Me:Love it.She looks like she’s free.
I put my phone away again and took a deep breath, blinking back the tears that were blurring my vision.Finally, I forced myself to step away, joining Janice near a display of mixed media projects.
“Hey,” she said, glancing over as I approached.“This one is pretty cool.I think it’s supposed to be about different interpretations of the same moment.”She gestured to an image that had several layers of overlapping imagery.The person looked to be standing between buildings, his presence overlapped with more of him from different perspectives.I leaned in closer.
“I think each layer is a different medium used.That’s charcoal.And that looks like acrylics?”I mumbled, not really seeing the artwork.I straightened from it and couldn’t stop myself as I glanced back toward Micah’s piece.
Janice gave me a gentle nudge with her elbow.“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I said.“I’m still a bit dumbstruck from Micah’s watercolor.”
“That’s what art is about, right?”She gave me a knowing look.“It’s supposed to make you feel something.Like your songs.”
I laughed at the parallels she was drawing.She wasn’t wrong.I aimed to leave people dumbstruck with my music.People did the same with their art and Micah had always been good at that.I had an album full of drawings he sent me over the years.“Yeah, I guess I wasn’t expecting to feel that much.”
Janice looped her arm through mine, pulling me gently toward the hallway.“Come on, let’s head back out.I’m sure Justin is freezing his poor butt off waiting for us.”
“We can’t let that happen.I actually do like his butt.”
“I’m sure you do,” Janice said in a teasing voice as she led me down the hallway.We paused to see if the door to the big gymnasium was unlocked, but it wasn’t.We needed to walk around to the front of it to get to the exit.
“Cadence?”
We turned to see Laurens coming from the hallway that we needed to go down.
“Mr.Laurens, how are you?”I asked.
His gaze flickered briefly to Janice before coming back to me.His polite smile tightened as his eyes scanned the hallway, making me feel uneasy.I realized we were away from the main crowd, and no one else was here.
He stepped closer, his shoulders squared.
“I’m doing good.Mrs.Hayden just finished giving me a tour of the school.She has a project she was hoping I’d help fund.It’s a nice place.”
“Where’s Mrs.Hayden?”I asked, glancing around, hoping she was nearby as my skin began prickling.
“I think she mentioned something happening that she had to go handle.”Laurens reached up and rubbed at his jaw briefly.“I think some students were causing issues in the parking lot.I thought I’d take a peek around again before heading out.It’s good to see you.I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
“Uh, yeah.My friend was in the swim meet so I came to support him.”
Janice shifted uneasily beside me.Her grip on my arm tightened.She was sensing the same thing I was.Something wasn’t right with Laurens.More so than the other times I met with him.
“Are you ready for our meeting after the new year?”he asked.
I glanced behind him, at the direction we needed to go to get out of the school.“Almost.I have one more song I’m trying to finish.I should have about half the songs ready.”
His smile widened.“That’s really good.We’re excited to have your songs for the musical.It means a lot to a lot of people.I never knew you were so popular.”
I shrugged.“Around here, I guess I do hold some popularity.”
He chuckled.“Well, it was a pleasure seeing you.”He looked at Janice.“And Janice too.”
Janice stilled and frowned at him, confused.“How do you know me?”
“Hm?”he asked.
“I don’t know you.I’ve never met you.How do you know my name?”
“Oh, I heard Cadence call you that.”
