Chapter 3
“I keep on fallin’
In and out of love
With you.”
-“Fallin’,” Alicia Keys
Hannah sat on the large bed, staring blankly at the evening news. After
staying in her hotel room the entire day to practice the cello, she was sick of
being cooped up. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that in lieu of eating
dinner she had continued to practice. Now she was ravenous.
Maybe I can go out and get something to eat. She immediately
brightened up at the idea. New York was always so exciting, she was sure to find
something to entertain herself with.
She grabbed her coat and left the room, making her way onto the streets
outside. She stopped for a quick bite at a small deli before going back on the
streets to look around.
Most of the stores were closed or about to shut down for the night, and
she wasn’t interested in buying anything anyway. What she wanted was a sense
of belonging after spending several years away from the city she had essentially
grown up in.
Hannah roamed around before deciding to hail a cab.
“Juilliard, please,” she requested, sitting down in the backseat and
taking her gloves off.
Ten minutes later and they pulled up beside a small auditorium. It was
one of the several smaller auditoriums the music school had, and if she guessed
right, a small group would probably be rehearsing right now.
“Thanks,” she said, handing the cabbie the money and stepping out of
the car. It pulled away with a screech of the tires and she stood in front of
the steps leading into the auditorium, the place personal to her.
She climbed the steps, hearing the sounds of strings fill her ears. Her
prediction had been correct.
Quietly pushing open the metal door, she slipped inside and sat down in
one of the back rows. She remembered the first time she had performed on that
very stage, so nervous she had felt her stomach at the back of her throat.
Hannah smiled. Those were the times.
This auditorium was small, but the acoustics were wonderful and it was
perfect for the more novice performers. The teachers at Juilliard liked to let
students perform here first, before putting them in the main concert hall.
Hannah relaxed as the four-piece ensemble practiced their concerto,
letting the soothing sound of the bass’s vibrato wash over her. She shut her
eyes, picturing the music in her mind.
A while later, the ensemble stopped to take a quick break. Hannah’s
eyes slid open again, and she took the time to glance around the auditorium.
Usually street bums and hobos would sit and listen on cold nights when they were
bored or needed shelter. This January night was no exception, she noticed. There
were probably ten other people in the seats other than her.
Directly in front of her,
three rows ahead, she saw a man who was slouched down low in his seat. His body
language said he was feeling glum. She hoped that the music could help ease his
sorrow, like it always did with her.
The ensemble came back, ready to practice their next piece when the
man’s cell phone rang. Hannah looked at him carefully. A hobo with a cell
phone?
He quickly answered it and got up from his seat, striding out of the
auditorium. His tone was low but powerful, and she glanced up as he passed right
by her seat, too caught up in arguing with whoever was on the phone to notice
her.
Then she did a double-take. “Josh?” she whispered.
*
*
*
“Bobbie, just let me get a word in!” JC exclaimed. “You know I was
busy this whole day. First we had to hear auditions for the orchestra, then we
had our own rehearsals at a studio, and that was followed by who knows how many
photo shoots and promos. I barely had enough time to eat a single bite of food,
how could I have found the time to call you?”
“Found the time?!” Bobbie screeched. “You don’t find time to call
me, you make time to call me! Pencil me in your damn schedule or something, I am
your girlfriend.”
He sighed. “Yes, baby, you’re right, you are my girlfriend. I’m
sorry for not calling you.”
He didn’t notice Hannah follow him outside, he was too deep in the
argument.
“But I have a life, too, and when it gets busy you can’t just bitch
at me!” he said. “I would have called sooner or later.”
“Probably later,” Bobbie scoffed. “It’s a good thing I called
you. What were you doing, anyway?”
“I was listening to some music, before I was interrupted,” he
explained.
“Interrupted?!” she repeated angrily. “Well, I’m so sorry I’m
not allowed to call you anymore. I hadn’t realized we had set up certain times
when calling was allowed.”
JC groaned, rubbing his hand over his face. “Bobbie, you know I
didn’t mean it like that.”
“Didn’t I?” Bobbie asked. “JC, I honestly don’t know what’s
wrong with you.”
“Nothing is wrong with me,” he shot back. “You know what?
This is just making things worse. I’ll talk to you later.” He quickly ended
the call before she could protest. Then he began a mental countdown to try to
calm down. Ten…nine…eight…seven…
The phone rang again. “What?!” he fairly shouted into it.
From a few feet away Hannah watched him discreetly. There was no doubt
about it. It was definitely Josh. But she had never seen him so worked up
before. He was pacing on the steps, his whole body visibly tense.
