Momentarily stunned by the shutdown, it’s rare I get told no. Brushing off her dig, I look over the notes Lily has on the stand before me. It’s the makings of a song about a person moving around. Someone who wants to set down roots but can’t. The words swirl and little bits and pieces start to form into a hook.
“This is pretty good,” I say as my fingers curl around the neck of the guitar. “So you were thinking a slow song?”
“Actually, no. Not too slow. I’m just not that quick on the guitar.”
Not able to resist showing off, I play a lightning fast riff that usually gets most girls oohing and ahhing. Lily is not most girls and is nonplussed by my abilities. “You play other instruments?”
Shrugging she says, “Piano. A bit of drums. I’m getting better at guitar, it just seems—”
“What?”
“Well, look at your classes. How many others are playing guitar?”
The competition was pretty steep to get into these classes. To get into the school, you have to be brilliant. To stay here, you’re expected to be exceptional.
“How did you get into the school then if not for music?”
She avoids answering the question and points at the page. “We have ten minutes, I’m not free for the rest of the day or tomorrow. I have a free class in third period. Do you want to take this and think about it? I can look at what you’ve written.”
Finding my groove, I’m not used to someone else dictating the terms. “Well, you can’t just pick a time to be creative. Why can’t we work on it after school?”
Packing the guitar I recognise from the school’s stock back into the bag, she says, “Isn’t that picking a time to be creative?”
Another thing I’m not used to is anyone challenging me. I’ve worked hard on my reputation, so people know that I’m hard working. “I’m not free that period. I’m free this afternoon.”
Sighing, she leans the guitar case against the door and pulls out her diary and opens it to a double spread. She’s silent as she pulls out a bus timetable and runs her finger down the column. “Fine, but I have to be out of here by four-twenty. Not a minute later. Book the studio and don’t be late again like you were this morning.”
Getting the last word in is another thing I’m not used too.
***
Lily along with her song has been stuck in my head all damned day. I should have been paying attention in Science, but I was too busy hunched over my music book trying to get down my chorus idea and the next stanza in the song.
Normally, when the bell goes, I’m the first heading for the door to get out of class, unless it’s music. Today, I’m the first in the hallway before it has a chance to chime, damn near running for the studio. I don’t want to waste a second of time for this song. It’s good. I can feel it in my bones. It’s a toe-tapping, hips swaying, good old heartfelt song that will resonate with many. I’m pissed I didn’t write it.
Setting my guitar on my knee and pressing record on my phone, I set about linking chords and seeing how they sound. I’ve sung a little of the first verse, and the chorus pops so clearly into my head, I scramble to get it down on paper as I listen back to it.
“Sounds great,” a small voice comes from behind me, and it makes me jolt, and I knock the music stand over. “Just in that bridge part there though,” Lily says as she steps forward and offers up a solution for the part that was causing me to falter. If I hadn’t been sitting down, I think I would have fallen down from the heavenly sound coming out of her mouth. I knew but didn’t want to admit, there was something off when I sang that part. It’s better on its own. No music. Just her voice.
Joining in for the chorus with both my voice and a few simple chords, our voices meshed together, and the sound even makes me nervous. I sound better, because of her. Lily backs off as I bring in the second verse and sings a few bars to back me up. Visions of how we should perform this fill my mind as we sing the chorus again and I stop strumming. Lily looks to me, and I tap the page of lyrics again, and she finishes out the song.
Instantly grabbing for my phone, neither of us say a word as I set it to record and show that I’ve pressed the red button. “From the top,” I say and sit back with my guitar as she starts over.
