I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

Author:Casey McQuiston
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

* * *

In the choir room, Ash has set up an approximation of the makeup station they had for Phantom. They’re a bit of a legend within the theater program for being a wizard with a Morphe brush. They transformed Ace’s face into a complete horror show for Phantom with nothing but liquid latex, wet Kleenex, and a YouTube tutorial in unsubtitled Russian.

“Georgia wanted me to bring these to you,” Chloe says, dropping the lipsticks in Ash’s lap.

“Oh, really?” Ash says. “That’s nice of her.”

Most of the guys are still changing, but Ace is sitting cross-legged on a riser with a full contour and green eyeshadow. Nearby, Smith is watching raptly.

“You look cool, Ace,” Chloe says.

“Thanks,” he preens. “You do too. The cape is dope.”

“You’re a good sport,” she says, half-distracted, already pulling out her phone.

“I let Mackenzie put lipstick on me when we borrowed cheerleader uniforms for the homecoming pep rally, but this is like, so much cooler,” Ace says.

“Hold still, I’m almost done,” Ash says.

“Oops.” Ace freezes, and when he speaks again, it’s through his teeth and a locked jaw. “Sorry.”

In the doc on Chloe’s phone, Shara hasn’t typed anything else. Chloe lets the last four words settle in her stomach. Where I want you.

She types back carefully, Where is that? And then hides her phone before Smith can catch on.

When she looks up at Smith, though, he’s not paying attention to her at all. He’s still watching Ash put the final flourish on Ace’s eye makeup.

“Okay,” Ash says, putting down their brush. “You can go change now.”

“Thanks, Ash, you’re so cool,” Ace says, and he gets up and lumbers out, leaving Ash blinking owlishly after him.

“Do you think, um,” Smith says, “do you think you could put some on me?”

Ash turns, and now Smith is the one getting blinked at.

“But you weren’t in the spring musical.”

“I know,” he says. He touches his hair, then the side of his face. “But it looks fun.”

Ash considers it and shrugs. “Okay.”

Smith scoots into Ace’s spot, and Ash examines his face from a few angles before picking out a handful of pigments from their kit.

“Are you gonna do a costume?” Chloe asks Ash. “I think all that’s left on the rack is probably way too big for you. You’ll have no shape.”

“That works for me,” Ash says. “My ideal body is no body at all.”

Chloe snorts. “Just a head floating above a sexy void.”

“That’s so gender of me,” Ash says, beginning to chisel out Smith’s cheekbones. Another buzz from her phone. Another edit to the doc.

Exactly where you are, Shara has written. There’s a pause, and on a new line, she adds, If you know what this is about, why are you still talking to me?

It takes her nearly a full minute to decide what to say. Smith and Ash are talking quietly, but she’s not taking any of it in. It’s like Shara is sitting right here on the chair next to her, reflected beside her in the big mirror on the back wall, watching Chloe’s mouth for the next thing she’ll say.

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