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“She was,” Theo answered. “And Orpheus knew because he turned around. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is a tragedy. Yet, inHadestown, they replay the story day after day, singing it again and again. Because each night might be different. Maybe Orpheus won’t look back.”
Jesse frowned. “I don’t think that’s how stories go; you can’t change what’s written.”
Theo opened his eyes, the deep sapphire seeming brighter than usual. “Stories don’t change, but people do.”
“You’ve lost me a little.”
“What are you most worried about with Raina?”
Jesse bit his lip. When he opened his mouth, words he had never even voiced to himself spilled out, “I’m scared she doesn’t feel the same way. I’m scared that now that our English project is done, or after the hotel thing ends, she won’t talk to me anymore. She won’t have a reason to seek me out, so why would she want to stay friends?”
“I was scared of my dad’s reaction,” Theo confessed. “That’s why I put off telling him so long, why I didn’t tell anyone. I was terrified of word getting back to my family. But now he knows. Did he react the way I wanted him to? No. Did he react the way I expected him to? Well, yeah. But either way, I’m glad for that confirmation. ”
Jesse glanced up at his cousin as Theo returned to sitting on his bed. “Is that whyHadestowndoes the same show each night? So the audience can know for sure?”
“Hadestownis a performance, Jesse. This is real life.”
Jesse had no answer to that. “Hey, how did this turn into talking about me?” he asked instead.
“Oh, that’s easy,” Theo said. “Because I’m extremely good at changing the conversation and avoiding topics I don’t want to talk about.”
ChapterTwenty-Three
Raina was going to kill Zara Ashcroft. It wasn’t something she was considering—no, it was a fact. Zara Ashcroft was going to die.
“Have you checked the bathroom?” Anna’s voice asked.
A moment later, Anna herself popped up from where she’d been lying on the floor, peering underneath Raina’s bed. Shaking her frizzy hair out of her face, Anna propped her hands on her hips and surveyed the room.
“Yes,” Raina grumbled. She’d woken up in a bad mood, still reeling from the news that they hadn’t met their goal with the hotel fundraiser. Her mood had only worsened when she discovered her missing backpack. “Twice. Where could she have put it?”
Anna crouched back down to the floor, scooting along the carpet as she glanced under Zara’s bed. “Did you try the closet?”
“It was the first place I checked.”
“Could she have brought it to the boys’ room?”
Raina paused, digging her phone out of her cardigan pocket. “You know, I’m actually not sure. Let me text Jesse.”
She tapped out a few words before pressing send. Raina didn’t have to wait long for a reply. However, Jesse had no idea where her backpack was.
“That is the absolute last time I’m letting Zara see my math notes,” Raina complained. “I can’t believe she lost my backpack. It has my lunch in it!”
Anna winced, slinging her own backpack over her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Raina. Could you grab something from your kitchen?”
“I would, but we’re running low on food.”
With all the chaos of the past week, grocery shopping had been neglected. Tehilla was planning on going tomorrow, but until then, Raina had portioned out the last bits of food for each of them.
Anna tapped a finger against her chin. “So if your backpack isn’t in our dorm, and the boys haven’t seen it…could it be in the common room?”
They locked eyes for a moment before both girls sprinted toward the door. They made a mad dash around the corner, down the steps, and to the fireplace, where Raina spotted her backpack sitting dangerously close to the fire.
“Oh, thank god.” She let out a sigh of relief, hugging her backpack to her chest.
Raina unzipped the bag and confirmed that her food was still inside. Her pasta tupperware was present, as were the little bags of mini peppers to go with it. And, alongside them, she found the corn muffin she’d set aside for breakfast.
Crisis averted, the two girls kept up a steady stream of pleasant chatter as they walked to the dining hall. Lucky for Zara, they didn’t run into the redhead, or the day would’ve commenced with one less Ashcroft.
