Dismissed (20 page)

Taylor looked at Nick with even more desire.

Lizzie hoped he knew what he was letting himself in for.

She glanced out into the yard on her way to the door. The party was in full swing. Everyone was dancing around the pool and laughing like they didn’t have a care in the world. Lizzie wished she could feel like that, but she wouldn’t be able to relax until she’d spoken to Brandon.

Just as she was walking out the door, she heard a loud splash. When she turned to see what had happened, she saw that Heather and Cara had somehow ended up in the pool, fully clothed. And they did not look happy.

Lizzie chuckled. That helped a bit.

CHAPTER 24

Lizzie found herself back at The Den, this time as a legal customer. She lined up in the regular queue with everyone else, and prayed that they still had tickets available to buy inside.

She overheard two girls in front of her talking.

‘Who do you like better? Brandon or Jason?’

‘I think Jason. He seems like such a bad boy. I would totally let him take me home.’

Lizzie smiled. If only they knew he wanted to settle down with a big family. But then maybe that would make them like him even more.

She looked down at her outfit and belatedly realised she was slightly overdressed. Everyone else was in skinny jeans and miniskirts, while she was still wearing her floor length formal dress. She wished she had taken a change of clothes to the after-party.

She finally reached the head of the queue and the bouncer looked her up and down, smirking.

‘You just been to a wedding or something?’

‘A formal,’ she answered.

‘Oh, a school girl, huh? Show me your ID.’

Lizzie handed it over.

‘Is this real?’ he asked, checking her reaction.

‘Yes! I moved up from Melbourne as a kid, so I turned eighteen a couple of months ago.’

‘Alright. In you go, princess.’

Lizzie hastily went inside before he could tease her further. It sounded like the band had already started, and the outer area was fairly quiet. She kept on going to the other door, and found herself face to face with the same woman from January.

She looked at Lizzie and did a double take.

‘What’s with the dress?’

‘Don’t ask.’

‘Okaaay. Ticket please.’

‘Can I buy one? I didn’t get a chance to order one earlier.’

She sighed. ‘Fine. Come this way.’

The woman led her back to a counter near the door and processed the sale.

As she handed Lizzie the ticket, she stopped.

‘Do I know you from somewhere?’

Lizzie’s heart sped up.

‘I don’t think so.’

‘You haven’t been here before?’

‘Oh, you mean from here? I came to a gig a little while ago.’

The woman kept looking at her, and then shrugged.

‘Cool.’

She pointed towards the door, where Lizzie practically ran through and lost herself in the crowd. It was unlikely the woman would remember her from nine months ago, but she didn’t want to risk seeing her again in case it somehow jogged her memory.

The band were playing a heavy track called
Mars Has Fallen
, and the whole audience had their hands in the air, waving them backwards and forwards.

Lizzie stuck to the far wall and inched her way closer and closer to the front. She found the crowd so tightly packed in the front four rows that she had to make do with standing a few feet back.

But now what? It wasn’t like she could yell out to Brandon in between songs. It probably would have been smarter to wait outside until the set finished, and then try to find him as he left.

She looked over at Jason.

He spotted her and grinned. And then he raised a finger, indicating she should wait a minute.

She stood, mesmerised. Brandon was focused on singing the song, in between keeping an eye on the people in the front row who were lurching about quite aggressively.

The song ended with a loud guitar flourish, and Jason stepped up to the microphone.

‘This next one is new,’ he started. ‘We hope you’ll indulge us while we give it a spin.’

Brandon looked at him, confused. He whispered something in Jason’s ear, and Jason waved him away, saying something back that no one could hear. Brandon didn’t look pleased, but he quickly went and talked to Ethan, while Jason spoke to Alex.

Ethan started drumming a much slower beat than the previous song. Alex soon followed with a soft melody, and then Jason joined in with the accompanying bass.

Brandon stepped up to the microphone and cupped his hands over the mouthpiece.

My heart beat in time with that rhythm…

Jason checked for Lizzie’s reaction, and winked when he saw her make the connection.

Those blue eyes, that brown hair…

Lizzie was entranced. Was it really possible that the song was about her like Jason had said?

She sees past the one-dimensional…

Was that referring to the class discussion after reading
1984
?

Soulmates who can’t sleep…

OK, that was pretty obvious. And did he just say
soulmates
?

Lizzie’s whole body started buzzing as she watched Brandon sing her song. Tonight he looked more beautiful than ever in a pair of dark jeans, a black t-shirt, and a long grey scarf tied around his neck. His hair had grown over the year, and he could now tie it back in a low ponytail. A lock came loose, so he tucked it behind his ear.

And that’s when he saw her.

This time he almost stopped singing right then and there. But he kept going, keeping his eyes on her the entire song.

She held her breath, feeling everything in hyper reality. The energy from his gaze charged her with such intensity that she thought she might explode.

As the final riff died out, the crowd cheered wildly.

