They're Playing Our Song

Desperately in Love with Tamaki Hiroshi

"What?" Nora blinked at him. Just the other day he was telling anyone who would listen how excited he was to perform more shows with the orchestra. Nora was confused. "Why? Are you resigning from the school?"

"Oh, I can still handle my classes, don't worry," he smiled that sweet-as-pie, I-would-never-do-a-thing-to-intentionally-hurt-you smile. "It's just the orchestra I have to drop. I just—"

He glanced at Isabel, who seemed uninterested in whatever it was he was about to say.

"I just don't want to be a mouthpiece for Celie Lacuesta's music anymore. I mean, it's my conducting, but it's not my orchestra. I'm not like you, Nor. I can't hide under Celie's shadow for the rest of my life. I want people to know my name, my music. What has Celie ever done for this school, huh?"

"Besides starting it? Helping fund it?"

"I think I just need a stronger male presence in my life, you know? Celie is always at Caliraya, and I feel like won't learn from her." He said this with a straight face, and it took every inch of Nora's strength not to let her jaw drop in disbelief.

Celie was always in Caliraya, that was true, but she had no obligation to mentor Vince. He was being paid a salary for conducting. If he wanted her tutelage, he could go with Nora every week. He stuck to teaching the kids classical pieces from a limited range of musicians. He didn't watch other shows, he didn't go out and do things for whatever career he wanted. The road to success was paved with learning from the people who were willing to give you their time and effort, and Vince had no right to...

Whatever. Nora refused to think about it unless he asked for her advice. And he was never going to ask for her advice. But, if he wanted to quit, Nora didn't quite have the heart to convince him otherwise.

"Okay," She shrugged. "You quit. I'll talk to Celie tonight, we'll find your replacement and have them come to you for the turnover."

"Good," he grinned like he'd been expecting her to say that all along. "Good talk, Nora. Fist bump?"

"No," she said, smiling at him still as he stood up, and left with a room with a little skip in his step. Just like Tony Curtis.

"Who was that?" Isabel asked, once the door closed behind him.

"That was Vince. He and I started working here at the same time, but Celie chose me to run the school before she retired. He asked for a bigger role, so I asked him to conduct the orchestra," Nora shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. "Anyway. He doesn't matter."

"I agree," Isabel gave a succinct nod, and stood up like her work here was done. "Nice job not rising to the bait, by the way, even if I didn't get it."

She may not have understood, but a friend knew when a friend's sore spots were being poked at. Nora had never discussed her insecurities with Isabel, but she appreciated the show of support nonetheless.

"I'm going to check on Leia before I go to work," Isabel continued. "We're eating at that fluffy pancake place after we go to the gym on Friday."

Nora gave her a thumbs up in response, and Isabel left the office.

Now that the office was empty, Nora picked up her phone, which she purposefully left face down on the table next to her.

No new messages.

Don't focus on that, you've got a bigger problem. Nora glared at the New York Symphony documents on her desk, instead, considering her options. Now she was short a conductor and one million pesos to send five kids to New York. But she wasn't exactly hopeless. The Philippines was a country made up of favors. What you managed to accomplish in certain fields depended on who you knew, who was willing to do things for you, and who you were willing to do things for. To raise money for New York, she needed to call in a huge favor.