Act 1 | Chapter 20

Maria was the last person to be called to the stage. She was dressed up in an all-black dress, looking as if she was going to some grand ball right after this. Her hair was done and tied up into a bun at the back of her head. By now, Riley, and I had calmed down enough, and both frowned at her as she walked up on stage.

"Hello, student's and beloved teachers of Bate's High School!" She started, sounding optimistic and overly braggy. "My artwork is a painting of our wonderful teacher, Mr. Mcvay. In it, he is standing right outside our lovely school on a nice summer's day! Yes, students, and parents, I believe that the entire school's population is what inspired me! I believe that each and every one of you has brought me closer and closer to realizing my true self. Each one of you helped me shape who I am today, and I believe I'll be able to grow more through this last remaining year of high school."

I rolled my eyes in some disbelief. This was one of the worst speeches I had heard. I tone of her voice, and the way she was speaking, it irritated me. After glancing at Riley, I could see it was annoying her too.

"The reason I put Mr. Mcvay in the front was that he, in particular, was the one who inspired me to best, the most! I hope that I'll be able to continue on being an inspiration to all of you! Thank you!" Maria finished with an overly dramatic bow and skipped off stage. Both Riley and I were cringing in our seats. My. Mcvay thanked Maria and stood back up on the center stage.

"Alright. That's all of our contestants. We wish you all the best of luck, and politely ask for all parent's, and students to please exit the auditorium, while we evaluate the art closer." People stood up and started talking amongst themselves. The theater filled with the sound of talking, and debate, as the people all, shuffled out the exit's and into the school's cafeteria. I walked with Riley over to our usual table and sat down. I could still feel my heart thumping with excitement.

"Guess now we wait," I said, letting out a nervous sigh, and tapping my foot against the ground.

"Don't worry, Zoey." Miss Blackmar said, sitting across from me and Riley, "You did great!" She complimented.

"Yeah." Riley said, patting my back, "That was great."

"Thanks. W- What did you think of the painting?"

"It's wonderful! I got a nice picture of it!" She responded happily.

I let out another sigh. Even though the hard part was over with, I still felt nervous. Riley had been smiling for most of the show. She soon stood up and looked down at me and her mother.

"You guys want to go get something to eat real quick?"

Miss Blackmar and I gave simple nod's and stood up. A little while later, we were standing in a fast food place where Riley worked. It was the closest place to the school to get food, so a lot of other contestants were there too.

"You can get us a discount, right?"

"I can try." She smirked, " My manager is pretty loose when it comes to employee discounts."

The three of all ordered our lunch and sat down at the circular booth in the middle of the restaurant. The smell of grease and freshly fried foods filled the air. The place was rather busy, with a visible line of car's outside from the large glass windows.

"You've been coming over quite a lot more than usual, Zoey." Miss Blackmar said, unwrapping the burger she ordered, "Is something wrong at your house again?"

"No. Thing's are normal there. I just like your guy's place."

"Really?" She smirked and spoke in a teasing voice, "Are you sure it's not because you like my daughter?"

"Mom! Don't!" Riley replied hesitantly, staring her mother down. I looked over at Riley and couldn't help but blush a little.

"Well... yes. I do like her too."

"Wait for what?" Riley said, turning to look back at me. There was a slight expression of shock on her face. I had to stop for a moment and quickly reword what I meant. I still wasn't sure if I was ready or not to tell her yet. Especially not in front of her mother.

"Yeah. I like it. You're my best friend."

"O- 'Oh, like a friend." She replied, sounding almost a little saddened, but relieved. Her cheeks had turned red, much like when she saw the painting of her for the first time. I gave her a nod and a smile, all while thinking about her response. "Does she actually like me too?" I wondered, "It would explain the tone of her voice?" I tried brushing the thought away and changed the subject.

"How uh... how are thing's for you, Miss Blackmar?"

"Things have been fine." She responded, smirking a bit. "Miss Blackmar has to know that I like Riley. She knows everything. The woman could be a psychic for all I know." I gave her a nod and turned to look back at Riley.

"So, you want to maybe hang out tomorrow?"

"S- Sure!" Riley responded quickly, "Of course! Where do you wanna go?"

"Maybe the movies? There's a new horror movie coming out?"

Miss Blackmar Gasped, and I turned to look in her direction.

"But aren't you afraid of horror movies?" She asked me, a bit shocked.

"You know, not really. It's one of those things I talked about on stage. Riley kind of got me into them. They aren't actually that scary anymore."

"Huh. Well if you're fine with it, I'll allow you two to go and watch." She gave us both a nod and went back to eating.

"Jump scares still get me though." I admitted, "But I'm fine with it. They're fun to watch."

"I won't keep you two from having fun." She said and stood up. "I do have to go. My extended break is almost over. Sorry I can't see the rest of the contest." She said before giving both Riley and I quick kisses on the forehead. "Tell me how it went." She said, walking off.

"We will," Riley called to her before looking at me and smiling.

We spent some more time in the restaurant talking, before driving back to the school. Around the time we got back, we could see the three judges all climbing out of a car in the parking lot. They must have already finished up the results and had gone out to lunch like everyone else. Riley and I walked back into the cafeteria and sat down. We still had about half an hour to kill before the final results were to come in, and everyone was to go back to the auditorium, so we just sat at our table and messed around on our phones. Some of the other contestants and their families were just getting back as well. They filled the cafeteria, and among the crowd, was Mr. Mcvay. In fact, he was walking over in our direction.

"Zoey." He said, walking up to us. I glanced up from my phone and looked to him.

"Yes?"

"Did you take your artwork off the display?"