I wanted to worry about Lillian. I really did. She didn't seem like herself lately. But I trusted her with my life, and I had other things to worry about. Like the talent show.
"Today's the day!" Lillian squealed into my ear at literally the crack of dawn.
"Today's the day!" Grey called as we approached our cafeteria table.
"Today's the day!" Tempest grinned when I saw her in math class.
It was the day of the talent show. It was the day I had to perform my song. I had finished it only a few days before, and Tempest had assured me it was perfect. I had to take her word for it. This was a surprise for Lillian.
Classes got out early so the few, the proud, the dance team could practice. Grey and Lillian begged to hear my song early. Tempest kept her mouth shut. Maybe she was a better friend than I gave her credit for.
Grantham the jerk called me to his office before the show. "Are you ready to perform?" he asked.
"Are you planning to stop me?" I retorted.
Grantham sighed. "I tried to be polite with you, Sky. I tried to like you. But you and I just don't get along. I'm not stopping you from singing in the talent show, but if you sing something against this school, there will be consequences."
So Grantham thought I lived my life to diss the school. Sure, I didn't like everyone here, but... "Sir, not everything is about you. This song has nothing to do with the school. It has everything to do with my life, and you just aren't as big a part of that as you make yourself out to be. I won't lie. I don't like you. But I also don't care about you enough to write a song about you. And you can't be mad at me for that because that's kind of hypocritical. I'm ready for the show, and I'm not going to speak out against the school, but what I am singing is on a strict none-of-your-business basis." Fun fact: I also didn't care about Grantham enough to stick around his office even one moment longer.
"Is that seriously what you're wearing to your first public performance?" Lillian teased. I was just in my regular clothes.
"It's a talent show, not a fashion show. And if you focus on my clothes the whole time, you'll miss the song."
"Well, then, wear whatever you want!" Lillian relented.
"You excited?" I presumed.
"Of course. Everyone will love you. And we can laugh at them behind their backs for not noticing whose guitar you're playing."
I actually found that kind of funny. This school sneered at anything related to Eli, myself and Lillian included, yet they wouldn't even know about the guitar. It was somewhat amusing.
"Welcome to the green room!" Tempest announced. She was working as the stage manager. "You three get backstage passes thanks to me, so you're welcome."
"Thanks, sis," Grey smiled.
"You're the best, Stormy!" Lillian beamed.
"Stormy?" Tempest questioned.
"You said a tempest is a storm, right?" Lillian laughed.
"It's official: the child is smarter than us." That was Grey mourning the loss of his own sanity.
"Who are you calling a child?" Lillian screeched.
"Yeah, she's a nineteen-year-old midget," I teased. "You ready for the song?"
"It's amazing!" Tempest gushed.
"Wait..." Lillian paused. "You've heard the song?"
"Tempest!" I groaned.
"Oops," Tempest winced. "I was just excited."
"When did you hear the song?" Lillian asked. Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"I helped Sky write it," Tempest answered for me. "He wanted to surprise you, for you to not hear it until the talent show."
"Sky always shows his songs to me first," Lillian whispered. She shook her head. "It's ok. It doesn't matter. The show must go on."
But it clearly mattered. Lillian felt replaced. On the biggest day of our lives, she was broken once again.
YOU ARE READING
What Is Your Name?
Novela Juvenil"The one thing Sky has never told me, though it's the one thing I've always wanted to know, is my mother's name." Sky and Lillian, ages 17 and 13, are all the other's got. They are held by the bond of Lillian's mother, Sky's older sister, the first...
