Page 35 of Disharmony

Fuck.

“Better luck next time, Ashley!” Tiffany simpers, fluttering her eyelashes. She covers her mouth with her hand as if she’s made a big mistake. “Oops, silly me. There won’t be a next time, will there? But you’ll make a great support.”

Don’t retaliate, Ash.

Tiffany is the solo vocalist for all three songs. Worse still? I’ve been chosen as one of her four backing singers, which might be even worse than not performing at all. Bobbing along in the background like a Locket is not how I imagined my summer to go.

“Quieten down, everyone.” McCallister’s voice cuts above the buzz of gossip. “Everyone take a seat and we’ll talk through songs and compositions.”

I check out mentally and slink into a seat in the back row, away from the group flocking around Tiffany like flies around shit.

“You should be happy,” a voice says from nowhere.

“Shit!” I jump out of my skin at the sight of Levi York lying across the seats and rubbing his eyes like he’s been taking a nap. I almost sat on his fucking face. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

Levi doesn’t seem bothered and sits up. “You made the final show.”

“Yeah, as one of Tiffany’s dancing monkeys,” I scoff. “This was my only chance to get a solo.”

“Don’t sweat it,” he says, then stretches and yawns. Yeah, it’s easy for him to say when he has a platinum record deal and an army of groupies. “You don’t have to be the person doing the solos to get noticed.”

“It’s a good thing you’re a musician because you’d make a pretty shit therapist,” I snap, crossing my arms in a huff.

Levi snickers.

“Levi,” McCallister calls. His mouth twists into a snarl. He hates Levi being here as much as Levi seems to. “How nice of you to join us. Come on down”

Levi’s jaw clenches for a second, then it passes. He saunters to join McCallister at the front of the class, wearing his usual bored and uninterested expression. It amazes me that Levi managed to secure a spot in the Lionhearts in the first place. Unlike the other members, he doesn’t make an effort with their fans and doesn’t seem to fit into the group.

Damon is the bad boy who everyone loves to hate and wants to tame. Zach is the golden boy of the group; he’s been known to sign autographs for hours after each show. But Levi? He’s different. He is quiet, sullen, and moody. People call him misunderstood, but I think they’re being overgenerous. Levi York has everything he could ever want and acts like an ungrateful child. Would it kill him to crack a smile?

* * *

Cookie jumps up eagerly as I slam the door to our cabin. “So? What happened?”

I’ve lost the will to live after spending two hours listening to Tiffany and McCallister debate over which songs she’ll sing. I thought he was supposed to develop every campers’ talent, but all he seems to care about is putting on the best show and devoting all his focus to his newest star.

“Tiffany will be headlining,” I growl. “Obviously.”

“Shit…”

I try to play it cool and not show the crushing disappointment that’s making my chest ache. “It’s not like it was a surprise.”

“It’s not just that…” Cookie collapses onto her bed and groans into her pillow. “I’m going to be the stage manager.”

“Cookie!” My voice peaks in excitement. “But that’s amazing, right?”

“It would have been,” she says. “If you were headlining. Just wait until the twins hear about it, they’re going to be writing two of the songs.”

Being the stage manager of the Camp Harmony show is a huge fucking deal, and so is writing two of the songs. The vocalists aren’t the only ones who’ve been busy and feeling the pressure. I mentally kick myself for not asking Cookie more about what she’s had to do.

“I’m still going to be a backing singer,” I say wryly, attempting a small smile, “so I’ll still be around to see all of your amazing work.”

Cookie sits up. “A backing singer? Oh, Ash…”

“It’s fine.” I brush it off. “At least I’ll be on the stage, right?”

She bites her lip. “I guess…”

---