***
“First take. First take!” I hold my hand up and wait for the high five that never comes. “Don’t leave me hangin’.” Lily looks at my hand with those big brown eyes and then to my eyes before back to my hand and finally slaps her hand against mine. Her soft skin felt perfect against mine. For the brief contact, she had me wishing for more. In the time we’ve spent working on this assignment, I haven’t got to know about her past, Lily’s clearly not the deep and meaningful chat kinda gal. It’s her other quirks I’ve taken notice of. She keeps a close eye on the time. That notebook of hers is never more than an arm’s length out of reach, and she has the cutest dimple when she smiles. She obviously loves cheese sandwiches as that’s what she brings every single day. Nothing else, just a cheese sandwich. I caught her looking longingly at the packet of crisps I’d just finished, and she looked like she was going to either damn near cry or hug me when I placed a bag for her on her notebook the following day. I would have preferred the latter. It took the whole period to eat the small handful she rationed herself. Her oddness was strangely attractive. She doesn’t drive a car, she doesn’t talk about her family, and when I do ask, the conversation is deflected back to me. I cottoned on to her tactic when I asked her the same question twice. Normally I’m happy to talk about myself any time or day of the week, but for, I think the first time ever, I want to hear about someone else. For the first time since we were paired, it finally feels like she’s relaxing around me. “We just need to come up with a title. It’s crazy, I can think of lyrics straight away, but the title—”
“What about Unrestrained? The lyrics are about the person feeling free like there are no limits.”
Snapping my fingers as the title makes perfect sense, I agree that’s what we should use. “We have this assignment in the bag.” Continuing to fist pump myself, she checks her watch for the umpteenth time and gets to her feet.
“Great. Well, you have a great night,” she says, throwing her bag over her shoulder.
What? “Wait! I thought we could go out and celebrate.”
Feeling uneasy under the narrowing of her eyes. “I can’t.”
“Why not.”
“I just can’t.”
“That’s not a reason.” As she turns and opens the door, Stella steps around the corner giving Lily a sneer she doesn’t see because she’s already off and down the corridor. The thrust of the chest doesn’t go unnoticed as Stella moves into the room. As she’s pushing the door closed, she pulls the privacy shade over the window to block it out.
“Haven’t seen you around much these last few days,” she says in a voice that used to make me tingle all over but for some reason today has the opposite effect. My skin is tingling all for the wrong reasons. My attention is on Lily and where she’s going, and since I don’t pounce all over Stella, she goes straight to defensive. “I just don’t understand it. It’s just an assignment. I told Mr Colson to ensure that you and I were paired.” Sending a silent prayer that Mr Colson didn’t, Stella has aspirations of being a singer, this is a clear example of where money can buy you a position in certain places, when you get there you have to prove that you have the goods and Stella, she’s no singer. Actress and wonder at manipulation, but no singer.
I have enough time to bag my guitar and the sheet music, grab my phone and pull the studio door open. Stella ’s voice gets higher and higher with each demand of where I’m going. By the time I’ve made it into the hallway, I can’t see any sign of her. Abandoning my guitar in the studio, I leave Stella without saying a word. The squeaking of my shoes squeaking on the floors drives me to run faster. Bursting through the front doors of the school, there’s no sign of her to the left or the right. Jogging to my car, I don’t even have a reason why I’m go
ing after her. This odd girl has managed to get into my psyche and I while I don’t feel sorry for making her stay and lay down a killer track, I do feel bad for making her catch another bus.
Pulling out of the car space, I don’t even know where the bus stops are as I choose to go right as I leave the school grounds. Rounding the block, I have no success on the remainder of this street as I pull the car around and head the other direction. It’s about another thirty seconds when that mousey brown hair ropes behind her as she runs for the bus that pulls away from the kerb. Even the waving of both arms doesn’t thaw the driver’s icy heart as he leaves her behind. As my tyres crunch on the loose stones in the kerb, Lily looks up and locked eyes straight with mine.
“Seems you can not only sing, but you can also write killer lyrics, play guitar and run like a gazelle,” I say as I reach for the door handle and open the door. It’s only then that I take in our surroundings. Where I’ve stopped is only three blocks away from the school, and this is the first time I’ve actually stopped. All traffic that goes this way takes you into the seedier part of town. Why is Lily going this way? “I’ll give you a lift.” Now normally, this is where the girls would shoulder charge or eye gouge to get into the car. Again, not Lily. That damned book of hers comes out, and she pulls out the timetable again. “It’s not a problem.” My comment manages to get the timetable packed away. “I can take you anywhere you like.” She closes the book. “Geez, I’ll even drop you a block off from where you need to go so you won’t be seen with me,” I exasperate and hate that that’s what it took to get her into the car.
