Silent Springs (2 chapters)

CHAPTER ONE

Caleb charged toward the front door—all six feet two inches of him—armed with his camera, his brother trailing behind.

I put my hand to my face. “If I have to pose for one more picture, I’m going to throw up.”

“Come on, Kara,” he smiled, making his deep, brown eyes light up. “It’s your first day of school!”

“It’s my first day of private school,” I argued as he snapped another picture anyway.

“Just humor him,” Nathan stepped forward, shaking the dark hair from his eyes. He put his arm around me, flashed a huge thumbs up sign and smiled wide while Caleb eagerly took the picture. He was getting a kick out of this.

I dramatically rolled my eyes. “You two are ridiculous. Nicholas is here. I don’t want to keep him waiting.”

“Okay, do you have money for lunch?” Caleb asked, eagerly reaching into his pocket.

Nathan laughed aloud, but I was the one to respond. “Oh my gosh, I’m going to be fine, I promise. I’ll see you at four.” I smiled, breathing a sigh of relief as the front door clicked shut behind me. I was distantly aware of Caleb peeking through the window as I hopped in Nicholas’ car. These little things made him happy and I couldn’t help but smile as the twenty-six year old college professor fervently waved me goodbye like a proud mother.

Still, I had to play the too-cool-to-be-excited teenage role or else I would have been too nervous. Public school in Silent Springs was essentially filled with school kids who either had too many behavior problems, or didn’t have enough money to go to Silent Spring Preparatory. And because Silent Springs was primarily filled with CEO’s, corporate lawyers, and rocket scientists, the latter was rare. I had gone to public school because it was what I’d been enrolled in since the first grade, but after word got around about my mother’s death, kids liked to talk. Of course, everyone in town knew of the incident as it was all over public news stations, but only the public school kids lacked the tact to leave me alone. I’d learned to handle it, but it still bothered Caleb. On the anniversary of my mother’s death, some kids thought they were being funny by putting a noose in my locker. I was more angry than upset, but it was the last straw for Caleb. He pulled me out of school, called up the Headmaster of his alma mater and was able to get me enrolled the next week.

Money wasn’t a problem. Nathan and Caleb were part of wealthy family, not to mention their father left them a very large sum of money after he had passed. And so that was that. I was a private school student. I’m not going to lie; I did spend a pathetic amount of time in the mirror that morning. Even though my outfit was already picked out for me (a light blue polo with a plaid skirt) I couldn’t help but do and then redo my hair and make-up. I had to make a good impression. It’s not like I’d ever really been self-conscious. My slender physique and dark features usually got me positive looks from the boys at school. My dark brown hair sat just over my shoulders with bangs that swooped across my forehead, and I made sure to put on the perfect amount of eyeliner to accentuate my dark green eyes. Of course there were things I wished I could change about my appearance. I mean, being five seven when virtually everyone around you is at least three inches taller kind of sucks, but I learned to deal.

Nicholas greeted me with a smile and a peck on the cheek. He wore the standard boys’ uniform: a white collared shirt with a blue and red striped tie and black pants. Nicholas was such a contrast to me in appearance. With soft blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes, we couldn’t look any more different. Still, I wasn’t complaining. “Ready?” he smiled, pulling out of the driveway.

“I hope so,” I sighed as the butterflies began to flutter in my stomach.

“What’s your first class?”

I pulled the crumpled schedule from my bag. “Choir, I think. With Mr. Castwell.”

He let out a light laugh.

“What? Is that bad?”

He shook his head. “Castwell is just a little… eccentric, that’s all. I had him for music theory last term.”

I sank deeper into the seat. What was I getting myself into? I didn’t know a single person from the preparatory. I’d met Nicholas by chance in a grocery store and was lucky enough that we hit it off, but would the other students be so nice? And as if to make things harder, Nicholas and I had to part the moment we entered the building. First period was about to start in three minutes and we both had to hurry. I practically stumbled through the choir room doors just before the loud bell rang through the empty hallway behind me.

I guess it was custom for the people here to get to class early because all thirty of the students stood attentively on the risers, staring at the slightly out of breath and very out of place girl in the doorway.

