Explosive

30 || Necklace

~Dedicated to Jells_ for taking a look at my story. If you guys have a moment, please be sure to check out her story, Shattered. Not only is it well-written, it is heartbreaking but in a good way. ;)

My encounter with Tamara left me shaken and disoriented. After picking myself off from the floor, I splashed water on my face and wiped the tears away.

Students slowly trickle into the classroom, their shoulders hunched and eyes tired, and take their seats. A piano, provided by the music teacher, sits at the front. The sight of it causes me to break out into a cold sweat. Today is the day we finally present our English projects to the class and hand in our assignments. I bob my knee up and down as I wait impatiently for Blake and Cynthia to show up. Public speaking is not my thing.

I pull at the neckline of my t-shirt. The skin around my neck is red and raw. I'm afraid that someone might notice it and ask unnecessary questions. Every cell in my body is telling me that I should speak up about what happened this morning. The gut-wrenching fear of what might happen to me or someone who I care about is forcing me to keep quiet.

When Blake shows up, he nods his head at me and I grin. Something has shifted between us after the party. Blake didn't seem as intimidating anymore; his presence feels more comfortable and natural now. "How's it going, Moore?" he asks, giving me a salute. He isn't wearing a beanie today. Instead, his hair is wild, giving him that 'just rolled out of bed' look.

Mrs. Mackenzie hustles into the room with posters tucked under her arm. She looks frazzled but the excitement in her eyes isn't hard to miss. Before the teacher can even say anything, two groups volunteer to present their projects. One of them prepared a movie trailer about the book, while the other belts out an impressive sounding rap. It makes the class laugh and my nervousness fizzles out after listening to it.

There is about half an hour left for class and I think that we won't get a chance to present today. However, I'm not that lucky because Cynthia decides to raise her hand as soon as the previous group takes their seat. "Can we please go next?" she asks, waving her arm enthusiastically.

Mrs. Mackenzie smiles while Brandon lets out a snort. His partner, Tamara, didn't show up to class today, which is a blessing in disguise for me. After this morning, I'm not sure I will be able to face her for a few days. My knees shake under me as I make my way to the piano. "Hey," Blake whispers behind me. His fingers, which are wrapped around his guitar, are twitching in anticipation and there is a glint in his eyes. "You will do great," he adds with a squeeze of my wrist. His words, as calming as they are, do little to tame the butterflies flapping around in my stomach.

Closing my eyes, I let my fingers run across the keys of the piano. Sweat is forming under my pits and the stares of my classmates is causing my heart to run wild. Cynthia comes up behind me and gives my shoulders a gentle squeeze. "You're a bomb-ass bitch, Audrey. You got this," she mutters into my ear.

Letting out a deep breath, I start us off and Blake soon follows by strumming at his guitar. In the end, we decided that it would be best if Blake and Cynthia would do the singing. It was a great decision because they sound really good together. Scratch that; we all sound really good. After the nerves pass, sitting up at the front, passing my fingers across the tiny piano, causes a feeling of bliss to envelope me. It wraps around me like warm, wooly coat and I embrace it. The song is over too quickly but the fuzzy feeling lingers.

Claps from my classmates and the wide grin on Mrs. Mackenzie's face makes me feel giddy all over. "Wonderful work, you guys. That was an A+ presentation right there, folks." Cynthia lets out a screech while Blake grins and shakes his head at the comment. Before she can say anything else, the bell rings and the students scramble to their next class.