As each student walked by her desk and stacked their tattered notebook papers, Alaina smiled, proud. These kids had come so far; from never watching an opera to writing one themselves, and so had she. Never in a million years would she have thought she’d enjoy teaching. Coming back to work gave her the distraction she needed from thinking of a certain backwoods loving guy.
She’d made a pact with herself not to check her phone and not to say his name. Even in her mind. If he wanted to wait all the way until Friday to see her, then she shouldn’t make him such a priority.
Jackie walked by and handed in a stack of papers.
Alaina ruffled through them. “What’s all this?”
She’d dyed her hair purple and red over the weekend, and surprisingly, the highlights brought out her dark eyes. “My opera. I got a little ahead of myself this weekend and started tying all the themes together.”
Alaina studied the first few pages. “This is excellent.”
“Nah. It’s stuff I made up.”
“But it’s really, really good.” She checked Jackie’s wrists, but the girl wore a long black sweatshirt. Alaina hoped she’d stayed busy enough not to avoid making any new marks. “You’re still coming to your lesson after class, right?”
“Yeah.” Jackie’s voice sounded weak and unsure.
Alaina gave her the death stare reserved for her own opera villains. “You’d better, because I’ll be waiting for you.”
Jackie nodded and returned to her desk.
John walked by and handed in three sheets of paper.
Alaina glanced down at the scrawled notes and names of the rap stars who populated his inner city setting. Although not as brilliant as Jackie’s, his ideas showed creativity and a great deal of effort. Seeing him reminded her of something she’d purchased over the weekend.
“John, I’ll need to see you after class.”
He glanced up in indifference. Today he had three earrings in one ear. Was one new? “What, am I in trouble?”
“No. I have something for you.”
His eyebrows rose in surprise. He still wore the same sweatshirt she’d seen him wear all last week. Did he ever wash it?
Alaina played her gift down, trying not to raise his expectations too high. “Nothing big, just something I found.”
He nodded and walked back to his seat.
He’d probably never wear the black sweatshirt she’d bought in the gift shop at the White Mountain Lodge, but it didn’t hurt to give it to him anyway. Just in case.
After class, Alaina read through the homework assignments as the clock ticked closer and closer to her rehearsal time.
Jackie was ten minutes late. Alaina would have to leave in the next fifteen if she was to reach the Met in time.
As she stuffed the assignments in a manila folder, Jackie knocked on the door.
“Come in.” Alaina couldn’t hide her anger from her voice. “You’re late.”
“I know.” Jackie didn’t take her backpack off. “I don’t want the lessons.”
Her words slapped Alaina in the face. Why would someone so talented refuse excellent training? “Why not?”
Jackie bit her fingernail. “Because you’re wasting your time.”
“I am most definitely not.” Alaina stood eagerly. “Even if you haven’t been practicing, we can still go over the warm ups.”
Jackie shook her head and continued to chew on her nail. “What good is it going to do?”
“It’s going to make you better. Teach you how to sing correctly.”
“For what? So I can sing at someone’s birthday party?”
Alaina put both hands on her hips. “For college.”
Jackie rolled her eyes. “Pft. I’m not going to college. I’m going straight to work at my Uncle Dinny’s gas station.”
“Is that what you want?”
Jackie flinched before she could hide it. “It doesn’t matter what I want, it’s what I have to do.”
Anger and frustration rose inside Alaina. This girl had talent, she had a chance in a lifetime and she was going to throw it all away.
Before Alaina could stop herself, she reached out and grabbed Jackie’s arm and turned over her wrist. New marks cut into her skin. “Is this what you have to do, too?”
Jackie yanked her arm back and cradled her hand against her chest. “You have no right.”
“You’re right. I don’t. I’m just the substitute teacher. But, it looks like your parents and your school nurse aren’t doing their jobs, so I’m stepping in.”
