Valentina Finds Her Voice | A Blushington Book

Chapter 14

Priya was right, I wasn't sure if I would thank her when we were finished. She took me on singing hikes, singing runs and even mixed singing warm-ups with yoga. And oh did I mention these happened at all hours of the day. Some were early in the morning and others right before lights out.

I was in her room so much I was forgetting what mine looked like. I had to follow her around after class, carry her bags, help her with projects and most of it was done humming or going through do-ray-mi-sol-fa-la-ti-do.

After three weeks I did feel like I was making progress. I was hitting lower notes consistently, my range increased and my breathing was much improved. Maybe it was the recordings we listened to constantly or maybe it was the warm ups and yoga.

I'd left her room late one night and barely made it to my bed. I noticed Jalissa wasn't there, but that was normal. I almost immediately fell into a deep sleep when I heard singing.

I was so confused and disoriented when I awoke to the sight of the gifted six in my room doing vocal warm ups. I glanced over at my phone and read the time, 4:30 am. What was happening?

When Jalissa didn't come back to the room last night I figured she was working late in the lab, but maybe she knew about this and decided to stay with a friend.

All six girls were fully dressed and looked as if they were going to do some prep school photoshoot. My next coherent thought was how do they look like this at four in the morning? They motioned for me to join them, while singing, and lined up by the door.

Not knowing what to do I got up and put my uniform on. I wanted to ask where we were going, why they were here or if I had time to brush my teeth. Instead I wiped the crust from my eyes and followed them like a mute.

Humming softly now I supposed so that they wouldn't wake anyone else they lead me downstairs to the main hall, but I never expected what happened next.

There's a rec room and lounge off of the main hall with some card tables, chess boards, televisions and a few bookshelves. One of the six named Melody, still humming, picked up a copy of "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens and the entire bookshelf opened.

I rubbed my eyes thinking one, it was too early for this and two, what and three, was I about to be sacrificed? That's usually how these things go.

Each girl walked through the bookshelf like the children in Narnia and my feet were frozen in place. Melody stopped humming long enough to say, "Come along Valentina; your friend is already inside waiting for you."

Okay, I started to understand, this was some sort of weird Blushington hazing and Cassie or Jalissa were inside waiting to yell gotcha. With a little chuckle I walked in as well and down more stairs.

The first thing I noticed was that the room we walked into was very cozy. There was a fire in the oversized fireplace, dome shaped, egg chairs and a lovely sofa. Melody stood beside me while the other five girls walked over to the dining area and enjoyed a buffet breakfast.

"Hello Valentina."

That voice was so familiar to me, but how? I turned around to see who it belonged to and almost fainted.

"I apologize, I didn't mean to cause you such a fright."

"It's you," I muttered, "but you should be dead."

"I see you found my great-grandmother's photo online," Florence said with a smile, "our likeness truly is uncanny."

The breath flooded into my lungs all at once and I felt like I should sit down. Florence came and sat down beside me. Soon the other girls joined us. Next I heard Cassie ask if there was room for one more. I looked at her shocked; she waved casually and sat down beside me.

"Valentina, do you know why these girls call themselves the gifted six," Florence asked?

Looking around at each of them I only shook my head in response; then said, "I guess it's the gifted seven, right?

Cassie smiled and nodded.

Florence pressed on, "It is true, each girl here is uniquely gifted, but they don't count their gift as a birthright but as an endowment that they can share with humanity."

"It's the reason they work so hard at mastering their crafts and why Ms. Czerwonsky sent you to them." "There are no harder working girls, in my opinion, in the entire school than these girls. They sing for the children at the hospital, for the senior citizens and for free as entertainment at many charity functions"

"I felt like you might be a kindred spirit, but Priya put you through a few small tests to find out if singing meant as much to you as we thought. And apparently it does for here you sit with me," she finished.

Priya told me all about how Florence was a guide to the theater and that each department had one, but they only called girls who wanted to not only be successful but fulfilled and do something special with their talent.

She told me that they'd tried to help other girls but not all of them made it through the tests.

"Why do you sing Valentina," Florence asked?

I thought for a moment and finally said, "I sing because I used to feel caged, afraid to step on someone else's toes or to rock the boat. And singing allowed me to open myself and my heart to the audience. I could embody a character and shine through them. I loved the way I glowed and I loved watching the audience cheer or tear up or leave feeling touched or changed by my performance. It was like I gave and received a gift."

Florence just smiled at me and the other girls nodded in agreement. I thought about our past interactions and wondered if they'd been testing me all along to see if I'd turn out to be a good candidate. Looking back Priya seemed to jump at the opportunity to tutor me. Had it all been leading to this?

It turned out that Florence was a remarkable musician. She played five instruments extremely well and was world renowned. And she was guiding the girls in their studies. They met here each Friday morning to go over their week, ask questions and just talk. She gave them pointers on networking, helped with internships and even took two them on a tour with her.

I laughed remembering that I thought she might be a ghost an hour ago and got some breakfast. I was like a sponge listening to all of her wisdom and instruction. It had all of the makings of the knights of the round table, and I loved every minute of it.

I was sworn to secrecy about our meeting and this place. I learned the group hand sign and we headed up to get ready for class.

Thanks for reading!

X B

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