Page 34 of Wylder and the Almost Rockstar
“Not even a little bit.”
Music to her ears. “Well, I should let you get some sleep.”
“About time you got the hint.”
She opened the door and grinned back at him. “Rumor has it we’re getting a new assignment in ConMus tomorrow. Just make sure you don’t mess it up.”
“Oh, baby, I won’t. You can be sure of that. You just bring your A game, and we’ll see how you match up.”
She shared one final smile with him. “Night, Logan.”
“Night, Wylder.” With a wink, he shut the door in her face.
Logan was back, and later, as she crawled into her bed and fell asleep, she couldn’t stop smiling.
Now, it felt real.
* * *
“Songwriting is an art.” Mrs. Shepherd sat on the edge of her desk and regarded the class. “You all did wonderful jobs with your projects, writing songs to perform. Some of them needed more polishing than others, but even just finishing a song is a giant accomplishment. The people who can write hit after hit are rare in this industry.”
“Like Taylor Swift,” Lauren Michaels asked.
“Yes, but even the queen of pop herself has many collaborators. She’s known for writing her music, but she doesn’t do it all on her own. Few musicians do. That’s why the partnerships in this class are so important. You are learning to work with someone else on your artistic endeavors.”
She stood and picked up a stack of papers before crossing the room to hand them out. “Writing a song for yourself is one thing, because songwriting is deeply personal. It’s a completely different job to write a song that will be performed by someone else. They put their own personal spin on it, but the words are yours. Songwriters bare their souls in the lyrics. It can be hard to let go.”
Wylder looked down at the new project instructions in front of her.
Logan leaned over. “So, we need to write another song?”
She shrugged and focused on Mrs. Shepherd again.
“Each pair will write a song on a predetermined topic we will draw out of a bowl. Once they’re finished, I will assign a song to each pair to perform for the class. This time, we’re only writing the lyrics. The performing duos will put music to the words. But there’s a twist. When it comes time to perform, you’ll draw the style of music, and the lyrics you’re given will have to be set to that type of music.”
The class groaned, including Logan, but Wylder thought this sounded kind of fun. And performing just for the class would be much better than performing in the auditorium again.
“I’ll bet Logan would rather perform for the cameras so he can falsely claim credit for his brother’s success again.”
Wylder didn’t know who said the whispered words, but if she found out, she’d add them to her punchy list. Did people really think that? That Logan orchestrated everything and then lied?
She looked sideways at him, but his gaze burned holes in the desk, refusing to lift. So, he’d heard it too. His fingers clenched around his pen moments before it slipped from his grasp and clattered to the floor. He bent to pick it up, and Wylder pretended to tie her shoe at the same time.
“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
Logan sighed. “I’m used to all the rumors. It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Just let it go, Wylder.” He straightened before she could say anything else.
Mrs. Shepherd walked down the row, having each pair draw a slip of paper from a small metal bowl. When she reached Wylder, there was only one left. Wylder pulled it out and unfolded it.
TRACTORS.
What?
“What’s it say?” Logan snatched the paper. “Tractors? We have to write a song about tractors?”
