The Hall Speaks #fallsemester

iShare

#Carly

"Hey guys, I'm glad you made it! It's great, right?" asked Carly a bit conceitedly. She was proud that the iShare program had such a large turnout.

Owen nodded, though his expression was sarcastic.

Carly had reserved a platform from Student Activities that set nicely in front of the fire place. The rest of the lobby could have competed with a reality sing-off show; it was perfectly lit with professional sound equipment rented from the Union and a crew to help. She'd busted her butt working on this program. At this point, however, she would still not talk to Ethan, nor could she rely on him to actually be responsible.

Besides, preparing for the program had been a bit of a much-needed distraction. Patrick would not return her calls, go figure. Like a coward, she had apologized over Facebook, voicemail and text, though she knew this was inadequate. She'd messed up big time.

"Yeah, this is incredible; it's like being at a concert." Alana looked around the room in awe. "How many students do you have signed up to perform, do you still need us?" she inquired reluctantly.

Carly had completely forgotten that she had asked Alana and Shandi to perform. "Oh, we won't be able to fit you guys in... I'm not even sure if we will be able to hear from everyone on the list. Students from other halls signed up so we have, like, 50. I seriously doubt we can get all these performances done before quiet hours begin," Carly explained, looking at her list.

Alana and Shandi glanced at each other and shared a relieved smile.

Carly turned around to face the stage as a hideous singing voice filled the room. "Oh. My. Gosh! It's like listening to a bad audition on American Idol. Ugh a very bad audition," she commented. The current performer was a resident killing a rendition of a pop song.

Owen laughed. "Well, Carly, maybe you should be the one to break it to her... 'cause she definitely can't sing." Owen changed the subject. "So are you and Patrick coming to the Drag ball? It's after the Thanksgiving party," he asked, the last words in a sing-song voice..

Carly suddenly felt ill. No one on the staff knew about Patrick and his decision to never talk to her again. "No, we broke up... but I'll be there," she explained.

Owen frowned, like he was more upset that he didn't know about it. He usually knew everyone's business.

"Oh Carly... I'm sorry. Are you all right?" Alana looked sad like she'd been the one with a broken heart.

"No, but I really don't want to talk about it," said Carly, then looked at Shandi casually.

Shandi's eyes widened slightly as she searched for something to talk about. "I think it's sweet that Landon is throwing us a party. He's so chill!"

Carly nodded, but the previous thought still lingered in her mind like dew on the morning grass.

"Well, that's my cue," said Carly as she heard the hideous singer finish her song. "Marcus' group is up after this band. They have some extra equipment. I'm going to check if they need anything else," she added, then walked toward the stage.

Ethan came up to Carly from behind. "Hey, Carly, did you get more food? I think we're running out," asked Ethan.

Carly's head jerked around to look at Ethan. "Do I have to do everything?" she asked sharply.

"What's your problem!?" snapped Ethan, raising his voice. "You've been acting like a—"

Carly felt her eyes stinging. "Are you calling me what I think you are?" she said between clenched teeth. Now she wanted him to strike her in front of all these students so they could see the jerk out-of-control Ethan.