A short, plump man with rimless glasses waddled forward, smiling ear to ear. “You must be Kara Patterson!”

I ignored the gasps that escaped unsuspecting lips. Patterson was a name people instantly recognized in this town. “Hello.” I smiled and shook his pudgy hand.

“Come in! Come in! We’re always more than delighted to have a new addition to our family. Were you in choir over at the high school?”

“No, I’ve never been in a choir before. The admissions office picked my classes for me.”

This seemed to excite him even more. “Well, then. We must hear you sing!”

“I—what?” Nothing like embarrassing yourself in a roomful of your peers to start your first day of school. The students on the risers just waited expectantly like this was normal.

“Sing something for us, Miss Patterson,” he smiled, leading me over to the piano in the middle of the room.

I felt the blood rush to my face as my body went into panic mode. “I—well, I don’t have anything prepared.”

“We all had to do it,” a guy from the bottom riser reassured me. He looked like he belonged on the football field.

There was no way I was getting out of this one. I was going to sing in front of the large group of people—probably terribly—and totally humiliate myself. “Do you know ‘My Country ‘Tis of Thee’?” Mr. Castwell asked and positioned himself at the piano.

I nodded, and without any more confirmation than that he began playing the intro to the song. I stared at the back wall and starting singing—not really thinking—just hoping I could get through the entire song without passing out. I was more than thankful when the song ended, but was a little confused when I refocused on my surroundings and saw dropped jaws and disbelieving faces.

Mr. Castwell swallowed. “Who was your vocal teacher?”

What? “Um, I don’t really sing. I’ve never had one,” I explained.

“Amazing,” he breathed. “That was just amazing.” So I guess I sounded good. That was comforting. Still, I kind of wished everyone would stop staring at me. There was an uncomfortably long silence before Mr. Castwell snapped out of his trance. He cleared his throat. “Go ahead and stand on the first riser between Monica and Ryan.”

He pointed to the space next to the football guy and a girl with long red hair. “Awesome job,” Ryan whispered low.

“Thanks.” I smiled.

The rest of the class wasn’t as painful. I basically followed along with the girl next to me, ignoring her cold shoulder. Class seemed to drag as I wasn’t used to the ninety-five minute periods and I breathed a sigh of relief once the bell finally rang.

My next three periods were AP Chemistry, study hall, and then lunch. I searched around the large cafeteria for Nicholas. He waved me over. “How is it so far?”

“It’s good,” I lied. Being the new kid sucked no matter who you were.

Nicholas introduced me to the others at the table. “Kara, this is Mike, Kate, and Ryan. Guys, this is Kara.”

“So you’re the mysterious girlfriend. Hey, Nick, did you know she can sing?” Ryan wiggled his dark brows.

“Have you two met?”

“Choir,” I responded. “Mr. Castwell made me sing in front of everyone.”

Kate gave me a sympathetic smile. “I dropped out of choir last semester for that sole reason. I give you props, though. That’s awesome.”

“Yeah, most kids usually choke whenever he makes them do it,” Ryan added.

“How did you do?” I inquired.

“Don’t know, don’t care,” he shrugged. “I’m just taking it for the easy credit. It helps raise my GPA and I need it for lacrosse.”

“That’s right!” Mike nodded, bumping fists with Ryan. He put an arm around Kate once he pulled away. They were clearly dating. Mike’s build was similar to Ryan’s and it was apparent he was into athletics. However, his sandy blonde hair made him look like a superstar next to his already beautiful girlfriend. Gosh, was everyone at this school so attractive?

I was glad Nicholas’ friends welcomed me with open arms and they weren’t the stuck up jerks I assumed them to be and I felt guilty as all three of them offered to show me around. “You have AP Calculus with me and Ryan next period.” Nicholas smiled as he read over my schedule.

“Yeah, Mr. Durlap is so exciting,” Ryan chimed in before popping another french fry into his mouth.

“As long as he doesn’t make me do math problems in front of the entire class, I’m good.” I sighed looking over my schedule again. I hated adjusting. I was never one for exploring. I liked having a routine and sticking to it.

“The day is almost over,” Nicholas whispered in my ear, his warm breath tickling my neck.

