Angel of Music

15. Winning

Damn, Clarence thought. Just a few inches more.

They both looked around, startled, as the noise kept on ringing. With a jolt, they realized that the noise was actually from Clarence’s phone. Someone was calling him.

He fumbled with his coat’s inner pockets and winced as he got hold of his phone. He took one glance at the screen and flicked it open as he cast a shy apologetic smile at Juliet.

 She smiled back and silently mouthed at him, ‘Who is it?’ He mouthed back at her, ‘James’ She nodded and tried to stand up, but he looked at her eyes and gently squeezed her hands.

 Juliet immediately understood his message and did not attempt to leave his side again. Instead, she contentedly leaned her head on his chest.

“Yo,” Clarence said as he placed the phone near his right ear. A short scream suddenly filled his eardrums, making him wince and move his phone slightly farther away from his ear.

“What the hell?” he asked, annoyed. From the pitch of the voice, he’d bet it was Ellie on the other side of the line.

“We won, Clarence! We won the tournament!” Ellie practically screamed again. He could hear his friends laughing and booming at the background.

‘Calm down, Ellie. We just won—“ he started, irritated with her shouting and was about to tell her to tone it down when her words finally penetrated his dazed thoughts.

“Holy--,” he said, unable to control his excitement. “Are you serious?” He asked as his grip on the phone tightened. He noticed Juliet looking at him with happiness in her eyes and a knowing grin on her face.

“We won?!” Juliet asked him in an excited voice. She quickly stood up and Clarence made no attempt to stop her as he was in shock himself.

“Yes, Clarence, we actually won!” Ellie said in a happy voice on the other line. Clarence then looked at Juliet and nodded as a wide grin appeared on his face. Juliet’s eyes widened and she let out a short scream.

Grinning, he watched as Juliet happily sat by his side again, glowing with excitement and happiness. He could hear her muttering about her plans for the scholarship on Juilliard.

“So, Clarence, they need to present us the certificates officially. And we obviously need to do that as one band. Maybe you and Juliet would care to get your pretty butts here now?” Ellie asked teasingly.

“Oh yeah. We’ll be there in a minute.” he said and ended the phone call. He placed his phone back in his pockets and turned to Juliet, who was bubbling with excitement, all her worries seemed to be forgotten for now.

“Let’s go?” He asked her and offered his hand. She nodded and happily held his hand. They walked back to the stadium, holding hands and laughing, unaware that a pair of eyes was watching them in silence.

Claps and cheers erupted once Juliet and Clarence stepped on the stage. Grinning, they went quickly to their friends on the center. They were looking at them with teasing smiles on their faces.

“Finally,” Samuel said teasingly as they approached him. “The lovebirds finally decided to come out from wherever they came from,” Clarence and Juliet both laughed but gave no other comments as to where they came from.

“Okay, now that we are all here, may we request the presence of our judges as well as the school administration board here on the stage to officially award Heaven?”

One by one, the judges stood up from their seats and went up the stage. They shook the hands of the grinning members as they passed by. The last one, Ms. Diana, smiled warmly at Juliet, who smiled back in return and instinctively hugged her. The woman, who looked a bit surprised, hugged her back.