the last straw

"I am not going to work with him.", I tell Jess.

"Of course not, but you don't have a choice, do you? Your mother will go ballistic if she hears that you refused a job that you wanted for so long.", Jess says.

"Yeah I'm aware but I definitely cannot work with that ass hat.", I say, pacing in the aisle, teeth nibbling on my fingernails.

"Again it's your choice. If you want I can get you a job at that ice cream place. The pay is significantly less but on the bright side, you'll be working with me.", Jess says.

"Mother hates that place. The store is not an "appropriate" place because a colored man owns the place.", I say, disgusted that I'm related to that woman. "I tried conveying that what she's doing is not right and that Jess is working there so it IS appropriate, but she grounded me for "talking back". Prejudiced people are just impossible to talk to.", I sigh.

"Oh well, at least you tried. Work at the library for a bit, until we find some other place looking for part-timers. I'll help you go through the classifieds, Lena. Until then relax, he can't be that bad.", Jess says, leaning back in her chair, stretching her arms.

"Yeah you're right, Jess, I have no other option. I wanted to start working from today, but upon seeing that kid's face, I lost my motivation.", I say, sighing again.

"That's an awful lot of sighs, Lena. Let's go cheer us up by getting some ice cream. Come on.", she says, dragging me out of the library.

Gosh, I'm grateful to have her.

***********************************

9th September 1970

Wednesday

I found a four-leaved clover today. I just came across a patch of it growing on the roadside and I picked it up. Isn't it supposed to be a sign of incoming good luck or something? If the superstition is real, I could use some luck.

Mr. Henry, the teacher who takes theatre for our high school, is holding an audition for our annual Orchestra Fest. They usually conduct the auditions later, but Mr. Henry wanted this year's program to be even better than before, especially because this year is the last time his daughter can participate in it. Jennie, his daughter, is our orchestra star. Despite people always assuming that she gets treated specially, due to her father being our teacher, she genuinely is talented. She plays the cello and her dad being her teacher since she was the age of four,[that's what she told us. I know right! she is impressive] helped her to get where she is right now.

Anyways, I play the piano. Our school has one ancient piano. Like fifty years old, type of old. Our school budget does not contribute much to our orchestra, because apparently, sports is the "face of our school". So Mr. Henry, Jennie, and I had gone to an antique store to buy this piano. It was still very pricey, but we all contributed a little from our pocket to buy the instruments. Mother did not approve of it that I spent all my pocket money on it, but I'd say I had fun.

Besides, it was Mother who had made me attend piano classes since I was seven. I never wanted to go, always throwing a tantrum before class started, however, I hate to admit that I soon grew to love it. I began developing a talent for playing the piano, and my teacher began enjoying teaching me. She often told me that I was one of her best students and that always made me immeasurably happy. She was the one who suggested I join my school orchestra. And that was honestly the best thing I've done in my entire life.

Anyways, I walk to Mr. Henry's office, wanting to inform him that I'll be attending the audition today. Mr. Henry looks up at me and says, "Hi there Ms. Whitaker, what brings you here?" "Um sir, I'll be attending the audition today, just wanted to let you know so. Is there any place we're supposed to sign up or..?" I let my voice trail doubtingly. "Yes, of course, Lena, here.", he hands me a sign-up sheet. The page is almost full, so I barely manage to squeeze in my name and instrument. I scan the list, glancing to see if there are any familiar names.

To my utmost surprise, I find Elijah's name scribbled neatly, "piano" written besides his name. Anger boils in me, why is he everywhere I go? The library, at school, at an orchestra, at Betty's. It's almost like the universe wants me to suffer. And now I have to compete against him for my spot at the Fest? I then remember the clover I found this morning. Well, I have now disproved that superstition is bull crap. "Is everything okay, Ms. Whitaker?", Mr. Henry asks. "Yeah, I erm- Everything is fine. Cool. Chill.", I say gulping. I hand him the signup sheet and bolt from his class.

Considering that Elijah is a rich brat, there's a high chance that his piano teachers are the best in the entire country. Competing against him is going to be utterly useless. And I need to be a part of this fest. Mr. Henry mentioned that a few scouts are visiting us, hearing that a cello prodigy, meaning Jennie, is going to be present there. I can't let this chance go. I might get noticed and they might provide us with some financial aid. AT least then I can convince Mother that music school is a good idea and that I can do it. All this, my entire life ruined by a dark-haired prick, who thinks he owns this place.

Logically, this school might be within Valentine's budget, but that is not my concern right now. What in hell am I going to do now?

And as if he heard my inner voice, Elijah walks up from behind me, and asks, "So roach girl's going for the Orchestra Fest, huh? I never plugged you in the type to play instruments. So, what do you play?"

"Were you following me or something, Elijah?" I ask, tired of him already.

"Woah, Woah, don't praise yourself that much, babe, I just saw you walk out of Mr. Henry's class. I just assumed you signed up for the Fest because tonight's the audition.", he says, a confused look on his face.

"Well yeah, I just signed up right now. Oh and also? Do you play the piano? I never knew.", I say, putting on a nice mask, wanting to get to know the guy who I'll be competing against. There's some saying that goes like "Keep your friend close and your enemies closer." I am going to implement that quote right now and see whether this is effective.