After Calculus, he told me where to meet him at the end of the day and I showed up in the parking lot right on time feeling like I’d just run a marathon. “So what’d you think of your first day?” Nicholas asked as I buckled my seat belt.

“Exhausting. I have so much work to do.” I should have figured I was going to have a lot of homework my first couple of weeks seeing as how I started in the middle of second semester.

He flashed me a perfectly white smile, his crystal blue eyes almost glowing. “Come on, Kara. You’re ten times smarter than you think you are. I bet it’ll take you a couple of hours to catch up.”

“Please,” I snorted. “Remember this face because you won’t be seeing it for a long time. I need to lock myself in my bedroom for the next week and a half.”

I knew I would catch up just fine, but actually doing it was still dreadful. I’d been number one in my class since the eighth grade which probably would have never happened if I didn’t live with Caleb. He was too knowledgeable to let me fail. I remember every day I would come home from school armed with all of my books and Caleb and I would sit at the kitchen table and go through all of my assignments together. Of course, as I got older I learned to do my homework by myself, but by that point schoolwork was second nature. It never took me very long to finish.

It felt strange returning home from school almost two hours earlier than usual. Caleb wouldn’t be home for a while as the philosophy class he taught at the university didn’t end until four o’ clock. Nathan, however, would be home any minute. He taught fifth grade over at the elementary campus. I never really understood his career choice seeing as how he looked like less of a grade school teacher and more of a tortured artist. Of course, his creativity was limited to macaroni necklaces, but I argued it was the cool, brown hair that fell into his eyes and his sharp jaw line. Regardless, both Nathan and Caleb loved their jobs.

I dragged my feet up the stairs after downing a tall glass of water from the kitchen and eagerly took off the uncomfortable school uniform. I changed into my skinny jeans and a t-shirt instantly feeling more relaxed. Sprawling all of my books onto my floor, I dove right in. I figured I’d take the ripping-it-off-like-a-band-aid approach. No sense in procrastinating. I turned on some jazz music as if to reiterate the fact that I meant business. It was cool and sophisticated—just what I needed.

I heard Nathan open the front door a while later. He lightly tapped on my door before poking his head in. He raised an eyebrow making a face of mock disgust. “What are you listening to?”

I set my pencil down and broke out of my Calculus trance. “Music?”

“This,” he joked. “Is not music. Where’s the drum solo?” Nathan leaned his tall frame against the doorway, folding his arms across his chest.

“Who says you need a drum solo? It’s stimulating.”

He shook his head. “You have the weirdest taste in music.”

“Whoa,” I sat up. “Don’t forget I was here for your screamo garage band phase. I’m thinking this is a little better.”

Nathan laughed me off, a light, carefree sound. “How was school?”

I looked down at my work then back up at him. “What do you think?”

Nathan sat on the edge of my bed and as the music continued, I watched as he tapped his foot to the beat. “It’s nothing you can’t handle. Just give it a week.”

“I know.” I smiled. “I’m just being dramatic. It wasn’t so bad except for when my choir teacher made me sing in front of the entire class.”

“Castwell?”

“How did you know?”

“I took a music class with him my senior year. It was my first and last attempt at ever singing anything.” It was cool to have some of the same teachers as Nathan and Caleb. It made the preparatory seem a little less foreign. Nathan rose. “I’ll let you get back to your work. Dinner will be ready by the time Caleb gets home. Let’s hope he puts away the camera by then.” He shot me a wink before closing the door behind him and then immediately opening it again. “Who sings this?” he asked, curious.

I smiled, victorious. “Ella Fitzgerald. I’ll burn you a CD.”

“Thanks, Kara.” Nathan smiled.

Caleb wanted a play-by-play at dinner that night. I think part of him was excited and the other part was worried he may have made the wrong decision by enrolling me so late in the year. He was probably afraid I’d agreed to private school just to please him, but it really was a good idea. I made sure to keep my stories positive. Then again, it was hard to not be positive with Caleb. He was just one of those people you couldn’t help but smile around. If my first day went smoothly, it only made sense that the rest of my week would get easier.

