Sweet Harmony

by A. M. Evanston

  "Okay, who the heck told you that?" she asked when she'd finally recovered.

  "People talk." Owen seized her sticky hands. "Is it true?"

  She froze. Did yesterday count as a date? Jaiden had paid for her meal, but only because Bridget had come unexpectedly. He'd held her hand too. It was no wonder that people got the wrong idea.

  "I don't think so," she said.

  If it was a date, she would have known. Probably.

  "Somebody's voice heightened a pitch for a second there." Owen elbowed her. "Do you like Jaiden?"

  "Of course not." She shrugged. "Jaiden's just a friend."

  With all of this talk about her liking someone, she thought of Daniel and not Jaiden. No. Freaking. Way. She was so annoyed that Daniel's face appeared in her thoughts that she slapped herself on the forehead so hard her head throbbed. Wincing, she rubbed her sore skin.

  "Are you okay?" Owen looked at her like she was nuts again. "You almost knocked yourself out. How could I explain that to the school nurse?"

  "I'm fine."

  No way was she telling Owen what she'd just thought about. Heck, it must have just been a fluke. She'd thought of Daniel first because she was still pissed off over the pot incident and wanted to know whether it was him. Yeah, that was exactly it. She'd be crazy to like an egotistical, self-absorbed windbag like him. In fact, if he walked by right now, she'd happily punch him in the face.

  The violent thoughts calmed her. Everything was fine. She hated Daniel and was friends with Jaiden. The world was back to normal again. Heaven help her if anything disturbed that peace.

  ****

  The darkness was all consuming as Annamarie walked down the stairs to the recreational room during lunch. She was going to ask Daniel about the pot incident. If he said he didn't do it, then she'd leave and try to figure out who had. If he said he did, she'd shove her fist so hard into his stomach he'd puke. She rubbed her hands together wickedly. Sometimes she loved the way her brain worked. She was practically overcome with giggles by the time she reached the recreation room.

  She opened the door and stepped inside. Gavin was sprawled out on the couch playing a video game. When he saw her, he froze. His character on screen was overcome by zombies and was torn apart limb from limb.

  "Uh-oh," Gavin said.

  "I'm here to see Daniel." No use pretending she wasn't.

  "He'll be here in a minute," Gavin said. "He went to the vending machine to get a soda."

  Awkward silence threatened to choke her. Gavin obviously had no idea what to do about her presence. She didn't know how long she'd be waiting for Daniel, so she flopped down on the couch and studied the TV screen.

  "This is Zombie Death 2000, right?" she asked, breaking through the wall of silence.

  "You know the game?" Gavin sounded impressed.

  "Know it?" She grinned triumphantly. "I beat it three times all the way through. I had to earn the secret ending. There's no way you can play Zombie Death 2000 without getting the secret ending."

  "I didn't even know there was a secret ending." Gavin was so excited he was practically vibrating. "How do you get it?"

  "You know that part where Kale and Marina are—"

  Somebody cleared their throat from behind them. Annamarie stood up and saw that Daniel was leaning against the threshold, a frown on his face.

  "What are you doing here?" Daniel made her sound like she was an animal who'd rolled in something smelly.

  "I'm here to see you." She rolled her eyes. "I have something I need to discuss."

  "Awfully formal now, aren't we?" Daniel grunted and strutted into the room, acting like he was the king of the whole world. "I'm surprised you didn't greet me with a punch to the face."

  "I'm saving that for later."

  "What, pray tell, brought you here to see me?" Daniel flopped down on the couch. "Are you here to threaten me? Oh, I know. You're here to call me a slime ball, right? You're a girl with a proper education. You'd think you could come up with some better insults."

  If she had the power to summon lightning from the sky, she would have smote Daniel with a wave of her hand. She said a prayer to God asking him for just the teensiest bit of lightning. Since none came, she realized she was on her own. She scowled and stepped between Daniel and the TV.

  "Did you happen to try to kill me yesterday?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. "Jaiden said you wouldn't try to hurt me, but I wanted to make sure."

  Gavin stilled beside Daniel and gaped at her.

