Page 91 of Play Me

Chapter Twenty-Six

SEBASTIAN

“Will you fucking hurry up! You’re going to make us late!” Jez yells from the hotel room door.

I pick up the last items left on the nightstand, tucking them into my pocket and look around the emptied hotel room.

I don’t want to leave. I’m scared to. I’m afraid that the memories won’t follow me, and when I close my eyes, I won’t remember the first time she stood there, wringing her fingers trying to lay down conditions of our arrangement.

Or the night she’d laid like a broken doll in my bed and I’d realized I’d loved her and would protect her for the rest of her life if she’d let me.

Or the few happy days we had, after coming back from Uluru, making love over and over again on every surface of the suite, every look, every word of hers spiking the desire in me,

“SEBASTIAN! We’re leaving RIGHT NOW!” Brad booms from the door and I know it’s time to go. I close the bedroom door behind me and make my way to them.

“You ready?” Jez asks, and I know that I’m not.

But time doesn’t stop for everyone and sometimes it’s just time to take a leap.

CADENCE

The school decided to let me come back after three weeks when it seems the scandal has died down.

Working herself to the bone, Sarah did everything she could to take over my classes, knowing I’d feel more at ease with her in charge of my kids, feeling safe leaving them with her.

She called me every day to tell me that the kids were so angry at the school for making me take time off and could not wait for me to come back. That some of the parents had even come to speak on my behalf.

I admit that those calls and words gave me purpose. I spend the time off making revised lesson plans, trying to find more ways to inject fun and different learning techniques into the lessons. I had a renewed need to impart the love of music in my students, to teach them that we are so lucky to be gifted with music in our lives and to not take it for granted but to keep exploring more and more ways to bring it into your world. Music of all kinds and genres.

Now, at the end my first day back, I can’t help but sink into my desk chair, exhausted. I’d forgotten when a full day of teaching could take out of you. I’m almost glad that we had to cancel orchestra rehearsal due to a clash in the schedule for most of the students.

“Miss Bray?”

A small voice calls my name and I turn to see Jenny, the orchestra’s first violinist, standing in the doorway.

“Jenny! How are you?” I wave her in and she pauses, biting her lip.

I haven’t had a chance to speak to her since she told me she had to quit orchestra and I had planned to arrange a meeting with her and her parents sometime next week. Seeing her makes me feel like I’ve been the most selfish teacher in the world, worrying about myself when I should’ve been caring for my students.

“Is everything OK, Jenny?”

“Yes, Miss Bray, I was just wondering, would you take a walk with me? I’m supposed to be at work, so I don’t have a lot of time, but I wanted to talk to you about my music.”

“Of course!” I slide my feet back into my shoes and get up, following her down the hallway.

“How are your parents doing, Jenny?”

“Actually, much better, Miss Bray. Things are still a little bit difficult at home, but we’ve had some help lately, that I think might help with me coming back to orchestra.”

“That is wonderful!” I turn to her and smile and she returns it with a smile that warms my heart.

“Yes, it is. I just want to thank you, from the bottom of my heart. For everything you’ve done for me.”

“I haven’t done anything special, Jenny...just believed in you.”

“No, you’ve done so much more than that...we are ALL so thankful to you. You are, I don’t know what we would do without you.”

And with those words, she pushes open school’s front entrance doors, and there, in the front courtyard of the school is a huge crowd. Almost the size of the entire school! There are students and teachers, parents and admin staff. And everyone is facing me, and smiling and waving.