Jackie backed toward the door. “You’re just the substitute teacher. You can’t tell me what I should and shouldn’t do.”
Alaina crossed her arms over her chest, trying to peel away the hurt to get to the heart of the matter. “No, but I can give you a chance at something better. It’s up to you to take it.”
“I can’t.” Jackie left and slammed the door behind her.
Fury broiled inside Alaina along with a sense of helplessness. If she couldn’t get through to this girl, then she’d failed. Rubbing her temples, she checked the clock.
Holy Batshit.
Rehearsal started in ten minutes.
***
Tamino ran across the stage from the serpent as Alaina stumbled into the theater. She took a seat in the back, hoping no one noticed her late arrival.
“Looks like you lucked out. Altez decided to start from the beginning again.” Bianca spoke from behind Alaina, leaning on the back row of seats.
Lance’s advice came back to her. If she was going to confront this diva, then now was the perfect time. Alaina turned toward her and waved her over. “Hi, Bianca. If you’re right, you have some time before you’re on. Why don’t you have a seat?”
Bianca stared as if she’d just offered her poison. Then, she waltzed over and sat two chairs away. “If you’re trying to invite yourself to my early rehearsals with the others, forget about it.”
“I’m not at all.” Alaina turned so she faced her nemesis head on. “I’m busy at that time anyway.”
“Good.” Bianca readjusted the straps on her pink sequined shirt. “Because there isn’t any more room.”
Alaina took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. “What do you have against me? What did I ever do to you?” It felt oddly therapeutic to question her out loud, as though she’d kept their mutual animosity private for so long that it had begun to fester.
Bianca straightened in surprise. “You don’t remember?”
Alaina shook her head. “Remember what?”
Bianca smiled, but there was no joy in it, only bitterness and irony. “Of course you don’t remember. I was just a freshman, and you were the hot singer on the block.”
Alaina tried to remember back, but nothing of consequence came to mind. Her ignorance made her the butt of a cruel joke she didn’t understand. “What?”
Bianca tapped her pink fingernails on the seat as if remembering something Alaina had apparently said five years ago back brought the annoyance back in full force. “They’d just announced the results of the soloist competition. You’d won, of course, beating me by a tenth of a point. I came to congratulate you.”
She swallowed hard. “You were wearing a teal prom-gown type of dress, and I’d worn something my mom had made from some cheap fabric we’d found at a craft shop. She’d passed away that year, and that was one of the last things I had that reminded me of her. I’m sure you never thought to ask, but I was a student at Heart House my senior year because, as a single dad, my dad couldn’t afford the tuition for my performing arts school. Anyway, you turned to me and you said, ‘you’ll have better luck next time if you dress for the part.’”
Bianca shook her head. “After that day, I knew we’d never be friends.”
Horror stung Alaina in the gut as shame burned her cheeks. Bianca, a student at Heart House? She would have never guessed. “Bianca, I’m sorry. I honestly don’t remember saying that.”
Bianca shrugged. “Of course you don’t. I
’m sure you don’t remember calling Isabel Grant a ‘vibrato crazed shrieker’ or Terence Smith ‘math-challenged.’”
Alaina covered her mouth with her hand. The vibrato comment she did remember, but she hadn’t thought of it until now. As for Terence, he never made his entrances because he never counted his measures, which had annoyed her. But, she should have been better about keeping her opinions to herself. She didn’t know so many people had heard her say that. “I’m a different person now. I’d never think or say those things today.”
“Unfortunately, calling people names is like singing a bad note. You can’t take it back.” Bianca stood and walked toward the stage, leaving Alaina to gawk in in thick, sticky guilt.
Alaina deserved everything that had come to her. She had been a shallow, cold-hearted diva in her early career. She’d been spoiled with her wealth always thinking about her own career and not those around her. She’d never thought to volunteer her time until Altez had practically shoved it down her throat.
Remorse came crashing through her. She felt like Bianca had held up a mirror and Alaina didn’t like what she saw.
