Thursday went by in the same manner as Wednesday. The tension never disappeared, and the confidence—to have enough of it—never came.
Celia—who I hadn't heard from in a long while—decided Charlie could get ready for the concert at my place a few hours after school, so she and Charlie's parents came over to talk with my mom. Well, Celia might've said 'hang out', but Charlie told me it was really to 'talk.'
"I think she knows."
"She doesn't know."
Charlie and I were already dressed in my room. We wore thin dresses with black pantyhose and flats, comfortable and refreshing since Charlie pointed out we'd be under the hot lights of the auditorium. All that was left was makeup to match, which Charlie was applying to my face after she tsked at my lack of makeup and knowledge of it.
"I think Celia knows. Close your eyes…. She kept looking at me all day, really suspicious."
"She's not doing those premonition things?"
"I haven't heard any lately, and I'm not sure if that's good or bad. I still can't get over the fact she wanted to come to your house, considering it's still haunted."
"Beatrice hasn't been calling attention to herself for a while, not even through dreams. You could say—"
"Don't—"
"—she's as quiet as a ghost."
"Lame. Chin up."
"Since when were you so girly? Talking about prom yesterday… makeup right now…."
Charlie scoffed. "I'm not girly. I really did want to talk about something else yesterday, because we were all nervous, and prom seemed like a good topic. I hope that, by bringing it up, Ethan will remember to get the tickets ahead of time. They're going on sale next month."
"Oh."
"I figured we could get our dresses early too."
I laughed.
"Bella, it smudged!"
"Sorry, but… I'm not going to prom. And I think we're getting off-track here."
Charlie tsked. "Fine. We'll talk about prom after. And you will go with us."
"The third wheel. Great."
"No…. We'll set you up with someone… maybe Ethan's cousin…? Hmm?"
"The delinquent. Nice."
"Quit poo-pooing on everything. I'm done. Look."
Charlie held the mirror up. "Whoa," I said, "I'm pretty."
*
Charlie's family, and me and Mom, drove to school together and met again at the parking lot. I could see Ethan's truck not too far off, so he and his parents were already inside the auditorium. I recognized a few of the faculty and teachers' cars… but I didn't spot the principal's, which was some relief.
It was colder at night, so in our coats, we all hurried inside where some underclassmen—wanting extra credit—were seating audience members and directing performers while handing out programs. I managed to grab one as I followed Charlie through a hallway that would lead to our classroom.
"I don't see you on here," I said, looking through the solos. I quickly noticed Ethan's, but not Charlie's name.
She groaned. "I didn't want you to see that yet. It was supposed to be a surprise."
"What was? Ah." I spotted Charlie's name. It was with Ethan's. They were doing a duet, a cover of a popular song, which was appropriately titled, but nothing else. Some parents were probably going to have a problem with it. "Oh, I love that song. Wait—what's this?" I found the dedication.
Charlie stopped leading the way. "Ethan and I decided at the last minute. Mr. C wasn't very happy about it, but he went with it once he heard us."
"But why to me?"
She punched my arm. "We're together because of you, stupid."
"What? How?"
She rolled her eyes, glancing at both ends of the hallway; we were alone. "Me and you, we were hanging out when… that thing happened… and you involved Ethan…. It all just worked out."
"I don't see how I'm responsible for it."
"Well, that's how we see it. And…." She beckoned me closer. "We did it."
"Did what?"
She gave me the 'you're stupid' look. "It, Bella. What else?"
"Oh…. Oh, wow."
Charlie nodded happily. "Ethan was supposed to be my first, and now I'm counting it that way."
"I'm really happy for you, Charlie." She hugged me tightly. "Stop trying to make me cry."
*
We quickly ran through the first few bars of each song we were singing as a group, and then all the solo-people were getting a few minutes to get themselves set. Ethan, Charlie and I just sat off to the side, after they refused to give me a little preview. Ethan never stopped smiling.
Mr. C organized us and led us toward the back of the stage. The auditorium already sounded occupied, voices mushing together into a wordless hum.
"That sounds like a lot of people," said one of the solo-people—a freshman, probably.
"I know," said Mr. C. "The principal urged everyone to come, even suggesting to teachers to offer extra credit."
