Page 42 of Echoes of Us

“Sorry, Em. I didn’t think you even liked her,” she stammers, clearly taken aback by my intensity.

I hold her gaze for a moment longer, letting the silence stretch uncomfortably. “Yeah, well, I do. And no, Kasey, she isn’t writing your paper for you,” I say firmly, turning to face the front as exams are being passed around. Kasey remains frozen for a moment, before slowly sinking back into her seat.

That exam was so easy. One more and I get to meet Teagan in the piano room. I study for the last twenty-five minutes of the exam period. When the bell rings, I take a deep breath and stand to leave. As I exit the AP Government class, I see Teagan waiting outside of the class, beaming at me. “I see this one was easy for you, princess.” She nudges my arm. “I finished the AP Latin exam in like, thirty minutes. Dr. Blake rolled his eyes when I handed it in and then told me to go find something better to do, so I came here to wait for you. I looked in to see you were done somewhat early, so either you chose C for everything or you kinda knew it,” she jokes.

“Well, we all can’t be geniuses,” I say. “I’m so freaking nervous for calculus, Teagan. If I fail…”

“Don’t even say it. There is no way you fail. You were perfect all week. I know you can do this, Emmaline.” She says genuinely. Then she smiles big, “plus, you had a genius tutor you.”

“You are so full of yourself it’s disgusting.” I say, shoving her into a locker playfully. I don’t know what I would do without her or how I managed to spend weeks hating her. She has this way of making me feel like I can do anything. The thought makes my cheeks heat, and my chest tighten. I steal a glance at Teagan as we walk silently to the calculus classroom, feeling a confusing mix of admiration and nervousness. She is the one who is perfect. As we arrive, I take another deep breath and turn to her. “Wish me luck.”

Teagan takes my hands. I have an urge to pull away, but I don’t. I still can’t help looking around the hall to see if anyone is watching us. She squeezes my hands and says, “You’ve got this, Emmaline. Just breathe and remember all the studying we did. You’ll do great.” I smile and nod. She drops my hands, and I turn to enter the calculus hall. Before I enter, I hear a voice shouting from down the hall.

“Oh look! The lesbians are holding hands. Isn’t that cute?” Devan yells from a few doors down. He is halfway into the biology lab, leaning against the doorframe. Teagan looks like she is about to go say something when another, deeper voice chimes in.

“Mr. Freeman. You just earned yourself detention for a week,” Mr. Roberts says, stepping into the hallway.

“I can’t get detention. Today is my last day of exams,” Devan says, laughing and high-fiving one of the football players walking into biology.

“Very true. How about we make that a month…starting the first day of next semester. Be here at 6:45 a.m. sharp. If you don’t come, I’ll make it two. I’ll go see Headmaster McNeely after this exam to inform him of my decision. I know he will be on board after I tell him the slander you are spreading about these two young women,” Mr. Roberts says, walking up to Devan in challenge.

Devan’s face reddens with anger, but he nods and goes into the biology lab without another word. Mr. Roberts turns back toward his classroom. “Ms. Briggs, I expect good things today from you. You’ve impressed me the last few weeks.” I nod excitedly. Teagan gives me a thumbs-up as I enter the classroom.

I race down the halls, making my way to the Music Hall. I burst through the door of the piano room, finding Teagan sitting in a chair in the corner, reading a book. She stands as I enter. I rush over, crashing into her. We fall into the chair as I wrap my arms around her.

“I GOT A ‘B’!!!” I scream in her ear. “I actually finished early, and Mr. Roberts graded it right there. I can’t believe it!!!” I sit up to see her face. Teagan is flashing the biggest smile I have ever seen from her.

“I knew you could do it, princess,” she says. I pull her back into a hug, squeezing her tight.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” I whisper into her ear, then kiss her cheek. My lips tingle as they touch her skin, the same way they did the night she told me about the piano concert. I realize my lips are lingering there too long, so I pull away. Why did I do that again? I never do that with Mills. Maybe it is because we’ve been friends for so long? Nothing about it seems wrong, but it definitely is wrong. I stand up quickly, looking around the room.

“Umm…Alright. Time to play the piano,” I say.

Teagan looks at me nervously. “I don’t think I can, Em.”

“I know you can. Just play something easy for me,” I say, pulling her to her feet. Teagan and I sit at the piano bench. I nudge her arm, “Go ahead. Raise the cover thing.”

She giggles and says, “You mean the fallboard?” She winks at me.

“Uh…yeah. That thing.” I look down at the piano, trying to cover the heat I feel rising in my cheeks. Teagan lifts the fallboard, revealing the keys. I look over to see her staring at the keys, eyes wide and panicked. I place my hand on her knee. “Would it help if maybe you taught me something instead of playing for me?” I ask. She says nothing but nods.

Over the next hour, Teagan teaches me a few easy pieces. I have never had an interest in learning piano. To be honest, I still don’t. There is something about seeing this passion slowly come back to Teagan as she gets lost in it. “How about you play something for me now and I will try to repeat it?” I say. She nods, looking contemplatively at the keys. She lifts her hands to the piano to begin when a voice makes us both jump.

“At least someone got her to play.” Ms. Thatcher is leaning against the doorway, smirking at Teagan and me. Teagan shakes her head and slams the fallboard closed.

“Nope. Emmaline asked for a lesson, that’s it,” Teagan says flatly.

“Well, I guess you’ll be failing this semester when you don’t have something for Wednesday,” Ms. Thatcher replies.

“She has something prepared, and it is beautiful. C’mon, Teagan.” I grab her hand, pulling her up and out the door.

I’m sick of people expecting the worst of her.

Chapter 47

Teagan

The only preparation I have done for this concert is my lessons with Emmaline. It feels good to move my fingers across the keys again, but I can’t bring myself to let the music take me over. Showing her how to play doesn’t make me feel like I am doing something against my mom. If anything, it reminds me of our lessons together and how amazing it was to have her as my teacher. Even through the rough times, the piano was our thing. Every day I came home from school, I was sure the piano in our living room would be gone; pawned off for drug money or to pay debts due to drugs. That never happened. That is how I always knew, deep down, past the addiction, my mom fought hard to keep me a priority. She never allowed our strongest connection to be tainted. Now, I have built a new connection with Emmaline through the piano. It feels good to move my fingers across the keys again, but I can’t bring myself to let the music take me over.

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