She’d missed so much - friends she could have had- people’s lives she could have touched. How many girls like Jackie passed through Heart House only to end up in dead end jobs- or worse- in the emergency room at some hospital because of a suicide attempt or drug overdose?
Karma had a way of coming back to everyone. It was about time she did something to turn it around.
After rehearsal, Alaina walked up to the podium. “Mr. Vior.”
The old man glanced down through his spectacles. His wild, white hair framed his head. “Ah, Alaina. What can I do for you?”
Okay, don’t fidget, speak with confidence and professionalism. “I’d like to talk to you about my volunteer job at Heart House.”
“Oh yes, I hear it’s going spectacularly well. The principal says the students love you.”
“Oh, really?” Surprise bowled her over. After rejecting the other teacher’s lesson plan and making them all write an opus, she thought she’d been close to getting fired. “I hadn’t heard that.”
“You’ve also been seen at every fundraiser and luncheon this opera has sponsored in the past two weeks.” He stepped off the podium and placed a hand on her arm. “I know why you’ve come to me. You’ve done enough to improve your image. I’ll talk to the principal and have him hire another substitute. You can focus on your singing.” He started packing up his briefcase.
Alaina shook her head and followed him. “That’s not what I want at all.”
Altez raised his white eyebrows in confusion.
“I want to keep teaching as long as possible.” Certainty hardened her resolve. “In fact, I’d like to stay. Have them put me anywhere they need someone.”
He looked at her in confusion, like he wasn’t sure who he was talking to. “You’re sure about this?”
Alaina nodded. “I’ve never been more sure.”
Altez scratched his head. “It seems Roxanne and I have misjudged you.”
Alaina shook her head. She couldn’t have him thinking something that wasn’t true. “You haven’t misjudged me. I was quite a diva. But I’ve changed.”
“Very well. I’ll send your request to the principal immediately.” He snapped his briefcase and started walking down the aisle.
She chased after him. “There’s one more thing.”
He stopped and turned around. “Yes?”
“I thought the Met could establish some sort of working relationship with Heart House. You know, provide free tickets to their students, and even have contests that include them in our programming.”
Altez pursed his thin lips. “Free tickets? For a whole school? That’s a big step.”
Alaina stood her ground. “You told me yourself no one is going to come and watch me sing if I’m such a diva. Well, no one is going to support this opera house if we don’t do something to inspire today’s youth. Kids are growing up listening to rock and rap, and Justin Bieber. If we don’t keep classical music alive and accessible, there’ll be no opera at all.”
Altez chewed his bottom lip as if considering her words.
Alaina straightened. She was a community leader now. Her opinions had as much weight as any, and she believed in this cause. “I’ll do whatever it takes. Even if it means donating my own money to buy their tickets and sponsoring the competition.”
Altez regarded her with newfound interest and something more, something she’d hadn’t seen him have for her as of yet; respect. “What are you thinking we should do?”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Deal Breaker
Brett checked his watch as he sat in the coffee shop near his construction site. He’d ordered a small coffee for the use of their table, but his stomach was too acidic to drink it.
One more clandestine meeting and I’ll end this whole fiasco once and for all.
The door jingled as it opened, and Mrs. DeBarr came in wearing her signature long black leather coat. She ordered a latte and a Danish, and joined him at his table.
“Brisk autumn day, isn’t it?” She took the cover off her latte and blew across the foamy milk.
Brett didn’t have time for small talk as his shift started in less than fifteen minutes. “How is Mr. DeBarr?”
She glanced down into her latte. “Unchanged.”
Even though he knew her answer, it still hurt knowing that poor old man lay in the hospital waiting to die. Brett ran his fingers over the rim of his cup. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. You’ve helped me tremendously.” She smiled and broke off a piece of her Danish to share.
