I sat on the couch with a nest of pillows surrounding me, like a cocoon. Catie had finally convinced me to give She Hasn’t Been Kissed a shot, and while I was fully expecting to be miserable, I figured I might as well be comfortable.

“Okay, and that guy,” Catie said, pointing to the blond guy who’d just stepped onscreen, “that’s Freddie—”

“Freddie?” I repeated, snorting with laughter.

She shot me a sideways look. “Yeah, Freddie, and no rolling your eyes, please. He’s the sensitive jock—”

“Of course he is,” I muttered, earning another look from Catie.

“His dad really wants him to be a lawyer, but that’s not what he wants. And then that girl—the one in the pink,” she said, pointing again.

“Yeah, what’s her deal?” I asked.

“She’s the popular girl, and her name is actually Lana,” Catie said, laughing as she looked over at me.

I snorted. “So, it seems to me that this movie doesn’t have actual characters, just caricatures and tropes. Did I get that right?”

Catie groaned.

“Come on, I’m just calling it like I see it. And I don’t get how you can watch something that has no soul. It’s so formulaic. I could predict every single beat of this movie. There are no surprises, no spark, no substance,” I said, waving at the TV.

Catie just rolled her eyes. “You need to relax, you know that? There is value in these movies, too. There’s something to be said for predictable. It makes people feel comfortable. They’re not on the edge of their seats to see what happens next, so they can just enjoy how we get from start to finish.”
“Okay,” I muttered sarcastically.

She looked over at me. “Are you dismissing everyone who like these kinds of movies?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just think there are better ways to spend time than watching some movie that you don’t even have to think about.”

“Come on—”

“No, you come on, Catie,” I said, starting to get riled up. “I just think you’re smarter than this movie.”

Catie looked at me for a moment, then smiled and nudged my shoulder with hers. “You know, you have to stop being so annoying. You’re insulting my favorite movie and my taste, but I can’t even get mad about it because there was a compliment hidden in there.”

I smiled over at my little sister. “It’s fine. There’s still plenty of time for you to get some good taste. And maybe middle school is the right time for movies like this.”

Catie picked up the pillow closest to her and chucked it at me. “You know, Lana, I know your secrets.”

“What secrets?” I asked, catching the pillow and tucking it under my head. “You reading my journal again?”

Catie grinned. “I know you used to love movies like this,” she teased.

“What are you talking—”

“You’re the one who got me into them,” Catie cried.

I rolled my eyes. “Fine, that might be factually right, but then I grew up and found real movies.”

“Okay.” Catie laughed, turning back to the screen. “‘Real’ being code for ‘boring,’ right? Subtitled?”

“Speaking of which.” I heaved myself out of my nest of pillows and got to my feet. “I have to get over to the theater for my shift.” I looked down at my sister, her face illuminated by the light on the screen. “Don’t stay up too late watching this. And you should at least try to start on your homework. I bet you can get your math done tonight, and that way you’re not putting it all off until Sunday night.”

“You got it,” Catie muttered, not taking her eyes off the screen. I doubt she had even heard me.

I glanced at the wall clock. “I think Mom has a meeting, so she probably won’t be back until late. You’ll be on your own for dinner.”

“Okay,” Catie said vacantly as the sensitive hunk’s blue eyes twinkled in yet another close-up.

“Do you need me to leave money for pizza or anything?” I asked.

Catie shook her head, waving an airy hand. “I’ll just eat whatever’s in the fridge.”

“Okay,” I said with a sigh. I walked over to the door and pulled on my beat-up converse. I grabbed my keys and phone, then turned back to Catie. “I’m going to lock the front door. Make sure the back door is locked too, okay?”

Catie nodded as the music from the movie swelled.

I laughed to myself and headed out the door.

I pushed away from the guy’s grasp—from Freddie’s grasp—and took a careful step back. I wanted to get some distance between us so I could think a clear thought for a second.

I stared at the guy—the mop of golden blond hair, the eyes, the dimples, the pouty mouth—it was him. It was Freddie from the movie. This was the Sensitive Hunk.

The actor’s name was on the tip of my tongue, and I closed my eyes for a moment, struggling to remember it. Devon…something. Devon Munger? Devon Moore?

Devon Morgan! That was it.

I looked up at him. “Devon Morgan, right? What the hell is all this?” I asked, gesturing around. “Is it like a reboot or something? Is it some fan thing?”

The guy looked back at me, his golden eyebrows furrowed handsomely. He was staring at me uncomprehendingly, like I was speaking a different language. “Who is Devon Morgan? Lana, did something happen? Did you hit your head or something?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could say anything at all, a guy appeared behind Devon Morgan and grabbed his shoulder. “Hey, Freddie! Ms. Dawson wants to talk to you. Come on!”

And a moment later Devon Morgan was gone, pulled away by what I could only assume was Random Jock #3.

I stared after him in complete shock. This couldn’t possibly be happening. Was I dreaming?

I gave my arm a hard pinch, hoping it would wake me up, but all it did was hurt.

Suddenly, the already loud music began to get louder. The opening beats of a song I had never heard before started pumping through the speakers.

“What’s up, what’s up, North Point High! Happy Homecoming! Now who is ready to party?!” the DJ bellowed into his mic.

The whole gym cheered in answer.

“That’s what I like to hear!” the DJ yelled. “Now I want to see everyone out on the dance floor!”

The dancing kids cheered in response, and the few who weren’t already out on the dance floor started to move toward it. I took an automatic step back. Maybe it was just time to find a way out of here.

But before I could do anything, someone grabbed my wrist and began pulling me toward the center of the dance floor.

It was a girl, though she wasn’t looking at me.

“Hey, listen, I’m fine. I really don’t dance, so maybe I should just…” I trailed off as I looked around, realizing that something odd—okay, odder—was happening.

The crowd around me didn’t feel like a bunch of people dancing on their own. People were moving into lines and formations. What the hell was going on?

Where are you going lookin’ like that?!

The first line of the song blasted out from the speakers, and everyone—everyone—moved, doing the exact same dance, like they were starting choreography.

I was now in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded on all sides by people moving in perfect synchrony. I spun around in a frenzied circle, looking desperately around for the cameras that had to be there, for the cinematographers and the choreographers who had to be close by—that would be the only thing that would make my heart stop racing like I was about to have a heart attack. I was freaking out—none of this was making any sense at all—how did everyone know the steps? I didn’t know them! I’d never even seen them on TikTok. Where had an entire cast of professional dancers come from?

I had to breathe, so I stopped moving completely. Everyone around me continued to dance, so I was the only still thing, surrounded by a perfectly coordinated whirl of activity.

And then—as I fought to drag in a breath—a voice echoed above my head. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once, cutting through the music and the sounds of people dancing—

Everyone around me froze, mid-move.

There was no sound, no movement. Like someone had pressed pause on reality. It was—by far—the strangest moment of my life. I was about to reach out and touch one of the frozen dancers—the one closest to me had both arms above his head, and his wire-rimmed glasses looked like they were about to slip off his nose—but before I could, a loud voice spoke. The sound reverberated through the now-silent gym.

“TAKE IT AGAIN FROM THE TOP!”