And it was. By my third full day, I had successfully caught up to every one of my classes and mapped out the most effective way to navigate through the ridiculously large building. It felt weird to not have people categorize me as the girl with the crazy mom. Everyone knew who I was, but they seemed to look past the things that used to define me. Or at least, I hoped they were. It was either that or they were really good at hiding. By the fourth week, I fell into my impatiently anticipated routine.

It wasn’t until that Friday I was blasted with a new complication.

“Miss Patterson, could you stick around for a couple of minutes, please?” Mr. Castwell stopped me as I was exiting choir class. He waited for the rest of the students to file out then handed me a large manila folder.

“Um, am I in trouble?” I asked, confused as to why I was standing there. He gestured for me to look inside the folder. It was a piece of music titled Il Flor Di Loto. I stared at him quizzically. “What is this?”

He smiled so wide, his big cheeks covering his eyes so they looked like little crescents behind his glasses. “It’s the piece you’re going to be singing for the Annual Silent Springs AIDS Benefit next month!”

“I—what?”

“Our music program had great representation last year so the pressure is on for this year. I’m pulling out all of the stops! Only the best of my students are able to perform and this program needs you to represent it. You’ll have a little over three weeks to prepare—with my help of course.” He was so excited and as much as I wanted to tell him no, my heart wouldn’t let me. Mr. Castwell’s eyes lit up once he realized I wasn’t totally opposed to the idea. “Great!” he clapped his hands together. “You can take this with you and we’ll start to work on it tomorrow morning. You don’t want to be late to class!” he sang, pushing me out the door and closing it behind him before I could change my mind.

I guess that’s one way to get acclimated—sing an Italian aria in front of your entire school plus a large majority of the citizens of Silent Springs. So I let it consume the next three weeks, not wanting to let down Mr. Castwell. Funny, I thought the purpose of coming to this school was so I wouldn’t stick out. That would have been too easy.















CHAPTER TWO

I rummaged through my closet, throwing shoes and dresses, coats and cardigans all over the bed. There was no hope. Call me crazy, but I’m pretty sure my t-shirt-jeans combo would be deemed ‘unprofessional’ when it comes to singing Schuman’s Il Fior Di Loto. Great.

         I sighed.

         “What’s up?” Caleb materialized in my room.

         “I can’t find anything to wear.” I pulled out an old summer dress. Too pink. I threw it over my shoulder.

         “For tomorrow night?”

         Last winter’s black dress pants? Too casual. “Yes.”

         “And you’re only now thinking about what you want to wear?”

         “Caleb, this is so not funny.” Pencil skirt?

         He leaned against my doorway observing the reject outfit mountain quickly forming in the center of the room. “What’s wrong with that one?”

         “This?” I lifted the green and white dress in my hands.

         “Yeah. It’s nice.”

         “It has polka dots on it….”

         Caleb shrugged.

         I rolled my eyes. “You men fail to understand the complex nature of a woman’s wardrobe.”

         “That dress would work perfectly,” he pressed. For a brief moment I tried to picture myself belting an Italian aria while wearing this childishly spotted dress.

         I shot a death glare at Caleb.

         “Maybe you’re just being picky.”

         “Maybe you just don’t have any fashion sense.”

         He thought for a moment before calling Nathan into the room. Nathan bounced in, stopping short once he saw the wardrobe massacre all over the ground.

         “Kara, are you aware your closet has vomited all over your floor?”

         “Shut up.”

         He only laughed.

         “Nathan,” Caleb began. “Tell Kara there is nothing wrong with this dress.” He walked over and took the fabric from my hands.

         Nathan looked it over before finally saying, “I like it. It’s nice.”

         I rolled my eyes and returned to my hopeless search.

         “See, Kara?” Caleb smiled. “Just wear this one tomorrow night.”

         “Wait.” Nathan paused. “You want her to wear this to her performance?”

         “Well, yeah.”

         “Caleb.” He raised eyebrows. “She can’t wear this tomorrow.”

         “Why not?”

         “It’s polka dotted….” Nathan stated matter-of-factly.

         I threw my hands in the air. “Thank you!”

         “Why don’t you just buy a dress instead of destroying your closet?” Nathan suggested, throwing the spotted disaster on top of the pile.

