𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 ~ 𝒿𝑒𝓃𝓏𝒾𝑒.

chapter twenty two • "i guess"

Mackenzie.

"I'm so proud of you guys for how far you've come," Ms. Catherine announced at the start of class. "Your songs are absolutely amazing; an amazing improvement since last year's showcase. Not to mention that we have Mackenzie Ziegler with us."

Everyone turned toward me and started to applaud, even Johnny.

"The showcase is tomorrow," she continued. "And I want you to use this time in class today to perfect your songs and finalize how your performances are going to go. We have dancers from the dance club that will be background dancing, and the tech department will be supplying cool lights during your sets. I can't wait to see your visions come to life!"

Ms. Catherine's little speech left me smiling. I was really going to miss her, and this music class. This month went by way too quickly. I was leaving in a few days, much to my chagrin.

"Are you excited to go back home?" Johnny asked me. He pulled out the stage map from his backpack. Yesterday we showed the people dancing for us where we want them to stand for starting positions and other stuff.

"Sort of," I admitted. "This month went by too fast for my liking."

Johnny looked at the map and started to mark a few things with a black marker.

"I have an idea," he said, looking back to me. "What if I stand on the stage by myself first, sing my part, and then you come on stage for the chorus?"

I considered it for a moment. "That's a good idea!" I exclaimed. " I bet the crowd would go wild."

Johnny smiled. He was doing a lot of that lately. Brynn was really making him happy.

A few moments of silence went by before Johnny cleared his throat.

"Yes?" I said, looking up from the lyrics page. We decided to name the song "What If." Literally we said it a million times in the song.

"Ok, so I'm taking Brynn to this museum this weekend," he lowered his voice. "And I wanted to surprise her with a gift. Ok, this is stupid. I should be asking Lauren..."

"No, you're fine," I interrupted. I lowered my voice, too. "She mentioned one time at lunch that she would love a rose gold necklace."

Johnny quickly pulled out a pen and scribbled it on a deserted Post-It note. "Thank you," he breathed. I just nodded.

. . .

"Mom!"

Maddie and I walked into the house to see Mom standing in the living room with Dad. She didn't look the happiest.

"I'm still mad with you but I'm still glad to see you!" She said. She ran up to us and we engulfed in a hug, Dad awkwardly standing to the side.

"How was your flight?" Maddie asked.

"Good," Mom said without looking at Maddie directly in the eye. "I can't wait to see the school tomorrow. It's been a while, right?"

Maddie and I nodded.

"I'm sure the girls need to get changed; it's been a long school day," Dad interrupted, basically saved us. I mouthed him a "Thank you," and rushed up the stairs, Maddie following suit.

"I thought she was coming tomorrow," I commented, closing the door behind us.

"Same," Maddie replied. She threw her backpack to the side. "Did you see that? She wouldn't even look at me."

I threw my backpack down after. "Don't worry; she'll get over it in a few more days. Oh, and Mark came, too. He wants to see how good the song is."

"Wow," Maddie answered. "Oh, how's things going with...what we talked about?"

I sighed. "I guess fine? Johnny is taking Brynn to a museum and getting her a rose gold necklace, thanks to my advice. I'm not jealous anymore. It won't matter in a few days, right?"

Maddie gave me a look, and I knew I said the wrong thing. "You're not inviting them to L.A anymore?"

"Of course I am!" I protested. "I'm just saying."

We got changed into comfortable clothes and went downstairs to get started on homework. Mom kept talking about the showcase, and for some reason, I was nervous. Maybe it was because I wouldn't be rehearing with Johnny until tomorrow a few hours before the real thing, or maybe I was nervous to put this song out to the world for the first time live.

It would all go down tomorrow.

~
A/N: This chapter sucked and it's a filler, but I promise the next one will be longer! Vote, comment, and stay tuned!