When You Were Everything

Cleo takes the train and gets off at Layla’s stop. She walks along her block and remembers all the time that she and Layal spent together over the years. She texts her dad, Cliff Baker, and asks if he can meet with her. On the phone, he agrees to let her skip school, and father and daughter meet at a nearby café. Cleo asks if her father will go to the park and make a snowman with her. She explains that she wants to make new memories so that she isn’t always thinking about Layla everywhere she goes. Cliff agrees.

That night, Cleo’s mom, Naomi Bell, scolds Cleo for skipping school and takes away her phone. Cleo feels betrayed by her dad.

The narrative shifts to a point prior to the main timeline. Cleo and Layla are getting ready to go to Cleo’s first real high school party. Cleo is hesitant about going because there will be drinking. While they get dressed, Cleo tells Layla about a Young Scholars Summer School in London that their English teacher, Ms. Novak, described to her. Layla’s mother opens the door, interrupting the conversation. She asks about the party, and Layla assures her that the event will not be rowdy. Cleo loves Mrs. Hassan and always enjoys seeing her.

Cleo and Layla take the elevator up to Valeria’s apartment for the party. Layla feels nervous because she stutters, and she is afraid that the new chorus kids will judge her. Cleo reminds Layla that everyone loves her and that she is more important than anyone. Inside, the friends join the Chorus Girls, which include Valeria’s cousin, Sloane Sorenson.

Layla gets along with the Chorus Girls and tries to include Cleo. Cleo is happy for Layla but feels invisible, so she soon excuses herself and goes to the roof. She texts her dad, promising to be home on time. Then she texts Layla to tell her where she is. Her phone slips, and a boy named Dominic Grey (or Dom), helps her to retrieve it. (He recently moved to New York from Georgia.) Cleo’s friends, Jase and Mason, join them. Jase and Cleo used to date. Layla joins the group on the roof as well, and she and Cleo start texting about the Chorus Girls. Cleo wants to leave, but Layla wants to stay. Cleo keeps talking to Dom after the others disperse and feels the night improving.

Cleo spends the weekend at her dad’s. She has spent every other weekend with him since her parents’ divorce. On Saturday, Cliff notices Cleo researching how to make new memories. She used to spend Saturdays and Sundays with Layla, but now this is no longer possible. Cliff talks to her about Layla and tries to encourage her.

Cleo takes the train to Dolly’s, the diner where she and Layla once spent time together. She misses her friend but is surprised and glad when Dom emerges from the kitchen. He explains that his grandparents own the diner and that he has been working with them since moving back to New York. Their classmate, Sydney Cox, arrives and joins Cleo and Dom’s conversation. They discuss their upcoming papers on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and Cleo promises to help her friends with the assignment as she often tutors her classmates. When Cleo leaves Dolly’s, she feels happy.

Cleo’s mother, Naomi, confronts Cleo again about skipping school. Naomi and Mrs. Hassan are friends, and that is how she learned about Cleo’s poor attendance. Cleo misses Gigi because she mitigated the conflicts between her and Naomi. Cleo and her mother have not talked much since Cliff moved out. Now, Cleo accepts her phone back from her mom and promises to work on her attendance record. She takes the train to school and thinks about Gigi and Layla on the way.

The first day of school feels strange to Cleo because Jase is acting as though they are still friends, even though they have broken up. He tries to take Cleo aside to discuss their friendship, but things still feel off-kilter to Cleo. Layla also seems distracted by the Chorus Girls, who are showing her a great deal of attention. Layla also keeps texting Sloane in the midst of talking to Cleo.

Cleo and Layla discover that the only class they share is homeroom. However, Cleo does have several classes with Dom. He approaches her, asking about her book, Othello. Cleo loves English and has wanted to be in Ms. Novak’s class since starting at Chisholm Charter.

After school, Cleo goes to the library to meet Layla and is surprised to find her talking to Ms. Novak and Cliff, who works there. Afterwards, Cleo and Layla break away to compare notes on the happenings of the day, but Cleo feels disappointed when Layla decides to leave and meet up with Sloane instead.

Layla approaches Cleo in homeroom, demanding to know why she has not responded to her messages. They sit and continue the conversation via text. Cleo is supposed to tutor Layla but doesn’t want to. Layla reveals that she told her mom everything about what happened and states that her mom probably told Cleo’s mom as well.

Cleo confronts Ms. Novak about making her tutor Layla. Ms. Novak explains that the tutoring assignment is meant to make up for the work that Cleo has missed while skipping classes. Cleo asks if she can tutor Dom instead, but Ms. Novak says that he is one of her top students.

Cleo and Layla spend the first weeks of school singing and writing. Layla is practicing for chorus tryouts, and Cleo is writing her application essay for the London program. After Cleo submits the application, she attends Layla’s tryout. She feels nervous for Layla, because of her friend’s stutter. She is also upset when she notices that the Chorus Girls are abandoning Layla. Cleo and Layla get into an argument but decide to join the Chorus Girls at Washington Square Park afterwards anyway.

Cleo and Layla join Sloane, Valeria, Cadence, Melody, and Sage at the park. Cleo doesn’t like the girls, but she notices how much they like Layla. Cleo feels happy for Layla at first, but she feels hurt when she overhears Cadence and Melody talking about her in the park bathroom. They don’t want Cleo there. Cleo tries to tell Layla about the incident and asks to leave, but Layla wants to keep spending time with the Chorus Girls. Cleo secretly blames Sloane for making her feel excluded.