         “Because I’m not going to spend money on a dress I’ll only wear once.”

         Caleb laughed. “We’re going shopping. Clean this mess and we’ll meet you in the car.”

         I opened my mouth to protest, but they had both left the room. Men.

         We spent the remainder of the afternoon in town, aimlessly searching for a dress. Caleb soon realized he had the fashion sense of a blind Sunday school teacher and stuck to commenting on suggestions Nathan made with many mhm’s and ah’s. Nathan took the grab-every-dress-you-see-and-throw-Kara-in-a-changing-room approach, but no matter the pattern or the color, the length or the fabric, no dress was The Dress.

         The three of us were walking to store number six when I saw it. Across the street, it glowed in the window, beckoning me forward. I was drawn to it, like a humming bird to sweet nectar, a lion to its prey, a moth to a flame…. There it was. Intricately braided sequin patterns wrapped elegantly around the black torso contrasting exquisitely with a solid charcoal knee-length hemline. This was the type of dress that hugs you in all the right places, the type of dress that screams ‘class’, the type of dress that girls named Kara sing Italian Arias in. This was THE Dress.

         I didn’t bother trying it on. I knew this was what I wanted. That, and I was pretty sure I’d go crazy if I had to undress, dress, undress, and then redress one more time. We soon returned home and I was feeling good.

          I arrived at school early the next morning to squeeze in one last practice session with Mr. Castwell.

         “Kara!” he exclaimed once I walked into the choir room. “Today is the big day! Are you ready?” he scurried over to the piano and flipped through one of the song books.

         “I guess we’ll find out,” I stepped forward.

         “You know, Kara,” Mr. Caswell began, adjusting his glasses, “You are easily the most talented student I’ve ever worked with. Your pitch accuracy and phrase shape is impeccable and your tone is something most girls would kill for. I’ve invited a few of my colleagues to sit in on the event tonight. I told them to keep an ear out for you.”

         My face flashed red. “Oh. Um, thanks.” No pressure. There will just be a bunch of music professionals listening to your performance… not a big deal at all.

         Castwell only smiled his big geeky smile and started playing the beginning of my song. We didn’t rehearse for long, as Mr. Castwell was afraid I’d wear out my voice. He instructed me to drink lots of tea, speak as little as possible, and swallow a tablespoon of honey once every hour up until the performance. Of course, I knew he was only being cautious, so I didn’t bother with his regulations.

         The rest of the day seemed to drag. It wasn’t until lunch I was able to see Nicholas. “You’re not eating?” He asked as we sat down. Mike, Kate, and Ryan sat across from us.

         “I’m not really hungry.” I shrugged.

         Mike laughed and ran a hand through his golden hair. “Someone sounds nervous…” he sang. I flicked a stray French fry at his face with perfect accuracy.

         “I am not,” I started.

         “Really?” he teased. “Because I heard Castwell invited his friends from Annaris.”

         “Wait,” Kate chimed in. She looked to me with pure shock in her eyes. “Annaris School of Music? Like, the Annaris?”

         I didn’t really understand why everyone was making this benefit such a big deal, specifically, my performance. I couldn’t walk into a room without someone mentioning it. I only wanted to help support a great cause, but apparently the citizens of Silent Springs cared less about the benefit and more about the little dramas the performers brought on. “Yeah,” I answered. “No pressure or anything….”

         “You’re going to be amazing,” Nicholas assured me.

         “Let’s hope so.”

         “Well, Mike and I will be there to cheer you on.” Kate smiled and wrapped her arm around Mike’s. They looked like a couple from out of a movie; both attractive and constantly holding hands or kissing. It was so sweet in made my teeth hurt. I couldn’t imagine being that touchy-feely with Nicholas in public. It just didn’t feel right. “We’re making it a date night.” She added.

         “Uck. Gag me.” Ryan yanked his tie upward pretending to hang himself. I shivered as my mother’s bulging, blood shot eyes flashed in my mind. Kate and Mike instantly stopped laughing and the table grew uncomfortably silent. Ryan dropped his tie. “Oh, Kara. I didn’t mean to—”

         All eyes flashed to my face in perfect unison. I snapped upright, sputtering out words without thinking. “What? No, don’t worry about it.” I nonchalantly tossed my hair over my shoulder hoping my laugh sounded more careless than nervous. I grasped for a new subject as the awkwardness slowly infected the table. I cleared my throat. “So, I heard the AP Calc quiz is pretty hard.”

