His Lifeline

Chapter 16: I Communicate Telepathically With Shadows

The coming days passed quickly and easily. Music was still insane; kids were picking on each other and working feverishly on their songs. I had memorized and mastered most of Your Graduation by the end of Tuesday. I signed up that period so I couldn't back out, using my alias that Annabeth had texted me during the first period of the same day, Caesitas.

Since Annabeth didn't need to tutor me in math, she instead took me to her house after school, where she met up with her friend group, and they would listen to me practice. At first, it was nerve-wracking, and I was nervous and stiff, even though Annabeth had given me my mask and bandana to hide under. Every time I played, I could feel their eyes. It caused my stomach to clench and my fingers to get clammy, effectively messing up the song, making everything ten times worse.

But after the first two hours on Tuesday, I had begun to get better. By Wednesday, my fingers didn't clam up as much, and I learned to keep playing even if I made a mistake. I found out that if I closed my eyes and went through the notes and music in my head like I do in Music class, I played much smoother and confidently.

Through the days, Gabe continued with the beatings. They weren't bone-breaking or as bloody as before, so I didn't need much patching up. I could actually feel myself acting and being happier.

Annabeth would wave when we passed in the hallways, and that made my heart soar. It didn't matter how tightly I tried to tie it down; I couldn't control the want to hope and feel happy. I felt my guard slowly fall farther when I was with her.

Friday was upon me, and I tried to settle my nerves. Annabeth had continued to meet up with me before zero period. She told me that it sounded perfect and I had nothing to worry about. The school day was over, I couldn't walk into sixth period with a mask on, and people not notice that that one loner kid was missing.

I took a deep breath. My hood was up, my mask in place, and my bandana that Piper had bought was pulled up under the mask. The bandana had a tye dye pattern of black, blue, gray, and white.

I pushed the door of the Music room and walked in. The teacher was standing there going through the music as a few kids sat in chairs, looking bored. I walked up to the desk and saw a small sign-in sheet. I quickly wrote my alias down and walked to the back. Sitting down at a desk, I tried to do some homework.

I soon became deaf to the world and tried to finish math, one of my ears had my playlist on shuffle, and the other was open, waiting for my name to be called. Then I heard it.

"Oh dear, how do I pronounce this? Um, Casitas? Cersita? I know I'm butchering your name, but could you come up here, please?" she mumbled the first part and spoke loudly when she tried pronouncing my fake name. I sighed and stood.

"Um, you can just call me Ky. It's much easier" I walked over to her, and she looked relieved at the nickname. I wondered why I even had to put down such a confusing alias when I could've just put Ky. But Annabeth wanted to have some fun with making up my fake name, so I guess it's fine.

"Alright, Ky, I'll take you into this back room, and then we can start your audition" She led me to a back door behind her desk. The room was small. Two chairs were facing each other about tenish feet apart. She gestured for me to take the one on the left.

"On your sign-up sheet, it said you wanted the guitar Riptide and that you would be playing Your Graduation by Modern Baseball. Is that correct?" she read off a piece of paper while closing the door. I nodded, and she brought out Riptide from under a table that I hadn't noticed before. She handed me the guitar and sat across from me.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. My anxiety was spiking to new heights. You're going to fail. Quit while you're ahead. No, think of Annabeth. She spent so much thought and time helping you. She even got her friends to listen to you play for hours. Do this for her and mom! Letting out a breath, I went over the memorized music in my head.