The play was cast. It was mostly well received. I'd let Emma Kate deal with Raisa. She was never happy unless she was the lead, and she just wasn't there yet.

I spent the rest of my weekend working and running lines. Being Prospero meant I had a lot of lines. By the time I rolled into rehearsal on Monday, I had most of the first act down.

Emma Kate sat at the edge of the stage before the rehearsal. I hadn't seen her much after the party. Even though we lived together, that happened sometimes. I guessed she'd spent most of the weekend either at her internship or with Bradley.

She was flipping through her script and blocking a scene on her iPad. Emma Kate usually preferred visual representations of her ideas. She needed to see it on paper because she couldn't see it in her head as well.

We were both early, but I didn't want to snoop. Tunstelle mentioned that there were a few prospective students visiting today. That was typical for Mondays, especially during the summer at the university.

I wandered backstage and found Maddox fussing over fabric samples in the costume room. He was surprisingly dressed down today in a white shirt and ripped denim jeans. Even his usually gelled hair was loose.

"Did you see Emma Kate?" He asked.

"She's blocking the first act," I said. "I'd leave her alone for a bit."

"Did you meet the students touring today?" Maddox asked.

That usually wasn't something that Maddox cared about at all. Neither did I really unless they wanted to talk to a student. The prospective students usually sat in the theater and watched our rehearsals until they got bored.

"No," I said.

He smirked slightly. "You might be interested. I guarantee they'll be back later for our rehearsal."

I frowned. "What do you know?"

Maddox's eyes twinkled with mischief, but he turned back to the samples. "I won't spoil the surprise. Did you work with Parker this weekend at all?"

"No," I said.

Parker and I hadn't even texted over the last two days. He hadn't asked any questions about his role or asked me to go running.

"He was decent in the Oxymoron Games," Maddox said. "Bet he'd be good with some practice. We could use some new blood."

I rolled my eyes. The Oxymoron Games were Maddox's baby. He'd only been elected host at the end of last year, and he was really good at it.

"Don't let recruiting for the games distract Parker from his role in the play," I said. "But imagine if he actually knew the rules of the game before they were explained. You're right. He'd be just as good as the rest of us."

It was a little embarrassing that Maddox had spotted his potential for improv talent before I did. In my experience, everyone had a little bit of acting in their veins. It's what made humans such good liars. Some people like Parker had never tapped that well before.

"I know calling couples isn't really my job," Maddox said. "But I have a suspicion that Parker might have a thing for you."

A snort escaped my lips. "You're right, Mad Maddox. That really isn't your thing."

Maddox cringed at the nickname. Lorne had started using it when Maddox started attending classes with us two years ago. Somehow it had leaked around the school, and people started knowing him as Mad Maddox rather than Declan or Maddox. Emma Kate had later coined Mad Dog, which he'd adopted instantly as a replacement nickname.

"Lex, I just think... if you don't want him to get hurt, I'd let him down sooner than later. I know showmance isn't your thing."

My fists curled inward. "If you mention this to Parker..."

Maddox held up his hands in surrender. "Fine."

Wandering back to the stage, I found myself at the top of the brilliant shipwreck Chase had finished only yesterday. It hung suspended above the stage and was rigged so a few people could stand in it as the ship crashed. Then it would remain looming above the whole show on the island below.

There I remained to wonder whatever gave Maddox the impression that Parker was crushing on me. I watched as the others trickled in. Parker was laughing with Bradley about something. They were becoming fast friends, which was good for Parker. The better the two of them could play off each other, the better their scenes would be.

Kayleigh and Jude seemed to be having an argument as they walked in. Kayleigh waved her hands, and her Instagram-worthy face was screwed in annoyance or anger. I hoped they wouldn't break up, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. It would just fuel more animosity onstage between them as Miranda and Caliban.

Once everyone had arrived, I was a little surprised to see the door in the back swing open. The young woman in the doorway walked with purpose to a seat a few rows from the back. Her dark skin looked warm under the theater lights against her white shirt and polka-dotted pants. She pulled her hair back into a coiled bun, but something about her struck me with familiarity.

"Lexi," Emma Kate called from the floor. "Let's get started."

It was easy to swing down from my perch, but I couldn't shake the strange feeling of recognition with that girl staring at us from the audience. I tried to tune it out as Emma Kate called out stage directions.