  "Looks like I'm not the only one who's pissed at you." Daniel wrinkled his nose. "The only time I've tried to kill you was in my dreams."

  She could tell from Daniel's expression he was telling the truth. Still his comment was unappreciated. She kicked his foot.

  "You're a jerk," she said.

  "You're a whiny, annoying idiot." Daniel jumped to his feet and glowered at her.

  Both of them fumed. Her fist twitched at her side.

  "I'm leaving," she snapped, heading for the door.

  "Good." Daniel followed behind her, shaking. "Don't you dare come back here. I mean it."

  "Why would I want to come here?" she asked. "I'd rather be dumped into an active volcano than spend more time with you than I have to."

  Daniel held open the door and pointed into the hallway.

  "OUT, you heathen!" he roared.

  She marched into the hallway and glared at him.

  "What is this, the eighteenth century?" she snapped.

  Scowling, Daniel slammed the door shut. Something hit the wall inside and broke. She hoped it wasn't Zombie Death 2000.

  ****

  Annamarie checked her email and saw she had three messages from her dad but none from her mom. Why doesn't she ever email me anymore? she wondered, feeling a little hurt. Yeah, she was a troublesome idiot at times, but she was still the woman's daughter. She told herself that her mom was just busy and that there was no reason for her to be depressed. She checked her dad's email and saw a bogusly happy message but nothing hinting at why he'd been so odd on the phone.

  To my dearest Annamarie,

  Everything is well in London, though I have to leave soon for a concert in Vancouver. I'll think of you while I'm there. I know how you like to watch ice hockey. I've heard from your brother and he loves his new school. I'm glad that I have yet to receive any calls from your school principal telling me you've broken the rules. I'm proud of you. Finally, you seem to be outgrowing your inability to behave and are acting like a model student. Perhaps next time I see you, you will have mastered the flute.

  Sincerely,

  Your father

  She felt a strange sense of guilt. The only reason the school principal hadn't contacted her dad was probably because he was hard to get ahold of. She shut her laptop and heard a knock on her door.

  "Come in," she said.

  Jaiden opened the door and she did a double-take. Guys weren't supposed to be in the girls' dormitory.

  "What are you doing in here?" She hastily picked up the dirty clothes that were on the floor and tossed them into the hamper.

  "I was worried because you didn't come to our tree during lunch. I wanted to make sure you weren't lying in a hospital bed somewhere." Jaiden stepped inside and looked around, grinning. "You have a smaller room than mine."

  She ignored his comment about her room.

  "If Mrs. Carmichael catches you in here, you're dead."

  "I'm friends with Dan, so I don't foresee any problems. She listens to whatever he says." He glanced wearily at the door. "Unless you'd rather I leave?"

  "No, of course not." In fact, she was a little bored. She'd answer her dad's email later. "I'm glad you're here."

  "Good." He nodded.

  "I have something to show you." She pointed at her karate uniform that hung on her wall. "Ta-da! I got the pink out. Stupid Daniel. It took me six hours."

  "Wow." Jaiden grinned, but then the smile slipped away. "Speaking of Dan, are you okay? I heard the two of you got
into yet another shouting match today."

  "Ah, it's no problem." She shrugged, then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "As long as nobody throws another pot at my head, I think I'll be okay."

  She'd meant the words as a joke, but Jaiden became serious again.

  "I told Dan what happened to you yesterday," Jaiden said. "He says he's going to try to find out who attempted to hurt you."

  She was confused now. If they were friends, it would make sense that Daniel would help. But they weren't friends. She scratched the back of her head.

  "Why would he do that?" she asked.

  "I told you Dan isn't a bad guy," Jaiden said. "You do know he could have you expelled from school anytime he wants, right? Yet you keep needling him and he hasn't sent you away."

  Fair point. She hadn't even thought of that. All of this talk about Daniel was not only confusing, it was making her head hurt. It was time for a subject change ASAP before her brain liquefied and gushed out her nostrils.

  "Let's not talk about Daniel anymore." Her fists tightened at her sides.

  "You can't still think he threw the pot at you," Jaiden said, looking exasperated.

