Page 43 of Private Tutoring
Black spots danced in my vision when the words came into view.I know what you’ve been doing with the Dream Team.
I gripped the doorknob so tight the lock dented my palm. Three dots appeared, then another message.Better watch your back.
The single breath I managed whistled through my closing airway. My thumb trembled when I tried to reply.Who is this?
No response. I didn’t see any point in trying to deny or argue with some anonymous person. Half my sorority made jokes about me sleeping with the professors after all of my tutoringsessions. I’d done my best to ignore them, but I’d be lying if I tried to convince myself they didn’t bother me.
I read the messages again. Then again. My blood ran cold, freezing my body in place. I blinked to clear my vision, then checked the number again. Someone was playing with me, and I didn’t appreciate it.
My room swam in and out of focus. My blue comforter melded with the musical artwork on the walls. I took a step forward, releasing the door and stumbling toward the bed. It sank beneath my weight, and I adjusted my position to sit forward with my elbow on my knee and the phone in front of me. I should call my professors. They needed to know I was being threatened. Possibly. They’d told me to watch my back, but the first text hadn’t been explicit. Maybe they didn’t know anything but were fishing for answers.
If I told them about the message, they might want to end things. I wasn’t ready for that to happen. And without proof that my tormentor actually knew anything, I saw no reason to worry them. I just needed to do better about hiding our relationship.
I could do that. I was in theater for fuck’s sake. If I could put myself into character and sing in front of an audience with enough passion to convince them I understood the depth of my character’s emotions, surely I could hide my emotions and the fact I was sleeping with my professors from this creep.
21
MATTHEW
Harmony always kept her head down in class, except when she stepped on stage. But things were different today. She ran lines with Leighona, the two of them standing with their heads together in the moments when they were not standing on their marks.
Damien rolled a rack of costumes across the back of the stage. He watched Harmony and Leighona, his adolescent gaze lingering.
I palmed my cheek to keep the grin at bay when Leighona caught the boy looking and popped her hand on her hip.
Harmony followed Leighona’s gaze. One look at Damien, and she dropped her chin to her chest and scooted away. The stage was almost fully put together, all the unfinished pieces were in the workshop behind the theater.
Everything was as it should be on the surface, so why did my stomach give a lurch every time Harmony avoided me? She was supposed to ignore me. That was the deal.
What if she was losing interest? I moved to the back of the theater and put my shoulder on one of the black walls. The sudden weakness in my body spread to my heart. I’d beenabandoned before, left behind like my heart and feelings didn’t matter.
My fiancée walked away from me, leaving me for the director she was working for in Hollywood while we lived in California. I’d moved all the way across the country to escape the pain of her betrayal.
Wasn’t there a saying about love crossing time and space? I’d been heartbroken, but not as devastated as Stephen when he lost his family. I’d thought I got over her betrayal.
One look at Harmony standing on stage, the bright lights silhouetting her frame and highlighting her freckles and blonde hair, and I had to rethink everything.
“Jesse, those don’t go there,” I called out to the kid wheeling one of the rolling platforms to the middle of the stage.
He stopped and whirled toward my voice. “Where should I put it, Professor? There’s no room in the back unless we rearrange everything.”
“Then we rearrange everything. We need to do a full rehearsal, props and stages included. That will tell us exactly where they’ll work best.” I’d run this program before, and we reused most of the same props. I wanted to up our game this year, creating bigger and better experiences.
Jesse stepped onto the platform. “Hey, Damien, take me around back.” He straddled the framing and threw his arms out wide.
The sound of his laughter brought a rush of relief that eased some of my tension. Not all, but some.
Harmony fanned the script pages and used them to swat at Jesse. “Get off that.”
Jesse howled louder. “I’m on top of the world.” He did Leonardo DiCaprio’s fist pump fromTitanicand howled again.
“Wrong story.” Harmony whacked him again while Damien rolled him behind the curtain.
Leighona moved to her spot on stage and tossed her hair. “Come on, Harmony. One more time.” Her voice cracked, and I winced. I’d been hearing that happen more often of late, and it didn’t bode well for her performance if things continued.
Harmony, Leighona, and two others ran through another scene. Harmony sang her part in her rich soprano, her entire body picking up the role and transforming her in a blink.
I let them finish out the class, only stopping them when I needed to make a correction.