She wondered who was getting him so mad. She was trying not to eavesdrop
on his conversation, but as his voice escalated she couldn’t help but overhear
his end of the argument. It sounded a lot like a lovers’ spat.
After a few more uncomfortable seconds, Hannah decided that she
shouldn’t be hearing these things. It was private, after all. And anyway, it
was definitely a bad time for a reunion. She moved away from the doors and
walked down the steps.
At that exact moment, he pivoted around and came pacing right at her,
walking into her. He looked up from the ground quickly and mumbled an apology.
Hannah stared at him for an extra second before realizing that he
didn’t recognize her. She sighed and quickly left.
JC looked after her absentmindedly as she walked away. A deep corner of
his mind was dwelling on the stranger.
“JC! Are you even listening to me?” the shrill voice came over the
phone.
He promptly forgot about the nagging feeling and began arguing with
Bobbie again.
*
*
*
I can’t believe I saw Josh again, in New York of all places. How
weird is that? Hannah wondered who he had been arguing with. It had sounded
like a girlfriend. She didn’t know what to feel about that.
“Shoot,” she muttered to herself, “I completely forgot to call
mom!”
Hastily she grabbed the bedside phone and dialed her parents’ number,
hoping that they hadn’t already gone to sleep.
“Hannah, how did it go?” Mrs. Coverly immediately asked upon
answering the phone.
Hannah started a bit, she never got used to caller ID. “I don’t think
I did too well,” she responded. She cringed as she remembered how the
adjudicator had interrupted her, and then how she later snapped at that man in
the hall. “They stopped me before I was halfway done.”
“Oh, honey, that doesn’t mean anything! You know that,” Mrs.
Coverly assured her daughter.
Hannah sighed. “I guess. I’m just eager to go to bed and forget all
about this day.”
“Okay, I’ll let you get some rest. Don’t let this worry you,” her
mother suggested. “’Night now.”
Hannah hung up and turned the lamp off. She sighed as her head hit the
pillow, wondering how she’d be able to fall asleep with all the thoughts of
the day flooding her mind.
*
*
*
“Jace, man, please turn the light off,” Justin pleaded tiredly.
JC looked over at his younger friend, who was rubbing his eyes from the
glare of the bright light fixture that was suspended on the wall. He felt a
twinge of guilt for keeping him awake.
“Sorry about that,” he apologized, reaching over and flipping the
switch. The room immediately became drowned in darkness.
“What’s wrong with you?” Justin asked. “You’ve been so stressed
lately.”
JC stared at the white ceiling of the hotel room, fixing his eyes on it
blankly. “I know. It’s just girl troubles, that’s all.” That’s the
understatement of the year.
He could hear Justin snort from the other bed.
“’That’s all’?” Justin repeated incredulously. “You and
Bobbie have been arguing on the phone for a week now, and you’re always in a
bad mood. If she makes you that mad, why don’t you just break up?”
“It’s not that easy,” JC explained. “We’ve been together for
more than two years now. Being without her would be…different.”
“Whatever. Do what you want, but I just don’t see it.”
“Look, Justin, I don’t need your help in this. I think I’m speaking
from experience here,” JC said, not liking being on the receiving end of
advice.
Justin sighed. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch.”
He groaned when a pillow suddenly hit him in the head. “JC! That
wasn’t fair. How’d you hit me in the dark, anyway?”
He heard JC laughing softly. “That’s
what you get. You know dang well that I wear boxer-briefs.”
*
*
*
“Man, get her away! She’s ruining everything,” Casey complained.
“Yeah, tell her to go home,” Matt demanded. He crossed his arms over
his chest impatiently. “How are we supposed to play a b-ball game if she’s
in the way?”
The other boys on the court joined their protests, and Josh looked
between them and Hannah.
She stared back at him, the basketball clutched in her two hands. She was
confident that he would let her play with them. He always defended her, after
all. He had to.
Josh took one last look at his irritated friends before turning to Hannah
with a resolute expression on his face. “Go on, Hannah, you heard them,” he
said, flicking his thumb over his shoulder casually.
“Josh!” she burst out. “I want to stay here!” She took a step
closer to him and grabbed his hand, pleading with her eyes.
He gave an angry sigh and pushed her away. “I mean it. Stop being such
a big brat!”
Matt laughed. “Yeah, brat!”
“She better not cry,” Casey added.
Hannah searched Josh’s gaze for some comfort, but she found nothing but
annoyance. His usually dark blue eyes were now steel and unyielding, and he was
glaring at her.
Now
he’s mad at me, she thought, disconsolate.
“Fine,” she bit out. “Here’s your stupid ball.” She threw the
basketball at him and stomped off, trying to ignore the shouts of “Brat”
coming from behind her.
