Page 118 of The Pinkie Pact

Inwardly, I groaned and tried to stop myself from jiggling my knee repetitively like Brie was doing, shaking my chair along with her leg. I wanted to ask her to quit, but I didn't have the heart to say anything because I imagined she was somehow more nervous than I was.

I looked down at the program. Only two more people until our grand finale. Our professor sat near the piano, her face lit up with excitement as she introduced each student and explained what they were playing.

Could I just die right now? Maybe I'd pass away from embarrassment after I puked all over the piano keys. My one and only consolation was that I could kind of hide next to Brie because she'd be between me and the surprisingly large audience.

Why the hell were there so many people anyway? Had families traveled here to see their kids perform today? I was pretty sure our professor had actually advertised this damn thing around campus. Thanks for that.

Brie sat next to the aisle, and I was terrified she'd bolt. But wait, maybe that would mean I wouldn't have to play?

Kara sat on the other side of me and whispered something about how cute the guy was playing a Bach sonata. But I wasn't capable of responding. And next to her was Kieran. I couldn't believe it when he'd walked in a little late. Kara had saved him a seat, and I didn't even notice she'd done that because I was so wrapped up in my own misery.

And then the cute Bach guy was done, and just one person stood between me and my own personal hell. As I wiped my palms on my pants, I heard Brie's breathing speed up, and I gave her a quick glance.

Holy shit. She was deathly pale, a light sheen of sweat on her forehead. God, she looked a million times worse than I felt.

"We're going to be okay," I whispered. "Just pretend like it's only the two of us in a practice room."

She didn't move, didn't even acknowledge me. Fuck. Was she all right? Did I need to call 911 or something? I had no clue what to do.

Patting her hand, I whispered, "Are you okay?"

That caught her attention, and her eyes turned to me, wide with shock. It was almost like she didn't even know who I was.

The girl before us finished up to loud applause, and terror swept through me. Oh, my God, this was it. My lungs sped up as my heart thudded in my ears. Every swear word I knew went through my mind.

As Professor Glazer began to talk about the history of our piece, I felt a sudden breeze beside me. And just like that, Brie was gone. The girl had fucking bolted.

I heard Kara gasp on the other side of me, and panic flooded my veins. "I'll go look for her really quick," Kara said, sweeping by me.

But I knew it was useless. She was long gone, probably back in her dorm room by now, deadbolt locked against the world.

I heard the professor say our names just then, and on complete autopilot, I stood up and went to the front, white noise buzzing in my brain. Her expression turned to confusion as I approached her.

"Um, Brie is, uh, ill and had to leave."

Please, please tell me I can skip it and we're all done.

She blinked her large eyes at me before recovering herself. "Well, the show must go on."

My stomach dropped to my goddamn feet as I fought the nausea. Why the hell did the show have to go on? Wouldn't it be crazy weird for me to just play my part all by myself? We'd be missing half the music.

"Are—are you sure?" I asked, willing to do anything,anything, to get out of this.

She peered at me over her glasses. "It's a very large part of your grade, my dear."

Oh, fuck, she had me there. I couldn't fail this class and disappoint my dad like that.

Right then, I felt someone approaching us, and the professor stared behind me, her eyes going wide again. I turned to see Kieran stepping up beside me, the people in the audience buzzing with excitement.

What the hell was he doing?

But he didn't look at me, just at the professor, as he cleared his throat. "I wanted to let you know I can play Brie's part if needed," he said.

Professor Glazer beamed at him like he was Schubert himself coming to life and asking to perform. Was he serious? The last time we'd played this, it hadn't exactly gone well. I stared at him, gawking I was sure. He looked at me and winked. Winked! I mean, who did that?

She clapped her hands together. "That would be absolutely wonderful, Mister, er—"

He held out a hand. "Kieran Emerson."

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