The Songs in Our Hearts: A Young Adult Romance

by Chantal Gadoury

  JENNIFER: WHAT. THE. HELL. JUST. HAPPENED?!?!?!

  CHARLIE: Can we talk later?

  JENNIFER: No. We need to talk NOW!!

  With a heavy sigh, I ignored her and slid my phone back into my pocket. She’d have to wait, at least until I was back at home. Micah soon returned, plastic shopping bag in hand. As he closed the door, he dropped the sack into my lap.

  “I grabbed you a drink, just in case you changed your mind.” I looked at him, surprised—and slightly touched—by his thoughtfulness. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “It’s just a soda. Do you like cherry?”

  I nodded a bit too eagerly as I started to pull out the other purchases he made: BBQ chips and a bottle of green tea for him.

  He started the car and backed out of the parking lot. “Do you want to go home now?” he asked.

  I lowered my soda into the cup holder between us. “I mean, not really. We could go to the library or something? I think they’re open until nine.”

  It was the only place I could think to go to get our work done. I always enjoyed going to the library, except for that one time my mom forgot to pick me up….

  “The library sounds good.” Micah switched lanes. Thankfully, we weren’t far from it. He turned down a few back alleys until we reached a small red-bricked building. The library was located in one of the old colonial homes on Main Street, with a small parking lot in the back. Micah shoved a few chips into his mouth and tossed the half-eaten bag onto his back seat. I gathered up the notebooks at my feet and followed him inside.

  “Charlie!” Mrs. Greenwich, the librarian, said with a bright smile, waving at me as I walked in. My cheeks felt warm as I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. This was the first time I had ever gone to the library with a guy friend.

  “Where’s your brother?” Her inquiring eyes glided from Micah to me.

  “He’s at home studying, I think.”

  “Oh well.” Mrs. Greenwich sighed as she began to pull books from the return box. “So, what brings you in tonight? I haven’t seen you in a while!”

  “Just here to work on a project,” I explained. A part of me wished Micah would speak up and save me from her investigative questions.

  “How’s school? Has Josh picked a college yet? How are your mom and dad?” Mrs. Greenwich leaned her elbows on the table, eager to know. I walked up to the desk and placed my notebooks down carefully.

  “School is fine. You know...it’s school. Josh is still looking at colleges. I think he’s waiting on an offer for a football scholarship, so we’ll see what happens. As for my parents, they’re fine. Just working.”

  “Oh great!” Mrs. Greenwich touched my hand and gestured to an open desk on the second floor. “If you need any help, you know where to find me!”

  “Thanks!”

  Micah had already turned to the set of steps that led up to the dusty historical section. All of the town records of Grand Lakes were housed in this secluded area of the library. If you wanted privacy, this was the place to go. There were two desks, one close to the staircase and the other toward the back, where Micah seemed to be headed. He slumped down into one of the chairs and flipped open his notebook. I sat across from him.

  “So, we could just end our film with a reenactment of the last scene in the movie. You know, where Victor dies and all the sailors on the voyage with him set him up on a floating pyre, and then they shoot it with flaming arrows. One of the guys totally misses, and the monster decides to shoot the pyre himself. Almost like it’s his duty because Victor was his creator. And since he has no real place in the world without Victor, he sets himself on fire alongside his master.”

  “Dramatic,” I said. “How are we going to stage you and the monster burning to death?”

  “Uh...easy. With fire?”

  “Setting yourself on fire, or...?”

  Micah laughed. “It’s called a dummy. I wouldn’t actually go up in flames.”

  “But then, the monster? You can’t expect one of your friends to crawl onto a fiery buoy with a burning dummy.”

  “But it would be pretty epic. Think about the grade we’d get for that.”

  “I’m thinking we’d get reprimanded for doing something so dangerous for an English project.”

  “Live a little?” he offered his famous line.

  We worked on more of the character dialogue for the second part of our screenplay, until Mrs. Greenwich called up to us that the library was closing. I rubbed my eyes as I closed my notebook. Micah tucked a pen behind his ear and got up, swinging his backpack over his shoulder. Together we started toward the staircase.

