Out of Tune

Chapter Eight

I see my life in terms of music – Albert Einstein

"Are you okay?" A hand tapped against Lennon's desk. She jumped, startled, and met Danielle's worried eyes.

"Huh?" Lennon asked dumbly.

Danielle raised a slender brow. "I asked if you were okay. You look dead to the world."

They were sitting in their English class, which Lennon had been pleasantly surprised to realize that she shared with Danielle. It was a good thing that they had an independent period to begin working on their final essays since Lennon was exhausted.

Lennon tried to shake herself awake. "I'm okay. Just tired."

"Have a late night?"

Lennon thought of the hours she'd spent scribbling in her songbook. "You could say that."

"Does it have anything to do with Bryce? I saw the two of you talking at Tay's party the other night." Danielle sent her a knowing smile.

"No, it does not." In fact, Lennon hadn't heard from Bryce at all since the party. Though, to be fair, she hadn't exactly reached out to him either.

"Oh." Danielle looked slightly crestfallen.

Lennon managed a small laugh as the bell rang, signifying the end of class. They gathered up their belongings and headed for their lockers. Danielle's was down the hallway about thirty feet from Lennon's locker. It took a few minutes for them to stow their belongings and grab their lunches and by the time they arrived in the cafeteria, Lennon saw that the rest of their group was already waiting for them at their usual table.

"Hey guys," Danielle said as they sat. She perched on the end of a bench next to Anthony while Lennon squeezed in beside Taylor.

Bryce leaned across the table to speak to Lennon. "Hi."

"Hi yourself."

"How was the rest of your weekend?"

"It was fine. Yours?"

He shrugged and took a bite of his sandwich. After swallowing, he said, "Meh. I had to drive my little sister and her friends to the mall so it was pretty anticlimactic."

Lennon grinned. "Siblings are a drag, aren't they?"

Bryce glowered. "You have no idea."

"I bet I do," Lennon said, thinking of Colby and the fits he threw while his parents coddled him to no end. All Lennon wanted to do was properly discipline the kid. When he screamed, her parents bribed him to make him stop, offering up candies and toys until he regained his composure. She was that he'd learned screaming resulted in benefits and now did it to get whatever he wanted.

"Oh? Do you have siblings?"

"A six-year-old brother." Half-brother, she corrected mentally. "How old is your sister?"

"Ten. I've got a fourteen-year-old brother too but he's at the phase where he wants to be left alone. Jill, on the other hand, is old enough to be a tyrant but not old enough to rule the world without her handy big-brother bodyguard."

"Ah. I know the type."

Bryce turned away for a moment as Kyle asked him a question. He answered quickly and then faced Lennon again and smiled. He had a nice smile, she decided. Friendly. Not forced. She would almost call it roguish – like there was something inside of him that might cause a bit of trouble.