You should come with us,” she said. “I’ll take responsibility for you, take you home and everything. What do you think? There are so many of us that nobody would be stupid enough to try anything.”
“I’ll ask my dad,” I said, but I already knew he would want me to go.
I called him, and he told me to go have fun with the club while warning me to be careful.
“I can’t believe Tammie's doing this,” Emma said excitedly as we got ready to leave. “When does she ever do this?”
“I know, right?” Chloe said. “She must be in a great mood.”
We headed outside together, but I noticed Dorian walking up the street and ran ahead to greet him. I threw myself into his arms. “What are you doing here?”
