“You’re late. Both of you,” Calum murmurs. His expression doesn’t crack as his gaze rakes over us. I’m newly reminded of his handsomeness and a blush rises to my cheeks. It’s unfair to be tortured this way. What’s he doing here? Rose grabs my hand. Calum’s head jerks up. “Excuse me?”
Did I say that out loud?
“Yes, you did,” Rose whispers. Her cheeks redden with second-hand embarrassment. Body flush against mine, she asks, “Do you have a death wish?”
Calum watches our interaction for a bit. Feeling the annoyance rolling off him, I lace my fingers behind my back. “Are you done, both of you?”
He keeps saying both of you but I think he means only me. “Yes, sir.” Sir feels so wrong coming from me but I’m not sure how to address him. And the main question still remains, what’s he doing here? Rose pokes me. “We’re sorry we are late. Sir,” I add.
“It must not repeat itself again.”
“Yes, sir,” we chorus.
“Join them.”
Finding a spot should have been easy but our positions have been occupied. In the end, we have to stand behind the alto singers. Because we are both tall and the choir stand is elevated according to our voices, we can easily see above the heads of the other choristers and Calum’s annoyed expression.
The singing doesn’t resume. Calum asks a girl in the front row to pass us the music sheet. My eyes skim the page and I sing under my breath to familiarise myself with the lyrics. Rose looks up and we grin. She was also doing the same.
“Like Mr Prescott said earlier before those two arrived,” Calum says. A few of the choristers snicker. It’s not our fault he got here too early. Mr Prescott is always late by five minutes. “I’ll be helping him prepare you guys for the national open singing competition.” Holding up the sheet, his eyes move slowly over each of us to pass his point. “We’ll begin practising these songs today.”
“You didn’t tell us your name,” Rose blurts out. I facepalm. She leans in to whisper, “He’s hot.”
“The name is Calum Dissick. Mr Dissick,” he says.
Murmurs break out in the group, Calum claps and the chatter transforms to whispers. Rose tightens her grip on my hand. A glance at her and I know she’s a goner for Calum. She’s not the only female already crushing on him and I can’t blame them. Calum is the type of teacher every teenage girl dreams of having in class. If he wasn’t my jackass stepbrother, I might also have a crush on him.
“Remember him?” I ask.
“Err... nope,” Rose replies in the same whisper.
Seconds pass and she doesn’t laugh or tickle me as is her style if she were joking. She really doesn’t recognise him. Granted, without the overgrown beards and aviator sunglasses, Calum looks like a whole new, older person but she should be able to tell. Then again, I’m the one who spent more time with him. More time kissing him more than once.
“He’s my stepbrother.”
Rose shrieks. She lets out a loud fucking noise and all heads turn to us. Great. I feel the stares of the remaining fifteen choristers but my gaze remains on the wooden block.
“No side talks, please,” Calum states at last. “Does everyone have their sheets?” A chorus of ‘Yes’ fills the room, then a calm takes over. “We can start.”
And so we do. The alto girls open the opera. Rose doesn’t say another word to me, not that I give her a chance. Our voice carries on to the heavens and a corner of my lips lifts. I pretend Mum is watching me from the empty seats in the audience so I sing harder and better. We are on the third stanza when Calum cuts us off. His face gives nothing away. He asks Christie to step forward. Christie is a soprano like me but I have a higher range.
Christie stops beside him. Her glasses hang on her nose like a second thought and she slides it up to keep it from falling. Calum points out a line on the music sheet and she nods again.
“You’ll take this first part,” he says.
Snapping his fingers, he starts singing the first line and my heart does a weird, happy dance. I close my eyes and the melody washes over me.
If I didn’t understand why Mr Prescott handed over the choir to him, now, I do. Calum’s voice is like melted butter. Smooth and slippery, seeping into the cracks inside my heart. Calum stops and the joy his singing brought to my soul burns out.
“Here, you try it,” he says in a voice missing the annoyance he used when speaking to me and Rose. Christie’s hand holding the sheet shakes a little. Calum touches her shoulder and a red ball of anger curls my gut. He wasn’t this nice to me. Well, I kind of deserved it. “Take your time. No rush.”
My hand shoots up. “I can try, sir.”
“Thanks. But let’s give Christie a chance.”
Maybe it’s my imagination but he smirked right after saying that. I hate him. I fucking hate him.
Rose tries not to laugh like the good friend she is but a peal of muffled laughter escapes her. I stomp on her foot and it ends the laughter. We return our focus to a shy Christie. She’s never this nervous to sing in front of an audience. It takes forever but she finally musters the courage to sing.