"The principal's here?" asked Ethan, moving closer to Charlie and I.
Mr. C nodded, smiling. "Yup. Almost everyone from Cheshire is here. Isn't that great?"
"It's thrilling," I said. I had the three of us hang back while everyone else moved on. "I'll keep an eye on him while you're up there. You have what you need, Ethan?"
"Got it." He patted his jacket pocket. "It should work."
"Break a window if you have to," said Charlie. "Ransack the place."
"That's doing too much," I said. "We can't—"
Mr. C spotted us. "You three! Let's go."
We all arranged ourselves on the risers, and after Mr. C's introduction—over-the-top—the curtains parted and, once he was at the piano, Mr. C accompanied us into song.
The lights were very annoying, hurting my eyes and making me sweat. I couldn't see the principal in the crowd—not even Mom. The auditorium was definitely crowded. We all sang beautifully, although the sopranos suddenly decided to be quiet, and I felt like the seniors and I were doing most of the work, just the four of us. Cynthia and Charlie were the leading altos. I'd never heard Ethan sing, so I couldn't tell whether I was hearing him or not, even when it was just the guys.
Once we were done with our three songs, everyone clapped, though it seemed forced. The songs were, after all, classical and were probably sung years before. The choir was in need of a new repertoire.
We cleared the risers quite noisily, and only Mr. C was left. I didn't get a chance to wish Charlie and Ethan luck before they were immediately called. I managed to move to the front of the pack by the curtains, giving me full view of the stage and the audience.
Ethan sat at the piano, and Charlie next to him. The piano was angled in a way that Ethan could be seen too. Two microphones were already in front of them.
Ethan started the song, light piano in, and then Charlie joined in with the next verse, followed by piano and then the duet began. They looked at each other when their voices meshed beautifully, Ethan taking the high road and Charlie holding her power back a little.
About a minute in, the real song kicked in. Charlie aided in the piano, and it became full and rich, easily filling in what was beat and percussion of the original song, and their voices grew together and weaved.
They ignored the crowd, ignored the auditorium and even the mics. It was like they were alone, messing around on the piano one day, and we just happened to be there, watching a moment between lovers. Watching them, meeting each other's eyes, bumping shoulders and smiling, hands on the piano, dancing together… I officially called it. It was a done deal sealed by fate.
These two were going to marry.
Reluctantly, I looked away and scanned the audience for the principal. They were in the dark, and I couldn't tell many faces apart. I recognized a lot of kids—here for the extra credit no doubt—and a few teachers. I'd figured he's sit with them. I spotted Tom and his lackeys, sitting near the center. I couldn't find Mom or even Charlie's family. Where the hell did they sit?
Someone tapped my shoulder. It was Cynthia. "Do you see my mom and sister?"
I let her through so she could see. "I can't see them."
She swept the whole crowd. "They're good. Really good."
"Yeah."
Cynthia sighed. "Maybe they went to the restroom. Oh, there's Principal Wyatt."
"What? Where?" I almost shoved her onto the stage. She pointed him out for me, off to the stage-left, front corner. Charlie and Ethan wouldn't see him over the piano; they were at full crescendo now (assuming I was using the term correctly). Wyatt was chatting with a man sitting next to him.
Charlie and Ethan finished suddenly, and everyone stood and clapped. I wished I could've devoted more attention to them. They'd sounded so amazing. The two of them stood, bowed, and then walked off hand-in-hand.
I greeted them. "That was—"
"No time. Let's do this now." Ethan glanced back toward the crowd. "He's talking to people. Now's our chance. Charlie?"
"I'll watch him. You guys go." She gave Ethan a peck on the cheek and went to stand with the crowd. Cynthia was doing her solo now. I hoped her mom and Catherine were there; I felt a little bad about ditching hers
I followed Ethan out the back, another way I hadn't been before. "Why not go around?"
"This way's faster. We'll come out…. What?"
It was all the concrete that made me stop. This was the route New Girl had taken when she escaped from school and was suddenly in the woods. There was no point in discussing it now. "Nothing." I followed Ethan down the hall, our footsteps quite loud and echoing.
*************
The song to the right(?) is my idea of what they would sound like. Just subtract all the "whoas."