Chapter 22 - Plans

Jen looked up in surprise as Wendy walked into her office without knocking, then frowned as she saw the look of intensity in Wendy's eyes.

"What's up?" She asked in concern, closing the lid of her laptop.

"Well, my mom's better," Wendy informed her in a tight voice that Jen knew well. She was barely holding back tears.

"Better?" Jen questioned, lines creasing her brow. "Is the treatment finally having an effect?"

"Nope," Wendy replied with a shaky laugh. "No treatment. Just a fourteen-year old that can apparently heal cancer."

"Oh my god," Jen sat up straighter in her chair. "What happened?"

Jen's eyes grew wide as Wendy recounted the events of the evening. Having experienced Heidi's ability to heal firsthand, she knew this was beyond coincidence.

"So she doesn't know she was healed by Heidi?" Jen asked when Wendy finished the tale.

"No," Wendy shook her head. "And I guess it's probably better that way for now. The media just barely stopped focusing on Heidi a few weeks ago. The last thing we need is another public incident to put her back in the spotlight."

"Wendy, this is fantastic news!" Jen smiled at her oldest friend. "I have been so worried about you for the last couple of months."

"Well, there's more to the story," Wendy said slowly, pulling out an mp3 player and handing it to her. "I've just given you what could probably be considered worth more than all of the gold in the world. Listen to that tonight. Whatever you do, don't listen to it while you're driving—you'll crash."

"What is it?" Jen asked, feeling a chill.

"Music composed by Heidi," Wendy replied, her eyes filled with a strange light. "It's not something that can be described. You have to experience it. I have some ideas I'd like to run past you, but not until you've listened to that."

"Okay," Jen replied with a nod. "I'll listen to it tonight as soon as I get home."

Wendy nodded and then left without another word. Curious, Jen packed her laptop and left the office. When she got home, she hurriedly ate some dinner and got ready for bed before grabbing some headphones and starting the mp3 player.

She finally looked at the clock and realized three hours had gone by. Without hesitation, she started the first song again and listened through all of the songs until dawn stained the horizon. She debated calling in sick so that she could continue listening to the music over and over. With a regretful sigh, she reluctantly pulled the earbuds out of her sore ears and got ready for the day. Ideas flooded her supercharged mind the entire way to school. There was no way she would waste a resource this valuable. Wendy had been right in making her listen to the music before discussing it.

She went straight to Wendy's classroom when she arrived at the school. Wendy took one look at her bloodshot eyes and laughed.

"You didn't sleep, did you?" Wendy asked wryly.

"Not a wink," Jen answered, closing the door behind her. "We need to talk about Heidi."

"Ya think?" Wendy asked with a grin.

"Actually, I can't stop thinking," Jen replied, shaking her head. "I still can't believe what I just heard. I almost called in sick so that I could keep listening to it."

"So here's one of my ideas," Wendy said without preamble. "I was thinking we could start an after school orchestral club where any of my orchestral students could learn how to play Heidi's songs. Given Heidi's popularity, I'm pretty sure most of my students would leap at the chance to join, especially once they hear what she has created."

"That's kind of what I had in mind too," Jen told her as she walked over and sat down at the piano. "I would also like to plan an end of year concert where they could show the music to the rest of the school. If we could get a few of our local members of congress to join the event, we might even get someone to start funding more fine arts at the schools in this state."

"Brilliant," Wendy told her admiringly. "I've never had much luck with any of the campaigns I've waged for funding with the district, but if we get a lot of attention at the state level we might actually get some positive results."

"Do you think Heidi would be willing to share her music in such a manner?" Jen asked thoughtfully.

"I think so," Wendy replied confidently. "I'm pretty sure she might even help the students learn their instruments more quickly, like she did with Autumn and Aria."

"Let's do it then," Jen said with a smile of anticipation. "I'll definitely be a frequent visitor to see how it sounds live. I would really like to hear her sing in real life. Have you heard her yet?"

"No, just some vocal scales before I went to Germany," Wendy replied with a shake of her head. "Even singing training scales, her voice was riveting. I hope she records some vocal tracks today, because I would also like to hear that voice perform live."

"Do you mind?" Jen asked, nodding at the piano in front of her. "I haven't really played since our band days. Listening to Heidi made my fingers itch to play."

"Please do!" Wendy said enthusiastically. "I really miss your piano playing."

Jen smiled as she began playing one of their old songs from college. Her grin widened as Wendy picked up an electric guitar and joined her. When they finished, several students had entered the room and were watching the two of them in shock.

"We have a really cool principal," one of the boys noted to another student as Jen stood up to leave.

The other students nodded their agreement as she left the classroom. She hadn't felt cool for a long time. She couldn't help smiling to herself as she walked to her office with a skip in her step. Who needed sleep, anyway?