The Secret Crush by Tina Wells Page B

said. He opened the back door and climbed in.
    For a while no one said anything. Mrs. Carmichael gripped the steering wheel so tightly Mackenzie thought she’d squeeze right through it.
    â€œWhat were you two doing?” Zee’s mother finally asked.
    â€œWe were working on one of our scenes,” Zee told her.
    â€œFor the musical?” Mrs. Carmichael asked skeptically. She peered into the rearview mirror to look at Landon. “You guys are taking this so seriously, you’d think you were theater professionals, not twelve-year-olds.”
    â€œActually,” Landon began quietly, “I’m thirteen.”
    Noooooo! Zee telepathically communicated to him—much too late for it to do any good.
    â€œOh, you’re a teenager already,” Mrs. Carmichael said.
    Please don’t embarrass me! Zee silently pleaded with her mother. I’ll do anything. I’ll scrub the toilets until I’m forty.
    â€œLandon, do you think your parents are worried about where you are?” Zee’s mom asked. Evidently, a lifetime of clean toilets was not enough for Ginny Carmichael. Zee was humiliated.
    â€œUh, no,” Landon said carefully. “They’re at work, and I texted my sister to let her know I was staying after school. I just sent her another text to tell her you’re bringing me home.”
    â€œThat was very responsible of you,” Mrs. Carmichael said to Landon, but she was looking at Zee—who slid down in her seat a little and decided to admire the scenery out the window.
    â€œThanks for the ride,” Landon said when they arrived at his house. He hurried to his front door, without looking back. Zee sank in her seat a little more. “Bye, Dylan,” she said. “I mean, Landon.”
    For the rest of the ride home, Zee tried to make her mother forget how upset she was. “I can’t believe how much homework I have,” she said. “I’m going to be up all night doing it.”
    â€œMaybe it’s not a good idea to spend so much time with the boys—the Beans, I mean—if you’re neglecting your schoolwork,” Mrs. Carmichael said.
    â€œBut I love music,” Zee said. “And besides, there’s so much to do before the show. I haven’t even started memorizing my lines. If I wait until the last minute, it will be even worse. Plus, there’s a lot more script to write. And I have to design the costumes. And compose the music.”
    â€œIt sounds as though you think you have to do it all yourself.”
    â€œThat’s the thing. Everyone is doing a lot—and there’s still probably not enough time to get it all done.”
    â€œHmmmm,” Mrs. Carmichael said.
    â€œWhat?” Zee asked,
    â€œJust thinking.”
    Uh-oh. That’s exactly what Zee was afraid of.
    As Mrs. Carmichael pulled into the family’s driveway, Zee fished around in her bag for her diary. When she pulled out her binder to see better, Zee’s English quiz, with a big red D+, floated to the floor of the car. Zee rushed to pick it up, but it was too late.
    â€œWhat’s that?” Mrs. Carmichael asked, pointing.
    â€œMy English quiz,” Zee said meekly. “It was really hard.”
    â€œDid you study for it?”
    â€œYes, but I had a lot of other stuff to do that night,” Zee explained.
    â€œMaybe you just need help organizing your priorities,” Mrs. Carmichael said as she handed Zee the paper.

    But Zee knew that her mother would never understand what was really important to her. It was Zee’s dream to be a star, and the musical was her opportunity to shine.
    ----
    People Who Don’t Get It *
    Chloe
    Jasper
    Mom (and probably Dad
since they’re usually a team)
    People Who Get It **
    Mr. P
    Ally
    Landon
----
    Â 
    Even though Zee knew her mother would probably give birth to a cow if she caught her, Zee decided to check out the Beans’ blog. She was working so hard