Oh, Lucy

Chapter Ten: In Too Deep

Vince looks like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders as he greets me Monday morning. I'm sitting down on one of the outer concrete benches in the circular commons area in front of St. Ita's entrance when he greets me, looking out at the center fountain that holds a bronze statue of the saint herself. He makes his way through one of the two stone pathways that wind around the fountain, holding in his hand the first draft of the flyer for the Back to School talent show that'd been sent to his band for approval.

"You look happy." I note and he just smiles in response. "Any reason in particular?"

"Evelyn and I broke up." He states with the same smile on his face.

"And that is a good thing?" I ask as he sits down beside me, his khaki-clad pants lightly grazing my thigh.

"Yep." He confirms happily before changing the subject. "Listen, we're gonna need you and your council to make some adjustments to the flyers." He comments, gesturing to the crimson piece of paper he's holding.

"Adjustments? The talent show is this Saturday; tickets go on sale in two days." I object incredulously. "There isn't time for adjustments. Besides, your band approved of it last Friday, what's changed over the course of a weekend?" I question, the skepticism evident in my voice.

He is about to reply when the bell rings, signaling the start of school.

"I've gotta go, I have Mr. Brady for homeroom and he'll kill me if I'm late. I'll explain everything during lunch." He says and begins to walk away towards the school's entrance.

"Explain? What's there to explain?" I call out, but he ignores me, waving one final goodbye before stalking through the giant glass doors leading into the school.

I roll my eyes in annoyance but do the same, grabbing my bag from the bench and making my way to homeroom for morning prayer.

The entire morning seems to drag as I try to figure out what exactly it is that Vince could have to tell me. Were Lackluster Heart breaking up? Did he want a bigger time slot after all?

Thankfully, it is soon time for lunch and I'm saved from having to continue guessing without any answers.

I sit down at my usual table with Daniela and the others, knowing that Vince will come to get me soon enough and not wanting to look eager.

It's not long before Vince and his band mates appear at our lunch table, yet I can tell something is off immediately. I count them as they sit down at our table and notice one of them, their drummer Michael Gonzalez, is missing. The band's presence earns a strange look from David and Daniela, the only ones to outwardly notice as Owen and Sofia are too interested in one another to pay attention to their surroundings. I smile at how adorable the duo are while at the same time gripping Henry's hand reassuringly under the table, knowing how difficult is was for him to be around Julian in school while acting like they were nothing more than acquaintances.

"Where's your drummer?" I ask curiously after they've sat down.

"That's actually what we've been meaning to talk to you about." Vince states, pulling out the talent show flyer from his pocket. "Due to a series of events, Michael is no longer in Lackluster Heart."

"What?" Daniela, always a hardcore fan, exclaims before I get the chance to react. "Is this because of what went down on Friday?"

Vince ignores Daniela and continues with what he was saying. "Anyways, we're gonna need you to take our act out of the talent show."

It was my turn to be dumbfounded. "What?" I shout. "You-you can't back out of the talent show, you're our key act. We're counting on you guys to sell out, without you we'll be lucky to sell maybe a quarter of the tickets."