Page 73 of Crescendo

“Hm.” Clara settled back in her seat, but she didn’t take the wary eye off me. I decided to go with honesty.

“Ella’s in a fragile state,” I said. “I guess I’m a little scared of… breaking her?”

“Must be why you were so keen on not pressing her or anything, raring to give her space.”

I laughed. “I can’t win with you, can I, Clara? First you want me to give her more space, then less. You sure you’re not into her and trying to get me out of the way?”

That broke the tension, Clara laughing and waving me off. “Okay, all right. Just saying, she’s an adult. A little rock music isn’t going to break her.”

“Maybe I’m less concerned about breaking her and more about throwing off whatever has gotten her to play music the way she has been lately…” I said, my gaze drifting distantly to the window. “She’s been a powerhouse, but neither of us know where it came from, and I don’t want to mess with that flow right when she’s gotten it.”

“It has been something else when I’ve gotten to hear her play,” she mused. Dodge leaned in with a conspiratorial grin my way.

“You know what’d be brilliant,” he said. “I’ve heard some rumors going around that there’s some stakes for the next composition assignment. This bloke affiliated with the Royal Albert Hall and its schedule, he’s been seen swanning about the place, having a chat with the Crescendo program director. Session before last, one of the compositions was set to be judged and have the winner played right there in the hall, as an introduction to a set. With everything Howard said about the next assignment being a longer symphonic piece, talk’s all over the place thinking it’ll be the opening for a big break.”

“Dodge, out spreading rumors again,” Clara sighed. “It’s just people talking.”

“Imagine it, though,” he said. “Eliza’s going to be busting her ass trying to get it. But if Ella does? Not only righteously hilarious sticking it in Eliza’s face, but also, for a total unknown—that’d be the career starter of a lifetime.”

Career starter? Did Ella even want to be a musician? I knew she loved radiology—that she went into this program not for a career change but as a way to explore her interests while taking a much-needed break from medicine.

But at the same time—it felt a terrible shame to think of Ella going back to her regular life, closing that piano lid and putting thosesongsback into the box in her mind they’d been closed away into in the first place.

Plus, he was right that it was hilarious to think of Eliza losing. Ihadpromised to see Ella outdo Eliza.

“And, what,” I said, “you two don’t care about winning it?”

Dodge snorted. “Please. I’m hoping I place dead last. I’ll rub it in Clara’s face, say classical music is boring and pretentious.”

Clara smiled dryly. “Don’t really need it, honestly. I’ll try just because I want to give it my best effort, but secretly I’m more or less hoping Ella might win it.”

I laughed. Ella would hate it. I could hardly imagine the wonder in her eyes watching the orchestra play her own composition, the way she’d laugh breathlessly through misty eyes how she did, slowly shaking her head. But also, she’d have a heart attack hearing the news and probably sayno, make them pick somebody else.

Or—then again—maybe that wasn’t her. Maybe that was the trauma speaking. I’d read it might lead to you making yourself small.

∞∞∞

The door swung open behind me while I was midway through playing, and I glanced back at where Ella smiled sweetlyat me, even though there was something in her eyes, something cautious.

“Hi,” she said quietly. “Don’t let me interrupt.”

I shut the piano lid, spinning around to face her. “I was just experimenting. How are you doing? Dinner with Bansi and crew went well?”

She laughed, dropping onto the couch. Right in that spot where I’d had her play the cello, because of course. “I didn’t get much of a word in. But it was fun. You, er—had a good time with Clara and Dodge?”

“Clara told mewe’re not royals, we just eat like regular people,and took me to a place where I wasn’t sure if the menu prices were for sandwiches or mortgages.”

She laughed, but she still had that careful gleam in her eyes, fixing me with a look I couldn’t place. “You grow up like that and you sort of… you tend to lose sight of what money is like for people. I hope she paid for you.”

“Thankfully. You’d have come back to a much more melancholic piece otherwise.”

She stood up, that look in her eyes set into some kind of resolution. “Play with me.”

I can think of some ways to play with you.I didn’t say that out loud. Being around Ella all the time the past couple days but refusing to go there had been torturous, and I was getting more and more high-strung being around her without touching her, kissing her.

“Gladly,” I said, standing up. “You want to be on the piano?”

“Let’s play it together. Show me the chords like you did before. The way you play them is so beautiful…”

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