No Place Like Home by Dee Romito

Author:Dee Romito
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

After musical rehearsal, I motion Ashia backstage.

“What’s going on?” she asks.

Kids are still milling around, and stage crew isn’t done for the day yet. But we’re tucked away behind the curtains.

“I have to tell you something.” My heart is racing, and I can’t form the words I want to say.

“Okay, so tell me,” says Ashia.

“I haven’t been completely honest with you, and I need to confess something,” I say, but after the words come out, I smack myself on the forehead. “No, that’s not a good start. What I mean is, I hope you’ll understand why I did what I did.” Smack. This isn’t going well.

“Kenzie, just say it.” Ashia puts down her things and sits down on the floor. I follow suit and sit next to her.

She’ll understand. I tell myself. But I’m not sure I believe it.

“You know how in the song, Dorothy wonders why she shouldn’t be able to follow her dreams like the bluebirds?”

Ashia looks at me, clearly confused. “Yeah.”

“Well, I was kind of like Dorothy when I got here,” I say. “There was so much I wanted to try, but I knew I shouldn’t, but then I thought, why not? It’s probably the only chance I’ll ever get.”

She waits.

“And there were some really good reasons why not, but there were maybe even better reasons to do it anyway.” I stop, knowing full well she doesn’t have any idea what I’m talking about. “Okay, here’s the thing. You know how my dad and I go on those business trips on the weekends?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, that’s what we usually do . . . all the time,” I say. “He’s an environmental consultant, and we travel from city to city, never staying in one place for more than a few days.”

“Kenzie, I’m not sure what you’re getting at,” says Ashia.

There’s some commotion near us as kids search for props.

I speak more quietly. “I’m only here for six weeks,” I finally spit out. And then I freeze, because I have no idea what she’s going to say.

“What do you mean, six weeks?” she asks, clearly a little confused. “You’re leaving?”

I nod.

“You’re leaving, in what . . .”

I save her from trying to figure it out. “Two weeks.”

Her eyes go wide and she takes a deep breath. “You’re leaving in two weeks and you didn’t think that was important information to share?”

Right now I’m wishing I hadn’t picked this spot to tell her the truth. There are way too many people still around.

“I tried to. A few times,” I say. “I kept telling you I wouldn’t be here for the musical. I told you I wouldn’t be here to be vice president. But you kept saying I was making excuses.”

“You could have corrected me, Kenzie,” she says.

“I tried. I really did. But you don’t understand how much I needed this,” I say. “And I have it all figured out. When I leave, there’s already another vice president to fill in for me, and Shelby will take over Dorothy’s role. Nobody will even care.

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