         “Me too.” Nicholas quickly jumped in to save the day. “Marci Braddox said some girl started crying in the middle of it second period.”

         “Dude, no way. I was so busy with lacrosse last night, I didn’t even study.” Ryan immediately pulled his textbook from his bag. And just like that, everyone returned to normal. I shot Nicholas a look of gratitude and he squeezed my hand under the table.

         I had never thought about my mother so much, but it seemed like she kept creeping into my subconscious the past week. It had been a full seven years since she died, yet the memory of that awful day still burned deep in my mind. Part of me wanted to forget I had ever opened the closet door that night; to simply block out the experience entirely, but I knew it was important to keep the past close to my heart. Caleb always said the past is the very thing that shapes us. Good has to come from this, right? I felt a brief pang of homesickness as I suddenly wanted to be back at the house with Nathan and Caleb where I didn’t have to think about my mom, or AP Calculus tests, or the benefit if I didn’t want to.

         “You okay?” Nicholas asked as we entered Calculus. “You’ve been awfully quiet today.”

         “The benefit is stressing me out,” I admitted. He looked like he didn’t believe me. Okay, so I had more serious things bothering me lately, but obviously now was not the time to get into such matters.

         Ryan interrupted before Nicholas could protest. “Speaking of stressing out… is anyone else not ready for this test?” He plopped down in his seat and buried his face in study packets. “If I don’t pass this one, Coach isn’t going to let me play this weekend.”

That was the weird thing about Silent Springs kids. At first glance they appeared to be the sons and daughters of Socialites; teens with stunning good looks, loads of money, and a mindset that allowed them to party six days a week, but make no mistake, they were extremely intelligent and did care about their grades. No one wanted to be the first generation to not get into an Ivy League college. Reputation was everything.

         I, personally, did not have the mental capacity to be anxious about this test. I just wanted it to be eight o’ clock already so I could get this performance over with.

         The room was masked with a nervous silence as Mr. Durlap stood in the front of the room, tests in hand. “Take your seats please.” He cleared his throat. “I hope you kids are ready for this one. Don’t worry, I just took it and got a B. Ha. Ha. Ha.” I think he was trying to make a joke, but his voice was so monotone the class couldn’t really tell.

         Ryan gnawed on his pencil like it was the greatest thing he’d ever tasted and students all around the room were drumming fingers, biting lips, and making sure calculators had enough battery power. I knew I was going to fail this test. I hadn’t been paying much attention at all the past week. There was no use in worrying about the inevitable.

         “Clear your desks please, and remember no talking until after all tests have been turned in. Good luck.” Mr. Durlap passed out the test packets—twelve pages each—and the room fell silent. I flipped through each page, searching for the problems I knew I’d be able to do, but all of the numbers and symbols looked too foreign. Great. This was going to be fun.

         I started on the front page, simply fiddling with the numbers until the answer felt right. I had no idea what I was doing, but I hoped I’d receive even the smallest amount of points for having something written on the page. I blew through the test without really thinking and was kind of surprised when I realized there weren’t any problems left. I peered around the room. Everyone still had their heads down, furiously scribbling in their packets. I brought my test up to Mr. Durlap anyway.

He was reading the newspaper and looked up at me quizzically through his rimless glasses. “Do you have a question, Miss Patterson?”

“No,” I replied. “I’m done.”

A few heads popped up from their tests and looked at me like I was crazy. Mr. Durlap looked to the clock and then to me in disbelief. “It’s only been fifteen minutes.”

I just shrugged. Most of my responses were probably wrong anyways. He took the packet from my hands and I returned to my desk. Mr. Durlap studied my answers and pulled out his red pen. I distracted myself by looking over my music. I didn’t want to watch him mark all of my answers wrong.

As I looked at my score, I played the music in my head, trying to hear myself sing it. There was so much pressure riding on this performance, I just wanted to meet the expectations I had been given. I let the imaginary music consume the rest of my class period.

