Chapter 36

I was sad when Hanna and Kat had to go back to school, especially with Hanna mostly breaking out of her sulk by Saturday, at least enough to come see us play at the Blue Ridge. Mostly, though, I was looking forward to having my life be just a little bit more normal than it had been for the last month.

There were still weeks left of school, but I only had three, since I had to be in California by the eighteenth. I’d already talked to Dr. Wallace and started working out a schedule with my teachers to take the tests a week early, which also meant getting all the assignments and projects done early while still learning everything. It was going to be a lot of work, but unlike before when I’d gone for the prelims, I was weirdly looking forward to it, since it was at least normal high school work and not the craziness of filming a reality show.

I got out of my car and headed into the school, already thinking about some of the stuff I needed to get done that day to stay on my accelerated schedule, when I heard someone yelling my name.

I looked up and saw some guys I think were freshmen, walking in from the bus line, jumping up and down, and waving at me.

“Hey, Charlie! Saw you on TV, rockstar!”

I don’t think I even knew who they were, let alone had ever talked to them, but I just kind of waved at them and kept on going. Before I even made it to the door, two more people stopped me to comment on the audition and tell me how much I ‘rocked.’

I’d gotten attention after I got back from California, but it was mostly people in my classes, or people I’d had classes with in other years, asking questions or whatever. Today, it was kids I’d never talked to and even one teacher who I think I’d only met once.

And that was only the beginning of the weirdness.

After first period, I stopped by my locker to switch out some books when Paul Adams walked up next to me. Considering the run-ins I’d had with Paul over the years, I tensed up. I’d managed to go the entire year so far without getting into any fights, which for me was a record, and I really didn’t want to have one now. Dr. Wallace had made it clear that all of the special circumstances being given to me, including getting out of class a week early, were all contingent on my not having any problems, which fighting would definitely be considered as.

Much to my surprise, instead of pushing me, or sneering, or whatever else I’d envisioned, he leaned against the locker and did something even more terrifying. He smiled.

“Hey Charlie, saw you on TV this weekend. That was really cool.”

I just stared at him. Paul Adams was almost certainly one of the people who beat me with baseball bats at the end of my sophomore year. Paul Adams, who I’d taken to the ground a half dozen times at least and who’d threatened to kill me at least twice. That Paul Adams had just smiled and complimented me.

My first instinct was that this was a trap. I couldn’t see the end game, but it was the only thing that made sense.

I must have been standing there an uncomfortably long time, staring at him, because he stopped leaning, slapped me on the shoulder, and said, “Hey, man, no hard feelings about all that stuff before, right? We were just messing around back then. You know that, right?”

I shook my head in disbelief, stepping back to get his hands off me. “Seriously? You’ve tried to make my life hell for three years, and now it’s ‘Hey man?’”

“Things just got out of hand a few times, but ... you know, water under the bridge and all that, right?”

He was still smiling, but I could see him starting to have some doubts, like this wasn’t going how he planned. I couldn’t imagine he’d thought it would go any way other than shock and anger on my part, but Paul had never been the sharpest tool in the shed.

“Unbelievable,” I muttered, closed my locker, and walked away without another word, leaving Paul standing there looking embarrassed.

He wasn’t the only one to try and make up for the past. I was on my way to the cafeteria when suddenly Sophia, one of Rhonda’s friends, came running up and fell in step with me. I’d never been friends with Sophia, although I’d eaten lunch with her a bunch of times my sophomore year since she sat with the rest of Rhonda’s group, and we’d talked occasionally. It had been all superficial, non-important stuff, though. She was a hanger-on trying to pull a bit of Rhonda’s popularity and had generally been an all-around non-entity.

“Hi, Charlie,” she said, giving me a little wave. “I, um, saw you on TV this weekend.”

“You and everyone else, apparently,” I muttered.

“Uhh, yeah. You were really good. Like, really good.”

I knew for a fact that she’d been to several of my shows at the Blue Ridge, so why she was suddenly putting this together now was beyond me.

“Thanks,” I said, still wary.

“So, I was wondering...” Sophia trailed off before seeming to gather her courage. “Are you going to Winter Formal?”

I blinked in surprise. Was Sophia Prichard asking me to the dance? Even if I was available, which I very much wasn’t, she hadn’t said two words to me since Rhonda very publicly dumped me.

“Uh, no, actually, I’m going to be out of town that week,” I told her.

“Oh,” she said, visibly deflating. “Is it for more filming and stuff? For the show?”

“I can’t really say,” I said before picking up my pace. “I’ve got to go.”

I didn’t exactly run away from her, but I did actively try to dodge in between some people to lose her. I kept my head down all the way through the cafeteria line, trying hard to not even make eye contact with anyone until I was at the lunch table.

“Man, everyone’s gone crazy today,” I announced as soon as I set my food down.

“What do you mean ‘today’?” Joseph said, laughing at his own joke.

“You wouldn’t believe the stuff I’ve had to deal with already. People I don’t even know telling me how much they loved me on the show, Paul Adams trying to be my new best friend, Sophia Prichard asking me to Winter Formal...” I trailed off, shaking my head.

“Oh no, someone got famous and now doesn’t like it,” Peyton said, mocking me.

I rolled my eyes. “I was on one episode of a reality show. Not even the full reality show, just the auditions.”

“Made it through to the prelims of the biggest music reality show in the country. Sounds pretty famous to me,” Joseph said.

“So did thirty other people,” I pointed out.

“None of whom go here,” Peyton said. “Seriously though, what did you expect? You were on TV. The next closest person to be here that’s ever been on TV are the anchors on Channel Six, and they live in Asheville. Hell, there are famous internet stars who most people have never heard of, and you were on actual TV.”

“Plus, everyone’s figured out you’re going to the semi-finals already,” Amy pointed out.

“What? How? I haven’t said anything.”

“We all knew you went to the auditions and that you made it through. And when you did, you were doing all this extra work, talking to teachers about getting stuff turned in early, because you were going to miss class time. You came back and immediately started doing it again. The only reason that makes sense is you made it through to the finals.”