Page 67 of Meet Me at the Metro

“May I help you?” I immediately recognize the feminine voice behind me.

Here goes nothing.

My body goes rigid, but I somehow persuade my limbs to turn and face my stepmum.

“Theo!” Kimberley gasps. The crow’s feet around her hazel eyes are on full display as she looks me over, and without warning, her arms wrap around me. “I didn’t know you’d be coming by to see me today.”

I don’t mean for my hands to push her away from me the way they do. I run my gaze down her familiar and barely-aged features. She hasn’t changed much. Her deep brown, shoulder-length hair is still cut and styled like it used to be when my Dad was still in the picture. She still wears that same professional business attire. However, its quality seems a lot more expensive than what I can remember.

I roll my shoulders and try to ease my tight, rigid muscles before telling her my intentions for visiting today. “I only came to talk to you about Nora.”

“I’m sorry?” Kim cocks her head confusedly. “I’m not exactly sure I know what you’re talking about?”

“Eleanor Mattice,” I clarify. “She came in today to speak with you about scheduling a new class for the late fall semester. You told her that she missed the deadline.”

“Oh,yes.Ellie, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. Why couldn’t you get her registered?”

“The cut-off dates for that semester were last Wednesday, Theo. Those dates are final. I’m sorry on her behalf, but I can’t just make exceptions because I want to. It wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the student body.”

“It wouldn’t be because you wanted to. She sprained her ankle. It’s not her fault she can’t dance on the damn thing.”

“The dean would argue that it isn’t the school’s responsibility to accommodate for injuries that didn’t occur on the grounds.”

“Fucking please, Kim.” It kills me to have to beg right now. “Just make this exception for her. Just this once. You get her signed up for a new class and allow her to drop that other one, and I’ll be out of your hair.”

“I could lose my position doing this. Besides, having you out of my hair isn’t exactly a desire of mine. I’ve been trying to get in touch with you formonthsnow.”

“I’ve been busy,” I half lie.

She gives me an apathetic look that tells me she’s not fucking buying it.

“What if I agreed to have dinner with you? Would that sweeten up the deal? Could you make an exception then?”

“I don’t know, Theo,” she sighs, but I also see how her shoulders perk at that suggestion. “I could really get in so much trouble here. Plus, I’m afraid you’d just avoid us and ignore our calls again.”

“Not if you do this for me,” I promise, despite how unbearable this bribe is. “Do this for her, and I can do that for you. Fix her schedule, and I’ll make room in mine to have dinner with you guys.”

“You swear?”

“I swear.”

Kim’s eyes linger on mine for several long seconds as if she’s trying to gauge whether or not my proposal is truthful or deceptive. She exhales a heavy, weighted breath. “Fine. Follow me, and let’s see what we can do.”

Oh, Nora. What have you gotten me into?

E L L I E

“My fingers aren’t long enough for this,” I groan.

My hands fall helplessly against the piano’s keyboard, causing an awful chord to echo through the music room. I think I’ve made the biggest mistake in choosing to learn the piano alongside my studies.

“Yes, they are. They’re just too stiff.”

“They’re not!”

“They are!Here,” Connor instructs, placing his palms against the back of my hands and adjusting their position. “Just relax your hands. And you don’t want your wrist this high in the air, either. Let them rest easy and keep them level.”

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