Emery [bxb]

23

I'm just a teenager; my experiences with death are limited. So it comes as a huge shock when the school finds out that Tammy died by suicide. It's even more shocking when the police come to take Tania away. We learn that Tania had been cyberbullying her relentlessly for about a year.

I'm absolutely reeling from the news. I can't believe what my girlfriend is capable of, that she's being arrested, that something so dark and sinister could lurk in the halls of a school that has been all fun and games for me. I learn then that I'm pretty out of touch with the suffering of a lot of students here.

The news bodes particularly ill for the upcoming musical. We're a month away from the big performance and we've lost Cinderella. There are not many proficient violinists at the school, and the music teacher is loathe to scrap the solos.

So I jokingly suggest Emery takes over. He's got the blond curls, the pretty face, and the musical know-how. The director agrees to give him a chance. A terrified Emery is given the dress and some makeup and asked to play one of the solos.

"You'll do," the music teacher surmises, and Emery's jaw drops.