More Than a Love Song

by Cathy Cole

  “And eat a lot of biscuits,” Ms Andrews agreed.

  “Biscuits fix everything,” said Polly’s mother.

  The women looked at each other warmly and laughed.

  This was too much information for Rhi. “Sorry,” she said, trying to keep everything clear in her head, “Eve helped you?”

  “I know, I found it hard to believe too,” said Ms Andrews. “But while she was here, I got a phone call from the head. He was very apologetic about how he’d handled the situation, and invited me to return in the morning. It confirmed everything Eve had told us.”

  But Eve’s the one who wrote the message! Rhi wanted to shout. Eve sent the pictures! She had been so sure… But what had she been basing her theory on, exactly? Seeing Eve coming out of Ms Andrews’ classroom that one time? Expecting Eve to take her revenge, and assuming Ms Andrews was that revenge?

  Rhi suddenly understood Polly’s reservations. All of this had hurt Polly, and her mum, and Ms Andrews. It hadn’t touched Rhi at all.

  Great, Rhi thought wearily. Yet another massive mistake, Rhi Wills. You’re doing well today.

  “Oh, and Eve was able to find out who sent the photos,” Polly’s mother continued. “I have no idea how she did it, but those kids have been suspended from school.”

  “All’s well that ends well,” said Ms Andrews. “Even when it starts badly.”

  The women laughed again.

  So Eve has a heart after all, Rhi thought. Or maybe it’s just more manipulation. That was more likely, she decided hopefully. If it was manipulation, then maybe she had been justified in attacking Eve the way she had.

  Somehow the thought didn’t make Rhi feel any better.

  “All gone,” said Ms Andrews, peering into the biscuit packet. “I brought crumpets too, which we have yet to touch. Ginny, do you have butter and jam?”

  “Afternoon tea,” said Polly’s mother brightly as Ms Andrews browsed the fridge. “I haven’t had a proper afternoon tea in years. But I think we all deserve it today, don’t you?”

  Polly hadn’t said much since they’d come in, Rhi realized. She was obviously finding the situation with her mother and her teacher a little strange. It looked to Rhi as if Polly’s mother was trying extra-hard to be relaxed as well. It gave the whole occasion an odd atmosphere. Rhi wondered how she would feel if her parents started seeing different people. Particularly people that Rhi knew from another part of her life.

  By the time everyone was sitting down around a plate of hot crumpets, the conversation was flowing more easily. They chatted about school, and Heartside, fashion and politics and films.

  “We saw a shocking film last week,” said Polly’s mum, refilling the kettle.

  “It wasn’t shocking, Ginny,” Ms Andrews protested. “It was just boring.”

  Polly’s mother rolled her eyes. “You’re such a teacher, Beth. We left for pizza halfway through,” she confided to Rhi and Polly.

  “Ms Andrews corrects us when we use the wrong word too,” said Polly with a giggle.

  “Like less and fewer,” Rhi added. “Less work, fewer desks.”

  “I’ve had that one a few times,” Polly’s mum agreed. “Only more often in the context of more pizza, fewer anchovies.”

  “What can I say?” said Ms Andrews. “I’m an educator.”

  “Is that like a Terminator, but with a calculator?”

  Polly laughed so hard at her mother’s comment that she almost spat her tea out.

  “Wash your mouth out, Gin,” said Ms Andrews severely.

  Rhi felt full and relaxed. Apart from the scene with Eve, it had been a great afternoon. She glanced at Polly, who was whispering something to her mother that was making her mum giggle hopelessly. It was clear that Polly’s mum and Ms Andrews had a lovely, supportive relationship full of laughter and affection.

  “Oh,” said Polly’s mum, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes. “I can’t tell you what a lovely afternoon this has been, girls.” She took Ms Andrews’ hand across the table and squeezed it.

  Ms Andrews squeezed back harder. “It’s such a relief, not having to hide our feelings any more,” she said, smiling into Polly’s mum’s eyes.

  Rhi and Polly exchanged a knowing glance. They both knew all about hiding feelings for people they weren’t supposed to like.