“See!” the teacher exclaimed once the last test was turned in. “That wasn’t so bad! Ha. Ha. Ha.”

The classroom groaned in unison. Ryan snapped his calculator closed and loosened his tie. “I don’t know, Mr. D. That was pretty rough.” Other students made sounds of confirmation.

Mr. Durlap fixed his glasses onto his nose. “Miss Patterson scored a one-hundred percent and finished in less than twenty minutes. Surely, this test is not impossible.”

My mouth made and audible popping noise as my jaw hit the floor. This moment should have been put in a hall of fame for “Highest Number of Lucky Guesses in Less Than an Hour”. Half of the room stared at me in disbelief and the other half in disgust.

The bell rang before I could be forced explain myself. I breathed a sigh of relief. “Hopefully I’ll see you all at the benefit tonight.” Mr. Durlap smiled as the class quickly filed out of the room.

“Way to go, Kara!” Ryan punched me on the shoulder as he turned into the 1600 hallway.

“When did you find time to study?” Nicholas questioned as we made our way to our last period class.

“Um, I didn’t.”

Nicholas laughed. “Okay. Sure.”

“No, really,” I defended myself. “I seriously just guessed.”

Nick swooped down and pecked me on the cheek. “You are incredible.” He smiled wide, flashing his perfect teeth and laced our fingers together. “Today is a good day. It’ll be smooth sailing from here on out.”

And he was right. Seventh period was a breeze and the professor let class out five minutes early. Nicholas drove me home.

“I’ll see you tonight.” He winked seductively as I let myself out of his car. I couldn’t help but laugh at his mock promiscuity.

“Quit being a creep,” I teased.

“Got you to laugh, didn’t it?” He smiled. “Break a leg tonight. I actually have a super fan section going. I’m bringing my air horn, don’t worry.”

I rolled my eyes. “Goodbye, Nick.”

“Hey,” he stopped me before I closed the door. “Relax for the next few hours, would you? You’re going to drive yourself insane.”

“I will,” I promised. “See you later.”

Nicholas backed his mustang out of my driveway and sped away. I was so relieved to finally be home. Home was consistent. Home was safe. Home was normal. Home was… oddly rearranged and out of place….

As I stepped inside, I noticed the entire front room had been moved around. The comfortable reclining chair was lying on its side in the middle of the rug and the end table was pushed up against the window. Coffee mugs and Tupperware bowls were scattered across the entire floor, and there was a wooden board covering the television.

“FORE!” I heard Nathan shout just as a golf ball flew in the room, ricocheting from the wooden board, bouncing off the recliner, and shooting its way into a striped coffee mug.

“Nice shot!” Caleb exclaimed stepping through the doorway and retrieving the golf ball. “Oh, hey, Kara.” He smiled. “How was school?”

“Did you take your Calculus test?” Nathan added.

They were talking to me as if there wasn’t a makeshift mini-golf course in the middle of the living room. Why did my life have to be so unconventional? “What the heck are you guys doing?”

Nathan looked at me like I was stupid. “We’re playing golf, Kara.”

“In the house?”

“Where else would you like us to play it?” he questioned.

“Um, I don’t know. How about Mistwood?”

“Eh,” Nathan shrugged. “Mistwood Golf Course is for old, rich guys.”

“Shouldn’t you guys be at work or something?”

“It was Parent’s Day at the elementary campus. It was a half day, and they’re still renovating Caleb’s room. Class was cancelled.”

“Of all the things you could have done with your spare time….”

Caleb set the ball on the ground in front of him and carefully putted it into the nearest container, maneuvering his way around the coffee table. “Come play,” he suggested as he lined up his next shot. “It’s fun.”

“You two are so weird.”

“One round,” Nathan started.

“It’s a great way to relieve stress…” Caleb sang.

I just glared at him.

“Oh, come on. I could feel your essence from all the way across town today, and let me tell you, you could stand to loosen up a little.” He gave two practice swings before sinking the ball into the nearest coffee cup.

Nathan offered me his golf club. “I bet you can’t get it around the blue popcorn bowl and into the yellow mug.”

