Wickless

Rain

       Dee Dee sat in the choir room; she and a boy were there. Everyone had left and she was still there because the choir teacher wanted to give her the music sheet for the songs of the first concert. The choir teacher wanted her to have the first solo of the year. It would have been exciting if it was any other time, but Dee Dee couldn't get the voice out of her head. She sat there deep in thought-was it her imagination or was it Laurie playing a trick on her. Dee Dee shook her head. No, that didn't seem right because when the lights had finally come back on, Laurie looked just as upset as Dee Dee. Neither girl spoke to one another about the voice when P.E was over so Dee Dee wasn't sure just how much Laurie had heard. 

       "I don't like this...not at all." The choir teacher said as he came around the grand piano. He handed Dee Dee and the boy who's name was Zack, the music sheet. He placed his hands on his hips and was actually a bit flamboyant in his actions. "You kids are gon' a be okay, right?" Dee Dee and Zack looked at one another. The choir teacher nodded his head. "Right...okay...do I need to call your parents?"

       Zack laughed, taking out his cell phone. He held it up so the teacher could see it. 

       "Right." The teacher slowly said...

       Dee Dee and Zack both left the class room going their own way. She stepped to the side of the hall and leaned against the wall of the music hall-which was actually an entire section of the school. 

       The phone rung as she waited for someone from her family to pick up. The phone went to voicemail. Dee Dee hung up and called again. Them not answering was making her nervous. When she got the voicemail again, she dialed once more. Finally, her father picked up. It was hard for her to hear him; the phone was muffled and the storm was loud. She could hear the rain through her phone speaker. It must have gotten worst as she was in choir. The words she did managed to make out involved 'later', 'wait'...When the call dropped, Dee Dee received a text from her mom saying they weren't able to get into town because the rain had caused flooding on the roads leading in. Her mother then told her to get to high ground. 

       "Oh no," Dee Dee said.

       "Oh no, what?" 

      Dee Dee turned and was a bit startled but then became flustered when she saw Clara standing in front of her. She was wearing a sports' wind breaker, one the school had given her. 

       "You waiting for the rain to let up too?" Clara walked past her toward the staircase that went down to the second then first floor. "Good thing we're on high ground. No worries of flooding up here." She chuckled a little. Dee Dee blushed; Clara had a nice, soft laugh. It wasn't too soft or innocent, nor too deep and harsh; it was a bit husky yet childlike. "Do you need a ride?" 

       Dee Dee was taken aback. She wasn't expecting her crush to ask her if she needed a ride. Dee Dee composed herself and tried her best to not touch her hair. She wanted to look good but didn't want to come off as obvious. "My mom just sent me a text saying the roads were blocked." 

       Clara nodded her head. "Awe yeah, my parents just called me too but the roads are good going my way." 

       Dee Dee didn't really know what to do with herself so she looked down and fumbled with the paper in her hand. She didn't know why Clara was up on the third floor in this section of the school anyway. Volleyball practice like all sports practice, took place in the athletic building. But Dee was too afraid to look up, she could feel Clara looking at her. 

       The sound of shoes echoing in the hall entered into Dee Dee's ears and she looked up to see the choir teacher leaving the room. He locked the door and placed the keys in his pocket. She watched him walk the other direction then her cell phone beeped. Another text came from her mom; it was telling her she would have to stay at the school. The cops and firefighters were coming so as to ensure everyone's safety.