Adept in Peril

Chapter IX - The brooding I.

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Carlo's POV

I watched as Annie walked briskly, she walked in quickly and discreetly to avoid attraction. I saw her from where I stood close to the altar holding the white paper printed with musical notes and lyrics.

Unlike Mr Dare, he didn't act provoked at her lateness but signaled her to join us from his position on the piano.
I guess the anxiety had finally started to take a toll on everyone.

As Annie came up beside me, a smile crept on my face. She snuck a wave at me which I reciprocated. I noticed her black eye-bags and sweaty face as she held out her piece and I knew for sure that she was fatigued.

Either way, she still looked dashing with her beautiful dark hair held in four huge cornrows - all girls looked beautiful in cornrows, even my sister although I'll never say that to her hearing.

Mr Dare motioned for us to take a stance  as he played a few notes to lead the choir in. They began;
'Oh, yeah, Oh, yeah, Oh, yeah'

I took a deep breath as I started before Annie would cue in;
'It's been a long road but we're finally here…'

After the first verse, Annie took a sharp breath before she started;
'Oh, and I feel like I'm glowing
And I like where I'm going…'

Her melodious voice filled my ears but before I could bask in the euphoria, Mr Dare slammed the keyboards,

"Stop, that's too pitchy. Try again,"
Mr Dare called out as he played a few notes to cue her in again. That was the beginning of a lot of 'try agains'.

We all had to wait for Annie to sing to meet Mr Dare's standard and when she did, everyone was so happy. I had no issue with her singing though, Everything sounded so sweet in my ears.

She finally hit her last note and I gave a shout as every other person clapped out loud.
Her face lit up as a blush crept up her face.

We finally rehearsed taking the song from the start to finish without hitches and issues. Everyone took their part with such expertise, I was actually impressed at the end considering the fact that I was forced to join the choir.

Mr Dare stood up and gave a resounding clap and commended us to everyone's surprise.
After that, he made us take the song for 'the last time'.
Everyone grumbled and laughed but cheered up and we put in our best at the last retake of the song.

Mr Dare asked Annie to say a prayer after the rehearsals ended.
I left my eyes half-open and peeped at her throughout the prayers.
God forgive me as tomorrow was the competition.

Everyone dispersed as Annie walked over to meet Isabella and get her bag.
I strolled over to meet her before I lost her again.

Her pearl eyes twinkled and she gave a huge smile, "Hi Carlo,"
Isabella waved at me, I waved back.
"Hey Annie, you good? you look so tired," I started showing careful concern.

"Really? I guess it shows," She muttered as she touched her face.
Isabella got a call and excused herself.

I gestured for her to sit on one of the empty chairs as I settled beside her,

"Would you like to stop by for a drink at Wilmer's cafe on our way home?" I suggested with crossed fingers, subtly adding 'our' to hint that I wanted to see her off.

"That's alright, I guess. Thank you so much…" she trailed off, the happiness and skepticism evident in her tone.

Isabella came back in, after whispering to Annie, she grabbed her bag and waved us good-bye not after giving me a secret wink. I offered to carry Annie's bag as we left the church.

We finally got to the cafe, Wilmer Cafe.
It was one of the few cafes that actually sold reasonable drinks and coffees and it was not so far from the church.

Their ambiance and decor was so good, the cafe had soft and dim white lights, the walls painted white and black with catchy phrases like;

'I need someone that looks at me, the way I look at coffee' 
I cringed at the sight every single time.

Fake Ivy's hung on the walls too with little lights glittering on them, we settled on a circular table with two chairs at the end.
I looked at the menu before asking her what she wanted.

She ordered a Red-velvet frappuccino and Chicken pie while I went for a Chocolate frappuccino and Meat pie.
Frappuccino was actually like an icecream with a hint of coffee.

I hesitated before I finally spoke;
"So, how has it been?"

"How has what been?" She questioned, her eyebrows raised as she took a sip of her drink.

"Uhmm, volleyball practice, choir rehearsals, school and everything. How has it been for you?" I said slowly, my hands clutching my cup.
My phone beeped, but I quickly put it off and kept it on the table.

"Actually very stressful, I'm just trying to cope. We all know how school has been," She smirked before giggling.

I chuckled in return.
"Sure, I really admire your strength though. You're doing better than you think you are, trust me,"  I added, stopping at intervals to take a sip of my drink.

She adjusted and nodded as if in doubt,
"Thank you, this really means a lot,"
My phone beeped again, I glanced to see that it was Marcho.

Shoot, I totally forgot that I had to meet up with him.
I looked up to see that Annie was done with her meal,

"It's cool, I'm actually glad I got to spend time with you.
I'm also sorry but I have to leave now, Marcho has been calling me, we actually have something to do," I pleaded, hoping she wasn't pissed.

"Oh, it's alright. It's only a matter of time before my mom starts calling too," She assured me.
I let out a sigh of relief

"Alright, let me walk you to take a taxi then,"
We were both quiet as we stood by the road awaiting her ride. I fiddled with my phone as she did with hers.

As she boarded the taxi, I waved her goodbye with smiles, she smiled back and waved.

As soon as she was out of sight, I called Marcho,
"You're a thorn in my flesh, on God. I'm almost there sha,"
I ended the call with a huge sigh so I wouldn't get to hear his annoying voice.

I quickly placed an order for my ride to Marcho's place.

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The next chapter is still related to this but with a huge reveal and in Annie's POV. If you guys like this one, I'll drop it this afternoon.
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Till next week❤️