The Low Notes (4 page)

“
You, uh, missed a call and have a voicemail.” Kevin frowned and shook his head as if he didn't know who it could be. She typed her name and number into his contacts list and then turned the phone around and snapped a picture of herself.

Kevin chuckled taking the device from her.

“
How could I ever forget that face?” he mused.

She twisted her lips bashfully before feeling her nerves kick in. She didn't want to say goodbye. What if she never saw him again? Fear was getting the better of her. For it to end like this after a beautiful evening just seemed unfair.

“
So I guess this is goodnight?” he said softly.

“
Yeah. I had a really nice time. See ya,” she said, trying to hide the quiver in her voice. She gave a little wave, turned and started walking to her car. She got to the door and began digging in her purse to find her keys when she heard her cell phone chirp. She pulled it out and took a glance at the message.

Screw it. You free next Saturday?

Her head whipped up to see Kevin where she'd left him with his phone in hand and a Cheshire grin plastered on his face. He shrugged. A giggle escaped her lips and she strode toward him swiftly. She was now closer to him than when they'd initially said goodbye and when she inhaled his sweet smell again, she felt herself going dizzy.

They were smiling at each other like fools until Kevin's hand slowly rose to tilt her chin up. Nina’s breath was ragged and her skin burned under his touch. Kevin’s eyes looked carefully at her face as she waited for him to move. With one simple motion, as though he’d done it a thousand times already, he shifted forward and placed his lips softly against hers.

Nina's lips parted at the feeling of his mouth and she waited for the kiss to turn deep and passionate. The kind of kiss she'd always dreamed of. But she was denied. Kevin pulled back and drew in a deep breath.

“
Goodnight Nina,” he whispered.

Chapter Five

“
Nina! You’re going to be late,” Greta screamed from the bottom of the stairs. Nina heard the shrill noise and paid it no attention. She pulled a brush through her hair over and over again until it lay just how she wanted. She glossed her lips quickly and popped in a pair of silver hoop earrings.

It was Monday morning, the first day of her senior year at Wexley Falls High School. Though the excitement of this day was greatly due to the thought of it being the beginning of the end of her school career, she had another thing on her mind. Kevin. From the moment she arrived home after their date, she hadn't stopped replaying it. She remembered his boyish grin, the way his eyes lowered in vulnerability when he spoke of his late father. Her body tried to remember the feeling of her hand on his and his lips against hers.

“
Nina, I’m serious!” Greta yelled again. Nina was already on her way down the steps and she breezed past her sister with a forced smile. She picked up her bag and snatched her keys from the table in the entryway.

“
Goodbye Greta,” she said in a sing-song tone as she raced out to her car and headed to school.

She couldn't help but let the guilty feeling creep in during her drive to school. She should’ve told Kevin she was only seventeen. But she hadn't and she couldn't take it back now. She couldn't take back the date, the laughing, the flirting or that kiss. What was done was done. But what would next Saturday hold? She asked herself whether or not she could keep the lie of omission going any longer but it was a question she honestly felt like putting off, at least for the first day of school.

When she arrived in the student parking lot, she spotted the one person she'd been dying to talk to, James Dalton. James was Nina’s best friend. He would call her his soul mate and Nina often felt his words were true. He’d been out of town for the last two weeks of summer vacation, but before that they'd been inseparable. The pair had grown up together given their father's were old college buddies.

It wasn't until eighth grade Nina knew James was the brother she never had. When he came out to her he dashed her dreams of ever marrying him and having babies with his green eyes. He was grateful for her support and even more, her lack of reaction. It didn't faze Nina one bit. He said the words “I'm gay” and she replied with “Okay, what movie are we seeing this weekend?” He was her family, the one person she could always be herself with.

Nina parked and ran over to James who was standing by his car.

“
God I missed you!” Nina said, finally releasing him from her tight embrace. “Where have you been? I’m scared we’re going to be late,” he said anxiously. Nina was shocked. James had never cared about school before now. He was happy to be late and often did it on purpose.

“
What’s with you?” Nina asked as they made their way into the building and headed toward the auditorium.

“
There’s a surprise in there for you and I’m dying to see your face!” he exclaimed. Nina groaned. No surprise on her first day of high school could be a good one.

“
So what did you do without me these past two weeks?” James asked as they stepped inside the doorway they'd been dreading to come back to for the entire summer. Nina took a moment to glance around at the rush of students coming in all around her before turning back to James.

“
I sang at the Black Jewel,” she stated nonchalantly but her confession came as quite an explosion. Nina had been talking about singing there for years.

“
You wait until I’m in the Bahamas to sing there?! How was it?” he asked excitedly.

Nina sighed. “It was kind of...perfect.” She reminisced about the evening for a split second before thinking of Kevin’s face. They climbed up a flight of stairs and crossed over through the gymnasium before finally making their way to the auditorium. Students were flooding in and their chatter was bouncing off the high ceiling making an echo of voices resonate where Nina and James stood. James grabbed Nina by the shoulders and turned her away from the auditorium’s doorway causing her to look at him as if he had lost his mind.

“
The parentals asked me last year if the school needed any kind of improvements. You know dear old dad, he felt like throwing money at something. So I told him what I thought and that I also thought your dad might be interested in helping. So my sweet Nina. I give you,” he turned her back to face the doors, “The Dalton-Jordan Auditorium.”