Hannah shook her head, remembering how immature she had been. From that
instant on, the “Brat” nickname had stuck. Thank god I left for Juilliard
before puberty struck. I don’t even want to imagine what they would have
called me then.
She also remembered how devastated she had been when Josh had failed to
stick up for her. Of course, looking back now it didn’t seem that bad, but to
a gawky and in puppy love ten-year-old girl, it was the end of the world.
The phone rang and she picked it up, wondering why anyone would be
calling her at eight in the morning. Her parents didn’t wake up until nine.
“Hello?” she asked.
“Ms. Coverly?” a polite man said on the other end.
“Yes, this is she.”
“This is Adam Harcourt from the auditions yesterday,” he introduced
himself.
Hannah heard where he was from and sat down on the bed, preparing herself
for rejection. The usual ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’
“Can you be at the concert hall tomorrow at seven a.m.? Bring your
cello and be ready to play,” Adam continued.
“What?” she asked in disbelief. “You mean I made it?”
“If this is Hannah Coverly, then yes, you made it. You’ll find out
your position and receive more information tomorrow at rehearsal, so be
prompt.”
“Oh. Thank you,” she said belatedly, still in a daze.
As soon as she hung up the phone she picked it up again to call her mom.
“Mom! I’m so glad you’re awake. Someone from the auditions called,
I made it! I’m going to play at the Grammy’s!” she exclaimed happily.
“Well, that’s wonderful, Hannah. I told you not to worry,” Mrs.
Coverly replied warmly.
“Wow,” Hannah said, sighing in amazement. “I can’t believe they
actually liked me.”
“Of course they did,” her mother responded with the usual words of a
proud parent. “And by the way, I looked around for some more information about
that band you’re playing with. They’re some kind of boy singing group. Very
popular with the girls, from what I heard.”
After she hung up the phone for the second time that morning, she decided
to do her own investigative work. I’ll head to the record store and check
out their music.
*
*
*
“Do you want to get a look at the final list?” Johnny asked, holding
the sheet of paper out to the guys.
JC declined. “That’s okay, we’ll see everyone tomorrow at the
rehearsal.”
“I seriously hope there are some fine ladies in the bunch,” Joey
added. “Please, let there be some fine ladies.”
Chris rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry, you horndog. You still have
those blow-up dolls from our last tour.”
Joey’s face lit up as he remembered. “Oh yeah! Thanks for reminding
me.”
Lance groaned. “Yeah, Chris. Thanks so much.”
“No problem!” Chris chirped innocently. “So what are we going to do
today? Photo shoot? Interview?”
“We’re scheduled for promos,” Johnny answered. “The Grammy’s
are coming up in less than a month. You guys are gonna blow the lid off that
joint.”
“Damn straight!” Justin cried. “We’ll show the world who can
sing. And accompanied by a full string orchestra, no less.”
JC grinned as his friends became more and more worked up over the
performance. Even his most recent squabble with Bobbie couldn’t ruin this
excitement.
*
*
*
Hannah stood in the Virgin records store, flipping through the piles of
CDs filed under “NSYNC.” She was frankly overwhelmed by how many products
there were. Posters adorned the wall, T-shirts were hanging on a rack
proclaiming their faces, and there seemed to be an infinite amount of their CDs.
“Need any help?”
Hannah looked up from examining the list of tracks from one CD and saw a
blonde woman about her age standing in front of her.
“Um…no, that’s okay. I’m fine,” she answered politely.
“Oh no, I insist!” the woman exclaimed. She moved closer and took the
CD from Hannah’s hand. “This is one of my favorites, you know. I think the
guys are all so hot.”
Hannah nodded slowly, feeling faintly creeped out by the odd glint in the
woman’s eyes. “Well, I’m just looking for good music.”
“You’ll definitely find that, too,” the woman replied. Then she
peered closely at Hannah’s face. “Hey, you were at the auditions for the
Grammy orchestra.”
Hannah stared at her, surprised. How did she know that? “Were you there
too?”
The girl laughed and flipped her lustrous hair over her shoulder. “You
could say that.”
She grabbed two other CDs and
handed them to Hannah. “These ones are good.”
Hannah nodded slowly. “Okay. I guess that’s all I wanted.
Thanks,…” she paused, waiting for a name.
The woman smiled widely at her, her eyes shining brightly. “Elaine.
It’s Elaine.”
Hannah nodded again. “Elaine. Well, thank you.” She backed away then
walked over to the cashier’s counter, feeling Elaine’s gaze still on her.
She shook her head quickly, trying to dispel a strange chill.