  “So, now that we have the screenplay pretty much finished, I’ll have to ask my friends if they’re up for making a horror film.” As we descended the stairs, I waved to Mrs. Greenwich.

  “That leaves the camera,” Micah continued as we walked out to the car. I knew my parents wouldn’t mind letting me borrow their camcorder. After all, it was for academic purposes.

  “I can figure out the camera.” I got inside the Grand Am. Micah started the engine as I buckled up and took a sip of my cherry soda. It was a little warm.

  “Great,” he said. “We can get started on filming. Get it over and done with.”

  I wasn’t sure why I had such a sinking feeling in my gut just then. Was it because of the way he’d said ‘Get it over and done with’? Like it was a chore to him? Was it because we’d be finished with the project? Did I want to spend more time with him?

  Micah’s fingers reached for the stereo system, switching on another song: “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey. I stared outside the passenger window, watching as the small town of Grand Lakes whizzed by in a stream of lights, trees and old historic homes, while I hummed to the melody.

  “This is one of my all-time favorite songs,” Micah informed me.

  “You and everyone in America.”

  “Debatable. You can’t assume America enjoys Journey as much as we do.”

  “The show ‘Glee’ used a lot of their songs,” I pointed out.

  Micah groaned. “Please don’t tell me you're a Gleek.”

  “And what if I am?”

  “Good thing we just pulled into your neighborhood. I can get rid of you,” he teased. “Before you start going all Rachel Berry on me.”

  “You know the main character’s name?” I smirked. Micah just ignored me though, putting the car into park.

  “On a more serious note,” he murmured, “why were you avoiding me earlier today?”

  “I wasn’t.” I was not prepared to have that conversation.

  “Well, what would you call it, then? You sure weren’t running to me like I was pizza,” Micah joked.

  “Shut up.”

  I reached for the door handle just as the lock clicked closed. Micah’s touch on my hand caused me to freeze. His fingers squeezed mine gently, comfortingly. Turning my gaze to his hand on mine, my cheeks began to burn with embarrassment.

  “Seriously, Charlie. What are you always running from?” His voice was soft and curious. My heart was pounding in my ears.

  “I just don’t want to give Sam something to talk about.” It was close to the truth. I didn’t want Samantha or Micah to know how I truly felt. I didn’t even know where I wanted to go with these feelings.

  “I guess we did just that,” Micah said, and released me. He looked out the windshield. “Sorry for causing so much trouble for you.”

  “You didn’t…” I shook my head. “Really, you didn’t.”

  “I tend to bring trouble with me,” Micah explained.

  “I’ll try to act like I’m surprised,” I tried to lighten his mood. A hint of a smirk lifted a corner of his lips.

  “You always know what to say to win a man’s heart.”

  I laughed nervously and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.<
br />
  “Who’s Dane Wesley, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  I bit my lip. “Just this guy I used to like. It was more of a childhood crush kinda thing.”

  “Why did Samantha mention him like she knew something we didn’t?”

  “It’s a long story.” I sighed. I didn’t want to talk about Dane Wesley. I looked at the time on the car console and grabbed my backpack. “I should probably get going,” I said, pulling the car door handle again, but Micah’s voice stopped me.

  “What I said about kissing you,” he began, “was true.”

  I slowly turned back to him, knowing full well Micah had to hear my heartbeat now. My voice caught in my throat and I quickly tried to swallow down my nerves.

  Micah’s eyes were steady and serious. I licked my bottom lip and opened the door. I would do what I knew best. Run away.

  “I’ll see you later,” I mumbled under my breath.

  I didn’t look back at Micah as I climbed out and closed the door behind me. I didn’t look back as I raced up the porch steps and went inside the house. I closed the door and leaned against it, trying to catch my breath.

  “Is that you, Charlie?” my dad called from the living room.

