Lost in the Rhythm

If This Fic Were a Musical, The Love Song Would be Here

"Wow, Amity," Luz said, smiling tightly as she pulled the door of the classroom shut behind her girlfriend. "That was... certainly something."

"Don't sugarcoat it," Amity grunted. "That was a disaster." She leaned against the wall and hugged her saxophone to her chest. The parent volunteer sitting next to the door of the room she and Luz had just left called the next kid in. A nervous looking freshman standing a few feet away from Amity swallowed and dragged himself inside. Amity felt an unexpected flash of sympathy. She knew the feeling.

"Well, it was hardly your fault. Bump gave you the school's shittiest rental sax."

"I don't really mind." For having just played the most atrocious solo of her life, Amity found herself unusually nonchalant. There was already a shiny gold medal hanging from the lapel of her blazer, from her flute solo earlier that morning (a nine-point-five, half a point away from perfect.) She was already on her way to state. What was one bad saxophone solo?

Luz's gaze clouded with worry. "But if even you can't get a gold, what chance do I have?"

"You've done it before," Amity replied briskly. "Keep your chin up, Noceda. If Em hadn't chucked my horn out the window, I would've gotten a gold, no problem. Maybe even a perfect."

"You keep telling yourself that, Blight," Luz teased. Amity shoved her in the side. "Ouch."

"At least you're not the one who sliced your leg open leaping out a window."

"Do you have any idea how worried for you I was? If you died, my mom would kill me."

"I wasn't gonna die of a little tiny cut. And I'm fine now. Look!" Amity kicked the side of Luz's foot. Ever since the rescue a week ago, her leg had been healing nicely, and she was barely limping anymore. (Though she decided that she'd rather jump through a thousand more windows than get stitches again.)

Luz chuckled, and the two girls into a comfortable silence. Amity could faintly hear the current soloist's performance through the closed door- it wasn't half bad. About halfway through, Luz reached over and took her hand. It would have been romantic if not for the stressful circumstances. Either way, she didn't flinch away like she might have a couple weeks ago.

When the soloist left the room, face pale with fear, the judge followed them and handed a small piece of cardstock to the attendant before retreating and shutting the door with a click. The attendant's eyes flitted over the cardstock briefly. Amity felt her throat dry up. This was it.

"Amity Blight?"

She felt like she was floating as she walked over to retrieve her score. Why was she so nervous? It didn't matter how well she did. She'd already proved herself as one of the Hexside band program's most important musicians.

Still, seeing the little S written on the corner next to her name made her stomach flip over.

Fighting disappointment, she pocketed it as she returned to Luz. So there it was. Her first defeat. Despite her better judgement, a lump formed in her throat. Why was she so upset? Her score wasn't her fault. Besides, there were a lot of kids in lower bands that would be happy to get a silver medal.

But that was just it. Amity wasn't in lower bands.

"Amity!" Luz sounded relieved. "I'm so proud of you. Let's go grab your medal before I have to check in to my solo."

She shrugged. She crumpled the cardstock in the pocket of her blazer. "I don't need the medal. I have plenty. I want to watch you play." She wrapped one arm around the sax and started off.

Luz stopped her in her tracks. "Amity. Did you get a silver?"

She looked at the ground. She nodded sullenly, shame creeping up her chest.