“Serrano,” I teased Aaron as I walked up to him during passing. Aaron smiled, grabbing his books from his locker and closing it.
“Damn, am I in trouble?” Aaron played along, kissing my forehead once I got closer to him. Ugh, the butterflies. He laughed as he tussled my hair; it was one of his favorite things to do.
“Yeah,” I finally said, being more serious. “Why is the vocal part for this new song so fucking high? Are you trying to kill me or something?”
“Mols,” Aaron looked at me. “I made it that high because I know you can hit that high note.”
“It doesn’t mean that it’ll sound good,” I said under my breath, not looking at Aaron. He gently lifted my chin so I could now look at him.
“You are an amazing singer, Mols,” Aaron said. “I’m going to need you to start believing it.” He smiled as he slowly released my face from his hand. “So the Foxtrot Marriott show starts at 7 this Friday and we are the last to perform, as per your request.” I smiled at Aaron’s snarky remark.
“Yeah, only because I literally have a showcase for my sister’s dance academy,” I said, rolling my eyes. I look at Aaron who is waving at a guy that called out his name across the hallway during passing. I always wondered how Aaron got to know everyone in the school already. Aaron was known as if he’s been a student at Waverly for a long time. Maybe that just comes with being a dual major; you know everyone since you do twice the things a normal student would do. Who knows?
“How’s rehearsal for that going?” Aaron asked and finally looked at me. I snap out of thought and look back at him, sighing.
“It’s alright; a lot, but alright,” I said, slightly fibbing the truth. The truth was that Jennifer has been on my case about showing up to rehearsal and not knowing the routine as quickly as I did in the past. In a sense, I feel like this is how the dual majors feel; having to sacrifice one thing over the other when showcases and recitals happen. If it’s not the dance recital, it’s preparation for the Black History Month showcase at Waverly. If it’s not Waverly, it’s shows for Aaron’s band.
The bell rings and the students roaming the halls begin to walk to their classrooms. Aaron grabs his bookbag and throws it on his shoulder. I wish I was able to skip class for the day and just disappear for the day. I don’t; I know Aaron would be sad if I didn’t come to vocal at the end of the day, but I am dreading rehearsal for that.
“I’ll see you in vocal, Mols,” Aaron said, wrapping his free arm around me for a hug. “Remember we have quartets today.” Trust me, I remember.
“See you later, Aaron,” I said back, watching Aaron walk down the hall towards his next class. My smile fades away as soon as he leaves. I turn the other way to walk to my next class, and to my surprise I see Milo still at his locker. I haven’t spoken to Milo since the last time he came over my house and he had left to go and meet up with Sophie. Instead of passing by him and his locker, I take the other staircase and go upstairs to my next class.
…
I hate that I’m one of the first people to get to vocal before class starts. Today wasn’t any different. I walk into the vocal room and see Mr. Kamalani sit at hide desk.
“Good Afternoon, Miss Castro,” Mr. Kamalani said. “Are you ready for today’s quartets?”
“I guess,” I said, placing my bookbag on the floor next to my chair.
“Well,” Mr. Kamalani began to say as he got up from his seat. “I hope that you took the feedback from our last quartets and practiced for today.” He leaned against the piano and looked at me with his arms crossed along his chest. “Is everything okay, Mollie?” Oh boy, not the first name.
“Everything is fine,” I answered, feeling a bit annoyed.
“I understand you have other obligations outside of Waverly,” he continued to hint. “But your school work is just as important as your extracurricular activities.”
“I told Jennifer I’m coming to dance rehearsal today,” I finally said, knowing where this conversation was heading. “You can tell Jennifer to relax.”
“I’m not referring to that,” Mr. Kamalani corrected. “I’m referring to all the time you are spending with Aaron. I don’t want you failing your major class when you are easily one of my best students.” Slowly, my other classmates begin to walk into the room. Mr. Kamalani greets the other students as they walked in.
“Good Afternoon, Mr. Kamalani, Ms. Lee,” he said as Milo walked by the classroom. I looked at Milo has he said goodbye to Sophie at the door. I rolled my eyes, looking away from their weird encounter.
Passing by Milo and Sophie at the door was Aaron. “Good Afternoon, Mr. Serrano,” Mr. Kamalani said.
“What’s up, Mr. Kamalani!” Aaron greeted back. “Time to do these quartets, y’all,” Aaron had said to everyone else in the classroom. I couldn’t help but smile at Aaron’s positive attitude. Let it be Aaron Serrano to piss everyone off yet make me feel at ease after a stressful day.
Letters From Liz. 