  “Y-yeah. It’s me.” I hoped he wouldn’t ask me any questions about how my evening had gone. I didn’t feel like talking about Micah or the get-together at Samantha’s house. I shut the door to my room, retreating into safety, and collapsed into bed. It had been an exhausting evening. I stared at my phone for a few minutes, just in case Micah decided to text me, but he didn’t. Finally, I gave up and hooked my phone to the charger. I sank back onto my comforter and into a deep sleep.

  “Life of the Party”

  Shawn Mendes

  “THIS IS MARSHALL,” MICAH SAID, pointing to a guy who was way taller than me, dressed in a red-and-black flannel shirt. On the bus that morning, Micah had told me he wanted me to meet a few of his friends who had agreed to help us out with our Frankenstein project. The day had blown by in a whirl after having to explain to Jennifer what had happened at Samantha’s house, and picking a new lunch table altogether to avoid the witch and her dirty looks. Mostly, I tried my best to not think about Micah and his confession in the car.

  “What I said about kissing you was true.” I could feel the honesty in those words each time he caught my eye in English, or across the lunch tables in the cafeteria. I knew he was telling the truth. It was as though I were walking through a haze for the last seven hours until Micah and I were outside near the buses with his friends. Marshall had scruffy blond hair, longer than I had ever seen on a guy before, and his smirk reminded me of a cartoon villain. Marshall held out his hand and I hesitantly shook it.

  “He’s into stunts,” Micah continued. “Marshall does a lot of tricks on bikes and knows how to hold a camera.”

  “Stunt man and cameraman,” I repeated, a little too amused by just how well this was seeming to work out. “Sounds promising.”

  “...and this is Paul,” Micah gestured to his next friend. I looked to the other guy who stood beside Marshall. He was tall, too, but skinny and handsome. Unlike Micah and Marshall, Paul had the start of a moustache on his upper lip and very dark, captivating eyes. I wanted to pinch myself. Why hadn’t I noticed him before at school?

  “They said they’d be willing to help us make the movie. Paul is really good at building stuff. He could make all the props and figure out the whole fire-burning part at the end.” Micah bumped his shoulder.

  “Sounds cool,” Paul replied.

  “He’s going into the army after he graduates this year,” Micah said matter-of-factly, the pride in his voice obvious. I smiled at the two of them; I appreciated the bond they seemed to share.

  “I didn’t know you were a senior,” I said, and Paul nodded.

  “I’ve been taking a lot of my classes online. I’ve had to help out with work around my dad’s auto shop. He needs the extra hand and I figured I wouldn’t be here much longer. I’m pretty much done with all of my coursework,” he explained. I was impressed. I had no idea Micah’s friends were actually normal!

  “I’ll also try to be the monster,” Marshall interjected as he tossed back his blond hair. If we didn’t live in the middle of nowhere, I would have totally assumed Marshall to be some sort of surfer dude. He just had that look. Maybe he was a skater boy.

  “Great! Wow. Thank you all so much for being willing to help us.” I smiled at them. “I mean, really.”

  “Micah promised us pizza. He also told us not to let you near it,” Marshall said.

  “Micah would say that.” I glared at Micah.

  “Sorry guys, I have to get going,” said Paul. “My dad needs me at the garage and I’m already late. Call me on my cell when we need to start. Remember, don’t text me. I hate that shit.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Micah waved him off. “Gotcha.”

  “Ten-four.” Paul saluted us. “Nice to meet you, Charlie.”

  “Nice to meet you, too, Paul.” He dashed to his old, beat-up Dodge truck, avoiding the mad rush of other vehicles leaving the school parking lot.

  “Ready for a smoke, man?” Marshall asked Micah.

  “Nah, I gotta catch the bus home,” Micah replied. Josh caught my eye as he headed toward his Jeep with J and Ben. He waved at me.

  “Are you sure?” Marshall pressed Micah. “I can take you home. No big deal.”

  “Nah, it’s really okay.” Micah sighed and guided me toward the buses. Marshall gave him a salute and headed toward the football field where a group of his friends were waiting. I glanced at Micah curiously.

