They're Playing Our Song

You Know What You're Doing

Where had all that time gone? It was like Nora had blinked, and a month had passed. A month of her and Leo together, going through their routines, a month of her working to make this concert a reality.

It was the night of the concert, and Nora was nervous. She had no idea where those nerves were even coming from, she wasn't about to stand on stage and perform for an audience. But still. Butterflies danced a whirlwind in her stomach the whole day, as she put out the little fires that threatened to start before the event, as she took a shower for the event, as she stopped to have fast food dinner with Celie at the room she was staying in before going downstairs to the venue.

She'd barely seen Leo today, and if they were on schedule, he was exactly where he should be. He had been at soundcheck and last minute fine tuning with the orchestra for most of the day, before he was whisked off into his own room to change while the kids ate dinner, courtesy of the Carlton Hotel.

"I think it's a good thing that you're nervous," Celie shrugged, shaking a bag of french fries to mix with the accompanying sour cream powder flavor like a pro. "These kids are the future of music, and we're basically testing the waters to see if their community will support them. If all goes well, you'll be responsible for enabling a brand new generation of Filipino musicians to allow themselves to dream of a future in music. Everyone will know that the school is a safe space to enjoy music, and to have a chance to play it. But if we don't succeed, then..."she made a vague gesture with her hands, and the bracelets on her wrists jangled. Nora had no idea how to interpret that. Celie could have been threatening to cut off her head or shaking sour cream powder off of her hands. Or she could have purposefully not said anything to make her extra nervous.

"Is that all?" Nora laughed nervously instead, taking a sip of her soda because she couldn't seem to eat.

"Hay naku, Nora, don't be sarcastic, it's not a becoming look on you," Celie tutted, holding up the bag of freshly flavored fries up to her. "Now eat something. Or you'll be useless at an actual emergency. That's exactly what happened to the Countess of Correo when I attended her garden party, the poor lamb didn't know if she should reach for a sandwich first or deal with the fact that someone had taken a slice of the cake before they should have. "

"Okay," Nora smiled, taking a fry and eating. She'd been doing the numbers, had been talking to travel agents, the accountants and closely coordinating with the New York Symphony. They had to start making payments for visa processing, flights, hotels and everything if they wanted to get the kids to New York by July. If they didn't do well tonight, then...it was over.

It could not be overstated how much Nora didn't want to possibly think that this was over.

She and Celie continued to eat in silence. Nora was too nervous to be useful for conversation, Celie was too busy observing her to make conversation. That was true until Nora started to clear away their used wrappers and bags. She had to clear the room so Celie could start getting ready.

"You're fine, mahal," Celie assured her, squeezing Nora's hand when it was within reach. "You were the perfect choice to lead the school. Don't be so worried. You know what you're doing."

The words hit Nora in the chest. It didn't feel like she knew what she was doing. Some days she felt no different than that kid sitting behind the piano with three cameras on her and zero memory of Mozart's sonata. Some days she woke up in a cold sweat because she legitimately believed that she had a recital and forgot to practice.

But that wasn't exactly true anymore, was it? She was a grown ass woman with a decent rent in a great place, a job she actually enjoyed showing up to, and could play the piano in any way she wanted.

You know what you're doing.

And for the first time in perhaps ever, Nora really, truly believed it was true. She was exactly where she was supposed to be, and she was happy. She knew what she was doing.

She gave Celie a huge hug, ignoring her mentor's protests about there being no need for this, that Nora might wrinkle her dress, that her makeup might smudge, but she didn't care. She was feeling all the feelings tonight, and the weird vibe that hung in the air made her feel like things were ending just as soon as they were beginning. She wanted to make sure that she left nothing unsaid tonight. Only because she didn't know if she would have the chance to say it again.

Celie's not the one who's leaving tomorrow, the traitorous voice in head reminded her. She's not the one you wanted to spill your heart out to.

That may be true, but Nora had already started, and she wasn't about to half-ass this.

"I just..." Nora managed to say when she pulled away from her. "Thank you. For agreeing to do this, giving me a job, for changing my life..."

"Naku mahal. I wouldn't have done this for anyone else. You don't have to say..."

"And for reminding me that being myself is a good thing," Nora pressed on, smiling as tears filled her eyes. Because as much as Celie insisted that she didn't need to say this, she felt like she had to. Only because it meant so much to her.

"You've got your own magic, Nora. I think you always knew that." Her mentor smiled and affectionately pressed her hands on Nora's cheeks.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door, and it was the makeup artist Celie hired for the evening. Nora seemed to remember that she still had a to-do list as long as her own arm and wished Celie luck tonight.

But before that, Nora took one last look at herself in the mirror. She'd worn a soft peach dress tonight to match the girls in the orchestra, with a deep neckline to show off some of her cleavage. There were peach, pink, yellow and red sparkles that spread from her shoulders (slightly padded because she had no shoulders) down to the shorter hem of the peach chiffon. The dress had long cap sleeves, mimicking the barongs the men were required to wear.

Her dark hair was blown out and curled, and Isabel had helped her apply soft peach eyeshadow and falsies. She'd even slipped a still-prototype Vermeer Pearl lipgloss into Nora's purse. Nora tested her weight in the ballet flats she'd purchased for tonight and deemed it comfortable.

She took a deep inhale. As Leo probably would have said, there was a touch of magic in the air. It made her skin tingle, and it made her smile. She looked at herself in the mirror.

She was ready.