Chapter 16

Arthur's Big Break

"Bubby wanted Catherine to come over for dinner tonight, and you know what she said? That she was already hosting dinner for her friends, Brett and Aaron. As if she has friends…"

Musical rehearsal had ended minutes ago, and The Not Ready for High School Players and crew members alike had left the auditorium and exited MCM's main entrance. The students who had not ambled home collected out front to wait for their respective rides. Arthur and Francine stood side by side on the sidewalk, chatting. More accurately, Francine had been talking nonstop since she packed up her interview station.

"Doesn't Brett work at Tarver?" said Arthur, scanning the parallel parking spaces in case his mother had arrived early. "She introduced us to him, remember?"

"Oh, right. Still, I doubt she's hosting a dinner party. Who wants to eat her lentil ragù and cashew Parm? You know what I think? I think she's banging Ben Grossman on the down low, and she's lying about it because she doesn't want people to know she made a huge mistake when she cut him loose—do you know he was studying to be a radiologist? She has so much pride it's ridiculous. That, or she just wants to make her life seem more interesting than it actually is. I'm sitting here like, 'Yo, that's what Facebook is for. Take a page out of Portia Demwiddy's book'."

Francine was being savage, but Arthur was not sure if she really meant half the jabs she made toward her sister. An insult from her could go either way, really, pure venom or veiled affection. He was not thinking too hard about it this evening, however. It had been almost a full day since Francine had brought up Sue Ellen, and he was content with listening to her chatter about how invested-but-not-invested she was in her sister's personal life.

"Anyway, speaking of Little Miss Perfect, has Sue Ellen asked you—"

"No, Francine," he said, and it had come out sharper than he had intended. He swallowed a groan.

So much for peace.

He apparently had been an idiot to believe he could get by for just one day. Sucks to be him. Francine had been so relentless. Obsessive. Every single time he saw her, she needed a Sue Ellen report. And when he told her "no"—because the answer was always "no"—she wanted to know why.

"I wonder why," she said. "The dance is in two freaking days. Was she trying to fake me out, do you think? Make me feel like a dumbass? I swear if that's what she was doing, I'm going to be effing pissed."

"Well, I swear I'm going to be glad when Sunday finally comes," Arthur said through gritted teeth.

"Why?"

"Because maybe, just maybe, we'll finally get to talk about something else besides Sue Ellen and whether she asked me to the stupid-ass ball."

His voice was shaking. Francine gaped at him. Arthur had even stunned himself, but he was having a hard time cooling his temper. He felt like a bottle of soda after taking a hard drop. He could burst under the frustration roiling inside him, building like unspent pressure. If he spoke again, twisted the cap even slightly, he would be uncontrollable, and things would get messy. Francine beat him to it.

"Well, there's no need to be mean about it," she said, sounding genuinely hurt.

"I'm being mean?" he said. "You're the one who's trying to boss me around!"

"Hey, look—I'm giving you my opinion, which is a very sound opinion. And she came to me, remember? And you expect me not to wonder why she never asked you, especially since she'd be lucky to have you for a date?"

"Fine," Arthur growled. "Whatever shuts you up…"

Arthur walked away, leaving Francine with a puzzled look on her face.

"Where are you going?" she called. "Arthur?"

He ignored her, searching the mingling crowd of crew members and Players until he found Sue Ellen, only she was not among them. She was exiting the school along with Fern. They halted their conversation to regard him with a mixture of confusion and alarm. Was he still scowling?

"Arthur?" Sue Ellen looked unsure, and Arthur flashed her a wide, fake smile.

"Hey, Sue Ellen," he said in a forced and almost maniacally cheerful tone. "Got a second?"

Sue Ellen nodded, likely unsure of where this was heading.

"Oh, good! I know this is late notice, but I was wondering if you would like to go to the Autumn Ball with me."

"Y- You?" she stammered. "You're…asking me?"

"Sure. Why not? I think it could be loads of fun. Doesn't it sound like fun to you? You are going, aren't you?"

"Um, yeah. Yeah, I think it could be fun," Sue Ellen mused. "It's kind of funny that you're asking me…" She looked a bit shy now, which was most uncharacteristic of her. "I was actually thinking about asking you, only I wasn't sure if you'd want to…"

Sue Ellen's eyes darted away, and Arthur bet she had glanced in Francine's direction. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Fern, watching the scene play out with grim fascination.

"Ha! That is funny! Looks like great minds think alike. So, you want to go together?"

"Sure. If you're going."

"Heck, yeah, I'm going! What time should I pick you up?"

Sue Ellen made a face. "Em…that's a social construct I really don't care about. Why don't we meet there, like equals? Is three o'clock okay with you?"

"Uh… Okay! Three o'clock! Cool… Awesome…"

Someone tapped him on the shoulder, then he heard Buster's voice. "Um, Arthur?"

Arthur whirled around to see his best friend and Ladonna, both looking uneasy.

"What is it?" he said, grinning at them.

Buster threw a thumb sideways and said, "Our ride is here."

"Oh. So it is. Thanks. See you tomorrow, Sue Ellen…"

Arthur followed Buster and Ladonna as they all hurried to file into his mother's car, but not before he stopped to give Francine, who looked shocked, a meaningful glare, hoping she understood that he wanted her to eat dirt.

To be continued…