Putting her brown hair in a bun, Christie takes a breath and belts out the lyrics of Puccini’s Nessun Dorma in a soothing voice. Calum stands at a side of the stage, head bobbing in approval. No shade to Christie but I can do it much better. It’s why Mr Prescott always has me take the solo parts.
She’s awarded with a smile after singing. Calum eyes roam the stand. “Who else wants to try?”
A few hands raise. I raise both hands. “I bet you ten quid he won’t call you,” Rose says. I glare at her. “I’m just saying.” She joins the others raising their hands and gets picked. “See what I mean?”
“I want to try,” I say when the hall falls quiet. Rose’s footsteps falter. I mouth an apology to her and she shrugs. Bridging the gap, I pause at the front row. Face set in a mask of innocence, I say to my stepbrother, “Please, can I have a go at it?”
He stares at me like I’m a pesky fly he can’t wait to be rid of. “Your friend is about to do that.”
Rose’s gaze darts between the two of us, she points to herself and says, “Me? Na, I’m good.” I’m going to buy her a car, a new set of drawing brushes and painting oils. “Sir, let Cathy try if she wants to.”
Calum loses his composure. He stalks towards us with a tight smile. “That’s not how this works.”
“But I raised my hand first,” I say to support her point. “And Rose doesn’t mind if I go first.”
My fingers drum against my lap. Our eyes lock in a battle. I look away first. He is being irrational. We can settle our disputes outside here or later.
He walks back to the front of the stage. I offer him a smile and all he has to say is, “I didn’t see that.”
“Liar.”
Calum ignores me. Rose tries to drag me to the back row but I don’t budge. I raise my hand for him to see me but he goes on to call another person.
“What’s your name?” he asks.
“Regina,” she answers from the middle row.
I loathe Regina. The feeling is mutual.
“Please, step forward.”
Regina winks at me and I see red. That tight ball of anger unfurls inside me and I storm to the front. I jut out a finger at Calum without saying a word. He eyes me from top to bottom and my self control shatters. I match his gaze with the same intensity.
“Really?” I scream in my stepbrother’s face. I can hear the whispers. I can almost see the captions of tomorrow’s gossip but I’m too upset to care. “We–” I stop myself before I spill it. “Grow up already.”
Calum cocks his head. The iciness of his glare sends shivers down my spine. I can’t win this fight but it’s too late to back down. He started it.
“Out.” He points to the door and my anger slowly evaporates. He’s joking, right? The first round of the competition is by the end of next month and we are already halfway into January. “You’re done here, Catherine. For the rest of this session.”
* * * * *
A/N: The song used in this chapter can be found on my social media. I***a: maramarthaa. Face book: Maramartha
Never ever get your choir director upset if you already lied to him once. I’m learning that the hard way. And Dad can’t help me in this case. Dinner is a tense affair. Calum is seated beside me. Dad and Dani are on the other side of the table. I roll the spaghetti around my fork, half-waiting for Dad to say something in my defence or use his position as principal so Calum rethinks my punishment. “Calum,” Dad finally says. I try not to get too excited but a grin spreads to my lips. Dani catches my eyes and looks away but I see her smile before it disappears. “Don’t you think Cathy’s punishment is too harsh? Maybe reduce it to a week or two?” My stepbrother takes a bite from his dinner, then drops his fork on the plate. He clasps his hands on the table and levels Dad with a look that might have gotten me into trouble if I did the same. “Would you appreciate it if someone told you how to do your job?” Too low. Too fucking low. Dad raises his hands in surrender and my heart dips to
CALUMHow do you punish a liar? By ignoring her or taking away her most valuable items. In this case, it’s the choir. With her dad on my side, there’s no pressure to put that miscreant back on the team. In her absence, today’s practice goes by without any hiccups. The students are already warming up to me. I didn’t think that would happen so fast. But everything has been moving so fast since I agreed to come here. All Pete wanted to know after Mum told him about letting me handle the singing was if I had any music experience. I had ton shit of that. And it almost ruined me. Didn’t it? This is my first real gig since Mending Hearts crashed. The choir wasn’t part of my plan. My plan was to be low-key until I sort my shit out and decide my next move. But Mum hopes it will get me to sing and play again. So far, it’s working. Being a choir director involves showing off what you’ve got so the choristers can believe in themselves. I haven’t played the gui
