Page 27 of Wylder and the Secret Rockstar
8
“Let’s stop there for today.” Mrs. Shepherd returned to her desk at the front of the classroom. “For the rest of the period, you will meet with your partners to discuss and plan your performance projects.”
Wylder sank lower in her seat. She hadn’t managed to get out of the class, but neither had she given one moment of thought to the project she was supposed to be working on with Logan.
“Most of you have submitted your proposals, and I have approved a few.” Mrs. Shepherd thumbed through a stack of student proposals. “Alisha and Bobby, you’re free to move forward. Same for Kelly and Rebecca. Jason and Emma, I’ll have a quick word with you guys first. The rest of you continue working, and I’ll meet with you by the end of class.”
Logan scowled at her and tapped his pencil against the desk. A nervous habit he had. The longer he tapped, the more rhythm and beat he picked up until Wylder caught herself bobbing her head in time to his tapping.
“So we should probably figure out something.” Wylder turned toward him. “Er … what can you do?”
“Nothing.” Logan tossed his pencil down and sat back in his chair. “Luke got all the musical talent in this family.”
“Okay.” Wylder frowned. “Then why are you here?”
“Why are you here?”
“My stupid brother signed me up for the class and my parents won’t sign my drop slip so I’m stuck here.” Wylder twisted a blonde dreadlock around her finger. “And I don’t care what you do for this project, but you’ll do something. Dance, sing, mime, whatever it takes to pass this class because I can’t afford a bad grade.”
Wylder’s grades weren’t anything to write home about. She did okay in most of her subjects, but Defiance Academy required a C average or she was out. For most of her second junior year, she’d toed the line between academic probation and barely satisfactory. She’d made a lot of mistakes in her past, but she refused to flunk out of high school, and Defiance Academy was her last shot.
“Whatever.” Logan shrugged.
“Wow, I didn’t think it was possible, but you’re even more irritating than Luke.”
Logan slammed his hand on the table and shot her a hateful glare.
“What, did I strike a nerve? Are you here to try to be even more like him?”
“How’s it going over here?” Mrs. Shepherd pulled up a chair and sat down at their table, oblivious of the tension between them. “I am glad you two decided to stay in this class, but we do need to get your proposal set in stone as soon as possible or you won’t have enough time to finish the project.”
“I guess we aren’t sure about anything at the moment.” Wylder tugged on her dreads, worried she’d have to carry Logan’s dead weight for the entire semester.
“Let’s start with your talents and go from there. Wylder, tell us about your strengths.”
“I can sing okay, but I’d prefer not to. I’m a pretty good songwriter.” She shrugged. “I suppose I could write a song, and maybe Logan could sing it?”
“Songwriting is a good place to start, but you’ll need to be part of the performance too.” Mrs. Shepherd scribbled notes on a legal pad. “What about you, Logan?”
“I can’t sing. Don’t play any instruments either.” He folded his arms across his chest.
“All right.” Mrs. Shepherd frowned. “Though, from what your brother tells me, that’s not entirely true. He said you and Luke used to play together when you were younger.”
“Sure, just messing around.” Logan stared out the window. “I guess I’ll write a song and maybe do some stage lighting or something behind the scenes.”
“That’s good.” Mrs. Shepherd nodded.
“If anyone’s writing a song in this duo it’s going to be me,” Wylder interjected.
“Do you even know what goes into writing a song?” Logan snapped.
“Yes, I do, quite well, actually.” Wylder crossed her legs and glared at her partner. She’d written tons of songs with her brother and some without. At least until he left for Nashville and Nari became his songwriting partner. Wylder hadn’t written a song sinceAnonymousdisbanded.
“Why don’t we start with the songwriting part,” Mrs. Shepherd suggested. “One of you can write the lyrics and the other can write the music. And then we’ll go from there.”
“I’ll write the lyrics,” Wylder called dibs.
“I should do the lyrics,” Logan said like it was his mission in life to disagree with her on every level. “I don’t even play an instrument. How could I write the music?”