Guilt came over him as he refused the piece of Danish. He’d grown fond of this old woman, and he didn’t want to hurt her, but now his relationship with Alaina came first. “I’m sorry. I can’t attend the luncheon this weekend. I can’t pose as your son any longer.”
She nodded, chewing her Danish. “I thought you might change your mind after this weekend. To tell you the truth, I’m surprised you kept your word this long.”
“I wanted to tell you first so you’d be able to defend your actions if word spread.”
She waved her hand. “I’ll be fine. It’s not the first time someone put a misidentified item on the auction block.” She winked at him.
Brett smiled. Misidentified was right. “But what about the money for research?”
Her face sobered and she shook her head. “Even though I won’t stop fundraising, I know I’m too late. I’m not stupid, just stubborn. All I can do is keep pushing forward. It gives me a purpose.”
He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. She felt so brittle, so small, like her husband in the hospital. If he could find a wife that loved him that much, he’d be happy. “I’m sorry I can’t help you any longer.”
She tapped his hand. “You’ve done enough. It’s wrong for me to get in the way of your relationship.”
Relief trickled through him. He didn’t think this conversation would go so smoothly. “After the performance on Friday, I’m going to tell her the truth.”
Mrs. DeBarr nodded and studied his face. “How do you think she’ll take it?”
“I don’t think she’ll tell on you.” He ran his fingers up and down his cup, feeling the warmth of the liquid inside.
“That’s not what I’m afraid of. How will she feel about you?”
Brett shrugged. “I don’t know. But I have to do the right thing.”
Mrs. DeBarr wrapped the other half of the Danish in a napkin and pushed it across the table toward him. “If it’s true love, she’ll forgive you.”
Brett pushed his chair back and stood. There was nothing else to say. All he could do was wait until Friday and see. “I have to go to work.”
Mrs. DeBarr stood and gave him a hug. “Take care of yourself, son.”
Son.
After tossing his coffee, Brett took the half of Danish and left Mrs. DeBarr in the coffee shop. He kn
ew he wouldn’t eat it, but he couldn’t bring himself to throw it out. Mrs. DeBarr had given him a taste of what it was like to have a mother again, and he wanted to hold onto that as long as he could.
Phil sat on the curb with a middle aged woman with brown hair tied back in a bun. She wore a cute plaid peacoat and black knee high boots. They laughed together, eating sugar doughnuts. He spotted Brett and raised his hand. “Hey, there’s the man.”
“What?” Brett wasn’t in the mood for conversation.
“Brett, my man. Meet Sarah.”
Sarah? As in The Sarah? Brett shook his head in surprise and offered his hand, feeling honored.
Sarah wiped her doughnut fingers on her coat and shook his hand. “Don’t mind the powdered sugar.”
“I won’t.” Brett marveled in awe of his friend. Sarah was prettier than he’d thought, with delicate features and cute dimples in her cheeks. She matched Phil well. And she loved his favorite doughnuts. How much better could you get?
“So, you’re the one responsible for getting this stubborn mule to give me a call?” She laughed and poked Phil in the belly.
“I can’t take all the credit.” Brett smiled at Phil. “My friend here wouldn’t stop talking about you, so I figured it was the only way to get him to shut up.”
Phil punched him in the arm. “Don’t you have to be getting back to work?”
“I do.” Brett rolled up his sleeves. Even though the autumn air was brisk, the sun had come out, and the day warmed up pretty quickly. “I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.”
“Just a sec.” Phil gestured for Sarah to wait for him as he followed Brett to the construction site.
“She looks really happy. Good job, man.” Brett gave his friend a sincere smile. “I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks, but that’s not why I’m here.” Phil looked around uneasily. “Some pretty blonde came by the site this morning right before you got here. Said she was looking for someone named Lance DeBarr. I thought you might know who that was.”
“Shit.” Bianca was onto him. Brett shoved his hard hat down over his eyes and glanced around from under the plastic ridge. “Thanks for letting me know.”
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