An Endless Serenade

Chapter Thirty-One

                                                    Sunday morning, I woke up to Paul frantically shaking my shoulder. "Allie, Allie wake up!"

Determined not to let him ruin one of my rare chances to sleep in, I tried to push him off me, but he yanked off my covers. At first I deemed it alright to keep lying there without them, but then I remembered I'd gone to bed without any pants on. Sitting up in a flash, I yanked them back over my legs and glared at Paul, face red. "Hey!"

His face was just about as red as mine. "S-sorry!"

"What is so urgent?" I snapped at him, still grumpy.

"Something came up so they had to move the date of Nationals and they had to split it into two groups so now instead of it being a month away you're going to have to preform in about two weeks because you're in the first group, " he said in a rush, his eyes wide.

It took me a moment to process what he'd said in my sleep state. But when he did, you bet I woke the hell up. "What?"

"They have too many contestants or something, I don't really know. But they decided to move it up and now you're going in two weeks. Not that I don't think you're ready, but it's still not a month more you have to prepare," he babbled, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I mean, you're totally ready. But it's still two weeks earlier than we'd expected—"

"Paul. Paul, calm down. It's fine," I said, putting my hand on his shoulder and squeezing it. "You don't need to worry about me. I'd probably be ready to perform today if I had to."

He took a deep breath and nodded. "I know. I just really want you to win. I don't want anyone else to be my partner but you, Allie."

"I don't want anyone else with you either," I agreed, biting my lower lip. Was it even allowed in the rules to move the competition? Not that I didn't think I'd be ready in time. It was just a little unnerving. There was a lot riding on this competition. And it wasn't about the money or scholarship. It was about who'd be travelling around the world with Paul for the next year. I didn't want it to be anyone but myself.

"It's during the week, so we're going to have to miss school," Paul continued, tapping his fingers against his leg. "So close to the end of the year too."

"I don't have any problem with skipping school," I responded, shrugging.

He gave me a half-assed scolding look. "I'm your teacher, you shouldn't say that to me."

"I'm your student, you shouldn't be living with me," I countered smugly.

A smile broke out across his face and he lightly pushed on my shoulder. "Get up and I'll make us some breakfast. Then we'll practice."

"Ughhh," I complained, falling back into my bed.

"Make sure you put pants on, too," he added before leaving my room.

Heaving a loud sigh, I forced myself out of bed. Now Paul was going to make me practice even more. I wouldn't have been surprised if my poor fingers fell off. Still, I knew he was doing it for my sake. He probably wanted me to win more than I myself wanted to win.

But then again, I couldn't let anyone else win. What if it was a girl? They'd travel all over the country together. What if they shared hotel rooms? What if love blossomed? I couldn't let that happen. I had to win.