  TWENTY-THREE

  Rhi loitered by the classroom door as long as she dared. It was unlike Eve to be late.

  “Sit down please, Miss Wills,” said Mr Morrison, glancing over at her. “We have a lot to get through this morning because of the assembly.”

  “What assembly, sir?” asked Rhi in surprise.

  “The assembly I’ve already mentioned twice this morning,” said Mr Morrison patiently. “The anti-bullying assembly?”

  A couple of kids in the class laughed. Rhi blushed, and found her seat.

  “Register,” said Mr Morrison. “Nadia Abdullah? Lesley Atkins? Hannah Brown?”

  “Here, sir.”

  “Back at you, sir.”

  “Here, sir!”

  Rhi watched the door. No one came in. Where was Eve?

  “Max Holmes?”

  “Here, sir.”

  Max grinned across the room at Rhi. His smiles came so easily, Rhi thought a little impatiently, given everything that was going on. Did nothing freak that boy out?

  “Lila Murray. Polly Nelson…”

  Rhi wondered if Max knew what was troubling Eve. Something told her that he didn’t. And even if he did, the smile he’d just given her sent out a clear message. Whatever Eve’s problems were, Max wasn’t interested. Was that just true when it came to Eve? If Rhi had a problem, would Max still grin like that?

  “Eve Somerstown?” Mr Morrison looked round the room. Looking back at yellow note stuck to the register, his face cleared. “Absent. Daniel Stevens?”

  Eve wasn’t coming in. Rhi didn’t know whether to feel relieved or extra-worried, and Mr Morrison had to call her name twice before she heard him.

  “Ollie Wright?” the teacher finished.

  “Yo, Mr Morrison,” said Ollie.

  “Yo yourself, Mr Wright,” said Mr Morrison drily. “Good. Bags away, everyone into assembly. Quickly!”

  The head was pacing on the stage, a large screen set up beside him, as the classes filed into the hall. Rhi noticed Ms Andrews was sitting near the front. Her red jacket made her stand out in the black-uniformed crowd, almost as if she’d worn her brightest colour on purpose. Her hair gleamed and her eyes faced steadily forward. A few kids glanced in her direction and whispered, but the sound was more subdued than yesterday.

  Rhi felt a hand on her arm.

  “Meet you at the back,” Max whispered.

  He headed for a row of chairs right at the back of the room. After a brief hesitation, Rhi followed. What did he have to say to her now?

  “I wanted to show you this.”

  Max glanced around for teachers before pulling out his tablet. “Tell me if anyone’s looking this way,” he added in a low voice. “The last thing I need is for someone to confiscate this. Look, I redid your videos for you.”

  Rhi saw the original photo montage was back in place. She’d forgotten about the embarrassing selection of photos Eve had planted on the internet. That had been Eve’s revenge, she realized awkwardly. She’d pretty much forgotten about it in her determination to blame Eve for the situation with Ms Andrews. She was such an idiot.

  “And I’ve added some information about your gig tomorrow at the Heartbeat,” Max went on. “The comments are flooding in. Everyone’s really excited, Rhi. You’re doing these songs, right?”

  Rhi nodded, struggling with the familiar panicky sensation of being in a situation beyond her control. People were coming tomorrow, to hear her and Brody. Andy Graves might show up. People knew her songs now, and the
y still wanted to hear her. That was good, right? So why did she feel so nervous? Maybe it was just a natural state for performers. She would have to get used to that one, if she wanted to write and perform for a living.

  Max slid his tablet away and took Rhi’s hand. He squeezed it affectionately. “I’m so proud of you,” he said. “Of everything you’re doing. After the show, shall I come round to yours?”

  Rhi pulled her hand away. Did she really have to explain all this again?

  “Max,” she began, “we have to be friends. Remember? You and Eve? Where is she today, by the way?”

  Max shrugged. “I haven’t talked to her since that evening at your place. I think she’s probably got the message.”

  “Got the message?” Rhi echoed. “Max, she’s your girlfriend. She needs to hear from you personally if you want to stop going out with her.”

