When You Were Everything

At Dom’s, Cleo meets Lolly for the first time. She overhears Lolly telling Dom that she likes her.

Cleo and Dom spend time together in a cozy room filled with books. They talk about their love for books and for Shakespeare, and Cleo explains that Cliff took the books from her house when he moved out. Afterwards, they retreat to Dom’s bedroom to work on his paper. When they start talking about the stars, Dom suggests that they go up to the roof to see the night sky.

Cleo and Dom continue to discuss Shakespeare and Macbeth on the roof until Naomi calls Cleo, interrupting the conversation. Cleo tells Dom that she has to go, but they talk for a few more minutes before she leaves. Dom makes comments about Cleo’s appearance and freckles.

At home, Cleo tells Naomi about tutoring. Naomi is proud of her but is still worried that Cleo isn’t taking school seriously and has cut so many classes. The conversation shifts to Cleo and Layla’s friendship and Naomi and Cliff’s marriage. Naomi thinks that Cleo should try to repair her relationship with Layla, but she also admits that she and Cliff cannot do the same. However, she wants Cleo to know that she is always there to help her. Later, in her room, Cleo reflects on her mom’s words.

Cleo and Layla get ready for Sloane’s Halloween party. Cleo dresses as Lady Macbeth. Meanwhile, they talk about their plans for the summer. Cleo hopes that she will be accepted into the London program and that she and Layla can meet up overseas, as Layla’s aunt lives in Paris. Layla gets distracted when Cleo starts talking about her parents; she and Sloane are texting and making plans for Friday, and Cleo feels excluded.

The friends return to Valeria’s apartment for the party. Layla joins the Chorus Girls, while Cleo runs into Jase, Mason, and Dom and discusses their costumes. Cleo is impressed by Dom’s outfit. Suddenly, Layla texts Cleo, saying that Sloane’s ex-boyfriend, Todd, is downstairs. He is drunk and is trying to come up and join the party.

Cleo finds Layla and asks about the situation with Todd. Layla demands that Cleo lock the door and keep Todd from coming in while she finds the Chorus Girls and stays with Sloane. After Layla leaves, Cleo accidentally lets Todd inside, realizing that she may have drunk too much. He pushes past her and storms through the apartment in search of Sloane. Layla is upset when she finds out that Cleo did not lock the door. Cleo doesn’t understand what’s happening, so Layla texts her the details of what happened between Todd and Sloane. Cleo feels bad, and they make amends before Cleo leaves.

Sloane confronts Cleo at school for letting Todd in. Cleo feels hurt and upset and hides “in a far corner of the cafeteria” (146) to avoid everyone during lunch. Afterwards, she runs into Layla, who is with the Chorus Girls. Cleo tells Layla about her negative encounter with Sloane, but Layla doesn’t defend Cleo.

Cleo has sat alone at lunch reading ever since she and Layla stopped talking. One day, Sydney and Dom join her. Sydney knows about Cleo and Layla’s broken friendship and tells her about her similar experience with her friend Willa Bae. Sydney asks Dom to leave so that she can tell Cleo the full story. She explains that she has romantic feelings for Willa, but Willa is always fooling around with other girls. Cleo and Sydney decide that they will try to move on from their respective failed friendships and make new memories together.

Layla meets Cleo at her locker and asks for help with her Shakespeare paper. Cleo wonders if they will be friends again. After school, they meet at the library and work on the paper. Everything feels good between them. Then Cleo apologizes for what happened and asks if they can be friends again. Layla gets upset, insists that their relationship is over, and storms out. Cleo goes looking for her dad but finds him talking to Sloane. She then texts Sydney and asks her to meet in the park.

Cleo bursts out crying as soon as she sees Sydney in the park. She tells her about everything that happened with Layla at the library but doesn’t mention the incident that led to the end of the friendship. Sydney comforts her, gives her lipstick, and suggests that they do something fun. They run around the park, reciting Shakespeare.

Layla starts spending all of her time with the Chorus Girls. Cleo sees less and less of her, so she focuses on her summer in London to make herself feel better. Then one day, she learns that Layla has landed the lead female role in the school’s musical production of It’s a Wonderful Life. Cleo doesn’t congratulate Layla; instead, she asks her if she is sure she will be able to play the part given her stutter. Layla is offended. Then Sloane appears and congratulates Layla. Cleo realizes that she gave the wrong response to Layla’s news.

Cleo and Layla decide to meet up in the stacks at the library. Layla tells Cleo more about the play and describes her upcoming chorus programs. Cleo realizes that Layla will be busy all the time now, and they start arguing about Layla’s dreams of performing on stage. Layla is upset that Cleo doesn’t believe in her and insists that Cleo is just as pretentious as Sloane says she is. Layla starts texting Sloane and leaves Cleo crying alone in the library.