Jason caught her attention and pointed to the backstage door.

‘We’ll be right back,’ Brandon said, already walking off.

Lizzie managed to push her way through the dedicated mass of fans and stopped near the backstage door to wait. A security guard eyed her warily.

Brandon flung open the door and dragged Lizzie inside. He closed the door and stared at her.

‘What are you doing here?’

His tone wasn’t harsh, just curious. And possibly hopeful. But then Lizzie might have been imagining that bit.

‘I wanted to see you play.’

‘Aren’t you supposed to be at the formal? Or the after-party?’

‘I was, but I left,’ she explained.

He continued to look at her, seemingly unsure what to say next.

‘How’s your new school?’ she asked, feeling kind of lame for coming all this way and asking such a generic question. But she couldn’t exactly come right out with a declaration of love.

‘Good.’

‘Just good?’

‘It’s a job. It earns me money. I like to inspire people and motivate them to ask questions. And unless I can make more money from music, I have to do something else to pay the bills.’

‘I miss you,’ she said softly.

He looked at her sadly, but didn’t say anything back.

‘Was that song about me?’ she prodded.

‘I can’t answer that.’

Lizzie could tell from his response that he wanted to tell her it was, but was unable to.

‘Why won’t you be honest with me?’ she asked, exasperated.

‘Because I could lose my job!’ he said, frustrated. ‘It doesn’t matter that I’m at another school now. I’m not allowed to date a student, full-stop.’

‘That sucks.’

‘It does,’ he agreed.

‘What are the rules about dating an ex-student?’

‘I can’t look like I had any sort of relationship with you while you were still at school.’

‘So that whole stupid fake scandal has basically fucked things up for us?’

‘Pretty much.’

‘So what now?’

‘You should go. Finish school, and then do whatever you feel is best for your future. Study… travel…’

‘But what about us?’

‘There can’t be an
us
. I’m sorry.’

Lizzie’s eyes welled with tears.

‘I don’t want this to be it.’

Brandon looked like he might be about to cry too.

‘I have to go.’

He turned and went back to the stage.

Lizzie stood there for a minute, before running out.

It seemed she’d gotten her answer. It was just a shame it was the opposite of what she’d been hoping for.

***

Graduation soon rolled around. Lizzie wandered through it all in a daze. She just couldn’t get excited about anything, knowing that she would never be with Brandon. It seemed so unfair. How could it be that a teacher could never date a student
ever
? Shouldn’t there be some sort of time limit?

When she researched the fact, she found that it was a bit of a grey area. A teacher could not be seen to have ‘groomed’ a student while they were still in their care, but Lizzie wondered if several years had passed, whether it would still matter.

Except the idea of waiting years to be with Brandon felt just as bad as never seeing him again. He was twenty-three. He’d probably meet someone else in that time. He could even get married in that time!

One positive thing that came out of the year was Lizzie’s grades. Without the distraction of a social life for half the year, she had been able to focus on her classes, and study uninterrupted. As a result, she got almost top marks in everything. She’d even managed to get the VHA in English that Brandon had alluded to.

After her final scores were calculated, Lizzie found herself the proud recipient of an OP1, the best score someone could hope for.

Her dad was especially pleased.

‘You certainly deserve this,’ he said, handing over a cheque to pay for flights of Lizzie’s choosing.

In the end, she was inspired by Nick’s plans to teach English in Asia, and decided to go to Japan for a month. She figured it would be a great country to visit safely on her own. Not to mention the amazing food and culture. And by not going for too long, she would be back in time for her first semester at uni. She’d been so excited by the course she’d chosen to do that she didn’t want to wait until the middle of the year to start.

‘Are you really sure you want to study music when you return?’ he asked her.

‘Yes.’ While Lizzie could have had her pick of courses, she’d settled on a Bachelor of Music Technology at the Conservatorium. ‘Mr Jenkins said to do what you love, and I think this is something I will love.’

‘OK, then. I trust you to make the right decision for you.’

Lizzie noticed that her dad was looking more polished than usual.

‘Hey, what’s going on here? Have you got product in your hair?’

He smiled nervously. ‘I was uh, actually going to maybe have coffee with a woman I met at the gym. Is that OK? How do I look?’

Lizzie beamed. ‘Of course it’s OK! And you look awesome! This is so cool! So is she the reason you’ve been so dedicated with your exercise on Friday nights this year?’

He looked away guiltily. ‘Maybe. So are you sure you’re fine with this?’

‘Yes! Go! Have fun with your lady friend! But remember, you need to be back before midnight, or you’ll have to stay out until morning!’

He came over and squeezed her arm. ‘Hey, Ms Cheeky Pants. I’m still the one in charge around here.’

She watched her dad leave the house, looking more carefree than she’d ever seen him. She momentarily forgot about her own troubles. Her dad was going to be OK.

Now she just had to get herself back on track.