Nina stared with her mouth hanging open at the new words above the entry way of the auditorium. Her name and her best friend’s right next to one another gracing the school as though they owned the place. She felt a sting in her stomach staring at the steel block letters. It was a classic move by her father. He couldn't answer a phone call but he had thousands of dollars to show as a grandiose gesture. Of course James loved it, he liked the attention. She didn't. She knew she was a hard puzzle to solve sometimes but this wasn't the kind of attention Nina particularly liked. Applause from strangers at The Black Jewel was different from the entire school looking at her like she was a spoiled rich girl who just
had
to have her name thrown up on some wall. She tried to hide her indifference. James was giddy at the sight and she didn't want to bring him down.

“
Does this make you want to sing at the senior concert? I don't want to beg you but I will. You're way too good to be playing just the piano,” James said.

Of course his ulterior motive would come out sooner or later. Nina laughed and linked her arm with his before leading him into their auditorium.

Students were grabbing empty seats and as Nina’s view became less and less obscured, she saw the extent of the renovation. She looked at James in disbelief and then back at the stage.

James started in a whisper. “This girl once told me that with a red velvet curtain and gold scroll trim, a stage could transform into anything and could transform
anyone.
”

Nina looked at the stage that had grown in size and design. The gold-painted wooden structures that graced the top and sides of the alcove were stunning. Pulled apart on either side was a thick, red velvet curtain. She didn't think about her father looking at the space. She knew it was all James. He must have told his parents about her dream stage and the night they stayed up late talking about the things they wanted most in life. Nina told him she wanted to stand on a huge stage with a red velvet curtain drawn back against gold scrolls, singing her heart out. She sighed and pulled him to her tightly, speaking into his neck. “I love you, James. Thank you.”

He just smiled and pointed out two seats they could take.

****

The obligatory reminder about proper school conduct had already taken place and schedules were being handing out. Nina and James compared papers trying to figure out when they'd be in class together and when they could walk together. For the past three years, they always had at least one class together and always found time to meet up in the halls. They had a few other friends but no one that came close to sharing the kind of bond they had.

“
Choir second period and Economics seventh period,” James read from their papers. Nina laughed at the joy in his voice as the warning bell rang and the mad dash for the doors began. Senior year had officially begun and Nina was off to her first class, creative writing. She’d been waiting since she was a freshman to take the course. It was only offered to seniors and it was only a semester long but she was excited that it would be the start to her day, at least for a little while.

Nina stopped by her locker and grabbed one of seven new notebooks she bought for herself the day before. She checked her makeup in the mirror that hung inside the blue metal door. She stared into her own eyes and imagined they were Kevin’s. She couldn’t control her thoughts.
Kevin. Kevin, the idiot. Kevin Reed
. She snapped herself out of her trance and got back to the task at hand.

She smoothed out her white button-down top with her hands and slammed the locker closed. Glancing at her schedule, she looked only at the room number, B100.

She found B100 and entered the opened door. Students were still jockeying for seats and the class was a little out of order at the moment. She found a seat near the back and started arranging her desk all while wondering where the teacher was. The bell rang just as she heard his voice.

“
Sorry I'm late. I'm so glad to have seniors first thing in the morning. You guys can handle me being late. I have a feeling Freshman English will be the death of me. Uh, I realize I'm not Mrs. Oliver. You might have heard she's out on maternity leave and I'm taking over. I'm Mr. Reed,” he said, turning his back to the class, writing his name on the dry erase board.

The sting in her stomach was back but it felt more like a fireball now. Her mind was blank, her mouth gaping as she stared at his back for another moment, praying he wouldn't turn around. She didn't have time to run. She didn't have time to think. In what seemed like slow motion, Kevin turned to face the class with a beaming smile and tears started to well up in Nina's eyes.

He caught her stare and for a moment his smile grew until he took in the sight of her. She was sitting in a desk in his high school classroom, notebook out ready to write, book bag on the floor beside her. She watched in horror as his face fell.

Chapter Six

Their eyes locked for only a moment and yet he felt like time had stopped. He saw from across the room her eyes were glistening with the threat of tears. Kevin winced at the realization he was trying to avoid. He looked down and shuffled his papers finding his first period class list. There on the middle of the page the letters jumped out at him.
Nina Jordan.

It took all of his might to hold in the rage he felt building inside of him. He slid his tongue behind his teeth nervously as he tried to block out thoughts of exactly what this situation was. Then he became aware that the students were quietly waiting for him to continue.

He figured the first day of school was always the easiest for teachers and students alike. He’d run through the scenario in his head the previous night before going to bed, only to dream of Nina lying next to him.

Hand out the syllabus, go over the rules, get everyone’s contact information and end the class,
he thought as his palms started to sweat.

It would have been as simple as that had his date not walked through his door, school books in hand.

He gathered his papers and began walking down the aisles, handing out the semester’s syllabus. He started on the opposite side of the room from where Nina sat, avoiding her gaze.

“
This syllabus was Mrs. Oliver's. If I make any changes, I'll let you know by the end of this week. Let's just have a good time,” he said, handing each student the papers.

Then he was at the last desk in the last row staring right into Nina’s young face. He took a moment to look at her. Her eyes were bloodshot and he saw streaks down her face where her makeup had been washed off by tears. He took a slow hand and slapped the paper down on top of her desk, watching her flinch in her seat. Then he made his way back up to the front of the room to continue the longest class of his life.

A little less than an hour later the bell rang and the students shuffled out the door with their newly acquired text books in tow. Kevin took a seat at his desk and glanced over at Nina. She hadn’t stood up to leave. He hadn’t thought she would. Anxiety was swamping him as he began dreading their impending conversation.