Page 28 of Unspoken Words
I shrugged. “I dunno. I just do it.”
She glared at me like a furious, red-eyed cartoon character. “Don’t brush it off like that.”
“I’m not.”
“Yeah, you are. Music is your art. You’re an artist, Connor Bourke. Areallygood one. Don’t cover that in self-doubt.”
“I’m not—”
“You are,” she said, standing up and stepping toward me. She looked angry, and I wasn’t sure whether to get up and run or grab something as a shield.
“You’re so talented and passionate, and that’s really special. You could be famous one day, like Bryan Adams.”
The muscles in my face pulled taut, and I tried not to laugh. Really tried. But some things were just … funny. “You really think so?” I asked, my enthusiasm tenfold, albeit a lie.
She nodded with excitement, red curls bouncing on her shoulders and chest. “Uh huh.”
“Would you be my agent? I’ll need one of those.”
“Sure! I don’t know how to be an agent, but I’d research it. I’d learn.” Ellie’s eyes were wide, like two big green traffic lights. She was so adorable, and deadly serious.
Unable to continue my charade, I burst into laughter. “Eloise Mitchell, what would I do without you?”
“Huh?” She tilted her head just slightly, her brow crumpling.
I kept laughing; I couldn’t help it.
Recognition soon blared and her traffic light eyes turned to narrow light sabers. Dangerous light sabers. Angry red, Darth Vader dark side light sabers.
She was lightning fast and grabbed my pillow, whacking me over the head with it. “Argh!” she screamed. “You’re so infuriating. You drive me nuts.”
“Good nuts or bad nuts?”
Whack.
“I’m not sure.”
Whack. Whack.
“Okay okay,” I said, defending her blows. “I’m sorry.”
She got in one last, softer whack.
“I’m sorry. It was just funny.”
“What was funny?” Ellie tossed the pillow back onto my bed and crossed her arms. “I didn’t say anything funny.”
“You did. You said I could be a famous musician.” I pointed to myself. “Me? I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. Because I don’t like performing.”
“Could’ve fooled me.” She gave me a you-and-I-both-know-I’m-right grin before breaking eye contact to scan my room. “Are you normally this messy?”
I quickly glanced around, noticing some dirty clothes hanging on my desk chair, an empty chip packet next to the bin, and my half-made bed … which had been neater before Ellie tossed my pillow onto it.
“What mess? This is tidy.”