CHAPTER 25

Lizzie loved Japan so much that she very nearly looked into staying permanently. She flew into Tokyo and spent a week wandering around the city. It was winter over there, so it was snowing a lot of the time, but that just made it more exciting for Lizzie. She had never spent much time in really cold weather.

She explored the massive shopping centres with their electronic gadgets and quirky conveniences. And she even discovered a place called Sanrio Puroland, where she was able to indulge her Hello Kitty obsession without judgement.

It wasn’t until she saw a Doraemon figurine in a shop near her hotel that she remembered Gabe and wondered how he was doing. She’d forgotten he’d been here a couple of years before. She debated whether to buy him a souvenir, but figured it might be a while before she saw him again if he ended up enjoying his time in the States.

Lizzie spent the three weeks after that catching the bullet train across the country, down to Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima. She even caught an overnight cruise to Kyushu, where she stayed in a hot springs town called Beppu.

She didn’t talk to many people (mostly because she didn’t speak Japanese), but she really enjoyed not having to answer to anyone, and she loved feeling like she didn’t technically exist back in Australia.

She arrived home in the middle of February, feeling refreshed and ready to face the world. School felt like a lifetime ago now. Lizzie couldn’t believe she didn’t have to go back. She was glad now that she had chosen to study music and not something more practical in her dad’s eyes, or even according to her original plans. As Mr Jenkins had said, it might not pay the best, but it was important to do something you were passionate about. Music just felt right to her. And she knew it wasn’t because of a certain singer that she’d decided on this path.

Her taxi pulled up out the front of her house at two in the afternoon. Lizzie had told her dad not to bother skipping work to meet her, because they would have plenty of time to catch up later. He had reluctantly agreed, but only on the promise that she would call if any problems arose.

She paid the driver, and went to get her suitcases out of the boot.

‘Here, let me help you with those.’

Lizzie gasped.

‘Brandon! What are you doing here? How did you even know where I lived?’

‘I got Jason to ask Taylor. I hope that was alright.’

‘Of course it was alright. But what’s going on?’ Lizzie felt all disoriented. It didn’t help that she hadn’t slept properly in almost twenty-four hours due to a long stopover in Singapore.

‘Can we go inside and talk?’

‘Um, OK.’

Brandon insisted on taking both suitcases up the stairs. Lizzie followed him and admired the view of him from the back. He had on cut-off khaki pants and a loose grey singlet that revealed his tanned, muscled arms.

He put the bags down in the living room and turned to look at her. ‘How was your trip?’ he asked as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

‘Great. But seriously, what are you doing here? Couldn’t you lose your job being in a student’s house?’

‘I have something to show you.’

‘What?’

He pulled a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and opened it up, handing it to her.

She scanned it, not understanding at first what she was looking at.

‘It’s a recording contract!’ he said excitedly.

Lizzie finally clicked.

‘You’ve been signed by a label?’

‘Yes! We can quit our day jobs and work in music full time!’

Lizzie grabbed Brandon’s arms enthusiastically. ‘That’s awesome! You’re going to be famous!’

He laughed. ‘I don’t really care about that bit. But what I do care about is not having to follow school rules anymore.’ He then checked for her reaction.

Lizzie belatedly realised what he was getting at. Her heart started thumping.

Time stood still. Brandon towered over her, their height difference never more obvious than at this moment. She held her breath. From this point on, everything would change.

They’d never made eye contact this close before, but Brandon fixed his gaze on her, a trace of a smile playing on his lips, almost daring her to look away.

She didn’t. She stood her ground and kept looking at him in a silent game of Chicken. Who would crack first?

He took one more step towards her, their bodies now gently brushing against each other. Lizzie stifled a gasp, the electricity buzzing between them feeling like it should be a visible storm of lightning sparks. They were now entering the point of no return.

Brandon smelled like citrus and the ocean… like summer. And she couldn’t take it anymore. Damn the consequences if there was some obscure rule about not becoming involved with a teacher who had quit to pursue a music career. She physically couldn’t restrain herself anymore.

She reached up and pulled his face towards hers.

Brandon didn’t need any further encouragement. He pressed his lips to hers in the softest, most delicious kiss she had ever tasted. She had to actually stop herself from sighing out loud at the perfection of the moment.

She never wanted it to end. And Brandon seemed to feel the same. He gently walked her backwards over to the couch and pushed her down onto her back. He kneeled over the top of her and looked down at her, smiling.

‘I know I should be worried or remorseful, or something, but I can’t. I’m too happy.’

Lizzie grinned back.

‘Me too.’

‘Do we have the place to ourselves?’

‘For another four hours.’

‘Perfect.’

He leaned over her and gently planted kisses all over her face, gradually working his way down her neck and to her chest.

Lizzie couldn’t handle it any longer. She pulled his shirt over his head and admired his smooth chest for a second. Then she jumped up and dragged him to the bedroom.

Brandon didn’t argue.