“Go straight for eight blocks and then take a left. I shouldn’t have stayed,” Lily says, as I pull away from the kerb. Her rocking in the seat starts to make me anxious. “You’re going to have to go faster, or I’m definitely going to get fired.”
Planting my foot, thankfully the traffic is light, and as I turn the car to the left like she instructed, she gives me the next lot of orders.
“Okay, over there.” She points to a vet clinic. “Great. Only twenty minutes late instead of an hour. Thank you,” she says as she leans over and gives me a quick peck on the cheek. Pulling back, she gasped and turned a lovely shade of pink.
“Geez, you do that to the bus driver too?”
“I can’t lose this job.”
I don’t get to say another word before she’s gone. Watching her run through the carpark, she’s met at the front door by an older looking guy who is straight into her for being late. My hand turns the key, and the car shakes as it stops idling. This guy won’t let her get a word out. His gestures are really over the top considering what’s happened. Pocketing the keys, my hand is on the door handle as I hear Lily plead her case.
“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again,” Lily pleaded.
“You’re right. It won’t. I told you before, if you were late again, I couldn’t have you work here anymore.” This guy is having a hard time pulling his eyes away from her chest, and he’s reaming her for being twenty minutes late. “I don’t know what we can do to make this right.” My stomach bottoms out as he rubs his thumb over his bottom lip while Lily folds her arms over her chest, trying to deter his leering.
“Hi.” My voice startles all three of us as I step into the foyer. I’m surprised at my protective tone. “I just wanted to come in and praise your worker here. I was asking her about—” Looking around I realise I know shit all about veterinary stuff or even what she does. Keeping my story beige, I don’t want to get her in the thick of it and make the situation worse. “And it was my fault she missed the bus. That’s why I gave her a lift. I actually drove twenty over the limit to get her here on time. So, it was my conscience driving that made her late.”
“Please. You know I’m reliable. I get all the jobs done. I’ve been late twice. I’m here now, I can do the job, and you can get going on your way.”
Twice. Is that all? I’d be telling this guy to shove it. “What jobs need to be done. I can help her catch up.”
Tits McGee finally looks at me, and as if I can see the cogs turning in his head, he’s piecing it together that I know what he’s doing. The clinic is empty bar the three of us, or what should be, the two of them. This is where he would have been able to hassle her and possibly even be inappropriate for her. From her stance, Lily looks like she’s doing everything in her power to stop her skin from crawling.
“He can do the cattery. He scoops, you feed.”
Looking to Lily to find out what the hell I’ve got myself into, he walks out the front door and it’s only when Lily locks the door behind him, she lets out a big breath.
“What are you doing?” Her words come out with force I wasn’t expecting.
“Umm, trying to help you?”
“Well, you didn’t. Now he’s going to be unbearable.”
Moving in closer, I whisper-yell, “How is that my fault? What? You prefer him staring at your chest while mentally motorboating you. Oomph.” Her arm hits me hard in the stomach as she sets off behind the counter.
I never had a pet growing up, so when it comes to one cat, you don’t expect the scent to be too bad. Times that by one hundred. In an enclosed room. Oh sweet Jesus, the stench almost knocked me off my feet. Gagging, I bring my sleeve to my face and alternate between testing what is less offensive, breathing through my nose or through my mouth.
“Come on, Princess. You can feed. I’ll scoop.”
