The Cutting Room Floor by Dawn Klehr

Author:Dawn Klehr
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: teen, teen lit, teen fiction, ya, ya fiction, young adult, young adult fiction, romance, lgbt
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Published: 2013-08-13T04:00:00+00:00

RILEY

After the Halloween party, I face another dumping. This time by Tori. She comes to my locker between classes.

“I need to talk to you,” she says in a low voice. It’s odd, because usually she makes a production out of talking—like she’s performing in front of an audience.

“Okay,” I say.

She dives right in. “Dad said he caught you looking for booze at the party.”

“I wasn’t looking for booze, Tori.” I was trying to find out if your dad killed Ms. Dunn.

“My dad asked around, Riley. Marcus told him you were spiking the drinks.”

Marcus, that snake. “What? He was the one—”

“I was trying to help you,” she says, cutting me off. “Like I need any more grief from my dad. Do you have any idea how he gets?” Her lip trembles and I can’t help but feel sorry for her. This is the Tori I haven’t really seen before.

“Tori, you have to believe me,” I say. “I wouldn’t do that. And I would never do anything to get you in trouble with your parents, either. Do you want me to talk to them?” I can’t lose my connection now.

“It won’t help.” Her eyes are watery.

“Don’t you believe me?” I ask.

“It doesn’t matter what I believe, Riley. I can’t have my dad thinking that I’m hanging out with partiers and drug addicts.”

“What about the testimony? Don’t you need that to graduate from church or whatever?”

Tori blows a deep breath out of her mouth. “Yes, I still need it,” she snaps. “I was trying to help you, you know. But how do you think all of this looks? Especially to my dad?”

Ah, I knew her whole act was about good PR.

“So that’s it? We can’t be friends anymore?”

“That’s it.” She turns her head. “We’re done.”

“Tori, wait,” I call after her as she walks away. But it’s too late—she’s gone.

Throughout the day, I receive a few farewell snubs from the Rollers. The cold shoulder from Alexa really hurts, but this situation is not nearly as dramatic as my public outing was.

I guess it’s more acceptable to be a drunk than a lesbian.

When I catch up with Marcus, he just laughs.

“That was so uncool,” I hiss at him during rehearsal.

“Dude, I’m sorry,” he says. “But it’s not like you and Tori were going to be real friends anyway. You do know that, right?”

“That’s not even the point.”

“It’s exactly the point. It’s not like the good mayor would’ve ever accepted you as Tori’s friend. Not like he had a high opinion of you—or any opinion of you. Not like with me. He doesn’t care what you do, Riley. But if he found out that I was drinking, he’d have my ass and then tell my parents. See? I had no choice.”

“Yes, I see,” I tell him. “I see everything now. Thanks for enlightening me.”

I walk away pissed, mostly because I let him make me feel small and insignificant.

I let him win.

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