I wasn't in the opening scene, so Jude, Kayleigh, and I made our way out to the audience. Instead of sitting beside two-thirds of the terrible trio, I made my way to the back of the theater toward the young woman.

She hadn't moved. She wore one of those university lanyards with her name, so I guessed she was one of those potential students Tunstelle and Maddox mentioned though I could have sworn Maddox implied there was more than one. This girl was alone.

"I'm Lexi," I held out my hand to her. "I'm one of the directors this summer."

She looked at me, and her face lit up. "Hi, Lexi. It's nice to meet you. I'm Shayna."

The name was familiar, but I didn't immediately place it. "What bring you by the theater department?"

"Well, I have an interest in this kind of thing even if there wasn't another factor," she gestured her head towards the stage. "It was too good to pass up."

"What other factor?" I asked.

The girl chuckled. "Parker didn't tell you I was coming, did he? Wow, that's embarrassing. He told me all about you."

Then it hit me. The smile. The ease with which she walked into the theater. The way she eyed the stage, watching a specific person rather than the whole rehearsal.

"You're Parker's sister," I said, feeling heat behind my ears.

"Shayna Porter at your service," she laughed again. "Can't believe he didn't mention I was coming. I'm almost offended."

"Sorry," I said. "Your brother is great. You'll see him in this scene."

"Oh, I know," Shayna smiled. "This is so not his thing, and he's probably embarrassed I'm here. It'll be worse when my boyfriend gets back from his campus tour at lunchtime. They're old football buddies."

This bubbly girl was nothing from what I pictured from the rage-induced paint spatter in her room at Parker's house. It seemed the siblings shared their charismatic personalities as much as their looks.

"If you want, we can introduce you," I said.

Shayna shook her head. "I know better than to disrupt the flow of a rehearsal. Heaven knows my boyfriend and I can cause stage drama. At least before we started dating."

"How long have you been a couple?" I asked.

Shayna counted on her fingers. "We went out for a little while but didn't make it official until after winter break. We've been going steady since January. We've got another year of high school and our futures to think about, but we've become really good friends."

Shayna pulled out her phone and showed the lock screen. It was a picture of Shayna and her brother grinning at the camera. There was a guy beside her with his arm thrown around Shayna. He was blonde with one of those golden tans I envied. I could never make it happen myself since I was pale and pasty. All the sun did was burn my skin.

"That was at the Rasping Whispers concert," she said. "I was hoping he could come with me to the next one in two weeks. Jack's best friend is the frontman, so we can always get awesome tickets. Maybe we could invite your whole cast. The band is pretty tight with Parker too. They'd love that."

"Maybe," I said. "Most of us don't have a lot of free time."

A late-night cast party was the closest I ever got to fun. Having neither money nor time made it kind of hard to do anything. Sometimes I envied Lorne and the rest of the trio who could go out to a concert on a lark.

"Have you heard the Rasping Whispers?" Shayna asked. "They're kind of regional. Parker can lend you some tracks. They even wrote a song about me once, though they've more or less recycled that one and repurposed it into a new number."

"I haven't heard of them," I said.

"That's okay," Shayna said. "They're hoping they can get more attention in the next year. Their music is brilliant, and they put a lot of time into their lyrics, but you probably don't want me to jabber about my friends all day. How's my brother on stage?"

It was such an abrupt change of subject that I stood there with my mouth open for a solid three seconds before realizing that I needed to put together an answer.

"He did well when he was thrown in our improv games," I said. "So, I suspect he'll do fine. He's playing Trinculo."

Shayna nodded. "I suspect he's more of an actor than he thinks. And I would kill to see him play improv games. Ever since Jack introduced me to Who's Line Is It Anyway? I've wanted to start an improv team at our high school."

"Well, if you want to see your brother out of his element, I suggest a front-row seat," I said. "Care to join me?"

Her eyes lit up. "Absolutely."

She followed me to the stage, and we took seats next to each other in the center of the front row. Now, all we had to do was wait to see how long it would take Parker to notice his sister.

Hey everyone!!! I didn't realize how much I missed Shayna until I started working on this chapter. Bringing her back was so much fun, and Jack will be joining us shortly. We might even get the Rasping Whispers back too, which means I get to write more music. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know if there are any more elements from Before the Curtain Opens you want to see in this book. I'm not sure when I'll be updating next because school is busy, but your feedback means the world to me.

--- Eliana