Lily has cleaned out three cages, spoke softly and even sang to some of the cats that cried for her attention. Meanwhile, my burped gags have lessened, and I dig the scoop into the food. With that dull sound, the cats dismiss Lily entirely as they turn their screams to me. They rush me, and my back connects with the cage as their screams intensify. Calling out as one sinks its claws easily through my jeans and into my shin. Kibble spills over the side of the container, and that’s all it takes to start the stampede. Cats appear from all angles, and I find Lily, bent over, struggling to breathe as she laughs.
“Help me,” I call as I contemplate dropping the bag as a sacrifice to save myself when Lily finally steps forward and takes the bag from me. The cats abandon me as she moves to the other side of the room and I feel like I can breathe again. Urgh. Mouth. Gag.
I’m sure I heard her say, ‘You should be used to pussy trying to get your attention,’ but when I asked her what she said, she shrugs and turns her back on me. She steps free of the felines all silenced as they fill their stomachs and hands me the food.
“You don’t have to hang around. I have to feed the kittens now, and that will take me about an hour.”
Stupidly, I set the food down and the cats all dive on it. Pushing them back, Lily reaches in for another handful of kibble to distract them away from the door she’s pushing me through.
***
Lily hands me a small bottle and a kitten wrapped in a towel. “Hold the teat near its mouth, and it will know what to do,” she says.
“So where did you go to school before here?”
Taking a seat next to me, she holds a little black ball of fluff and makes the same motion she just instructed me on. “I’ve been all over. We haven’t really got established roots.”
“We?”
“It’s just my sister, mum and me.”
“Is your sister older?”
Her yes was so quiet, I barely heard it over the kitten chugging back the milk like its never been fed. “Where does your mum work?”
“How’s the little guy going?” The deflection didn’t get past me, I just didn’t bring it up again. The more I want to learn about her, the less I actually know about her.
And with the less I know about her, the more I want to know. “He’s fine. So what're your plans after school?”
“Haven’t really had a chance to think about it. You?”
“I’m gonna take over the world. I plan on being the biggest superstar the world has ever known. I’m going sky high.”
“And your back up plan?”
T
he milk is long gone from the bottle, but the kitten wants more and Lily hands me another bottle. “This guy’s going to be a little champion.”
“That little guy is a she and she will be. What’s your plan if you’re not the biggest superstar the world has ever known?”
“Not going to happen. I won’t stop until it happens.”
***
The sky is dark by the time we finish, and I can only imagine what time she gets out of here when she does it on her own. In the time that it took us to complete her jobs, I now know she has an older sister. She’s lived all over the country, and she lives on this side of the school. I haven’t lived anywhere other than here. I am an only child, and I live on the opposite side of the school. She loves to write all sorts of things.
“So I’ve wanted to ask. What do you write in that little book of yours?”
Hugging her bag tighter, she stands before me. Now that I’ve had time to actually see her, she really is quite beautiful. The fact that she doesn’t put herself out there like the other girls to be seen makes her naturalness even more attractive. Finding myself staring at her dimple, she brings her hand up to her face and asks if she has something on there. She runs her tongue over her teeth to buy time when she’s thinking and doesn’t mind doing some dirty work.
“That book is my life. I write everything in it. Ideas. Lyrics. Titles. Hopes. Dreams. Fears that I’m going to face.” Silence falls between us, and I see her lips jut out as her tongue skates over her teeth. “Well. Thanks again for saving my butt. I can’t be late again, so please don’t ask me to stay back. I’ll work on the song through lunch.”
Turning my back to open the door, I call out to her as she sets off through the carpark. “Where are you going? I’ll give you a lift. It’s only—” Looking down at my watch, I see it’s been three hours, and my stomach takes this time to rumble. Perfect, I’ve been thinking of asking her out to dinner as a way of gaining more time with her. She has this way of making me feel like I can be myself, not the persona I project that will hopefully impress others. “Shit. It’s eight?” Reaching into my back pocket, my fingers can’t find my phone. Remembering I left it on the bench in the studio, my mum will be having a fit. Either I find a phone or dinner will have to wait for another night. Now that the assignment is over, I hope we don’t go back to being strangers. “Get in.”
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