  Max rolled his eyes. “Stop worrying so much, will you? God! Eve can look after herself. So I’ll meet you after the gig?” He brushed a strand of Rhi’s hair out of her eyes. “You’re going to be so great,” he said warmly. “I can’t wait to hear you. I’ll kiss you to death right afterwards.”

  Rhi had wanted this for so long, she couldn’t quite believe that she was hesitating about it. She and Max could be together again on Saturday night. Everything would be back to how it had been before.

  But did she want that any more?

  Max had been incredibly supportive about her music career, but he had cheated on her with Eve – and cheated on Eve with her as well. There was no way round that. Can I really forgive him for that? she wondered. She had a sudden flash vision of Polly’s mum and Ms Andrews smiling into each other’s eyes. Being there for each other. She realized with some amazement that she was having second thoughts about Max.

  I deserve better than this, she thought. Don’t I?

  An image of Brody Baxter’s crystal blue eyes floated into her head. She thought of the way he had listened to her doubts about the scout. The way he had touched her hand.

  Rhi was thoughtful after the assembly. Leaving Max as quickly as she could, she made her way down the corridor, trying to catch up with Lila and Polly.

  “Hey, superstar,” said Lila. “Everyone’s talking about your gig. Max’s videos have practically gone viral. You’re going to have a serious audience tomorrow night.”

  “Don’t say that,” Rhi groaned. “You’ll terrify me into a cupboard.”

  Polly tapped a flyer on a noticeboard they were passing. “There’s no way out of it now,” she said. “There you are.”

  RHI WILLS and BRODY BAXTER

  Heartbeat Café

  Saturday 8pm

  “I ran off a hundred flyers on Dad’s photocopier last night. He went a bit mental that the colour ink’s all run out, but I told him it was for a good cause,” Lila said.

  There were flyers everywhere, plastered along the corridor walls. Lila and Polly had been busy this morning. Kids Rhi didn’t know kept coming up to her on the way back to the classroom, asking her about the gig.

  “Are you doing ‘Sundown, Sunshine’, Rhi?”

  “I love ‘Way Down Low’.”

  “Are you going out with Brody Baxter?”

  Rhi blushed at that one. She hoped her friends didn’t notice. Nerves were starting to consume her again. She felt like a tightly strung guitar, bursting to play its first pure note.

  “That’s good nerves,” said Lila when Rhi confided the way she was feeling. “You’re going to be fantastic, Rhi. These are your own songs, and you’ll be singing them with Brody Baxter. You two are made for each other. Musically, I mean.”

  Polly raised her eyebrows. “Maybe in other ways too.”

  “Seriously,” Lila went on, “you made the most incredible team the other week when you sang ‘The One That Got Away’.”

  Brody will be with me, Rhi reminded herself. The thought calmed her. Andy Graves could be there too. Hopefully he’ll see what kind of an artist I really am. That thought turned her legs back to water again.

  Tomorrow night. Everything hung on tomorrow night.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Rhi was shaking all over. Did she seriously want to feel like this every day for the rest of her life? Maybe she should start taking her mother’s suggestions about a proper job more seriously. A nice quiet desk in a nice quiet office had never looked so appealing.

  She forced herself to look through a crack in the backstage curtains, and instantly wished she hadn’t. She had no idea the Heartbeat Café could hold so many people! Squeezed round tables, on the balcony, covering every available inch of carpet. And all of them looking straight at the stage, waiting for Rhi and Brody to perform.

  How do performers do this every day? Rhi wondered in terror.

  She peeped again with a horrible fascination. Her dad was hovering near the back. Polly was at the front, sitting with her mum and Ms Andrews. Lila and Ollie were at their usual table, with several others including Max. Still no Eve. Rhi couldn’t decide if this made her feel better or worse.

  Her throat got even drier. Andy Graves was at a table right in the middle of the room, together with his assistant Susi Wilks. She tugged the curtains closed again. Backstage was too small. She wanted to fling open the fire door and run away, down to the sea, hide in a cave… anything but this—

  “Hey, Rhi. You’re trembling like a rabbit looking at a stewpot.”

  Brody smiled at her, adjusting the neck of his T-shirt with one hand, the other holding loosely on to his fruit-sticker guitar.

