Let Love Win

Chapter 32 - Hadley

As I stood at the from of the stage, I looked around and only hoped that I didn't see Zeek coming down the stairs towards me. In the back of my mind, I knew that locking eyes with him on the last lyrics of the song was going to either make him come after me of tell him to leave me alone. Internally, I was hoping for the latter. After all, this would be the perfect time for him to appear and not just out of irony. Apparently, I was the entire show's crowning glory and the school's representation of the music program. Therefore, I wasn't allowed to leave until everyone was gone.

What was probably about 15 minutes felt like an eternity. Monty had taken the boys home because the show itself had already gone past their normal bedtime, but she promised to come back and pick me up whenever I was ready to go. Unfortunately for me, that time wasn't going to be for a long while if people kept coming up to the stage to talk to my professor and I. They all said the same things: I had an amazing voice and stage presence; they couldn't take their eyes off of me; they hoped their son or daughter would be just like me; and congratulations on my album. And on top of that, they always asked what their child could do to get where I was right now, and instructed their young to listen carefully.

"It takes a lot of hard work, but if you really apply yourself and are truly passionate about what you do, it's fun and no longer feels like work," I would say and send the family on their merry way.

After the last visiting family left, I saw all the people I knew from school starting to come up to talk. I thanked my professor and he thanked me again for performing and being such a great student. It sickened me to hear all of these praises from him and from people I didn't know, but out of respect, I accepted it and pretended my stomach wasn't churning from having to swallow all the bullshit. After he left, I slumped my shoulder for the first time in a few hours and breathed a sigh of relief.

All my closest friends who had attended the show, and even some that were in the show, swarmed me and covered me in hugs. They all talked about what a great job I did and how I looked so beautiful on stage and how I was the star of the show. I fake gagged to tell them that I was sick and tires of hearing all the empty compliments and they stopped. Most of them had to leave because their rides were here, and some of them were heading out to the bar for celebratory drinks.

"I heard that Nathan is throwing an after party at his house tonight for all the performers to kick their feet up and relax," Maddie said generally, looking around at the circle of people that had formed at the stage. "It's just small this time since he got in trouble for all the shit that covered his place last time. But it should still be good. Are you coming out?"

The question was directed at me, but I was too distracted by the people walking down the stairs to notice. "Not tonight," I answered finally. "I have a bunch of stuff that I put on hold to prepare for tonight that I have to finish. You guys have a good time though."

"Ok, don't stress too much this weekend then. All the stressful stuff is over and done with."

I nodded in hopes that everyone would think I believed them. Little did they know that the source of all my stress was currently walking towards where I was sitting on the stage. "Yeah, I won't. See you guys later."

They left the theatre and I turned my attention to my purse, pretending that I hadn't seen Mel and the guy walking down. I fiddled with my pack of gum to seem busy and popped a piece in my mouth just as they reached the bottom of the steps from the door to the stage.

"Oh my god, Hadley," Mel said dramatically as she got closer to me. "You did so well and you looked absolutely amazing on stage. It was like listening to a masterpiece."

"Please Mel, I can take all that crap from everyone else but you," I said shaking my head at her. I hopped off the edge of the stage just in time to give her a hug.