  “Why didn’t you go with him?”

  “Not really feeling it today.” We glided by Josh, his friends, and the Jeep. My brother continued to watch us even as he stuffed his backpack into the vehicle. I was tempted to ask Josh to give us a ride home, but kept walking.

  “So, when do we start filming?” I climbed onto the bus after Micah and slid into our seat. (Yes, we have a seat. Fourth row on the left-hand side.) Micah sat down beside me.

  “The sooner the better. Once Paul gets the set built for us.”

  “And when will that be?” I asked.

  “He could probably get started this weekend. I figured we could go hang out and help him.”

  “I know nothing about building,” I confessed.

  “That’s all right. I’m sure we could find something easy for you to do.” Micah pulled his cellphone from his pocket, and sent a text to someone. I assumed it was Marshall. After a moment, he tucked his phone away again. The bus pulled out of the school parking lot and began its afternoon route.

  “What are you doing when you get home?” Micah asked.

  “Homework.” I let my hands fall into my lap. “Unless Josh and his friends have some sort of plan that involves me.”

  “Mind if I come over? Maybe we can work on designing some of the set, figure out the layout for Paul.” Micah put his arm up on the top of our seat. I glanced at it.

  “Don’t you need to do that with Paul?” I was confused. “He’s the set builder. He’d be able to tell you what he can and can’t do.”

  “Yeah. But I’d like to have an idea of what to ask Paul to make.”

  “I guess,” I said softly. “You can come over, if you want.”

  “It’s settled then,” Micah replied.

  A flight of butterflies swarmed my stomach. Micah Jacobs wanted to come over to my house. My bus stop came too soon. I got up and Micah followed.

  “I was thinking we could film at the park, just past Sully’s. There’s a great little grove where we could do a lot of stuff.”

  “We’re not making a Steven Spielberg movie,” I said, grinning at him. “It’s not going to be super-uber perfect.”

  “Debatable, Blake. I’m not going to accept just any old B-grade.”

&nbs
p; “Why? Aren’t you used to that? Or is that just when you’re lucky?” I chimed.

  “Ouch, that was my ego there.” Micah bumped his elbow into me and I shoved mine back into him. At that moment, Josh pulled into the driveway with Ben, J, and David.

  “Hey! Charlie!” Ben called from the side window of the Jeep. “Wanna head to the creek with us? You too, kid!”

  Josh glared at Ben. He clearly didn’t want to invite Micah.

  “Nah, that’s okay,” I replied. “You all have fun teasing Josh about Jackie O.”

  Ben laughed.

  “Shut up, already,” Josh grumbled. I couldn’t stop laughing as Micah and I walked inside the house. Josh and his friends followed after us, heading into the kitchen for their routine snack-grabbing.

  “Who are you?” J asked Micah. He took a long gulp of soda, leaning against the counter, as if trying to intimidate him. Micah brushed a hand through his hair, a nervous habit, apparently.

  “Uh…Micah. I’m a friend.”

  “Hi, friend,” said J. “What brings you over to the Blake house?” He grabbed the bag of chips that Josh had been snacking on, shoving his hand inside. Josh swatted him.

  “Damn, nosy much?” Ben interjected. “Just ignore him, Micah.”

  “I’m just asking. It’s a valid question!” J said between chews. Josh snatched the bag back and took a handful.

  “Micah is Charlie’s English project partner. They have to make a movie for their class,” Josh explained.

  “Tenner, right?” Ben asked, bouncing the question between the two of us. I was the one to nod. “Cool. I remember doing that last year. But I can’t remember what book we chose. We just did some stupid report.”

  “I wanted to do the movie. I thought it would be cool.” Micah crossed his arms. “I have a few friends who are going to do stunts and build the sets for the film.”

  “And the screenplay?” Josh asked. I felt my face becoming very warm. David, who had been quiet the entire time, cleared his throat as he got up to grab a water bottle from the fridge.

  “It’s finished,” Micah nodded. “We just need to rehearse and film it.”