The cover was created with artist Pepco Studio.
Below, read an excerpt fromScene 1.
**
Five minutes into junior year, and Im done.
Lets burn this whole year to the ground.
For one thing, I can barely keep my eyes open.
Which doesnt bode well, seeing as I havent even entered the building yet.
Or left the school parking lot.
Or even unbuckled my seat belt.
And its Andersons fault.
Navy blue with brown buttons, or navy with navy buttons.
Just give me your gut reaction, hed said.
My gut reaction was hurling a pillow at his face.
Now, almost three hours laterright on schedulehes spiraling again in the parking lot.
Youre sure the navys okay?
Andersons honestly too cute for this earth.
And hes got that nautical schoolboy aesthetic down to a science: crisp button-downs and cardigans and rolled-up pants.
He rubs his cheeks.
I just dont want to look like trash.
Its the first day of
But hes drowned out by trap music blasting out of a Jeep.
Make way for the f–kboys.
Unfortunately, Roswell Hill High School is f–kboy ground zero.
Mostly the suburban athletic subtype.
F–kboius jockus.
Theyre everywhere, armies of them, all in RHHS team gear.
So prolific we had to give them a not-so-secret code name.
Which doesnt exactly obscure the meaning, but at least it keeps Brandies innocent ears from exploding.
I glare at the Jeep through Andersons passenger window.
The f-boy mating call.
But his car doors flung wide open and is therefore blocking my door.
The sheer audacity of f-boys.
Anderson pokes me with his keys, but I snatch them.
I love his Funko Rapunzel keychain so much, it almost makes me want to learn to drive.
Our phones buzz simultaneously.
Text from Raina or Brandie, no doubt.
Andy glances at his screen.
Come on, theyre already down there.
Okay, that gets me moving.
Which means its been over six weeks since the full squads been together.
Instead, we head for the side door, which has direct access to the theater hall.
Straight to Ms. Zhaos room, where all the usual suspects have gathered.
Honestly, we theater kids are as instantly recognizable as f-boys.
Though its not so much about the clothes in our case.
Its more like an aura.
My brother said once that theater kids walk around like were each under our own tiny spotlight.
Pretty sure it wasnt a compliment.
Its true, though.
Like, theres none of that forced nonchalance people have about the first day of school.
There is literally nothing Lana Bennett loves more than explaining the difference between musicals and plays to people who .
clearly know the difference between musicals and plays.
Brandie and Raina are relatively chill, though, just leaning against the back wall, reading their phones.
Theyre just the mom friend in different ways.
Rainas the bossy mom who makes everyone stay healthy and hydrated and on top of their schoolwork.
Today theyre so distracted, were practically nose-to-nose before they notice us.
Boo, I say.
They both look up with a start, and Rainas eyes go straight to Andersons keys in my hand.
Kate, did you drive?
I laugh, tossing the keys back to Andy.
Didnt you say you were going to
Yup.
Raina narrows her eyes.
But I havent taken the plunge.
And Im not exactly dying to, either.
At the end of the day, Im really a passenger seat kind of person.
Your hair looks so cute!
So maybe Andersons five-thirty wakeup call paid off.
Normally, my hairs a notorious mess.
But right now, its what Anderson calls white-girl-on-You-Tube wavy.
But now I feel like Im broadcasting to the whole world how hard Im trying.
I brush the ruffled sleeve of Brandies dress.
Really hot, though.
I mean, none of our campers died.
Well done, Raina says.
I press my hand to my heart.
Matt knows our names.
Okay, thats blasphemy.
I scrunch my nose at her.
Um, its not my fault Matts six feet tall, I say.
Did I mention hes six feet tall?
Literally ten times, says Raina.
Anderson turns to Brandie and Raina.
Did I tell you he knew how to pronounce Aeschylus?
On the first try?
Sounds like boyfriend material, says Brandie.
God yes, says Anderson.
Dont you want to just, like .
wear his letterman jacket and let him pin you
to a bed?
Anderson bites back a smile, and then shakes his head quickly.
His eyes flick back to Ms. Zhaos door.
Nothing, Raina says.
Not even a clue.
Harold thinks its going to beA Chorus Line.
Anderson whirls to face her head-on.
Is ginger intuition a thing?
I mean, according to Harold.
Harold MacCallum: world-class jellybean.
Sunshine in boy form.
They met about a year ago in this online trans support group Raina moderates.
Harolds cis, but his twin sibling is nonbinary, and he actually lives pretty close to us.
Hes super shy, and kind of wonderfully awkward.
Raina gets this smile in her voice whenever she talks about him.
Okay, well I have a theory, Anderson says.
Its a medieval year.
Last year wasWest Side Story.
Freshman year wasInto the Woods.
And they didBye Bye Birdiewhen we were in eighth grade.
I dont get it, says Brandie.
The PTA is super cheap, right?
So were just cycling through two sets of costumes.
Weve got the fifties costumes and the medieval costumes, and they alternate them so no one catches on.
Any minute, Zhaos coming out with the sign-up sheet.
Andys enjoying this nowdrawing out the info, dimples activating.
Its a medieval year.
Raina and I snort at the exact same moment.
But before either of us can make the requisite wiseass remark, Ms. Zhaos door creaks open.
And the whole corridor goes silent.
Anderson grabs my hand, and my hearts in my throat.
Which makes zero sense, since theres no suspense here.
Its the same every year.
Ms. Zhao announces the fall musical on the first day of school.
Its that same nonsensical thought every time.
Maybe this is the year.
Maybe this is when the switch flips.
But the truth is, I always know exactly where Ill find myself when the cast list gets posted.
Bottom of the page.
Nameless part in the ensemble.
Im an absolute legend in the category of Nameless Parts in the Ensemble.
But somehow this moment gets me every time.
The way everyone freezes when Ms. Zhao steps out of the theater room.
At least thats how its supposed to go.
But when the door flings open at last, it isnt Ms. Zhao there at all.
Excerpted fromKate in Waitingby Becky Albertalli, on sale April 20, 2021.
Copyright 2021Becky Albertalli.Reprinted with permission of HarperCollins Childrens Books.
