Page 63 of What You Own
“Almost officially,” Scott replied. “I finish my degree in journalism next year, and I’ve been working at the Post for over a year now. Most of my articles end up on our online paper, since the print version got streamlined, but we have a good readership overall. I think this fundraiser is important news, considering the angle.”
“What angle?”
“You.”
“Me?” Adam’s shoulders went tight, and I saw the panic in his body language. I touched him real softly with my elbow. He looked like he expected to be publicly outed, but Ellie wouldn’t do that to him.
“Well, you and Ryan and Ellie,” Scott said, smiling. “Three old classmates coming together to revive a high school production as part of a community center fundraiser. Adam finally getting a chance to perform as Mark. It’s a good angle.”
Langley made a noise that he turned into a cough, but I knew better. He hated this particular angle.
“So Ellie tells me you had no idea Adam was an intern at LQF until you guys met face-to-face, right?” Scott said to me, holding up his cell phone. Probably in audio record mode.
“Right.” I gave him a condensed version of that first day, including Adam coming back that night with an offer.
“That’s an impressive turnaround time. Adam, what made you jump on this fundraiser so quickly?”
Adam cleared his throat. “Ryan and Ellie convinced me. I know it sounds simplistic, but they were both very passionate about the center and about how it had affected their lives. I saw it as an opportunity to dip my toes into charity work, as well as get some hands-on experience toward my own degree in business and finance.”
“So you took their proposal to your father?”
“No. My internship is in Mr. Quartermaine’s office, so I took the proposal to him. He told me to draft something to show him and my father later in the day, so I did. They agreed with my ideas, and that this was a good way for LQF to give back to our community. I took the proposal back to Lou Paige, and we went from there.”
“And tonight was your first time publicly performing?”
“Correct.”
“Because you dropped out of our high school production ofRentfor personal reasons?”
“Correct.”
“How did it feel getting back on the horse, so to speak?”
Adam let out a breath, probably expecting a more personal question about those personal reasons, and he smiled. “It felt great. I was terrified at the start, but I do really love to sing. My mother instilled that love in me, and getting up onstage tonight felt like coming full circle with a lot of things.”
“Any chance you’ll do it again? Get involved in local productions?”
“I haven’t ruled anything out.”
“Good. You all three sounded spectacular up there, just like you did in school. I felt a little nostalgic watching.”
“It was a real treat to sing opposite Ryan like that,” Ellie said. “We never got the chance when I played Maureen.”
“That’s right.” Scott grinned wickedly and put down his phone. “Your character was a lesbian. So I have to ask, Ellie, what’s it like to kiss a girl?”
I tried to not roll my eyes. Langley shifted, looking mighty uncomfortable. Probably planning a polite way to excuse himself from the whole conversation.
Ellie laughed. “Just like kissing a boy, only with softer lips and less facial hair.”
“Facial hair has its perks,” I said without thinking. Hell. In for a penny… and Scott didn’t look like he was on the record anymore. He did look kinda surprised, which was irritating. “What? I came out in high school. Getting bashed didn’t put me back in the closet.”
Scott’s eyes widened, and then he looked like he got caught with his fingers in the icing. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring that up.”
Weird as it was, I didn’t mind. Not anymore. “It’s fine. Everybody always tiptoes around subjects like bullying and gay bashing. Maybe if we talked about it more it wouldn’t happen so much.”
“Mind if I quote you on that?” He lifted his phone again. Guess he hadn’t stopped recording after all.
“Be my guest.”
