It seared my brain as I threw my backpack down in our hallway and stomped to the kitchen. It was about a hundred times more painful than when Connor dumped me. I stood in front of the cupboard and surveyed my mother’s spices. I’d read something about a beauty contest being sabotaged when someone put chili powder or something in the contestant’s clothing. It had made her itch and sneeze, and I was hoping to find something to do the same to Angie. “Honey, are you home?” Mom hollered from the front door. “I need help with the groceries.” “Coming, Mom,” I yelled back, but I didn’t move. I hesitated, hand in the air, but then the image of Dev smiling at Angie flashed into my mind, and I grabbed the cayenne pepper and put it in my backpack. I told myself that it didn’t have anything to do with the fact that I’d seen her flirting with Dev. It was about the play. Still, as I helped Mom with the groceries, the hurt feeling wouldn’t go away. It was much worse than when Connor had betrayed me.