  “I can’t do this, Brody,” Rhi stammered. “I know we’ve practised and everything, but there are too many people—”

  He was by her side at once, stroking her back with his rough palm. “It’s just adrenaline. It’s there to sharpen you up, brighten your voice and focus your fingers. Let it flow through you, work its magic. I get worried when I’m not nervous before a gig. It usually means I’ll mess something up.”

  Rhi gazed at him with big frightened eyes. “You’re not just saying that to calm me down?”

  “I’m not.”

  His hand felt nice, rubbing her back in regular circular motions. Rhi felt her breath steadying.

  “I’ll open the window,” Brody suggested. “Fresh air will help.”

  Rhi hung her head out of the open window for a minute, closing her eyes and letting the wind blow through her sweat-dampened curls and cool her burning head.

  Breathe, she told herself. You wanted this. It’s up to you to make it happen.

  Rhi heard Ryan Jameson’s voice out on the stage.

  “A warm Heartbeat welcome to what promises to be a fantastic night. We’re showcasing two tremendous local talents tonight, and it’s terrific to see so much support.”

  Rhi wanted to throw up at the sound of cheering. She squeezed hard on Brody’s hand, which had snaked into her own.

  “When we’re out there, sing to me,” he said softly, handing Rhi her guitar. “Forget everyone else. It’s just us, Rhi. Us and the music.”

  Rhi gazed gratefully into Brody’s eyes. He was just what she needed right now.

  “So it’s time to give a big cheer for… Brody Baxter and Rhi Wills!”

  Rhi let Brody lead her on to the stage, into the deafening roar of appreciation. She kept her eyes firmly on him as he leaned into the mic.

  “Hey. Good to see you all. We’re going to kick off with a song by Rhi that you all know. ‘Sundown, Sunshine’.”

  The roar that followed this announcement surprised Rhi. They really wanted to hear her song. Feeling reassured, she put her guitar round her neck. It felt like hers tonight, not Ruth’s.

  Brody kicked in with the opening chords. Rhi joined him, facing him, eyes for no one but him.

  “Be my sundown, Sunshine,” she sang.

  “My sundown, run-up-to-sun-up Sunshine,”
Brody sang back.

  “My moonrise, my night skies,” they sang together, one above the other in perfect harmony, guitars a heavy, strumming blur between them. “My twilight, my all night, my turn-off-the-light, my Sunshine, be mine, be mine…”

  The crowd sang along. “My Sunshine, be mine!”

  The cheers that followed the conclusion to the song almost made Rhi break down and cry.

  “Good work, partner,” Brody whispered in her ear, his breath warm against her skin.

  They sang Brody’s ‘Fast Lane Freak’ next. The crowd went wild. Rhi was enjoying herself so much she forgot the terror she had been feeling earlier.

  “Trash and cash is all the same,” she sang, playing with all she had.

  “Everyone ride that gravy train…” Brody returned.

  “Breathe the fumes and breathe the fame, I’m a fast lane freak, I ain’t ashamed, I ain’t ashamed,” roared the crowd, swaying and thumping the tables.

  This is me, Rhi thought exultantly. I know who I am. And I like it.

  She and Brody repeated their cover of ‘The One That Got Away’ next. They had refined it, and Rhi had added a guitar line of her own. The crowd stilled, but still sang and murmured the lyrics under their breath. The connection was still right there, even better and brighter than before.

  What is this thing that we feel when we sing? she wondered. Is it just part of the performance, or part of something bigger? It was so intimate, almost like kissing: the give and take, the teasing and the feeling that swelled in her heart every time their voices came together.

  Throughout the song, she was aware of Max’s dark eyes watching, warm and full of emotion, and focused entirely on her. Did she want to get back with him? Or was Brody…

  She pushed any thoughts of romance with Brody out of her mind, concentrating on bringing the lovely song to its gorgeous conclusion. She didn’t even know if he was interested in her that way.

  “Back in ten, folks,” said Brody.

  He put his hand on Rhi’s back and guided her off the stage. People were all around them, touching them, calling out to them.