Pillars

Chapter 7: Miscommunication (Lorin)

About half way through Kelci's final performance I just could not take it anymore. I had been to every one of them and that stupid munchkin song was getting on my last nerve. When I got up to leave and Mom gave me that look, like where the hell are you going. 

"Chill," I whispered. "I'm meeting some friends to study." I didn't bother waiting for a response. Not even waiting for the scene to end, I carefully slide down the row trying not to step on any toes. 

I knew Mom would be sure to make a big deal about this later. I had been there for opening night and nearly all the rehearsals taking pictures. Skipping out on the final performance was not going to hurt anyone, even if I did lie about where I was going.

The days were getting longer and it looked like I would have time to make it to the bus stop before the sun went down. But as I headed for the double glass doors I heard a familiar voice and my heart skipped a beat.

"Cutting out early too, huh?" Jonah said as he approached with his perfect smile.

"Yea. I've seen this one more times than I care to admit," I said, catching my breath as our eyes met. 

"Well, have a good night." He waved me off and headed down the hall toward the English department.

"Jo—ah—uh—Mr. Redding!" Damn, I almost forgot where I was. "I have something I want to show you, if you got a minute." My nervous hand flipped my hair, which usually drove the boys wild. But Jonah was not a boy. Get it together, girl. I smiled to play it cool. 

"Sure." He gestured with his head toward his office.

I had to double step to catch up. When we reached his office, he held the door for me like a perfect gentleman. High school boys had no idea.

"Didn't you get my suggested edits for your essay? I could have sworn I shared them with you," Jonah said, logging into his computer.

"Oh, I'm sure I got it. I just haven't had a chance to check yet. I've been working on something special," I explained. I had decided it was safer to record myself singing the song rather than attempt a live performance. This way I was able to edit it to perfection.

"May I?" I asked, maneuvering myself nearly onto his lap to accessed his computer.

"Sure," he said, and rolled the chair back to give me space. The way I had positioned myself left him no option but to stare at my ass. I made sure to bend just enough to get my skirt to lift up a little. 

I clicked the video to play, before planting myself on the top of the desk next to the computer. Jonah looked amused for a second before my image appeared on the screen in front of him. In the video I wore a low cut, black sweater as she sat in front of a keyboard. He watched in silence as I sang the song I had written for him. He seemed pleased, impressed even, as his eyebrows raised, and grin took over his face. 

When he leaned forward to click the video off I read that as an invitation and leaned forward also, preparing for his soft lips. Suddenly Jonah cleared his throat and pulled away in his rolling chair, and I tumbled to the floor. When I landed, my face was inches from his lap.

"What are you doing?" he gasped, leaping to his feet.

"I'm sorry," I said. My blood turned cold when I noticed his shocked face.

"No, I'm sorry." He grabbed me by the elbow and lifted me off the floor. The move was not heroic or gentlemanly, it was simply to get me out of the compromising situation as quickly as possible. When I was upright again he said,"I think there has been a miscommunication here." He looked at me with a pitying glance. And before he could say or do anything else, I bolted for the door.

It wasn't until I was about a block away from the school that I stopped and felt the throbbing in my right ankle. There was no way I would make it three more blocks to the nearest bus stop, so I pulled out my phone and ordered an Uber.

When I got home she grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and propped my foot on the couch. Then I started to cry. What happened? Had I been wrong about Jonah? But we were perfect together. He was so kind and patient. Didn't that mean something?...Apparently, there had been some miscommunication somewhere. What a stupid, foolish girl I was. At least that was what his face said just before I ran away like a child, proving him right.

The ice was painful on my bruised ankle. But I left it there because it numbed the pain of my bruised ego. I opened my phone and deleted that stupid video. Thank god, I had not posted it on YouTube yet. When I checked my email, there were two new messages. One from the night before from Mr. Redding with the edits for my essay. And one from ten minutes ago, also from Mr. Redding with the subject line: Are you okay? I deleted them both.

******

For the next few weeks, I kept herself busy with preparations for graduation. I managed to avoid interacting with Mr. Redding, thus eliminating the possibility of further miscommunication. The silver lining out of everything was that, even without Mr. Redding's help, I was accepted to NYU. I could not wait to get away and start a new life, where I could escape into the vastness of the big city.

Graduation was anticlimactic. Why people get so excited about having their names mispronounced over a loud speaker along with 300 others was beyond me. We ended up having dinner at Cheeky's Bar and Grill, because Mom didn't think to make reservations at my favorite restaurant, Mia's Pizza Pie-A. Being the afterthought didn't even really bother me much anymore. So when Mom, Kelci, and Taylor insisted that I join them on their road trip to drop Kelci off in Chicago, I agreed without a fight.

******

On the way back, Taylor sat up front chatting with Mom. I tried drowning them out with my music, but Taylor kept trying to include me in the conversation.

"Hey Lorin have you written any more songs lately?" Taylor asked.

"Songs?" Mom was confused. "I didn't know you wrote songs."

"Of course not," I mumbled.

"What's that?" Mom asked.

"Nothing," I said, putting the earbuds back in my ears and turning up my pop hits playlist. Kelci needed to learn how to keep her mouth shut.