“Oh really? Because I’ve been pretty lucky today and something tells me this will be a piece of cake.”

“Want to bet?” He challenged.

“Loser cleans all of the dinner dishes for a whole week.”

“Deal. You in on this, Caleb?”

Caleb shook his head. “No way. Kara scares me when she’s determined. Have fun scrubbing, Nathan.”

Nathan rolled his eyes, “Oh please. I was Silent Springs Golf Tournament Champion,” he boasted.

“Yeah, in sixth grade. Plus, you were playing against the kids from the elementary campus. You were the only one in contest over the age of seven.”

I laughed out loud as I tried to picture a ten year old Nathan dominating a pre-school golf tournament.

“You know you want to…” Nathan used his best sing-song voice as he waved the club in front of me.

“Dishes for a whole week,” I reminded him, taking the putter. I studied the proximity of blue bowl and the mug, and lightly tapped the ball, hoping I wouldn’t have to eat my words. The golf ball made it into the cup with a soft rattle. A sense of euphoria washed over me as I triumphed in the momentary victory.

Caleb smiled wide slowly turning to his brother. “I told you.”

“You cheated!” Nathan mock-shouted, waving his hands in the air. “I saw you cheat!”

“Give it up. You’re just mad you lost to a girl.” I stuck out my tongue.

The three of us turned the next hour into a full on competition. And just for that hour, I was relieved of my stressors and focused on the family time I had been too busy to have the past week.

“I should probably get ready,” I sighed as we finished returning the furniture to their rightful positions. The phone rang. “I’ll get it.” I called. I picked up the receiver in the kitchen. “Danford residence.”

The man on the other line cleared his throat. “Yes, hello. I am looking to speak with Mr. Danford?”

“Which one?”

“Oh, pardon me,” the man apologized. “Caleb. I would like to speak with Caleb Danford.”

“May I ask who is speaking please?”

“Rafael,” he stated grandly. “Tell him it’s Rafael.”

The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. Caleb walked in then, “Who’s that?”

“Rafael?” I shrugged.

Caleb rolled his eyes. “Great,” he groaned. He took the phone into the office and closed the door. It was probably someone from work.

I made my way upstairs, fully determined to transform my look from collected preparatory student to sophisticated opera singer. I turned on my favorite Jazz singer in the background, Rita Valentine, to help calm my nerves. I spent the most time on my hair. My strategy was simple: shove as many bobby pins as humanly possible in my head, and then curl it so much it might light on fire. I studied a picture of Natalie Portman from the Oscars for reference, and surprisingly enough, it was starting to come together. For as nerve racking as I made this day out to be, everything had actually gone right. There was no reason to psych myself out before the performance.

I put on the dress last, admiring its elegance in the mirror before slipping on the spiked heels it came with. The shoes totally completed the look; however I had no idea if I would be able to last the next four hours in them. I was never one to be so anal about my appearance, but people were waiting to tear me apart. I had heard the small whispers around school. That’s just the way it was. People liked to gossip. Of course, taking one last glance in the mirror, I couldn’t see how they would have room to talk. I looked good.

“Almost ready?” Nathan called from the kitchen.

“I’ll be right down!” I yelled. With one last hair check and a quick spray of perfume, I grabbed my bag and strategically made my way down stairs, careful not to miss any wavering step.

Nathan stood at the foot of the stairs dressed in a black suit complete with a skinny tie. “Someone looks ready for the runway.”

“You’re looking pretty sharp there yourself, champ.” Nathan glared as he dwelled on his unfortunate golf loss. “Where’s Caleb?”

“Waiting in the car.” Caleb was never one to be late.

“Do you know who was on the phone earlier?” I asked suddenly curious.

“It’s not important,” Nathan answered as he opened the front door. “Coat,” he reminded me, tilting his head toward the closet. “Looks like rain tonight.”

A cool draft blew through the door frame and raised goose bumps on my bare shoulders. The moon—usually full and bright—was now muddled by a thin layer of clouds. I snatched my nicest jacket off the hanger, and made my way outside. A swarm of butterflies fluttered in my stomach. This was it; all the worry and stress was for this moment right here. I was ready for whatever I was about to face tonight… right?