Page 30 of Feral Touch
“It's going to be okay,” he said eventually, trying to console me. I didn't reply. After a few moments he spoke again.
"“You go to Opus Academy, right? They're one of the best in the country, aren't they?”
“Yeah,” I whispered.
“How much is your tuition?”
I told him. “The whole amount isn’t due at once. I’m paying in installments. I just don’t have enough to pay the next one.”
“You play cello with a concentration in performance?”
Even through my tears I was surprised he remembered.
“Yeah.”
“What else?” he asked.
I sniffled again. “What do you mean?”
“What else sets you apart from the other students at your school?”
“I—” I was taken aback, almost distracted from my misery. “I'm also taking composition. Double major.”
“And?”
“I'm a girl. There aren't very many female cello players at my school.”
“What else?”
“Um, I'm poor?” I huffed out a bitter laugh.
“It's going to be okay, Ivy.”
“Nothing's okay,” I said, voice dull and defeated.
“I promise you, you're going to be fine.”
“How? How do you know that?”
“Because you're Ivy from Opus Academy and you're amazing.”
CHAPTER 8
I'DBEENCONFUSEDwhen Ren ended the phone call suddenly. He'd simply told me to trust everything would be okay and that he'd talk to me later. He didn't mention our date or the way I'd been ignoring his messages.
I didn't know whether to believe him or not. How could Ren make everything okay? Would he use his influence as a musician to force the event company to hire me? I could maybe imagine him doing that. It wouldn't be fair to the person they chose, though. They probably needed the money just as much as I did.
I spent the night torn between tears and hope closed off in my room so Jen and Natalie wouldn't know anything was wrong. I didn't want them to see me so upset. It would only make them worry. I made sure to shower and hole myself up in my room before they came home. I remembered to take the chicken out of the oven, so at least I hadn't burnt the apartment down.
Class the next day was difficult to get through. Every five minutes my mind would wander and I'd start thinking negative thoughts.
I'm never going to sit in this class again and watch my professor drone on about music history.
Even the most boring of subjects was suddenly something I couldn't live without.
My last class of the day finally finished without anyone noticing how out of it I was. At the very least, I hadn't burst into tears.
I walked out of the classroom to find my advisor waiting for me. I was surprised to see him. Temsah usually made appointments. Something important must have come up for him to ambush me.
