He was still laughing while trying to put a calming hand on my shoulder. I swatted his hand away. Angel finally caught his breath and said:
- We’re laughing because she asked us about you this morning.
I blinked.
- She did what?
- Yes. She asked if we thought you would ever be interested in her, Cassius said.
- What did you say?
- We said no, Angel said.
I gasped so hard I thought I’d swallowed my own tongue. I was shaking.
- YOU FUCKING STUPID EVIL—
They cut me off with more hysterical laughter.
- We are joking, O, Angel said.
- We told her that she was quite possibly the only thing you were interested in, Cassius added.
My heart had never beaten so fast.
- What did she say?
- She plans to approach you after her recital tonight. She wants you to see her perform so that she has, in her words, “the best chance of impressing you.”
I smiled the rest of the day, and at night, I sat front row at her recital. Cassius was to my left, and Angel sat next to him. Every time Marcherie looked at me, Cassius elbowed me as if he thought I’d miss it. The truth was that I didn’t hardly allow myself to blink during that entire show. I didn’t want to miss one single second of her presence.
Never before had I witnessed such extraordinary talent. Her performance left a mark on my heart, and not just because her song was blessed by Dolericym herself. It was more than magical—it was perfect.
And after… afterward was something of dreams.
The afterparty was underneath the stage. Cassius and Angel planted kisses on my cheeks, wishing me good luck before they left together.
I was lingering against the wall, waiting, when I saw Marcherie step out of her dressing room. Her makeup and her dress were both halfway off. In her hand was a bottle of dark liquor. I could hardly breathe while she walked toward me, graceful as a wolf. She stopped in front of me and smiled.
- Why aren’t you a Musices student? she asked me.
I stammered. That wasn’t what I expected.
She offered me her bottle. The glass was still warm from where her fingers had been curled around it, where her lips had been sitting on the rim.
- Because I am a Rhetoric student, I said.
- But your voice is so unique. I can tell by the way you talk.
- You think? I asked, laughing.
- I know.
- I do like music. But I’m terrible in a choir. My voice doesn’t blend well with others.
- I’m not surprised by that. You can’t help yourself.
Her tone confused me. I drank from the bottle.
