Rose Sees Red Read Online Free Page B

admired about Callisto and Caitlin. Even though I was not in the music department, I had heard them play in the hallways, in homeroom, and at lunchtime. They were always game for an impromptu jam session or to accompany anyone who wanted to sing or dance.
    They were very talented, like everyone here at school was, but they took their talent with such stride. They had this attitude, like, either they would be musicians or they wouldn’t, and it was no big deal. Music was just one part of their lives.
    I was not relaxed about dancing. I wished I could be sure that I was going to be a dancer for real. I wanted to be one so badly that the thought of not doing it or giving it up made me want to give up sunshine and dreaming and air.
    I wasn’t even near the best.
    And that worried me. Only the best get to do what they want, right?
    Only the best.
    When I left school that afternoon, Callisto and Caitlin were there leaning against the building, waiting for me.
    “Hey, let’s go!” Callisto said, barely giving me a chance to say hello. “We’ve got to rush to get a good spot.”
    There were thousands of pizza places in New York City, but there was no doubt in my mind where we were going. Only one pizza place was cool enough for us Performing Arts students: Viva’s. On my way home from school, I had often passed by and seen it so overstuffed with people that kids spilled out onto the sidewalk. The pizza always smelled so good and there was laughter as loud as the Spanish music that blared on the radio.
    But I had never had the nerve to go in there by myself and order a slice for the trip back to the Bronx. I just clutched my bag tighter and walked by, trying to look like I had somewhere important to be, like a dance class or, even better, an audition.
    Now here I was, walking through the doors with Caitlin and Callisto, and everyone was saying hello to them. To us.
    Callisto managed to snag a table in the corner near Caleb, but he ignored her as he sat with the stoner drama kids, who languished there in leather jackets, army coats, and vintage sweaters, fine-tuning their broodiness.
    We sat down with our sodas, waiting for the pie that was still cooking in the oven. I took my straw wrapper and blew the paper off, but instead of landing on the table, it flew off in the direction of the next table, hitting Caleb on the nose.
    “Hey! What is your problem?” he yelled.
    I shrank deeper into the corner.
    He didn’t think it was funny, but Caitlin and Callisto thought it was hysterical.
    Caleb responded by crumpling up some greasy wax pizza paper and throwing it at our table. It hit Callisto in the worst possible place—her hair—and stuck there.
    “Cool,” Caitlin said. “It kind of looks like a small hat.” She was obviously trying to soothe her sister from going ballistic.
    “A pillbox hat,” I chimed in, trying to help.
    “Not my style,” Callisto said.
    Callisto plucked the wax paper from her hair. And then Caitlin shot me a look and motioned with her eyes. That’s when I saw it—there was a string of cheese still hanging off of Callisto’s hair, dangling all the way down to her ear.
    Caleb and his tablemates erupted into howls of laughter.
    “Looks like you’ve got a booger hanging off of your head,” Caleb yelled over at her.
    Caitlin reached over and carefully plucked the cheese off of Callisto’s head, which messed up her hair.
    “What are you doing?” she asked, irritated by the laughing.
    Caitlin showed Callisto the cheese. Callisto shouted some curses and gave Caleb and his table the finger, which only made them laugh harder. But yelling had made her calmer, and so she spit into her hand and fixed her hair so that it was Ziggy-perfect again.
    The crisis was over.
    “I’m so glad you came out with us today,” Caitlin said to me, putting her hand on my wrist.
    Callisto nodded. “You’re like one of the only people we can stand.”
    “But we know you’re super shy,” Caitlin added.
    Caitlin and