"The Inter-School Concert-2"

Feeling a mixture of nervousness and fear, tears formed in Sydney's eyes. Why did it have to happen that day? She and Lenoir had prepared thoroughly for the inter-school concert. If she messed up, how would she face the whole school?

"Stand by, Sydney," the organizer said.

Sydney placed her hands together and started praying, 'Please don't let my voice mess up…' hoping that the heavenly bodies would grant her wish.

Lenoir started singing the last chorus, and Sydney walked out to the stage. She stood beside her Senior and smiled, pretending that nothing was wrong.

When Lenoir sang the last lines, "I'll know it's you… When love comes…", he stared at Sydney, as if the song was meant for her.

The intro of Sydney's chosen song, "Never Knew I'd Love You", started. Lenoir was about to go out on stage when Sydney grabbed his arms. She looked at him with pleading eyes as if sending signals for help.

Lenoir, seeing her teary-eyed, held her hands on his arm and did not let go.

And when the music of the first verse of the song had played, everyone was waiting for Sydney's angelic voice.

But there was only the instrumental music playing.

As she opened her mouth to speak, there was no voice coming out from her. It seemed like the very sweet ginger tea had damaged her vocal cords. In addition to that, she ate a lot of sweets last night.

She stood in front of the mumbling crowd who talked about her. She saw their glares at her, as if she was wasting their precious time.

"I… Never Knew I'd Love You this time…"

Suddenly, Lenoir sang the chorus part, and he did not let go of Sydney's hand. It was as if telling her indirectly to leave everything up to him, as he gazed at her throughout the whole song.

He sang the song flawlessly. Because he and Sydney had been practicing a lot, he had already memorized the song. And when he was done, there were cheers from the crowd.

After the performance, Matt and Olivet hurriedly ran to the backstage, and it was evident in their faces that they were worried about what happened back there. When they arrived, they saw Sydney, crying, her eyes swollen.

"Syd? What happened?" Olivet tried to console her and stroked her back.

"Hey… Don't tell me, it's that…?" Matt uttered, making her turn to him.

She nodded at him. Matt then took out his handkerchief and gave it to Sydney. "Here."

Sydney knew she had already taken a lot of Matt's handkerchiefs. She hesitated at first, but when she saw his worried face, she took it immediately. Even though Matt could be annoying at times and he kept on pestering her during class time, she appreciated how he was always here for her.

"Here, Syd. It's warm water. I asked for it from the organizers," Lenoir said and handed over the warm mug of distilled water to her.

As she took the mug, she felt Lenoir's care towards her. Even at the stage, he didn't leave her, and even sang the difficult song for her. She also appreciated her Senior's presence, and how he helped her a lot by giving advice throughout their practices.

Sydney wanted to say a lot of things to the people surrounding her, especially her best friend Olivet, who seemed shocked because of what happened. She knew of her illness, but not to that level. Sydney regretted not telling her about it back when she still had a voice. She wished she was more honest with her.

The day ended badly for them. Sydney was dropped off to her home, and she didn't expect to see a sumptuous dinner.

"Our dear singer is here," Sydney's mom uttered, "How was the concert?"

"If only we're allowed to, we went there and watched your performance… Sydney, why are your eyes swollen?" Sydney's dad spoke with concern, "Are you alright?"

At that moment, all the tears she held back in the school bus gushed out from her. Without a voice, she couldn't tell them what happened, and all she could do was to cry and cry. She felt helpless and useless at the same time.

The next day was a Saturday, and she was brought to her ENT doctor in the provincial hospital. Sydney came with her parents, as well as her brother Snider who was the most worried one.

"I saw her throat a while ago, and it's really in a bad condition," her otolaryngologist Dr. Sophia said, "What happened, Sydney? I thought you were careful with sweets?"

Sydney was given a pen and a paper to write on. She explained and admitted that she ate sweets the night before the performance, and she drank a ginger tea which was unexpectedly sweet.

"I see… Then it's most likely the cause. Your abnormally large tonsil is very prone to sore throats. Also, your vocal cords are very strained. You must have practiced too much," the doctor said. Then she started writing on a piece of paper. "The two are separate illnesses, it's just that it both coincidentally occurred to you. I need you to do these things…"

After the consultation, they went home. Feeling dispirited, Sydney quickly went inside her room. She cried and cried under the blanket, wondering what else could she do without her voice.

"Sydney dear, you have visitors," she heard her mom calling her behind the door.

Sydney wiped her tears, looked at the mirror, and tried to smile.

But she couldn't.

She then got out of her room and stepped down the stairs.

Only to find out that her visitors were Lenoir and Matt, both of them holding a bouquet of roses.