  "No, I don't." She stared into Jaiden's eyes. "It's just that whenever someone talks about him, my head gets all mushy and confused. I don't like it. It pisses me off that he makes me lose control of myself this much."

  Jaiden's mouth thinned.

  "What?" She raised an eyebrow, wondering why he was looking at her with disapproval.

  "Nothing." Jaiden shook his head. "It's just you're so…"

  "Annoying?" She'd heard that a lot. "Loud?"

  "Innocent," he finished.

  Innocent? She'd never been called innocent in her entire life.

  "Why?" She was stumped.

  Jaiden just patted the bed next to him and didn't answer her question. "Sit down. Play a game with me."

  Confused, she took a seat by Jaiden's side and pursed her lips. Innocent? She, the girl who'd once let off a stink bomb in the middle of a massive Christmas concert in Madison Square Garden? She let out an exasperated sigh. Boys were always leaving her head in a funk. Maybe she would have been better off going to an all-girls school.

  Chapter Nine

  Annamarie headed into her second period class and took a seat in the front row. It was history, one of the few lessons she actually enjoyed, so she took out her book and flipped through the pages. Bridget sat next to her, which was a first. Normally, the girl put as much space between the two of them as possible. Since she didn't want to deal with whatever the wicked girl had up her sleeve, she ignored her and looked at a picture of soldiers.

  "I'm surprised to see you in class today," Bridget said.

  Hoo boy. Here she goes. She stole a glance at Mr. Patrick, the history teacher. He was as old as the subject he taught. If she got into a fight during class, would he be able to hear well enough to notice? Probably. Darn. Ignore, ignore, ignore, she thought, nervous beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She was not going to get into a shouting match right now.

  "Didn't you hear me?" Bridget asked.

  "I did," she said. "I'm just choosing to pretend you don't exist."

  "Like your mother's doing to you?" Bridget said with a nasty smirk.

  What the heck was that supposed to mean? Nobody made fun of her family on her watch.

  "What are you getting at?" She raised an eyebrow. "Don't you dare insult my mom."

  "So you're on your mom's side, huh?" Bridget sniggered. "I guess you get your whorish qualities form her."

  She leapt to her feet. Everybody stared, including Mr. Patrick.

  "Take it back!" she yelled. "My mom isn't that way and neither am I."

  "Really?" Bridget tossed a crumbled piece of newspaper at her. "The whole world seems to think otherwise."

  She looked at the newspaper. The headline read, 'Famous Musician Yuki Neko's Affair.' The color drained out of her face and her hands shook. She made eye contact with Bridget whose grin had grown even wider in the course of seconds.

  "Don't tell me you didn't know." Bridget looked like her wildest dreams had come true.

  The walls were closing in. What was going on? This newspaper article had to have been fake. But what if it wasn't? She bent down to seize her bag. No way could she endure class now. Mr. Patrick hobbled over to her.

  "Ms. Chadwick, what seems to be the problem?" he asked.

  She opened and shut her mouth several times. All that came out was a high-pitched squeak. She couldn't find the words to say. How could she explain her emotions?

  "I feel sick," she said, which wasn't exactly a lie.

  "Is that so?" Mr. Patrick looked uncertainly from her to Bridget. "Then I'll write you a note to go to the nurse's office. Hold tight a second."

  It took every ounce of self-control she had not to tear out of the room as fast as her legs could carry her. Instead she stood, shaking from the effort it took to withhold her bursting emotions, until Mr. Patrick returned with a note to give the nurse.

  Ms. Chadwick has been excused from class due to illness.

  She took the note from him and stuffed it into her pocket. Clutching the newspaper clipping tight, she left the classroom and ran as hard as she could. She didn't know where she was going; she just knew she had to get as far away from Bridget and her awful smirk as soon as possible. She came to a stop beside the math hallway and pulled out the article Bridget had given her.

  Famous Musician Yuki Neko's Affair

  Cellist Yuki Neko was discovered in LA on Thursday in a hotel room with Hollywood's up-and-coming star, Troy Wilson. This came to quite a shock to those of the music world. The critically acclaimed cellist has been married to concert pianist Francis Chadwick for the past seventeen years. Troy Wilson is fifteen years younger than Yuki Neko, young enough to be her son.