"Oh, I do! What's up with all the niceness? This is getting weird. Roach girl is being nice to me.", he says sarcastically. "Do you by chance play the piano too?" he asks, brows furrowed.

"Yeah I do, why?" I ask, genuinely curious as to how he found that out.

"Oh so you're trying to see whom you're against?" he says, an eyebrow raises, that annoying smirk back on his face.

Oops, he might've caught me there. Besides, I thought I was slick, damn you, Elijah, stop reading me that easily. Besides, I will admit that over my dead body.

"No way do you think that you are competition for me. Oh and in your very own words, "don't praise yourself that much, babe.", I say mockingly.

"See now this is 𝘮𝘺 roach girl, she got lost there a second back, you know when you were so nice for a second?" he says, full-on grinning.

My eyes widen. His words made my stomach flip right there for a second. Well, that was odd. Must be my being anxious for competing against him, for sure?

"Har har, Elijah, very funny.", I say, unamused, my stomach still being a little ticklish. "See me beat your ass tonight.", I say cockily.

"Of course, babe, I think you'd be good at it too.", he says, smirking.

My eyes widen for the second time, this time slowly realizing the double meaning of my words. "You wish, Valentine. Now get out of my way, I have a class to get to.", I say.

"Yes, Your Highness.", he says bowing, and bowing out of my way, looking comical.

A grin begins growing on my face, out of my own accord.

***********************************

Yet another uneventful day at school is not helping me.

I keep overthinking, questioning my talent and whether I'd pass the audition, and even if I did, whether I deserve it.

I wrap up for the day, stuffing my things back into my locker. I think I'll go home today. I need to calm my nerves before tonight's audition. Maybe grab a coffee while I'm at it. Now that I think about it, I'd have to go to Betty's for that, and that's way too embarrassing. But I am craving some coffee. Ugh fine I'll go, I need the caffeine high.

I walk to Betty's praying that demon lady is on an off day today. The walk helped, the crisp cold air made me feel a lot better. By the time I reached Betty's, my anxiety-induced nausea vanished. I walk in, heart thudding. I look at the counter and sigh in relief upon seeing Meena. Good lord, I was so nervous.

"Hey, Lena, why did you quit all of a sudden? Did the demon lady do something to you? I wanted to write to you but I wasn't sure about your address.", Meena says, smiling, her big brown eyes reflecting all of her concern.

"Oh no. Well, maybe yes, depends on how you look at it. I just came by to get some coffee. I missed you, Meena.", I say, smiling.

"Oh of course, what would you like, Lena? It's on the house. Work is so boring without you.", she says.

"Regular black coffee, please. And no Meena, you don't have to do that for me.", I say, shaking my head.

"No, I insist.", Meena says earnestly.

"You insist what, Meena?", Mrs. Hurley says, popping her head from the back."Oh that wretched girl is back? I told her to stay away from Betty's. Such a disgrace to our name. Take her order and ensure she leaves soon, Meena, else your job is on the line.", the demon lady says.

"Yes, ma'am.", Meena replies meekly.

As soon as she sees Mrs. Hurley vanish behind the curtains, she whispers, "What was that all about?", a confused expression on her face.

"It's a long story, Meena, and a very embarrassing one at that too. I don't want to relive it.", I say, my eyes pleading, a half-smile on my face.

"Yeah, of course, no problem, Lena. I'll go work on the order and be right back.", she says cheerfully.

"Oh and please do double the order. I don't think a single coffee is going to get me through tonight.", I add, sighing deeply.

That caffeine better work.

***********************************

I think I reached home at some time around half-past five. Despite drinking two coffees in an hour, I still was drowsy and tired. [coffee has a reverse effect on people who drink too much coffee and well obviously I wasn't aware of that] I decided it is best that I take a short nap before the audition, especially since my nerves weren't a lot better. My fatigued body felt like someone had a driven a hole through my back. I fall dead asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

I wake up an hour and a half late, woken up by the dinging of our big grandfather clock. Hurrying to check the clock, I pray that I didn't sleep too much. Again I'm not known to be the best at being punctual. The hour hand on seven was enough to wake me up completely. I had to be there by seven! Now that you consider it I might have ten minutes to get ready. Our clock is ten minutes late and never have I been so grateful.

I wash my face, scrubbing hard to get the sleep out of my eyes. I trip over my towel as I hurriedly put on my best dress, [a blue beauty that I had till I hit my thirties] and put on some powder. I dab on some rouge, using a maroon tint for my lips. Mother would be so appalled at this look, but I couldn't resist looking my best for the audition. I outline my eyes with kohl, bring out my green eyes. I look at my bird's nest of hair, my brown curls ruined by the nap that I had just taken. I brush it out quickly, praying with all my hope that it looks presentable. Thankfully it does.

I run out of my house, praying that Jess is home right now. I bang her door impatiently, my anxiety returning.

Jess opens the door and says, "Hey Lena, why aren't you at the audition?", confused as to why I'm here.

