The Dandelion Girl

Chapter Four

I arrived at school the next day trying to figure out why I agreed to sing a duet with Leira. Or why I cared about her happiness before I even thought of mine. Or why for a moment, I forgot that I was deathly afraid of singing in front of other people.

Singing was like any form of art. Everyone could do it, but it didn't mean they were particularly good at it.

I wasn't exactly bad. I sang when I was alone or when I'm with Elaine and Andrew. But the very fact that I wasn't good at it as well was why I could never sing in front of others. Yet, for some reason I forgot all about that.

I had to wonder if my brain malfunctioned all of a sudden. Or maybe my response was a built-in mechanism inside everyone that was triggered by something Leira did. Whatever it was, I didn't know.

Leira waited for me in front of English class after school just like she said.

Her hair was swept to the right, slightly blowing from the wind. Her blue bag draped over her shoulder as she continued reading The Notebook, her back against the craggy wall.

As soon as I got in front of her, she said, "You don't have to sing with me if you don't want to."

"No, it's fine. I'll sing with you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's just that, I'm afraid of humiliating myself in front of others when I sing."

"Chase, don't be. I've heard you sing and I know that you can do it. Just believe in me the same way I believe in you."

"What did you just say?" I asked being caught off-guard.

"I said that you should believe in yourself the same way I believe in you. We're going to be singing a duet, so you're not going to be alone on stage. I'll be there when you need help and vice versa."

Why she had utter confidence in me, I didn't know. But she believed in me more than I believed in myself.

"I guess. So, what song are we singing?" I asked.

"It's quite an old song. It's called 'Somewhere Out There' from the movie, An American Tail."

I was familiar with the song due to my mother. I grew up listening to songs from her time because that's all she listened to. So, when I first started singing, that's all I knew.

My singing voice didn't fit though. It was high as a flute, but it suddenly changed. It was like, life decided to cut the rope where my voice hung from, but didn't go all the way through. So, over the years, it slowly began to tear, and as soon as puberty hit, my voice dropped with a thud.

The movie? Not a single clue.

"So, why exactly that song?" I asked.

She explained how she grew up with the movie, watching it on VHS. And every time the song began, her parents would sing in the background.

When she finally asked them why, they told her. How they used to be pen pals during their high school days, her dad living in California, her mom in New York. How they watched the movie at the same time and how they fell in love with the song. And how when they finally met to attend the same university, they played the song on repeat.

"And their anniversary is on the day of the event," she said. "It will be my gift for them."

"So, that's why it's important to you."

She nodded.

"Okay. I'll try my best then."

"Thank you so much!" she said, her face lighting up with incomparable glee like she was surrounded by chocolate.