Chapter 3
1324 Words
Spotlight or Breakdown
Maya didn’t get out of bed.
Her alarm had buzzed at 6:30 a.m., as it always did. But today, she stared at the ceiling until it stopped ringing, then pulled the covers over her head like they could shield her from the world.
She wasn’t going.
Not to that school.
Not with those people.
Not after what happened yesterday.
She curled into herself, heart heavy and sore. Her phone buzzed on the nightstand, but she ignored it. Probably Faith asking where she was. Maya had bailed on their usual corner, where they met before school every day. She hadn’t even sent a text.
She couldn’t.
The ache in her chest was too thick.
But then—bang, bang, bang—came the knock.
“Maya!” Faith’s voice shouted from outside her bedroom door. “Open up! I know you’re in there!”
Maya groaned. “Go away…”
More knocking. “Girl, if you make me climb in through a window like a criminal, I swear—!”
Maya dragged herself out of bed, shuffled to the door, and opened it just a c***k.
Faith barged in.
“I knew it.” She crossed her arms. “You ghost me? After everything?”
“I wasn’t ghosting. I was—” Maya struggled. “Avoiding.”
“Same thing.”
“I can’t go in there, Faith. Not after what they said. Not after that prank.”
“You’re just gonna let them win?” Faith shot back. “Because if you stay home, Sienna does win.”
Maya looked down at her fuzzy socks. “It’s not that simple.”
Faith softened. “No. It’s not. But that’s why you’ve got me. And—” A phone buzzed, She paused. “You got a text.”
Maya blinked. “From who?”
Faith held out Maya’s phone. “Check it.”
It was from Jade.
Jade: I think you might skip today, but Just so you know, I’ve saved you a seat during lunch and rehearsal. We’ve got work to do, Juliet.
Maya stared at it.
Juliet.
Even when the word didn’t feel like hers, Jade said it like it could be.
Faith nudged her. “Come on. If not for them, then for you.”
Maya didn’t believe in herself yet.
But she did believe in Faith.
She sighed. “Fine. But I’m wearing my hoodie the entire day.”
---
The walk to school felt like a funeral procession.
Every laugh sounded like it was about her. Every glance felt sharper than the last. Whispers followed her down the hallway like smoke she couldn’t shake.
“Romeo’s big girl.”
“She actually thought it was real?”
“Bet she practiced her kiss in the mirror…”
Her hoodie felt suddenly too tight. Her arms folded over her stomach automatically, like they could hide the parts of her that made her a target.
“Keep walking,” Faith muttered beside her.
Maya tried. But when she passed Jace at his locker, something inside her froze.
He didn’t laugh.
He didn’t smirk.
Instead, he stared after her with something in his eyes she couldn’t place.
Then she heard it—another jab from someone behind her.
And Jace’s voice, loud and clear: “Shut up.”
The hallway went silent.
“What?” a guy muttered.
“You heard me.” Jace stood up straight. “You think you’re funny? You’re not.”
Maya turned her head just in time to see Jace shove his locker closed and walk away, jaw tight.
People whispered again, this time in a different tone.
She didn’t stay to hear it, she ran.
---
She locked herself in a bathroom stall and didn’t come out.
First period came and went.
When the bell rang, she heard the bathroom door creak open.
“Maya?” It was a teacher—Ms. Lindale, her English teacher. “You in here?”
Silence.
Faith’s voice followed behind the teacher. “She’s not feeling well.”
Ms. Lindale sounded concerned. “You sure she’s okay?”
“She will be.”
The door closed again.
Maya clutched her phone, throat burning. Maybe she wouldn’t be okay. Maybe this was too much.
She didn’t know how long she sat there, but eventually, the bathroom door opened again.
This time, the footsteps were sharp. Confident. Cold.
Sienna.
“Oh,” she said sweetly. “So this is where the school’s star actress hides.”
Maya stiffened.
Sienna continued, her heels clicking on the tile. “You really think you can handle the spotlight? You? Please.”
Maya didn’t reply.
“You think Jace is going to save you?” Sienna scoffed. “He probably pities you. That’s it. He won’t last through rehearsal. And when he’s gone, you’ll be left on stage—humiliated.”
Maya stared at the stall door, heart pounding.
Sienna’s voice dropped lower. “Do yourself a favor. Quit.”
Then the door opened. Closed.
Silence again.
And Maya, curled in the stall, finally let herself cry.
---
Rehearsal was a blur.
She almost didn’t go.
Almost.
But Faith’s hand on her shoulder—gentle, but firm—guided her there.
The auditorium lights were dimmed, scripts shuffled on chairs, voices buzzing as people milled about. Jade stood near the front, clipboard in hand.
Maya kept her eyes down and took her seat.
She was halfway through breathing exercises when the door opened—and he walked in.
Jace.
Late. Casual. Confident.
Like it was just another Tuesday.
Sienna froze mid-line. “What is he doing here?”
Jade barely looked up. “Mr. West, thanks for joining us.”
Sienna turned to Maya, whispering through clenched teeth. “He’s not doing this with you. No way.”
Maya didn’t answer. Her heart was thudding too hard.
They began practice. Or tried to.
Maya stumbled over lines, her voice barely carried. Her mind was still trapped in that bathroom stall.
And when Jade asked to see the balcony scene, she finally broke.
“I can’t do this,” Maya whispered. “I’m quitting.”
The silence was immediate.
Jade opened her mouth, but before she could speak—
“I’m out too, then.”
It was Jace.
Everyone turned.
“What?” Sienna snapped.
“If she’s not Juliet,” Jace said simply, “I’m not Romeo.”
Maya’s breath hitched.
Jade stared between them. “Jace—”
He shook his head. “Find someone else to climb a balcony.”
Then he walked over to Maya.
“Can we talk?” he said.
Everyone Stared clearly surprised.
She followed him outside, numb.
They stopped under the same tree where she once read her first monologue aloud.
Jace turned to her, hands in his jacket pockets. “You quitting?”
She looked down. “I should. It’s not like I fit the part.”
He scoffed. “You think this is about fitting some mold?”
“It’s not just that. They laugh. They whisper. I can’t even walk down the hall without—”
He stepped closer. “Then let me help.”
She looked up.
He didn’t smile.
He looked serious. Honest.
“I messed up,” Jace said. “I should’ve said something sooner. But I didn’t know they put your name down as a prank. I thought…” He paused. “I thought you volunteered because you wanted to.”
“I did,” she admitted. “But not like that.”
“Then let’s make them regret underestimating you.”
Maya swallowed hard. “Why are you doing this?”
Jace shrugged. “Maybe I believe in underdogs.”
She stared at him.
He met her gaze without flinching.
And for the first time since the prank, Maya felt something shift.
Not everything was okay.
But maybe—just maybe—it could be.
---
- Writer