"That's why I'm here, Jess. I need to borrow your car, I'm so late.", I say, obviously panicking.

"Oh, of course, let me go get the keys, just a second.", she says, running inside.

I stand outside, fidgeting with my ring. I always wear this one ring that Jess gave me during freshman year. The smooth cool metal was comforting somehow.

"Here you go, Lena. And don't panic. And don't worry. You're the best piano player I've seen in a while, and I can assure you no one deserves a spot in the Fest as much as you do.", she says comfortingly, handing me the keys.

I smile back at her, "Thank you so much, Jess, I owe you my firstborn. I got to hurry though.", I say grabbing the keys to her car.

I drive like a maniac, praying that I don't get into an accident. I reach there and hurry into the school, praying that no one will tell me off for being too late. I reach the modest school auditorium, and thankfully Mr. Henry is still giving one of his dramatic speeches. I breathe out in relief, glad that I wasn't too late.

I settle down in the comfy theatre-like seats, beside a dude with glasses, trying to compose myself before I perform my piece. I will be playing 𝘜𝘯 𝘚𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘰 by 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘻𝘵. I ignore Mr. Henry's voice and move my fingers over the imaginary piano pieces, [basically the air] nervously playing the chorus of the piece.

"𝘜𝘯 𝘚𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘰. Not bad, babe.", I hear a soft voice beside me.

I turn around to look at the source of the voice, only to see Elijah sitting there. I never knew he wore glasses. It makes him look more approachable than usual, in my opinion. His brown eyes gaze at my fingers, an appreciative smile on his gorgeous face. His dimples make an appearance as he meets my eyes and suddenly my stomach does one of those flips. Yeah, I didn't have lunch, what about it?

"Yeah, what about you?", I whisper, genuinely curious what rich boy can play.

"𝘔𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘢 by 𝘉𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯.", he whispers back, his breath close enough to graze my cheek.

I gulp, my throat suddenly clammy. Damn it that is good competition. I had a hard time learning his piece. "Oh cool, all the best.", I say, my voice coming out strangulated.

"You too.", he says, smiling genuinely. Rich boy can be nice sometimes huh?

I go back to mentally practicing my piece, now self-conscious that Elijah is sitting beside me, probably judging how bad I'm at playing the piano. [I was an insecure kid okay?] I sigh deeply, trying to stop my hands from trembling. Why do these attacks always happen before performing in front of an audience? I'm fine before my piano teacher, so what's the problem?

I rub my hands together, trying to warm them. My piano teacher, Ms. Liu always tells me that anxiety before a performance will always ensure that you'll do well during it. Now that I am experiencing it, I'm not that sure. I continue trying to warm my hands, worried if cold fingers will lead to stiff performance. Elijah seems to notice, but I don't mind right now, my nerves taking over the self-conscious part of my mind.

I glance at Mr. Henry, who seems to be done with his over-dramatized speech about how the orchestra is revolutionary. [I love music too but his speeches are always fun to listen to, but not the best when you're nervy] Suddenly a warm hand grabs a hold of mine. I inhale sharply when I realize it was Elijah's warm hands that were now enclosing mine. I look at him questioningly, and he refuses to meet my eyes, the darkroom unhelpful in reading his expression. I settle deeper into my chair. Maybe those hands weren't so bad after all. They're soft and warm and my hands are not cold anymore.

I shift my attention to the performances that have now begun. There are some breathtaking ones and some that are terrible. I listen to this one violin piece, absolutely entranced when I realize my performance is going to be next. I begin panicking, my breath hitching in my chest. I begin going through the keys in my head, trying to distract myself from hyperventilating. "It's alright, it's okay.", I whisper to myself, trying to console myself. I feel Elijah's hand squeeze mine and he lets go, refusing to meet my eyes.

That comforted me, even if by a little. I steady my breathing and go stand behind the wings. Valentine follows me, and I look around confused. It strikes me that his performance is before mine alphabetically. The violin piece finishes and Elijah begins setting up the piano for his performance. I whisper to shout, "Valentine, don't lose to me.", I say. He looks at me, smiling softly. My stomach flips again. I really should remind myself to eat.

Mr. Henry says, "Mr. Valentine, you may introduce yourself and specify the piece you'll be playing today."

"Hi, my name is Elijah and I'll be playing 𝘔𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘢 by 𝘉𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯. Hope you guys enjoy.", he says stiffly, the earlier cockiness nowhere to be found. It finally strikes me that he's just as nervous as I am. The piano is positioned in such a manner that from where I am at, in the wings, Elijah can meet my eyes if he just raises his head. He seats himself in the seat and takes in a deep breath, one that wouldn't be visible to the audience. I look at him, crossing my fingers behind my back, and find myself wishing that he will do good.

Maybe it was my prayers, or maybe it was that wretched four-leaved clover, he raises his head, his eyes finally meet mine. I smile and whisper, "Put up a good fight, rich boy." Her lips twitch up, a hint of a smile on his face. He nods once firmly and begins playing.

I am lost in the music, as the opening of the piece plays out perfectly. Good lord, the rich boy is talented. Now that he is doing so well, why can't I?

Oh, I'm so going to beat Valentine's ass.