One week later and I’m still not allowed to join the choir. This was not how I envisioned my last year in high school turning out. Rose claims practice is going on fine without me. How’s that possible when their lead solo singer is missing?Calum is a meanie. My stomach tightens at the thought of him. He has been ignoring me. He’s gone before I wake and only returns late in the evening to smoke. I should have reported him to Dad but I haven’t. He wanted to kiss me again that day. As much as I strongly dislike him, I like his lips. So, I wouldn’t have minded another kiss.I force one foot in front of the other till I’m at the door of my chemistry class. Mr Andy is at his desk waiting for the rest of the students. I am too early for the class and as I watch the bald man through the narrow pane of the door, I seriously consider running out of the school.Chemistry is too complicated. Maybe if Calum taught chemistry, I
Shock stops Amelia from acting fast. She shifts gears but it’s too late to do anything, so we are forced to stay put. I try to play it off with a smile but my heart is in my throat. Sweat breaks out on my forehead as Calum’s car slows to a stop directly beside ours. I look away. We are in big trouble. “Are you stalking me?” he asks, still in his car. This is our chance to race out of here. Calum slams his door shut and storms towards my side. No. I’m not the one driving. He should face Amelia. He wrenches the passenger door open. “Get out of the car.” I plant my foot firmly on the car floor. “No.” “Well, I asked nicely.” A scream escapes me as he drags me out of the car like I’m a ragged doll. I swallow my fears and force my face into a neutral mask when our eyes meet. His eyes are wide with anger and I know I have something to do with his temper. “I’ll ask again, were you stalking me?” “No. We came here for Rose.” “Rose, huh?” I nod again because it’s all I can do with
I’m not dumb, just different. Sitting in front of the mirror in my bathroom, that’s what I tell myself as I apply a new batch of pink dye to my hair. Is different good? Is it bad? I don’t know but I like the way Calum said it. I finish up soon and the dark roots of my hair are completely pink by the time I wash off the dye my hair. “Cathy. Calum. Lunch is ready,” Dani screams from downstairs. “Be down immediately.” I step out of my room and wait by the door for Calum to show up so we can go together. He doesn’t. If he had gone downstairs, I would have known or heard him, all thanks to the not-so-thin walls. He has to pass by my room since it’s closer to the staircase. I start towards Calum’s room. I’ll only tell him lunch is ready and leave. Easy to do. His door is slightly ajar. I slip in and stand still, trying to adjust my eyes to the darkness. The curtains are drawn, the lights are switched off. I know he’s in the room. Calum doesn’t go out on Saturdays. A phone vibrates
A comfortable silence reigns over us. I push the tray under the table and hand him his guitar.Calum laughs. “You’re not giving up on this.”“Nope. I really want to hear you play.” His face softens. He fingers a chord and stops. I try not to say anything but my mouth sometimes works faster than my brain. “What is it? I liked it.”“Oh, please. I didn’t do anything.” I make a zipping motion across my lips and toss the keys out the window. “Fine. I haven’t played since…”His lingering statement piques my curiosity. I forget everything about keeping quiet. “Since when?”“Since the band broke up. Don’t expect much.” When the music is in you, it doesn’t matter how long you stay away from it, you’ll feel it when you return to it. Calum leans forward, cradling the guitar in his hand as he readies himse
Today, I’m more covered as I bridge the distance to my sexy stepbrother’s room. Grey sweatshirt, and tracksuit. No chance in hell of yesterday happening again. Heart thumping harder than before, I stop in front of Calum’s room. He has not stepped out since lunch. I can’t help trying to convince myself that this is a horrible idea. But my fist meets his door twice. If I come in on his invitation, he’ll see I have good intentions. I knock again, then try the knob when there’s no response from inside. The door is unlocked and the room is empty. I take another tentative step inside. The glow from the tip of Calum’s blunt is what guides me to the balcony. He doesn’t get a chance to process my appearance. I snatch the blunt from his hand and stomp on it. His gaze flickers to mine.“You shouldn’t be smoking here. Or at all.” “I wasn’t smoking,” he answers. I rest my hands on my waist, my eyes flying up and down his body. “Yeah. Pigs can also fly.” Calum is also covered in a polo shirt
Calum starts singing and I’m transfixed again by his voice. I heard him sing yesterday but the emotions are new, touching me in all the places Mum’s voice used to touch me. I cross my legs on the chair, too stunned to do anything more. The singing slows to an end but his smile is still intact when he says to his camera, “Alright guys. That’s it for today.” Before he started singing, he made a small announcement and apology for his long, unexplained absence. I know it had to do with his band breaking up but that’s all I know. “See you next time.” He blows a kiss to the camera and my stomach knots with jealousy. I have to find his YuuTube channel ASAP. “Love you. Stay safe.” As Calum’s eyes come to rest on mine after ending the recording, I can’t help thinking what it would feel like to be loved by him in a proper way. Not as a brother or sister but as a man loves a woman, his lover. As if hearing my thoughts, his smile fades. The clapping from somewhere in the room tears his eyes