“Isn’t fair,” Jax corrects, a comical glint in his eye.
“Blah, blah.” Sunny scowls. “Now that first-tier eliminations have been postponed until Wednesday, Audrey has extra time to master that final note she’s so scared of. And with any luck, Kat’ll trip over the cadenza that was giving her fits a while ago. Can’t believe she managed to nail it earlier. Here’s hoping it was a one-time thing.”
Sunny’s statement grounds me to the present. “Wait. They’re redoing the first-elimination tryouts because of what I did?”
Sunny plucks another chunk from her muffin and pops it in her mouth. “Yep. The teachers voted . . . decided you should have a chance to try out for the part, too, since you obviously know the opera.”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t want . . . I don’t know the part. It was all a—” I stop myself short of saying fluke. How would I explain that? “I can’t believe they’re making everyone have do-overs because of me.” No wonder I’m on Kat’s hit list. There were five other girls who were in those auditions. They might be frustrated, too, but at least—other than Audrey—they hadn’t sung yet. I interrupted Kat’s flawless rendition of the aria, and now she has to go through it again, and possibly mess up this time. My throat tightens in sympathy at how nervous she must be. “I should apologize.”
Sunny looks mortified at the suggestion.
“Not a good idea,” Jax adds, and flashes a pleading glance to his sister who’s now facing our direction.
Her pretty features are so much like his, they must be twins. The only noticeable differences are her brown eyes to his blue, her carefully applied makeup, and her delicate build beneath our more feminine version of the boys’ uniforms, along with the sequined headband in her hair. She grimaces back at him, unforgiving.
“See?” Jax mumbles. “There’s no reasoning with them. Kat would claw you to shreds, and my sis turns feral at the scent of blood.”
Sunny almost coughs up her bite of muffin. “Ha. Right? Rune, no more feeling guilty. You did us all a favor. In our rendition of The Fiery Angel, the roles of Madiel and Otterheim are played by one performer. Jax is going out for the parts, so he can be Renata’s guardian angel and bad-boy love interest, all in hopes of being Audrey’s guardian angel in real life. Considering who he’s up against, the roles are as good as his. But . . . Audrey still has to snag Renata for the plan to work.”
A flush rushes through Jackson’s ears. “Did Quan tell you that? Could you strap a feedbag to his mouth or something?”
“How about a muzzle?” Sunny offers. “He’s already in the doghouse. Made me miss the Clint Eastwood marathon last weekend on our day trip, all ’cause he got caught up at the arcade.”
Jax rolls his eyes and turns back to me. “I only went out for the parts in the opera because there’s no football or soccer to occupy my time here.” He tosses his apron across the counter behind him as we move out of the way for other students to pick up their orders.
Sunny snorts. “Sure ya did, Jax. Who needs contact sports when you have kissy scenes with a pretty gal, right?”
“Can it, Sunny.” Jax frowns, his entire face red now.
I can’t keep from smiling. First, because it’s such a relief to know he isn’t a rich-boy player at all; he’s a grand performer, trying to hide the fact that he’s crushing on a girl who doesn’t seem to know how smitten he is. Second, because I’ve never seen a high school guy blush. It’s endearing.
I misjudged him and am so glad I did.
“By the way,” he continues, frowning at Sunny, “you really suck at this peer advisor thing.” Pretending to be preoccupied by my lack of an extra hand, Jax offers to carry my bowl of fruit to the table for me. “Trays are beside the register. Sunny should’ve grabbed you one but she’s too busy being obnoxious to be responsible.”
“It’s all right,” I say.
“No, it’s not. But no worries. I’ll be her backup if you ever need anything.” His flirty sideways grin doesn’t intimidate me this time. “I’ll help you learn the routine.”
I shrug. “So long as it doesn’t get in the way of you earning your guardian angel wings.” I bite my lip, shocked I teased him like that. His and Sunny’s easy rapport has lulled me. For a second, I almost felt like I was hanging out with Trig and Janine.
“Nice one, Rune!” Sunny high-fives me, smirking. Jax responds with laughter. I let myself smile, relieved I didn’t offend him. Maybe being here won’t be so bad after all . . . as long as I can avoid the music, the bloodthirsty diva duo, and the phantom’s shadow lurking around every corner.
7
FACING THE MUSIC
“Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.”