  When questioned about Francis Chadwick and Troy Wilson, Yuki Neko said, "I fell in love with Troy while I was composing a piece for the movie, Boom! Bang! Bazoo!, where he'd play the lead role. I couldn't help my emotions. My relationship with Francis Chadwick has been failing over years and I believe it will be healthier for both of us to move on and find more compatible partners."

  Yuki Neko and Francis Chadwick have two children together. Both are away at school and are unavailable for comment. During a phone interview with Francis Chadwick regarding the impending divorce, he stated, "I love Yuki with all my heart. We spent a lot of time traveling apart because of our careers, but I never thought she'd leave me. I hope she comes back to her senses and realizes what she's doing to me and our children."

  Regardless of Francis Chadwick's plea to his wife, it is rumored that Yuki Neko has officially filed for divorce. She had been seen around town in Hollywood with Troy Wilson just this week.

  Annamarie wanted to believe the article wasn't true. Paparazzi made up lies frequently. This time, though, there was proof. In the photograph beside the article, her mom was standing next to a blond man with a strong chin and sparkling green eyes. The most disturbing part was the fact he couldn't have been more of a couple years older than her.

  Anger made her mouth taste bitter. Normally her rage was connected to her fists, but now her blinding fury was making her tear ducts act up. Her eyes burned and a tear slipped out before she could stop it. This is why my dad sent Yuri and me away, she realized. He never cared about me learning the flute. He just didn't want me to find out about this. Yet how could she not have found out? Was he such a coward he didn't have the gumption to tell her what had happened? She felt just as betrayed by her dad as she did by her mom. She let out a yell of fury and threw her fist against the wall. Her skin burned upon impact and more tears began to fall. She needed to scream until she couldn't scream anymore, but she couldn't do that in the school. Clutching the newspaper in her fist, she ran for the backdoor.

  "Hey, toilet girl!" somebody yelled from the hall just as she reached the glass door.

  When she looked up and made eye contact with the person w
ho'd called her, she saw it was Daniel. He looked her straight in the eye and his impish grin evaporated. Normally, she could have withstood any insult Daniel hurled at her, but right now, her armor had been so damaged anything he said would injure her heart. She burst out the door before he could talk to her and ran across the parking lot. To her surprise, she heard him running after her.

  As she fled, her heart pounding in her ears, she thought, God must hate me. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let Daniel find me now. She tried to run faster, but Daniel was so long-legged he caught up with her in three strides and seized her arm. She whirled around, trying to pretend tears weren't streaming down her face, and glared at the boy before her.

  "I'm not in the mood now, okay?" she snapped.

  When Daniel looked at her, he wasn't smirking like Bridget had been. Despite that, she tried to pull her arm out of his grip, but he refused to let her go.

  "Timeout," he said.

  "What?" She sniffled and tried hard to swallow her tears.

  "I'm calling a timeout from our fighting," Daniel said. "Right now, we aren't arguing anymore."

  "Listen here. If you think you can just call a timeout in the middle of a war, you got another thing—"

  Daniel pulled her into his arms and embraced her.

  "—coming," she squeaked.

  Silence fell. She didn't know what was going on. One second she was all alone, the next Daniel, the person she thought would be the least comforting in the entire world, was hugging her. As he held her close, she realized she had two choices. She could pull away and run to solitude, or she could stay and allow herself to be comforted. She was surprised by what she wanted. She wanted to stay right where she was because the idea of being alone when feeling such all-consuming anger and sadness was frightening. After a moment's hesitation, she laid her head against Daniel's chest and sniffled.

  "Nobody hears about this, do you understand?" she whispered.

  "We're in timeout," Daniel said. "After we go our separate ways, I'll pretend this never happened."

  Somehow, even after all of the hurled insults and horrible pranks, she believed him. Neither of them moved for quite some time. She just stood in his arms, shaking. Her thoughts raced. How could her mom have done this to her? The woman had never been the most loving woman in the world, but she'd never expected this. And how could her dad betray her by not telling her what was going on? She wanted to hate him for what he'd done, but she couldn't even now. She tightened her grip on Daniel's shirt.