Rhythm & Clues: A Young Adult Novel by Rachel Shane

on about how I had too much schoolwork to devote my time to friends. As I created this false version of myself, I began to wonder who I really was. Or, more to the point, what I really was to Gavin.
    I also wondered who I wanted to be.
    Sure, I was attracted to him. He was good-looking and as tempting as the new world to Columbus—just ripe for someone to sail up and discover. And then corrupt with factories and settlements.
    I shook those thoughts out of my head. I’d seen what hooking up with guys did to Krystal, the burden it had left her with in the form of a child, the way she relied on these quick relationships instead of on herself. Not something I was willing to trade our friendship for.

    Inside Dante’s Ristorante, white linen tablecloths covered the tables. Multiple sets of forks lay in front of me, and for a moment, I thought the restaurant made a mistake and dumped an entire tray of silverware at my place setting.
    I reached for a bread roll before anyone had unfurled their napkins and received shocked glares from Gavin’s parents. Hovering halfway over the table, I realized this must be an etiquette mistake. I plopped back down in my seat, forgetting about the roll, and vowing to mimic everyone else’s actions from now on.
    Sabrina smiled at the waiters, tilting her head to the side and delivering them a stare that had them swooning from her charm. Gavin sipped his bubbly water, but remained quiet. Quieter than normal. Josephine and Chuck drove the conversation, discussing classic novels with me (thank God for the English Lit course I’d received a B- in.)
    “The thing I really like about that one,” I said after I’d brought up To Kill A Mockingbird since we read it last month, “is that Scout has a father figure who takes his job very seriously at the expense of his reputation in the community.”
    Josephine’s eyes lit up. “I agree.”
    While I beheaded a swan made out of butter with a randomly chosen knife, Sabrina laid down her fork. Everyone’s attention fell on her. With food halfway decomposed in my mouth, I chewed as slowly as possible, trying not to let my cheeks puff out.
    “I have news.” Her head bounced in a nod that sent her curls cascading around her face, each one perfectly formed as if she’d spent hours with a curling iron.
    “I applied to Lockhart Academy,” Sabrina continued.
    From the intake of breath Chuck took and how Josephine white knuckled her fork, I knew this wasn’t exactly the kind of news they’d been hoping to hear. Gavin’s face held a slight hint of fear. How could she apply without her parents’ permission? The table was so silent, I shifted in my chair, knocking my knee into the sharp edge of the square table leg. While it throbbed, I bit my lip to control the pain.
    Chuck scooted his chair forward. “Sabrina, honey, that place isn’t—”
    “Dad, I don’t want to hear it. I sent in my statewide test scores. Got a full scholarship. No excuses.” She leaned back in her chair and hit him with her superpower smile.
    “You’re only fourteen. You need a parent’s permission to apply. Don’t tell me you forged my signature.” His balled fists trembled on the table.
    “Mom signed them.” Her voice held a note of satisfaction.
    Josephine’s eyes widened. “I most certainly did not.”
    “Yeah, you did. I mixed the application in with some church forms and gave them to you while you were on the phone.”
    Wow. Sabrina really deceived her parents here. Maybe she wasn’t the conservative person Gavin made her out to be.
    “What about transcripts?” Chuck asked.
    “Mom signed the release for them too. Different phone call.”
    “Maybe we can talk about you attending public school here in Milford Brook,” Chuck choked out.
    “You both know I’ll have better college choices if I graduate from Lockhart. Their ivy rate is higher than any other boarding school in the country.”
    “Boarding school is not the solution. When I went, the security