18 The Morning After

The next day, Shannon awoke to a fierce thumping on her bed, as Iris jumped up and down yelling. "Wakey wakey Shannoneee! Time to greet another beautiful rain-drenched morning! Come on, I grabbed breakfast for you."

She peeked out over her blanket to glare at her best friend, who was smiling and extending a dripping jelly doughnut to her. "I don't feel very good, Iris."

The pixie girl gave a sad face. "I know, you were sniffling all night. Think you're getting a cold?"

Shannon slid down further into her blankets. "Maybe. I just don't have much of an appetite today."

Iris shrugged and decided to consume the jelly goodness herself, holding it in the air. "Well that means this is your death Mr. Doughnut!"

In a wimpy voice, she made the Danish speak. "Oh no! Pleeeeeease don't eat me! Pllllleeeeeeease!!!"

"Mwuahaha it's too late! Your fate is sealed!" She announced loudly before stuffing it into her mouth, which seemed much too tiny to consume something that large.

Shannon sat up and stretched. "Can you take this doughnut massacre elsewhere? I need coffee."

Iris tried to speak around a mouth full of jelly, but gave up and instead handed her a paper cup, which was steaming in the cold morning air.

She smiled softly and wrapped her hands around it, trying to siphon off its warmth. "Thanks. How much time do we have before practice?"

Iris swallowed and motioned thirty minutes before jumping off her bed and combing her rowdy hair.

Shannon stood, her body popping with each movement. For some reason, these past few nights made her feel so much older and she worried it would reflect on her face, as she quietly dabbed on some makeup and grabbed her folder, to follow Iris out the door.

The college was damp as they squished down the cement pathway, following a group of girls to a large auditorium labeled in elegant script, "All State."

They removed their jackets and tried to piece their way through the crowd of over a hundred different singers, until Maya caught their attention.

"Hi guys." She said tucking her face in her blue scarf, as Iris waved wildly and Shannon nodded. Her attention turned to Alexia, who briefly flicked her golden eyes in Shannon's direction.

"Good morning, Alexia."

"Morning."

And that was that.

It's not as if Shannon expected a friendship bracelet or anything, but indifference was better than hate. She'd take it.

They chatted amongst themselves, until a woman in her early forties approached the podium, tapping quickly to gain their attention. She was tall and rail thin, with a nose that seemed more of a hook than a body part. Her rosy hair resembled Shannon's, but instead of it falling down in waves as hers normally did, it was pinned back tightly in a ballerina bun.

When she spoke, her voice was harsh and Shannon couldn't quite place her accent. German? Hungarian maybe? "Good morning. You all have been selected out of this state for your exceeding talents in musical ability. This may make you feel as if you are privileged or masters of your craft, but I am here to tell you that you are not. While you may prove more or less adequate in your old schools, here is where we will see who has the strength to perform and join the ranks of this concert."

Iris whispered. "Are we singing or going to war?"

Shannon tried not to laugh and the woman continued with her Stalin-like speech. "Make no mistake, I will push you hard. Singers, you will sing until your throats are raw. Accompaniment, you will play until your fingers bleed. Then and only then, will we see who is here to gain a new knowledge of their talents, and who is here to get a break from school. Turn to page number one of your music and let us begin."

Romanian, definitely Romanian.

Shannon felt her eyes twitch over to her fellow musicians, who all stared at the woman as if she were going to attack them with a yard stick.

This was going to be interesting and she was grateful, because the more she focused on trying to save her neck from the rail-thin woman, the less she would think about the man with ice-filled eyes, who without her looking, knew he was staring at her.

That entire day was spent in grueling practice. Shannon never knew her voice could hurt as badly as it did. What was this woman trying to do? The big concert was three days away and from what she could hear from her fellow singers, it didn't sound like there would be many voices left to participate.

By the sixth hour of singing, the Romanian woman, whom they'd come to know as Mrs. Nicol, finally put down her conducting wand and cleared her throat. "That's enough for today. Your lack of enthusiasm for music shocks me. Consider what you are performing tonight and meet back here at 0600 sharp. Dismissed."

There was a general sigh of relief, as the exhausted students stumbled out of the music hall which had held them prisoner for so long.

Iris rested her head against Shannon's back. "Psycho woman, my throat is killing me."

All four girls nodded in agreement, until Maya peeped. "We were supposed to meet up with Mr. Thompson before dinner. Let's find him."

Shannon felt her heart ache, for she knew that in fact he had been there the entire time, hiding in the back, studying her. What could he be thinking now?

"There he is." Alexia motioned to the man, who was leaning against the brick wall, waiting for them.

They squished through the puddles over to their teacher, as he stood to greet them, though Shannon didn't miss the breath he took beforehand, as if it took such effort to appear normal.

His blue eyes smiled, as he spread his arms out wide. "Ah, my lovely singers. How was practice?"

All four girls let out a mutual whine. Iris let go of Shannon's arm in order to use her hands to express her woes more dramatically. "It was horrible! They hired Ms. Minchien to be our coach! She made us do scale after scale for hours. We didn't even get into the actual songs. Just hours of her scolding us!"

Mr. Thompson regarded her. "Scolding you?"

Iris managed to stand straight and speak in her best Romanian accent. "You all have no enthusiasm! I have never seen a lazy choir in all my days. The stick up my ass is as long as the yard stick, I hold to beat you with, if you aren't in tune."

This made the group laugh and Mr. Thompson placed his hand on top of Iris's spikey head. "Poor things. Sounds like you all had it rough today. How about we do something fun to distract ourselves? What do teenage girls like to do in a big city?"

He made a thoughtful face until both Maya and Iris announced. "Shopping!"

Mr. Thompson laughed at their excitement, before pinching the bridge of his nose. "I should have known. Ok, so Seattle Mall it is."

Iris let out a load 'whoop,' which was surprising considering how much her vocal cords had been strained that day.

Mr. Thompson's eyes turned to Shannon and Alexia who both stood quietly. "What about you two? Sound good?"

Alexia shrugged and flipped her dark hair. "Doesn't matter to me."

He then looked to Shannon who had crossed her arms and avoided his gaze. "I guess."

He sighed, before placing his smile back on. "All right then. Go drop off your music and I'll wait for you here. We'll take the train there."